patagonia lake state park

We arrived and our reservations were screwed up so we went back to tell them and they insisted they were right. Then after camp was set up, came to tell us we had to move because they screwed up. The people coming in were jerks, but the people working there are quite nice, actually helped us move again. Nice hiking trails and lively lake with affordable boat rentals. Tuesday boats are half price to rent including pontoons! Lots of wildlife as well, including wild Bulls and rare birds.

Beautiful day and scenic lake. The bad news, not much for fishing. The good news, lots of campers enjoying the weather.

We enjoyed the drive to this park - some of the most beautiful mountain scenery between here and Tucson. However, the volunteers in the visitor's center were unhelpful which served to spoil our visit. The lake is quite small, but we did see some kayaks and one person fishing from a boat.

Go to the north end of the lake and walk the trail. Many nice people along the way will help you with the ID of birds.

Near the Arizonia Mexico border this is one of the nicest and cleanest facility I have had the opportunity to visit. We took our boat and toured the lake enjoying an abundant selection of water foul and many other species of birds. The facilities were very clean and the park well maintainedA must see in southern Arizona

One of the primary reasons people visit this Arizona State Park is for the Birding. When we were there during December and January, there were volunteer-led bird walks two days per week. If you are into birding these are great. There is also a small lake with volunteer-led boat tours, some geared toward birding, some not. For hiking and birding there are a few trails inside of the Park, but there is also the Sonoita Creek Natural Area, just outside of, and managed by, the Park. You will need a free permit to hike there. The permit can be obtained at the Visitor Center for free, but you do have to pay entrance into the park. Sonoita Creek NA has some great hiking trails, but recently, due to budget cuts and park priorities, many of the trails have been allowed to become overgrown. We camped at the park for two weeks, which is the limit of stay. The campgrounds are nice and have been recently upgraded with 50 amp service at all RV sites. Many of the sites are unlevel, so you have to choose carefully. Also, some of the older sites are close together. When the park got crowded during the Christmas and New Year Holidays, we had issues with the power. The voltage would get so low, that the power on our RV would shut down to avoid damaging appliances. I suspect that during the summer when everyone is using their air conditions, low voltage could be a big issue. The park staff and volunteers were friendly and helpful. Daily entrance fees are quite steep at $10 per weekday and $15 on the weekend, unless you buy an Arizona state park pass. Camping is very reasonable at $25 per night. The small town of Patagonia is only 7 or so miles away and has some nice and interesting restaurants and a small eclectic market called Red Mountain, that has some great, but expensive, produce.We will certainly visit the park again in the future.

We're retired so have the luxury of camping during the week. The campground is very well layed out with great bathrooms and showers. We took our first ranger-led bird walks and were delighted with the whole experience! The pontoon boat ride was so relaxing and lovely. Hiking at Sonoita nature area next door was wonderful with large trees and stream. Swimming beach looked like it would be fun in warm weather. Good store with basics. Little town of Patagonia is just a few miles away. The campground may be over run on weekends but is a nice escape during the week!

October is a perfect time to visit Patagonia. The annual fair reatures music, a variety of food choices and crafts by juried vendors. It is an easy day trip from Tucson, and you will find several wiineries with tasting opportunities in the area. The next fair will be held October 9-12, 2015.

Patagonia Lake State Park is located at about halfway between Patagonia and Nogales, Arizona, about 3 miles off the highway between the two towns. The park has great camping sites (most with electricity and water), very nice bathroom facilities, and a small, but beautiful lake. No Jet Skis or above water exhaust boats are allowed which allows for peaceful boating, kayaking, and fishing. The park is usually busiest on weekends when most campsites are full. The best time to go is Sunday night through Friday morning. The only problem I have ever seen is on weekends when people drive over from Nogales, Mexico, (Sonoran license plates on the cars) to camp in tents. Usually they camp with up to 12 people in a campsite and although during quiet hours at night they are pretty calm, the bathrooms get a thorough beating with trash, empty beer cans, and vandalism. The park rangers at the gate are friendly and upbeat, however, the ones who have to clean up after the vandals are usually gruff if they talk to you at all. I still like the park and will continue to frequent it for good times.

We have been to this park several times and it's a nice day trip. They have camping available (with hookups and a shower facility) but we have not used the campsites. The scenery is beautiful here so it is well worth venturing to this remote location. The main activities here would be camping, picnicing, swimming, boating, fishing, wildlife/bird watching and hiking. I don't think there are a lot of hiking trails. You can rent a paddle boat or small fishing boat at the marina. We got a small boat with a motor and it was a complicated process as they were understaffed. We've also tried fishing here a few times but without much success. We could see there were plenty of fish in the water but they just weren't biting. They do have a couple of piers where mobility-impaired fishermen can access the lake. The park will be very hot in the summer months and can crowded on weekends and holidays, so we usually visit in the spring or fall and try to go on a weekday. There are 2 small stores and a visitor center, but check ahead if they are going to be open on a weekday. There is a $10-15 per car day use fee (of course there are additional fees for camping or boat rental).

We found Patagonia Lake because we didn't have a place to camp for a few days and it was close. What a find! We got a camping spot that was just off the lake with it's own private picnic (and hammock) area (#16). We rode our bikes to the marina and rented a kayak for an hour- it took about 20 minutes to reach the other side of the lake, an hour is the minimum time you want to rent - BTW, kayaks and boats are half price on Tuesdays for some reason. The swimming area and beach are nice, but there are a lot of kids on the weekends (no surprise). The bathrooms were clean and the showers were hot. There is even a little store, which is well stocked with the basics (beer). Happy to have found the park.

A beautiful lake with all the facilities set back several miles off the highway about 10 miles East of Nogales. Really nice setting with lots of trees and shade. The lake itself is pretty decent sized and lots of secluded areas. Also camping is allowed.

We just came back from Patagonia and visited the state park two days in a row. We had no issues with crowds since it was September. In fact, we virtually had the beach areas to ourselves and encountered very few boats on the lake. The lake is much larger than you would expect in So. Arizona and very well maintained. There were four adults in the car and we were charged $10 for the day per carload. Boat rentals were easy; people were very accommodating. Also areas where we could take the dogs to swim. We loved the area. Now, that being said, I would suspect it is very busy in summer. However, September is ideal. We were also there on a Thursday and Friday; we wanted to avoid the weekends. If you are flexible with your days, it is a very enjoyable experience!

This park is a wonderful oasis in the middle of the Sonoran Desert. It is quite large, and has opportunities for different kinds of recreation, including boating (bring your own or rent a small boat with paddles), fishing, swimming, camping, picnicking, and other great pursuits. There is one section set aside for motor homes.I go there to hunt birds. There are several really good places to find them. There is a trail on the eastern end of the lake, that goes on forever when the temporary bridges are in place. The area is shared with cattle, and they have transformed the desert into a beautiful wooded area with grass and swamps! But watch where you step. They are mild-mannered, so no worries there. This area has its very own Elegant Trogon. I've heard him, but I have never seen him. Only the fellow in the wheelchair (and I don't know how he got it through the narrow gate) had a picture to show me. On the other end is the dam. This is a good place to see totally different kinds of birds. Ducks and water birds are the best birds in this location.On another occasion, we took the family for a small reunion, with swimming and food. That was nice, too.There is an entrance fee, and from my perspective, it's not cheap. Your mileage may vary. It's not out of reach, but it keeps me from going there every week.Unless you have been to this lake, you would never believe the desert could support such a beautiful place. But it can. Visit it sometime.

We arrived on Friday afternoon on July 25th and rented a row boat to camp across the lake in a boat-in campsite. The service was great. Ed and Scott I think were their names at the marina and they were super nice and attentive. I think they fired some people that were giving poor service as noted in earlier reviews. We rowed across the lake and camp was great. Only bummer was to go to so much trouble to be away from others and find that the next campsite over was literally right next to us. It would be helpful if the map on the AZ State Park website was accurate. At least our fellow campers were quiet and friendly. Now the bad part starts. I am a very experienced fisherman and it was impossible to fish off the bottom no matter where I tried. I always got hung up. Not sure if there were trees or what down there. So I tried bobber fishing. Now I had boats coming in the wrong way 10 feet from shore and I couldn't even see them coming because of the reeds in the way. I had boats crossing my line and a pontoon straight snapped my whole set up. There were some nice folks from Sierra Vista that showed up and even fed us and we had fun with them for an hour. The boats were very rude though all weekend. Driving way too fast in a no wake zone and too close to shore. There was a bass tournament as well. These were some of the rudest people I've ever seen. The problem here is this lake is far too small and way over taxed. Plus full of "city folk" that come and trash the lake and blast their music. Just too many rude people and way too busy. Should go during the week next time if at all possible.