Notice for those unaware...We stayed at Picacho Peak (Arizona) State Park about a week and a half ago (one night, during our summer road trip)...we get into the site, get the electricity hooked up....then I look around, scratching my head--I don't see a water hookup...turns out there isn't one...apparently a 'desert' thingNot sure if only at this state park but at other state parks in the desert...also not sure if this would be only in Arizona or elsewhere...also not sure if private parks have the same issueI'd seen sites in state parks that had water but no electricity (generally used for tent camping)...never before had I come across one with electricity but no waterJust a heads-up for folks traveling through the desert that it may be best/necessary to tank some water rather than to count on its being available through a hookup

In the empty, dry West assuming any government campground has potable water is...dangerous.

trailernovice wrote:Notice for those unaware...We stayed at Picacho Peak (Arizona) State Park about a week and a half ago (one night, during our summer road trip)...we get into the site, get the electricity hooked up....then I look around, scratching my head--I don't see a water hookup...turns out there isn't one...apparently a 'desert' thingNot sure if only at this state park but at other state parks in the desert...also not sure if this would be only in Arizona or elsewhere...also not sure if private parks have the same issueI'd seen sites in state parks that had water but no electricity (generally used for tent camping)...never before had I come across one with electricity but no waterJust a heads-up for folks traveling through the desert that it may be best/necessary to tank some water rather than to count on its being available through a hookupYour post leaves me SMH. I have been to plenty of state and fed or ACOE campgrounds that are electric only sites, and a lot more that have nothing. I have also been to some that had water hook ups but no sewer connection. I knew what hookups were available prior, as they all list the hookups available on reservation sites or brochures etc.Personally I think that FHU sites such as they are upgrading to in some PA state parks, take away from the place, I avoid those areas/loops religiously. I have seen the change when they upgrade them. They draw an entirely different demographic of camper. Gone are the dark skies and peacefulness and the new trend is outside TVs and more lights than the Vegas strip, usually left on from dusk to dawn. At one close by they totally ruined an area that was used for amateur astronomy by campers for 50 years or more, by upgrading sites to FHU next to a mountainside meadow where everyone set up their scopes.

Electric only sites with water at the dump station area.Picacho State Park

Ralph, you and I sometimes disagree but not on your most recent post. 100% agree.

Once I figured out that a lot of public parks out west had no water at the sites, when making reservations I started looking for sites near the communal water spigots, so I could stretch a series of hoses 200 feet and fill up without having to move the coach. That doesn't work at the parks where the only water fill is at the dump station area or park entrance, though.

No water hookup at Arizona state park | Good Sam Community

Trekkar
Explorer
Jun 16, 2018
Michigan state parks are primarily electric only, but information about each site is available on the reservation website.
owenssailor
Explorer
Jun 16, 2018
There are Provincial Parks in Ontario that do not have water at the site. It is not a desert issue here.
DrewE
Explorer II
Jun 16, 2018
pnichols wrote:

What concerns me more at Picacho is in the 2nd paragraph from the bottom in the white background area from the link above - "Generator use is not permitted." Does this mean within quiet hours ... or does this mean no generator use at all?

I suspect no generator usage at all, given that all the sites have electric hookups.
pnichols
Explorer II
Jun 16, 2018
Picacho Peak State Park does have potable water available at the dump station - just not at each site: https://azstateparks.com/picacho/camping-and-rvs/camping

This is quite common at some campgrounds .... oftimes they have a dump station where you empty your tanks and can fill your water tank (you should make sure the water at the dump site is POTABLE, however).

What concerns me more at Picacho is in the 2nd paragraph from the bottom in the white background area from the link above - "Generator use is not permitted." Does this mean within quiet hours ... or does this mean no generator use at all?
joshuajim
Explorer II
Jun 16, 2018
Well then you don’t want to camp at Dead Horse Point State Park near Moab UT. There are NO water connections in the park and the closest water is 30 or so miles away. They warn you before you come to tanker your own water.

Now they do have flush toilets and showers, but the water is all trucked in.
Lantley
Nomad
Jun 16, 2018
This is certainly not a desert only thing.
Lots of state, county and federal parks have electric only sites.
Electric only sites are quite common. I am surprise the OP has not encountered electric only sites before.
Electric only sites are quite common in the east simply because electric does not freeze.
Give me a place to plug in and a dump station I can last indefinitely.
azrving
Explorer
Jun 16, 2018
profdant139 wrote:
We bring five 6 gallon jugs for exactly this sort of problem -- sometimes the faucets near the campsites don't work. So we load the jerry cans into the truck, drive to a working faucet, fill 'em, drive back to the trailer, and then it is so much fun to lift them up and pour the water into the fill port.

I made a wide mouth funnel out of an old two liter soda bottle, with a small hose on the end. I cut away the side of the bottle. DW holds the funnel and I pour the jerry cans.

Fortunately, she is a good sport about getting wet.

I was doing that at first but killing my body. Not that I'm against abusing my body but I prefer to burn it on dirt bikes and ATVs.

Use your winterizing port to suck it in. Put a tee in the pressure side with a ball valve that dumps into a tee in the gravity fill hose.
MrWizard
Moderator
Jun 16, 2018
Indiana state parks, water is spread out, shared between sites
you can run a hose to fill up, or move the rig and fill up
but no full time water connection while camping, no sewer either
must move rig to the dump station, nice restrooms and showers

most have electric on each site,
profdant139
Explorer II
Jun 16, 2018
We bring five 6 gallon jugs for exactly this sort of problem -- sometimes the faucets near the campsites don't work. So we load the jerry cans into the truck, drive to a working faucet, fill 'em, drive back to the trailer, and then it is so much fun to lift them up and pour the water into the fill port.

I made a wide mouth funnel out of an old two liter soda bottle, with a small hose on the end. I cut away the side of the bottle. DW holds the funnel and I pour the jerry cans.

Fortunately, she is a good sport about getting wet.
PawPaw_n_Gram
Explorer
Jun 16, 2018
I don’t know that Oklahoma, Missouri and Wisconsin were in the desert. Because I’ve been at COE or USFS campgrounds in those states in the last 60 days at sites with electric hookups but no water at individual sites.

Actually, many years ago when we started with our first RV I made a trip to an OK COE CG and like the OP got everything setup only to realize that I had to hook back up and drive to a location where I could fill the FW tank.