CLR is not for everyone. If you love wide-open spaces, awesome views, a relaxed atmosphere, and thousands of acres of public lands to explore, you may love it despite the negatives. My wife and I wintered over here in 2020-21. Covid-19 restricted the social life and many group activities.Caballo Loco Ranch (CLR) is an off-grid wor...moreCLR is not for everyone. If you love wide-open spaces, awesome views, a relaxed atmosphere, and thousands of acres of public lands to explore, you may love it despite the negatives. My wife and I wintered over here in 2020-21. Covid-19 restricted the social life and many group activities.Caballo Loco Ranch (CLR) is an off-grid working cattle ranch / RV park hybrid. It’s not a traditional RV park. CLR is oriented to horses and ATVs. It’s very informal, welcoming and friendly, with a large contingency of boondockers. Many of the residents have wintered here for 15-20+ years.The attractions are the very remote location, the low monthly rates, the incredible mountain and sunset views and the many, many miles of horse / hike / ATV / Mountain Bike (MTB) trails. The riding opportunities vary from mountains and foothills to rolling desert, with hundreds of old mines and other attractions, besides just the sheer beauty of the Sahuarita Mountains and the Sonoran desert.From October through May, a large generator provides 30A service to the entire facility from 9am to 9pm daily. You must be energy independent overnight. The water system for the sites is gravity-fed, and inadequate pressure varies from zero to about 20#. Further, the water is saturated with lime, which encrusts fixtures and quickly coats kettle bottoms. We used lots of vinegar to clean with, and I purchased a PUR pitcher and used the lead reduction filters to reduce the amount of lime in our consumable water. The filters only lasted 12-14 days, but it was still cheaper than buying bottled water. I reviewed the State water tests held by the owner, and no testing has been done on the water supply beyond bacteria. There are many dry camping sites spread around the ranch, and there are about 30 full-hookup and a few electric only sites. Sites with utilities are arranged in terraced rows on a hill side. Mostly level sites all have a stunning view to the West. Depending on the terrain of the specific area, these sites are spacious or medium-close. Reasonably clean facilities include a bath shower house, small laundry, game room, library, WIFI room, and a community center that normally hosts movies, game nights, and pot-luck suppers weekly. Mail and all carriers deliver to the ranch. Boondocking sites are reserved years in advance. Reservations for any visit are essential, along with arranging your arrival within office hours. The negatives: (1) Just getting here requires driving 8 miles on a very rough dusty dirt road from Hwy 286. At minimal speeds this road will literally shake the screws loose in your camper. (2) It is 40+ miles to the nearest full Grocery. (3) Diesel generator: Depending on your site location and the wind direction, the noise and exhaust smell can be minimal or a major issue. Boondockers avoid this by being removed from this entire area. (4) The Farm: It’s a working cattle ranch, so the smells of manure are on the wind. (5) Septic smells: All the boondockers bring their portable waste tanks down to a dump station located amongst the camp sites. This steady traffic, along with air leakage from the septic pipes can fill the air with septic odors for much of the day. (6) Camp fire smoke that’s not always wood being burned: Most sites don’t have fire rings; but anyone with a burn container can burn. The smells can be Ok or terrible depending on what’s put in those fires. (5) Dust: This is the desert, and all the roads are dirt, so dust is a major issue. One must be resigned that dust will get into everything, and be with you constantly. (6) Connectivity: CLR provides WIFI that’s only available in and near the WIFI room & the laundry. Cellular service is spotty depending on carrier. Some folks get nothing. Verizon worked everywhere for us, whether in camp, in the mountains, or in the desert, and with a booster and directional antenna, cellular data was available. The ability to have cellular data varies site by site, no matter what equipment is used.

You have to check out their website and be sure to watch the YouTube video. (I gave my star rating based on the video since I can’t submit without a rating).I have put this place on my list to visit! Very interesting!