Maricopa County is bringing back its buy one, get one camping promotion this fall, giving county residents free nights at four regional parks between Sept. 18 and Oct. 31.
Book two to seven consecutive nights and you get one free night. Book eight to 14 and you get two. The free nights are of equal or lesser value, must be part of the same stay, and cannot be pushed to dates after Oct. 31.
The county has run some version of the promotion since 2008.
Where it applies
Four parks are taking part, and none of them is the one in Queen Creek.
- Usery Mountain Regional Park, on the east side of the Valley, 74 developed campsites. The closest participating campground to Queen Creek.
- McDowell Mountain Regional Park, northeast Valley, 76 developed campsites.
- Cave Creek Regional Park, north of Phoenix, 55 developed campsites.
- White Tank Mountain Regional Park, west Valley, 40 developed campsites. At nearly 30,000 acres it is the county's largest regional park.
San Tan Mountain Regional Park sits at 6533 W. Phillips Road in Queen Creek and is on the county's excluded list, along with Adobe Dam, Estrella Mountain, Lake Pleasant, Spur Cross Ranch and the Hassayampa River Preserve.
That is not a snub. San Tan has no campground. The park offers hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, picnicking and a visitor center, and a camping promotion cannot include a park without campsites.
Check which county your address is in
The promotion is open only to Maricopa County residents, and the county means it literally: guests must show an Arizona state-issued ID with a Maricopa County address, and the discount is applied only after residency is verified. Anyone who cannot produce that ID pays full price.
That is worth a second look before booking if you live here. Queen Creek is mostly in Maricopa County, but the town limits reach into Pinal County along the eastern and southern edges, a result of the Ironwood Crossing annexation in 2018. A Queen Creek address is not automatically a Maricopa County address.
