We are already beginning to figure out our routines in the Humble RV only 2 months into our cross-country adventure. For one, we have determined that for our family, we pretty much reach our threshold for a day’s travel in the RV at about 300 miles. So when we realized that our trip from Santa Fe to the Grand Canyon was going to top over 400 miles, we knew that we needed to find a stopping point.
The problem is that heading into Arizona on I-40, there’s no National Forest, no Walmart (you can camp overnight for free in their parking lots) and really nowhere to boondock for a quick overnight. For the uninitiated, boondocking (or dry camping) is when you are staying somewhere in your RV, unplugged, no water, no sewer, no electricity. You are relying on your onboard batteries and holding tanks for all daily necessities. Full disclosure, we’ve not done this yet. But we were open to it on this trip. Most National Forests allow boondocking on the grounds and some National Parks do as well. The Petrified Forest National Park is on I-40 on the way to the Grand Canyon, but unfortunately does not allow boondocking on the grounds and has no camping facilities whatsoever.
After some searching, we found Homolovi State Park in Winslow, AZ. Now, there is absolutely no reason – that we can see – that anyone would want to visit the town of Winslow. But we highly suggest a stay in Homolovi. On the way in, we did stop at the Petrified Forest National Park. We highly suggest a visit as it is a sight to behold. Pictured below are some scenes from the Painted Desert located inside the park.
Homolovi State Park – REVIEW (3.9/5) stars
Arizona really knows how to run state parks. One of my favorite things is their online reservation system. It is second to none! For most Arizona State Parks, you can reserve your campground online. Each location touts an interactive map and there are pictures of every single site so that you can pretty much window shop your RV spot. No buyers remorse. And the sites are very reasonable at $30 per night. Additionally, we did have to make a change to one or our reservations and their customer service was exceptional.
We loved Homolovi because of the unique desert landscape. It’s flat terrain, sand and you can see for miles. It’s truly unique. The sites are incredibly spacious and plenty of room for our little boys to go out and adventure. I went out into the desert the next morning for a little prayer walk and it was amazing. This park was truly a respite for our family. Our only regret is that we only stayed one night.
Our site had water and 50A service. There is a dump site in the park. Mobile reception and data was adequate with AT&T. Pretty much the only downer for the park is it’s remote location (if that’s a downer). The town of Winslow is pretty depressing. There’s not much else around.
