NF Campground Review – Kaibab Lake, Williams, AZ

October 23, 2015 by libertatemamo 13 Comments

A lovely, pine-forested National Forest campground just minutes from the cute town of Williams in N.Central AZ

Link to campground here: Kaibab Lake, Williams, AZ
Link to map location here: Kaibab Lake, Williams, AZ

1. Site Quality = 3.5/5
   Absolutely lovely sites with just one main ding. The campground is set in the middle of a pine forest, next to a lake and all sites are all paved, either back-in or pull-through (NO hookups). The entire campground was renovated not that long ago and it shows in site size. All sites are huge and extremely spacious. “Official” site limit size is 40-foot, but I really think you could fit any-sized rig (the double-sites are *more* than double-size easily able to accommodate 2 big-rigs and toads with plenty of room to spare). Excellent site separation (lots of space between sites) and absolutely lovely “sitting areas” containing picnic table & fire-pits. Main site issue and really the ONLY ding is site levelness. Unfortunately many sites are rather uneven, some chronically so. Back-in sites are generally more flat than pull-throughs, and I’d say that Loops A & B possibly have more flatter sites than some of the other loops, but it’s really a mixed bag. There are several sites where we would not be able to level at all, even using all 4 packs of our leveling blocks. Sites are arranged in 5 main loops (A-E) plus a group area and a dedicated tent area. All loops are approximately the same in quality, but only Loop A has views of the lake (esp. double-sites #6, #7 and back-in sites #14 and #15 ).
   Note/ This is a pretty heavily forested campground so solar doesn’t work well here. Generators are permitted from 8AM to 10PM.
2. Facilities = 2/5
   Very basic facilities here. Just pit toilets (nicely clean) and nothing else. NO showers or dump station. There are several potable water spigots around camp, but they are all non-threaded so make sure you have a Water Thief with you.
3. Location = 5/5
   There is an excellent location. You are in a lovely pine forest surrounded by green, next to a lake and only ~5 mins from Route 66 downtown Williams. The lake was low while we were there (fishing pier was closed), but there is boat access. Williams is a lovely little town with all the shopping, eating, beer you could want, and if you want to visit the South Rim of the Grand Canyon you can do it in a day-trip of ~60 miles (each way) or a train-trip from downtown Williams.
4. Pet Friendliness = 5/5
   Great location for paws. Lots of space to hang around camp, plus you can walk in the forest around the loops. No “specific” hiking trails from here, but there are lots of unofficial trails around the lake and into the forest. Doggie had a blast here.
   
   

Overall Rating = 3.9
BONUS ALERT = Camp in the forest only minutes from super-cute downtown Williams!

Summary: We wanted to stop and stock-up in Williams prior to our trip into the Grand Canyon (South Rim) and this forest campground ended up being the perfect spot. It’s dry-camping only, but it’s a huge forested area next to a lovely little lake. All the sites were recently renovated so they are all super spacious (some of the double sites are so long you can easily fit 2 big rigs with toads and room for another) with excellent sitting areas and most excellent separation. Lots of privacy and only faint road-noise from Hwy 64. No hookups though and “official” site size limit is 40-feet, but roads and sites are so spacious that I see no reason why you couldn’t bring 45-footers in here. The main (and really the only big) ding is site levelness. Many of the sites are pretty unlevel and some chronically so. We were able to level our site using 2 packs of leveling blocks, but there were several sites where I don’t think we could have leveled at all. Back-ins are generally more level than pull-throughs and Loops A/B seem to be overall more level than some of the other loops, but it’s a pretty mixed bag. Other than this everything about the campground was great. It’s in a wonderful location only ~5 mins from super-cute downtown Williams, next to a lovely lake (altho’ levels were low while we were there) and within a long day-trip to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon or a shorter day-trip to Flagstaff. We came at the very end of the season (the campground was about to shut down that week-end) so only Loops A & B were still open and all sites were all first-come-first-served, so we had no problems getting in. However during high season (May 6th – Sept 26th) most of the campground is reservable (39 out of ~55 RV sites) and my understanding is that it’s very popular. So, if you want to come in high season I recommend booking ahead. We absolutely loved the huge sites and great separation here, and the entire place felt incredibly peaceful. A great place to stay and we’d definitely come back.

Extra Info: Moderate cellphone signal -> 2 bars of Verizon LTE unboosted, and 2 bars of ATT LTE unboosted (both flickered a bit, and were more stable w/ booster). 63 totals sites of which 5 are tent-only, 55 are RV, 3 are Group. 39 out of 55 sites are reservable in high season, while the rest are first-come-first-serve. Sites cost $20/night (single, no hookups), $36/night (double, no hookups). 50% off with Senior Pass (America The Beautiful) on single sites only. 14-day stay limit. Several potable NON-threaded water spigots around camp, but NO dump station.