This time around we were given a night rental at a small cabin inside of the Kartchner Caverns State Park located in Benson, Arizona. This state park is wonderful for camping and hiking, however that isn't all that it offers. It is also home to the Kartchner Caverns itself which is beautiful and well preserved cave system that I will cover in another post coming soon. The views from front door of the cabin are gorgeous, you have a perfect view of the mountains and trails that are free to explore. All of the information on reserving a cabin or camping spot can be found on their website.
Coming from North Phoenix the drive took us about three hours to reach the park, once inside the park rangers were very helpful getting us checked in, letting us know what time we could get into our cabin, and more. The cabin itself was easy to find, there are four cabins located inside of the park along with a few dozen camping spots and RV spots that are able to be reserved for up to two weeks at a time. Wondering how much a cabin rental will set you back? A cabin rental is surprisingly affordable at $59 a night (plus a one time $10 reservation fee) the rental fee includes the daily park fee. The cabins have two parking spots located directly next to them for each cabin, all four cabins have a designated sign letting you know where to park. Directly in front of each cabin you'll find a firepit (wood can be purchased from the park rangers) and a picnic table for your personal use.
Each cabin sleeps up to six people and includes a queen bed plus two bunk beds. Originally I had pictured a big open cabin similar to one I had stayed in at a KOA in New Mexico, however we were surprised to find that it was actually split up into two rooms. The first room contained the queen size bed, a table with four chairs and a small kitchen area that includes a microwave and small fridge. Guests are asked to bring their own pillows and linens due to there being no washing machines at the camp, they do provide mattress protectors to help keep the beds themselves clean. We had no issue with bringing our own bedding, it was like packing for a camping trip without the tents.
You may notice that aside from the microwave there is no other methods for cooking, however there are plenty of outlets so you could bring a small toaster or cooking top to prep your food if you plan on staying for a long stay. We were only going to be staying for a one night/two day stay so we had brought some breakfast items to make in the microwave and we opted to take a small drive into Benson to get some dinner.
The day we arrived it was a stormy day and had been raining on and off, that combined with it being winter the weather outside was a little chilly. So was the cabin warm? Yes! Each cabin has both heating and air conditioning, they don't have an actual way to set the temp you want on the heater it simply has three options "Low", "Comfortable" and "High". We had it on high or a bit but ended up turning it down to comfortable, the cabin stayed toasty warm and just the right temp, you couldn't even tell it was chilly outside.
You may have noticed that the back room is the room with the two sets of bunk beds, however not shown is a bathroom. Though there isn't a bathroom inside of your cabin there is a camp site bathroom just out the backdoor of the cabin, a quick two minute walk gets you over to the shared bathrooms which also contain showers for anyone looking to wash off. The bathrooms were clean and well kept, since the walk was short we didn't get too chilly. If you have a lot of trash to throw out there are also dumpsters, along with a small trash can inside of your cabin.
We are a family of four and we were all perfectly comfortable, and cozy inside of the cabin together. There was plenty of room to move around, and plenty of space to store our belongings. There were several hooks around the cabin, outlets with USB ports, lights and heaters in both rooms and if you want privacy to get dressed or from the kids at night there is a door you can pull shut between the two rooms.
After we checked into our cabin the first night we went to check out the trails so we knew where we were wanting to head in the morning, we also picked up some board games while we were in Benson so we could play them at the cabin table. We had a very enjoyable stay and the park itself was gorgeous, I will be doing a blog post soon with more photos of just the trails and another with info on the caverns itself. This is a gorgeous place to visit and it is a destination that isn't to be missed!
Disclaimer- The one night cabin rental mentioned above were provided by The Arizona State Parks Department for a review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase
