Buckskin Mountain State Park is a state park located near Parker, Arizona, US. A second developed area of the park is known as the River Island Unit or River Island State Park. Both park areas have shoreline on the Colorado River and views of the Buckskin Mountains.
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We've stayed at River Island State Park in our travel trailer twice now.
While the campground is advertised by the state to be great for tents, I think it is really nice for RV's, too. Flat, paved sites have water and electric. No sewer hookup, but a dump station is available. The RV campground is set in-between rock cliffs. The tent sites are near the river under large established shade trees on grass.
The Colorado River flows right by the campground. The water is very cool as it is just south of the Parker Dam. The beach is set in a cove that keeps it away from the main current of the river. However, there is still a fairly strong current that bends back through the cove. It is advisable to keep children close to shore.
The "beach" isn't much of a beach at all when the water is up. The dam releases more flow in the afternoon, so the beach ends up under water. There is a steep dirt hill leading down to the river that can't be used for sitting or setting up a canopy. Canopies are actually set up in the water. It is a popular day use area as well with the large boat ramp. Plenty of room to beach a boat or jet ski if the beach isn't crowded (on a 110 degree summer week day you may be the only one in the park!).
The showers and bathrooms are clean, particular the building that is towards the front of the park away from the beach. The supplied water can be very warm right out of the tap in the summer. I didn't even have to light the LP water heater.
One more note: it is ALWAYS windy here, and really all up and down the Colorado River corridor. The dust devils in the afternoon can get pretty crazy. I really would've loved to have the awning out to keep the sun off the camper, but not with the gusts that blow through. Both times we've visited we've seen a canopy at the beach go...
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We've been there twice although 8 years separated the visits. We stayed in one of the smaller sites since we were just using a tent. These smaller sites are great because they have a lot of shade, are close to the restrooms, and are the closest to the beach. They all have water and power, which is a nice plus. That said, the sites are not very well defined which leaves limited space. Fortunately we reserved spaces 30 and 31 and that put us on the end with an extra large grass area. The grounds are well maintained but my only complaint is the bathrooms. Several times they were out of toilet paper and the cleaning schedule closes all restrooms at the same time, which is very inconvenient for families with kids who cannot always hod it.
The beach and cove are an amazing amenity. We had a great time boating, wading, and playing in the sand.
As the saying goes, you can't pick your neighbors and unfortunately bad camping neighbors can leave a sour taste. Despite some bad apples, our camp out...
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GREAT SPOT!! It was our first time camping here and had a blast we stayed in site 12. The campsites and restrooms are clean. Just a couple of pointers for first time campers to be prepared for:
NO INTERNET OR PHONE RECEPTION WIFI is very weak and spotty to say the least.
BUGS! ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT! Bring bug spray there are biting flies near the shore, locust the size of horses, a couple of scorpions and camel spiders at night. If you leave your shoes out make sure you shake them out before you put them on.
WIND Bring weights to hold down your canopy's and tent's be prepared for strong wind gusts. we saw ALOT of tents and canopies get tossed around.
MORNING HEAT If you are tent camping be prepared to wake up early it gets into the high 90's at 7am
DON'T WORRY THE GOOD OUT WAYS THE BAD The views are amazing the river is awesome and the staff is great. Evening weather was in the 70's just be prepared. We will be coming back and recommending...
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