Caballo Loco Ranch LLC — Hotel in Green Valley

Come for the trails.

CLR is not for everyone. If you love wide-open spaces, awesome views, a relaxed atmosphere, and thousands of acres of public lands to explore, you may love it despite the negatives. My wife and I wintered over here in 2020-21. Covid-19 restricted the social life and many group activities, which normally are frequent and the long-timers spoke highly of. Caballo Loco Ranch (CLR) is an off-grid working cattle ranch / RV park hybrid. It’s not a traditional RV park. CLR is oriented to horses and ATVs. It’s very informal, welcoming and friendly, with a large contingency of boondockers. Many of the residents have wintered here for 15-20+ years. The attractions are the very remote location, the low monthly rates, the incredible mountain and sunset views and the many, many miles of horse / hike / ATV / Mountain Bike (MTB) trails. The riding opportunities vary from mountains and foothills to rolling desert, with hundreds of old mines and other attractions, besides just the sheer beauty of the Sahuarita Mountains and the Sonoran desert. From October through May, a large generator provides 30A service to the entire facility from 9am to 9pm daily. You must be energy independent overnight. The water system for the sites is gravity-fed, and inadequate pressure varies from zero to about 20#. Further, the water is saturated with lime, which encrusts fixtures and quickly coats kettle bottoms. We used lots of vinegar to clean with, and I purchased a PUR pitcher to reduce the amount of lime in our consumable water. I reviewed the State water tests, and no testing has been done on the water supply beyond bacteria. There are many dry camping sites spread around the ranch, and there are about 30 full-hookup and a few electric only sites. Sites with utilities are arranged in terraced rows on a hill side. Mostly level sites all have a stunning view to the West. Depending on the terrain of the specific area, these sites are spacious or medium-close. Reasonably clean facilities include a small laundry, game room, library, WIFI room, and a community center that normally hosts movies, game nights, and pot-luck suppers weekly. Mail and all carriers deliver to the ranch. Boondocking sites are reserved years in advance. Reservations for any visit are essential, along with arranging your arrival within office hours. The negatives: (1) Just getting here requires driving 8 miles on a very rough dusty dirt road from Hwy 286. At minimal speeds this road will literally shake the screws loose in your camper. (2) It is 40+ miles to the nearest full Grocery. (3) Diesel generator: Depending on your site location and the wind direction, the noise and exhaust smell can be minimal or a major issue. Boondockers avoid this by being removed from this entire area. (4) The Farm: It’s a working cattle ranch, so the smells of manure are on the wind. (5) Septic smells: All the boondockers bring their tanks down to a dump station located amongst the camp sites. This steady traffic, along with air leakage from the septic pipes can fill the air with septic odors for much of the day. (6) Camp fire smoke that’s not always wood being burned: Most sites don’t have fire rings; but anyone with a burn container can burn. The smells can be Ok or terrible depending on what’s put in those fires. (5) Dust: All the roads are dirt, and dust is a major issue. One must be resigned that dust will get into everything, and be with you constantly. (6) Connectivity: CLR provides WIFI that’s only available in and near the WIFI room. Cellular service is spotty depending on carrier. Some folks get nothing. Verizon worked everywhere for us, whether in camp, in the mountains, or in the desert, and with a booster and directional antenna, cellular data was available. The ability to have cellular data varies site by site, no matter what equipment is used. Update: Owners increased the rates starting 1/1/2021. largest increase was for daily and weekly. Monthly and Annual also went up a bit. I'll not post, as they'll change again I"m sure. CALL AND RESERVE...

CABALLO LOCO RV RANCH

I absolutely love this gorgeous remote ranch surrounded by many BLM acres where people are allowed to be unique without having to fit a cookie-cutter mold.

OWNERS Jim and Michele are some of the nicest, kindest, and most loving people that I know.

In my opinion, they offer inexpensive full hookups or dry camping to help their fellow humans more than to make a large profit. They could probably charge much more than they do, but instead choose to keep the prices low so that it helps those who wish to have inexpensive RV rental lots.

LOTS I believe daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly rates are available.

Full Hookups: Offer electric, water, and sewage, but summer hours are limited.

Dry off-grid: This often offers more remoteness and is less expensive than full hookups. You must provide your own electric, but you can utilize the black tank dump, well water fills, and trash dumpster provided by the ranch.

ELECTRIC Dry Camping: Solar is the best method to use. Generators take fuel, and that can be expensive in addition to being noisy.

Full Hookup: You can utilize the power provided by the ranch generator during the winter months and buy some solar to use during the six months when it is not running full time. There are some people who run an AC utilizing solar power, so it is very possible to live comfortably year round..

RIGS Unique rigs are allowed on the ranch.

REMOTENESS The ranch is very remote due to being located 8 miles within and completely surrounded by beautiful Arizona BLM acres and this provides for many outdoor activities, including:

ATV riding Hiking Horseback riding Rock collecting Landscape and nature photography

BEAUTY The rugged mountain beauty of the ranch is amazing.

ELEVATION 3,900 feet

RANCH AMENITIES Propane fill station Gravity-fed, propane-fueled, hot showers Flushing toilets Black water dump station Trash dumpster Well water fill stations Clubhouse for events such as movie nights, dances, band music, holiday feasts, etc. Mail delivery: USPS, UPS, FedEx Library Pool: The pool table is often used in the evenings, and I often hear the laughter and shouts of glee as they play. Darts: In the clubhouse Free table: In the clubhouse. This is an area where others give away things they no longer need.

PETS On-leash, well-behaved pets are welcome.

ROAD The 8-mile BLM wilderness road into the ranch has no houses, businesses, or any other signs of civilization. It is a bumpy, washboard dirt road that can be rough on tires. But if you travel slowly, it isn't bad. The owners also grade it.

I love the road because it keeps the ranch uniquely isolated, and civilization out. It discourages people who want city living.The road keeps civilization out, and the small village and close-knit community spirit alive and well at the ranch.

SAFETY The community is safe, small, and friendly with people willing to help one another.

SUMMARY Caballo Loco RV Ranch is a small village where many people have lived for years and care for other people.

I love the beautiful ranch, the owners, Jim and Michele, and the kind, rugged people who make up this...

My husband and I love coming to Caballo Loco Ranch here in Tucson, Arizona. This is our second year. We are in full hook ups, and we do six months in and six months out. We are retired and we live full-time in our fifth wheel. We winter here from November 1 through to April 30. We are originally from Minnesota and we now make Arizona as our home. Your experience to this location starts with an 8 mile drive one way down a beautiful gravel, dusty and some bumps road.(we pull 32’ Fifth wheel) This beautiful road has an abundance of an ocotillo, cholla cacti & many other beautiful prickly plants. 🥰 Yes, the road is dusty, but you have to remember you’re in the middle of the desert and there will be dust. You arrive to the office, and in that area, there’s a Clubhouse and a town hall/community room. There is a ranch a little further down the road on the left and you will hear a rooster or a donkey and will probably see as you are driving down the road some cows. There are many functions that are held in the community room/town hall all throughout the winter season. There’s potlucks, there’s even dance night with our in-house band. We have many different groups that meet up to play guitars, there’s also a writer group, and movie night and so much more. The people that we have met here at our new home have all been wonderful and welcoming as this is a retirement community. Things to expect here at Caballo Loco … Someone is in the office Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Between the of hours of 10AM to noon. Because we are in the middle of the desert, our electricity for full hookups runs 9:00 in the morning till 9:00 at night. We have Verizon, however we use star link. This location is very much off the grid, so you have to keep in mind that there are some luxuries that you won’t get here unless you’re closer to Tucson. Our site in full hook ups leaves us plenty of room and many sites are bigger than ours. No one’s on top of one another, lots of room. There are lots of little roads/washes that many people with ATVs drive, enjoying the views. We find it to be very clean here, but keep in mind that wild animals aka Coyotes and a few other critters do share this area with us. For the most part, the dog owners keep their dogs on leashes and clean up after their dogs. It will probably take you 45 minutes to an hour, to drive to Tucson. But there is a small grocery store, Ace Hardware, Dollar General, a doctors office, school and many other businesses in the town of “Three Points.”(This town is closest to the ranch.) There Is so many things to do in this area and the views are so incredibly breathtaking, especially the Arizona sunsets. If you are looking for an adventure, a little further out from the noise and congestion of a bigger city, I would hands-down recommend...