40mi from Red Rock · 3 sites · Lodging · Tucson, AZHowdy, Folks!
My name is Joel, and I turned my off-grid property into a park. It’s located right across the street from a 3,000 acre swath of Arizona recreational state land. AZ state land is like a state park, but with zero amenities. So, I started building amenities on my property.
We now have trash service, compost toilets, running hot water, a shower building, a furnished campsite, a mini barndominium, and everything runs on solar power.
We also get Amazon deliveries.
The park is only 20 miles from the Tucson city limits, but when you get out here you’ll feel like you’re a million miles away. Your ears will ring for the first half hour while adjusting to the quiet.
It’s a great place to read a book, unwind, and take some time off from the mouse marathon of daily urban life.
It’s also a great place to bring your ATV, dirt bike, or favorite pew-pews to go play Mad Max Beyond Thunderchicken out in the state land.
There’s a little something for everybody if you know what I mean.
Night time is very dark out here. There are no street lights because Kitt Peak National Observatory is just over yonder. You can see it from the property.
Most nights the Milky Way is clear and visible in the sky. I have pathway lights, and low lumen lighting around the park, but a flashlight is still helpful for getting around at night.
Next door is a bird sanctuary with 2 macaws (Blue Bird and Max), and halfway up the mountain (Keystone Peak) is an abandoned fluorite mine you can go explore.
We are in the foothills of the Sierrita Mountains, at an elevation of 3,200 ft. That’s 1,000 ft higher than Tucson, and 2,000 ft higher than Phoenix. The plant life is very lush and green for the desert, and the wildlife is plentiful.