Reviews

shauntell CL

First time in Pheonix and this lake was nice and well kept. We visited on 4th of July weekend and there was about a 30min stall entering due to traffic. It costed us 10$ per vehicle to enter. There were a few locations to be and we chose a spot that wasnt crowded. We saw many donkeys in the area and 1 nearby, had rummaged through a lady's food.

Cory Anders Moberly

Nice lake with a decent campground. Lots of sites in our area are very slanted. Water & electric. I was told sites $$$ are going up - not worth over $40 for sites. Long walk to lake from sites that are so uneven. Overall nice trails, water is wet, sun is shinny and the wild burrows, if they don't get into your trash or chew up your stuff (because you were smart & put it away) are fun to watch.

Kitty Munday

I just spent 5 days here at Lake Pleasant Regional Park primitive camping in a tent at their newly opened Dirt Spillway Primitive Campground. Since I grew up in the Phoenix AZ Valley I've long been familiar with the lake, but it's been a long time since I've camped up here. And the lake itself has changed quite a bit over the decades! At this time the water level is low, only about 60% capacity so you do have to walk a bit from your campsite to the water itself, but it's not too much of a hike. The 2 biggest things that a visitor needs to know about is the strong winds up there, and the wild burros that will come right into your campsite. As an experienced camper I knew not to leave ANY food or food containers outside of my tent or closed up car. Unfortunately I can't say the same for some of the other campers. I did warn some of them, to no avail unfortunately. One young person who left their cooler out overnight, instead of having it in the back of their truck regretted it in the morning. The burros got into it and just decimated everything that was in it, including cooking utensils and canned root beers! Other campers left bags of chips, empty beer cans, water bottles, etc. and the burros had a good time all night long . But they didn't bother me. And unless you do something to hurt them, the burros are easy enough to shoo away, or to just give them a bit of a shove on the neck and they'll walk away. So aside from dealing with the noob campers errors it was a pretty good week. The campground is set up for primitive tent camping, and has a few spaces for RV campers who don't require hookups. The ONLY amenities at this campground are the 2 port-a-potties, and the dumpster. If you're wanting a stone picnic table or more amenities, you'll want to choose one of the other campgrounds in the park. I knew that already and was fine with this level of primitive camping. Again I'll mention that it's very windy up there, so you're going to need strong tent stakes, or tie downs. I used ratchet straps and tied 1 corner of my tent to my vehicle wheel to be on the safe side. I'm enclosing some of the photos from my trip.

Donna L Carpenter

My husband and I drove out to visit Lake Pleasant Regional Park on Easter Sunday and it was beautiful. The park was extremely busy with people celebrating their holidays in nature. We had a close encounter with a burrow who walked up to our Jeep. We plan on visiting with our friends and family again soon. We recommend that you visit the park as well. Plenty of restrooms available for the park. We enjoy being in nature and exploring.

Native Angel

My only Complaint is that its over priced at $10 a day pass whe there was non stop line of vehicles waiting to get in they are easily making thousands on a single day just for Daisy's not even mentioning the quadrupled thousands on campers and boaters that get charged 30to50 a day if not more. When you have literally hundreds of cars coming daily o weekends and more so holidays you can figure they bring in over 10k a day im sure. We shouldn't have to pay so much to enjoy nature. I get the up keep and all but still that seems to be a gauge still $5 daily $10camping $10 boats and hookup sites $25. Just my opinion id go more

W Trefe

Lake Pleasant Regional Park is very nice considering it's a lake in the middle of a desert. We did see 1 burrow who was absolutely adorable. The plant life is all wickedly sharp. There are trails to walk and bike, along (with plenty of loose gravel so BE CAREFUL!). I recommend walking poles if you're trekking around the trails or off the trails to stay upright at all times. Although it is a man-made lake I found a shell 🙂. There are a lot of giant carp and plenty Mallards and Coots seen on our brief visit. There's an elevator or a whole lotta steps to take you down to water level where there are restaurants and boat rentals (or tours). These were closing down during our visit on a Sunday evening though. There were restrooms in the waterfront restaurants and shops area, but I didn't notice any others in the upper area, which is mainly a parking lot. Some folks coming up from the waterfront area who appeared to work there were bringing their dog, but we didn't see any other pets. It is a Park so it's likely that dogs are allowed on leash. I would not want my dog off leash there as the loose gravel and stabby plants are everywhere. There was a separate area down a different fork in the road that we did not go to, which I believe was a picnic area. From where we were, no playground was seen but their website may have information on any kid activities. Overall, it was a nice break from the otherwise dry scenery in Arizona.

Jenn Sheppard

This place is amazing. Great campsites, shower house, bicycle trails and lots of wild burros! We love staying here all winter in the primitive campsites. Plus the staff is super friendly and the rates are great. Very safe too!

JAT Burd

Camping in site 69. Water and electric no sewer. They do have a dump station on the way out. The view is absolutely beautiful. The lake is a deep blue color. Our site has a large covered picnic table and fire pit with grill. Had fun cooking over fire. Over the air tv has all the major networks. Verizon has 4 bars. Bath house needs to be cleaned thoroughly at least once a week. The water pressure is good and water temperature is warm to hot. You cannot control the temperature, it is pre set. Overall I will definitely come again when wanting to visit again when visiting Arizona. There is a fabulous playground. Great for all ages.

Kathy Smith

Very nice campground! We chose the upper loop so we had a nice view of the lake. It's sad to see it so low. It was fun to see the wild (and friendly) burros. We did NOT feed them but I'm sure they were looking for treats.

Sandra M. Cockerill

If it's a weekend or later in the day, expect rough waters! Like open sea white caps! No good for skiing! Also, you better hope you don't brake down, having problems with your boat, because a short tow is going to cost you big bucks! Starts at $250. Not sure if that's the starting price or just from point across from dock that we had problems. Less then a mile and that was the quote!! Insanity! Lastly, it's Sooo busy at boat launch! That's putting in and out! Alot of people and waiting your turn! Cooking in the heat! Not my favorite AZ lake, but if I'm skiing in the morning and still plan to make it home for work, this is the place!

Alice Weaver

The lake is very low this time of year. The person at the entrance did state they won't be getting more water into the lake for another couple of months. There is no shade at the lake, if you plan on spending the day, I would recommend bringing your own shade structure, or at least umbrellas. Sun screen is a definite must. The water was warm, perfect for those that want to swim. They do have some hiking trails, which I recommend in the cooler months. There were plenty of boater and jet skiers, along with people fishing off the shore

Ron Schaefer

We absolutely love hanging out at Lake Pleasant. There are so many different areas, each with a different vibe. You can go to Scorpion Bay Marina to enjoy the water park, dinning on the lake, boat rentals and more. Or, you can hit one of the many swimming areas... our favorite thing to do. There are plenty of swimming areas that can be reached with any type of vehicle, and then there are the more secluded areas on the northeast and east side of the lake that can be reached with a 4x4. We haven't tried the fishing or the campgrounds yet... but they are next!

TINYHOUSEADVENTURESAZ “Tinyhouseadventuresaz”

Absolutely love Lake Pleasant, my favorite of Lakes in the Phx areas. Love the campgrounds at Road Runner and Desert Tortoise with the best lakefront spots with developed and primitive campsites! Gets crowded on the weekends, party atmosphere so go during the week if you want a more peaceful experience. PLEASE WEAR LIFE VESTS ( every year there are horror stories) and if you don’t know safety protocols for boat rentals and jet skis, get help. People have died getting drunk and being reckless. Wild burros run through the campsites so as you enter the Lake Pleasant area look out for them because they are getting hit by cars 😢You must watch small pets because coyotes are present. Check out sites 11-24 in Roadrunner but you must book months in advance to get the best lakefront sites, they go fast. Desert Tortoise is harder to level but from there you have access and can hike down to the water easily. Was going here every month for several years and they are open to all types of vehicles, even my Tiny House on wheels! Dump station at exit. These are pics I took from my time spent there.

Alex Tellez

Great place! Super beautiful oasis in arizona! My wife and i went on a Wednesday and was empty. Water cool, fish jumping, clean place, what more could anyone ask for. Pack it in pack it out. There are lots of wild donkey's so please respect the rule of the lake!

Amber Briscoe Turner

What a blast we had at Lake Pleasant. It was a short trip from our resort in Peoria, and heard it was a nice place to explore! We saw burros galore, and many of them came up to our car, which was shocking and we loved it. Paved road with several areas to explore trails, swim, day use picnic tables with shade, a nature center, and camping options. We went two days in a row hoping to see more burros and do more exploring. Really neat place to visit!