Lake Havasu State Park
Lake Havasu State Park sits on the Arizona shore at Windsor Beach, at 699 London Bridge Road just up the road from the London Bridge and the English Village, and its campground is one of the two main developed options for visitors who want to sleep near the water without owning a boat. Arizona State Parks lists 54 campsites, 13 beachside cabins, and three boat ramps here. Plan on driving between the campground and the bridge rather than walking it -- in summer heat that is not a stroll. The park's location close to town is its main advantage: restaurants, boat rentals, and grocery stores are a short drive away rather than an hour in either direction.
Because it sits inside a state park rather than a private campground, site types, availability, and reservation windows are managed directly by Arizona State Parks and Trails, and they can change season to season. Rather than relying on older trip reports for site numbers or amenities, check the park's current listing before booking, especially if you are traveling during a peak weekend.
Cattail Cove State Park
Cattail Cove State Park lies about 15 miles south of Lake Havasu City on State Route 95, and it offers a quieter, more spread-out alternative to camping in town. Arizona State Parks lists 139 campsites there, plus boat-in campsites along the shoreline and a boat ramp. It is a common choice for visitors who want direct lake access from their campsite without the traffic and crowds that build up near the London Bridge on busy weekends.
Cattail Cove also serves as a jumping-off point for some of the boat-in camping described below, since several of the lake's remote shoreline sites are easiest to reach by water from a launch point near the park. As with Lake Havasu State Park, confirm current site types and reservation rules directly with Arizona State Parks rather than assuming last season's setup still applies.
Shoreline and Boat-In Camping
Beyond the two developed state park campgrounds, the boat-in shoreline camping on Lake Havasu is worth understanding correctly, because most of it is not run by Arizona State Parks at all. The BLM Lake Havasu Field Office manages 73 boat access campsites spread over 20 miles of the Arizona shore, and these are designated sites rather than informal spots: the BLM says each one has a picnic table, barbecue grill, and trash receptacle, and that a majority also have a restroom and a shade structure. Cattail Cove State Park separately offers its own boat-in campsites along the shoreline.
The BLM shoreline sites are first-come, first-served -- you cannot reserve one -- with a 14-day stay limit. Fees run $10 a day plus $10 a night for up to six people, $2 for each additional person, and no charge for children under 16; an annual shoreline pass is $100. Passes can be bought through Recreation.gov, YourPassNow, the on-site iron ranger deposit boxes, or the field office directly. Critically, BLM lists no drinking water among the amenities at these sites -- plan to carry in everything you will drink, which in summer is a great deal more than most people plan for.
Because conditions change with lake level, weather, and fire restrictions, confirm current rules with the BLM Lake Havasu Field Office (928-505-1200) for shoreline sites, or with Arizona State Parks for the boat-in sites inside Cattail Cove, before planning an overnight stay.
RV Camping Options
Both Lake Havasu State Park and Cattail Cove State Park accommodate RVs alongside tent campers, and additional private RV parks and resorts operate in and around Lake Havasu City for travelers who want fuller hookups or amenities than a state park campground typically provides. Rig size limits, hookup types, and pull-through availability vary by site and by park.
Because RV camping demand at Lake Havasu can be high, particularly for larger rigs during the cooler months, it is worth comparing a few options -- state park sites and private RV resorts -- rather than assuming the first search result has availability. Confirm hookup specifics and rig-length limits directly with the campground before arriving.
Best Season to Camp
Lake Havasu's desert climate makes the cooler months, roughly fall through spring, the most comfortable and most popular time to camp, when daytime highs are manageable and evenings outdoors are pleasant. Summer is a different proposition entirely: NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals put Lake Havasu City's average July high at roughly 110°F, and that is the average rather than the peak, which makes tent camping in particular a serious undertaking rather than an inconvenience.
That said, summer is also the lake's peak boating season, so some visitors do camp through the heat specifically to be near the water during the busiest months. If you are camping in summer, prioritize shade, hydration, and a site with easy water access, and treat afternoon heat as a serious planning constraint rather than an inconvenience.
Do not assume you will be allowed a campfire. Seasonal fire restrictions are routine on this landscape and they can go far enough to prohibit campfires, charcoal, and wood stoves outright -- including inside developed campgrounds and improved sites. The BLM's Colorado River District, which covers the Lake Havasu Field Office, has run Stage 2 restrictions through recent fire seasons. Check the current status at wildlandfire.az.gov, or with the specific park or field office, before you plan a trip around cooking on a fire.
Desert Camping Safety
Heat is the hazard that actually hurts people here. Drink water steadily through the day rather than waiting for thirst, and carry far more than you think you need if you are heading to a boat-in site where no drinking water is provided. Never leave a child or a pet in a parked vehicle -- not for a few minutes, not with the windows cracked. A closed car in this climate reaches lethal temperatures fast.
Learn the two heat illnesses, because they are treated differently. Per the National Weather Service, heat exhaustion looks like heavy sweating; cool, pale, clammy skin; a fast weak pulse; muscle cramps, dizziness, nausea or headache. Move the person into shade or air conditioning, loosen clothing, apply cool wet cloths, and give sips of water -- then seek medical care if they vomit or symptoms last over an hour. Heat stroke is a medical emergency: throbbing headache, confusion, slurred speech, body temperature above 103°F, hot red skin that may be dry rather than sweaty, and possible loss of consciousness. Call 911 immediately, cool the person down, and do not give fluids. Delay can be fatal.
Never pitch a tent in a wash. Arizona's monsoon season runs June 15 through September 30 on the National Weather Service's calendar, and a dry sandy wash is a flood channel that fills from rain falling miles upstream where you cannot see it. Do not drive through flood water -- a foot of it can carry a vehicle off the road -- and never let children play in washes or storm drains after rainfall. When thunderstorms are close there is no safe outdoor spot: get into a hard-sided building or a hard-topped vehicle, and note that a tent offers no lightning protection whatsoever.
Rattlesnakes are part of the landscape and become active as temperatures rise. Arizona Game and Fish's guidance is to back away and give a snake a wide berth rather than move it or kill it. If someone is bitten: stay calm, call 911 and get to medical care without delay, remove rings and watches from the affected limb, and keep the limb immobilized at or below heart level. Do not apply ice, do not cut the wound, do not use a tourniquet or constriction band, do not try to suck out the venom, and do not give alcohol. Antivenom at a hospital is the treatment; the Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center is at 1-800-222-1222.
Reserve Ahead: Why Timing Matters
Camping demand at Lake Havasu spikes hard around specific windows -- winter weekends when snowbirds are in the area, spring break, and major boating holidays like Memorial Day and the Fourth of July -- and popular waterfront sites at both state parks can book out well ahead of those dates. Showing up without a reservation during one of these windows is a real risk of finding nothing available.
Reservation systems, booking windows, and any deposit or cancellation rules are set and updated by Arizona State Parks directly, so check the current reservation portal as soon as you have travel dates rather than waiting until close to your trip. For quieter, more flexible stays, targeting a weekday outside of peak season gives you the best odds of an easy booking.