Camping Review: White Spar Campground in Prescott

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Reservable or first come, first served: Both at the time I went. I reserved online.

Established or dispersed: Established

Tent pad: gravel

Bear lockers: About one for every three campsites. They were all wrapped in plastic – possibly because it wasn’t active bear season yet

Electric: no

Back-in or pull through: Pull-through

Other amenities: Restrooms; drinking water; fire pit; a nice cement picnic table; mixed use trails adjacent to campground

Site rating:4.0/5.0

Dates: March 27-29 (Thur – Sat)

Nights: 2

Gear:

• Core Equipment Easy-up Ground Tent
• Kelty 30 sleeping bag
• Coleman cot
• Cuisinart 1-burner camp stove
• Ecoflow power station
• Electric kettle
• Aeropress
• Jetboil pan
• Costco camping chair
• Original Penguin duffel bag

Weather: Low 40s overnight; Mid 60s-70s highs with occasional wind gusts

Food: Pancakes; breakfast burritos; chili; turkey sandwich; chicken burrito

Solo: Yes

Overall experience rating: 4.5/5.0

The good – what I liked about camping at White Spar Campground in Prescott

This camping experience was one of the best I’ve ever had. Here’s what helped make that happen:

• Time of year: I selected the time of year according to weather, because if you camp in northern Arizona too early in the spring or too far into the summer, it’s doable but could be be uncomfortable. The weather was as close to perfect as possible during my stay, with nights a bit on the chilly side, but blankets and a dog who insisted on sleeping right next to me were all that was needed.
• Equipment and cargo tools: Last year, my wife and I picked up a Core Equipment tent from Costco, and setup is complete within just a few minutes. I also used simple tie down straps and easily removable tie-down points from Z1 Offroad to haul everything in my truck. All this made setup a breeze – I had the truck unloaded and tent up all in less than half an hour.
• Planning: When I do solo trips, I typically just do a single night and often head up after work, and get everything unloaded and set up just before dinner time. I took two days off this time, and arrived right at 2:00 check-in, which combined with the easy setup meant I could enjoy the experience quicker.
• Trail access: There were 2 mixed use trails adjacent to the campground that my dog and I were able to enjoy a few times
• Campsite itself: Campsite had a nice, paved pull-through and a gravel tent pad, and plenty of trees.
• Cleanliness (mostly): The campsite was overall pretty clean, without much litter, and having decently clean pit toilets with dumpsters frequent enough that people used them instead of littering.

The bad

There were really only a few deltas that kept White Spar Campground from being a 5/5 camping experience:

• Proximity of neighbors: I could see my next-door neighbors on either side due to how close the campsites were
• Lack of dog cleanup: Several of people hadn’t picked up after their dogs – gross.
• No TP: From my check-in at 2:00, until about the same time the next day, there was no toilet paper in the restroom. And for this reason, I always recommend you bring your own

Would I camp here again?

Yes, I really enjoyed camping at White Spar and would certainly return, but I may find a campground with sites a bit more spread out in the Prescott area or go for dispersed camping next time I camp in the area.

For more details

For more details and for booking, go to the White Spar Campground’s website on recreation.gov.