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Del Pueblo RV, Yuma, AZ

25 01 2026

We’ve arrived back to Yuma – a favorite stop along our spring road trip. Many wonder “why Yuma?”, but we enjoy it here. It’s usually a bit warmer than other parts of Arizona, and for the most part a lot cheaper. And, we find the farming and agricultural aspect of Yuma fascinating!

We’re parked at Del Pueblo RV Park located in southern Yuma, just southeast of the airport and surrounded by fields of leafy greens and citrus orchards. This is our first visit to Del Pueblo. With about 400 sites, it appears that about half of the sites are occupied by park models, leaving plenty of spaces for RV’s. The park is well laid out, and sites are nicely sized with a cement patio between the RV space and the truck parking. The electric connection, shared with the site behind, is a long reach! And, the water isn’t shared but also located on the back of the site required nearly all of our 65’ of hose. Water apparently is an issue in this park – evidently too far out for city water, we’re warned of drinking the well water by the parking host and the site neighbor.

Del Pueblo RV, Yuma, AZ

Sports amenities are all around, with 6 pickleball courts, multiple shuffleboards & bag toss courts. Also, a beauty shop, craft workshop, volleyball and billiards room. There’s a main pool and hot tub area as well as a remote area with a smaller pool, cardroom, and laundry room. The onsite restaurant serves breakfast and lunch. The office staff is friendly; the grounds are well maintained and there are plenty of activities for the residents. On the downside, there are two issues that are common across reviews of this park, the sewer plant and road noise. The on-site sewer treatment plant is right in the middle of the park. Prevailing winds appear to be from the North which caused no odor issues in our site #236. However other sites could experience the issue. And the road noise! For being so far out in the country, the main road, South Avenue 3E has an incredible amount of heavy traffic. It starts around 5AM and runs until about 5PM. From our site situated to the rear of the park, it’s not conversation stopping, but certainly could be annoying in the front sites. We think best sites here would be in the 40s or 50’s along the side or back wall or in the back-in row 414-424. Would we return to Del Pueblo? Possibly. We didn’t like being so far out of town, and missed access to the miles of bike trails that are in Yuma. But, Del Pueblo is a nice park and a great value (at $200/week) Another option might now be available in town – a KOA franchise had taken over the former Riverfront RV Park, where we first stayed in 2016! Maybe a KOA visit next time!

Del Pueblo RV, Yuma, AZ

Riverfront KOA, Yuma, AZ

While in Yuma there are always two must-do’s – a trip over the border to Los Algodones and a stop at Imperial Date Garden. Medjool dates are still $22/11lbs and delicious as ever. Arriving at the border just west of Yuma, it’s easy and inexpensive ($10) to park in a secure lot on the US side and walk into town. Reported as closed by Google, we’re happy to find our favorite restaurant, Mi Casa es Su Casa is open and operating as normal. We think their food is some of the best in town, along with a couple cold margaritas, we enjoyed our late lunch. After shopping for some metal art, we were back to the border around 4pm and surprised to see absolutely no line. Reentry to the US can sometimes take hours as the line winds for blocks along the wall – so this was a rare treat. Lesson learned, go on Saturday (or Sunday) and linger late enough to let the line die down.

Mi Casa es Su Casa, Los Algodones, MX

From Yuma we’re off to Lake Havasu. More from there…

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Tags: Los Algodones. Mexico, yuma
Categories : Spring Road Trip 2026

Yuma, Encore Desert Paradise

14 02 2025

With the purchase of the new Montana, our dealer, Lazydays RV gave us a 1 year membership in the Thousands Trails program. This membership allows free stays up to 14 days at many Thousand Trails/Encore parks. In Yuma, we’re trying out our membership at Encore Desert Paradise park just east of Yuma on the north side of I-8.

Encore Desert Paradise, Yuma, AZ

If Pirates Den was tight, Desert Paradise is perhaps the noisiest park we’ve ever stayed in. Our site #79 is very near the corner of Avenue 9E and 28^th street. 9E is a very popular cut-off from highway 94 to I-8 and has fairly heavy traffic all day and much of the night. With an elementary and a middle school further east on 28^th St, the constant school traffic starts about 7AM and runs until around 5PM. And, not to be outdone, train tracks run about a quarter mile away and carry heavy traffic along the I-8 corridor between San Diego and Tucson and points further east. Whew…!!! If returning to this area, the Encore Cactus Gardens might be a better option, especially with sites in the far south west corner of that park.

Encore Cactus Gardens, Yuma, AZ

A regular stop for us in Yuma is the Imperial Date Garden in Winterhaven, CA for our annual “fix” of wonderful Medjool Dates. Last year, 11lbs for $22, this year $20 – maybe the only thing that hasn’t been hit by inflation!

Another favorite trip is across the border to Los Algodones, MX. On Wednesday we joined friends to walk across the border for some shopping and lunch. On their recommendation, we had lunch at Mi Casa Es Su Casa. What a great find! We enjoyed a table on the 2nd story balcony with good views, great food and plenty of tasty margaritas.

Mi Casa Es Su Casa, Los Algodones, MX

For those interested in jewelry, especially silver – make sure to visit The Mine. Jesse Ramos and his family produce some of the most beautiful and finest quality items in Algodones. Using silver from the mines of Taxco, Mexico, these craftsmen are amazing. The shop is small, and a bit difficult to find down one of the alleyways. However, you won’t be disappointed!

The Mine, Fine Jewelry in Los Algondones, MX

From Yuma, we’re headed to the Phoenix area and spring baseball! More from there…

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Tags: algodones, desert paradise, encore resorts, Mi Casa Es Su Casa, the mine, yuma
Categories : Spring Road Trip 2025

Cocopah Bend RV & Golf Resort, Yuma, AZ

19 02 2024

From San Diego it’s a beautiful drive along I-8, up from the coastal plain and into the National Forest near Alpine, CA. From here the terrain turns rugged with arid mountains of huge boulders along both side of the highway and beautiful vistas to the south. From sea level at San Diego, I-8 climbs to over 4000 feet in elevation before beginning a fairly rapid decent – arriving 51 feet below sea level at El Centro, CA. This is the former Sea of Cortez valley which was once connected to the Salton Sea. At El Centro the evidence of irrigation from the Colorado River becomes apparent as you are surrounded by agriculture – lettuce, figs, broccoli and other leafy vegetables. These fields extend all the to the Salton Sea on the north and the Mexican border to the south. Past El Centro the desert landscape returns until arriving to the lush green fields around Yuma.

Cocopah Bend RV & Golf Resort

We’re once again parked at Cocopah Bend RV & Golf Resort, site #547. This isn’t a great site. Both sites behind us have permanent fencing which encourages leaving dogs outside (and barking) all day long. We’re not sure we’ll be back to Cocopah – there appears to be very little in the way of upkeep happening in the park and obviously no rules about the amount of junk that can litter the sites. In some places, you can barely drive down the narrow lanes. On Sunday we explored some of the foothills RV parks. As we found on our first visit to Yuma, The Palms is still one of the best, and most expensive! Right next door is Sun Vista, an older resort that has been very well kept. And, with rates around $30/day on monthly, it’s a great value!

Sun Vista RV Resort, Yuma

Even with a shortened stay in Yuma this year, we spent an afternoon over the border at Los Algodones and checked out some of our favorite Yuma restaurants including a new brewery “Pint House” downtown on Main St.

One of the many farm products grown in Yuma is the delicious Medjool date. Prices in grocery stores generally range from about $4-$8/pound. Buying “farm direct” at the Imperial Date Gardens just outside of Yuma, we picked up 11 lbs for $22! Plus, we sampled wonderfully decadent chocolate covered dates with pecan filling…yum!

Medjool Date Farm

From Yuma we’re headed north along the Colorado river to the Lake Havasu area where we’ll spend one week at River Island State Park and another week at one of our favorite parks, The Islander. More from Lake Havasu…

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Tags: algodones, cocopah bend, yuma
Categories : Spring Road Trip 2024

Yuma and Apache Junction

26 02 2023

After leaving Lake Havasu, we spent 2 weeks at Cocopah RV & Golf Resort in Yuma. We were here in Yuma last year and we’ve returned to take advantage of dental care across the border in Los Algodones, MX. The small town of Algodones, an easy walk across the border from California, has the worlds largest concentration of dentists, with over 350 offices! We found Simply Dental last year based on good reviews and have returned this year for additional services.

While dental care took priority, we once again enjoyed the burgers and brews at Prison Hill Brewery, the wonderful breakfast at Broken Yoke and a new find – El Charro Café – an excellent choice for great, homemade Mexican food!

The Superstition Mountains, Apache Junction, AZ

After a bit of a “challenging” departure from Yuma due to a hydraulic leak, we have arrived at Campground USA in Apache Junction, outside of Phoenix. Campground USA is a newer park in Apache Junction with construction starting just 3 years ago, and the pool/clubhouse complex just completed last year. It provides nice wide sites, pull-throughs for “short term” visitors and back-in sites for longer stays. The pool and hot tub area is very nice along with one pickleball court. The clubhouse seems a bit stark, but well equipped with a kitchen area, a TV area with comfy couches and chairs and several game tables. Off the main room is a billiards room and a workout room with a weight machine and a treadmill. The laundry is modern and clean, 6 washers, 6 dryers, but 3 washers were out of service. $2.00 each. There’s no park WiFi, but the connection available in the clubhouse runs along about 70MB. This is a nice park, the only downside being it’s proximity to Highway 60 which contributes to the constant background noise of traffic – worse in the early mornings as the commuters head toward downtown Phoenix.

Snow! Campground USA, Apache Junction, AZ

Campground USA, Apache Junction, AZ

With a delayed arrival in Apache Junction due to our hydraulic problem, we’ll only be here 1 week before parking the camper at friends and flying to South America for a 12 night cruise aboard the Celebrity Infinity. We’re back to the Phoenix area near the end of March when we’ll hit the road for Texas. More from there…

Off to Buenos Aires, Argentina

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Tags: algodones, apache junction, phoenix, yuma
Categories : Spring Road Trip 2023

Cocopah Bend RV and Golf Resort – Yuma, AZ

12 02 2022

Cocopah Bend RV & Golf Resort

After a rather rushed departure from Winterhaven, we’ve moved about 8 miles southwest to the outskirts of Yuma. We’re on Native American land, a large RV resort intertwined with a beautiful 18 hole golf course. The “Bend” in the resort name referrers to the last sharp curve that the Colorado River makes before entering Mexico and flowing towards the Sea of Cortez. Here the bend borders California and Arizona, and just a few blocks south, Mexico and Arizona.

Colorado River in Arizona, California and Mexico

The staff here at Cocopah were very accommodating to find us space, much less side by side spaces. We’re parked in site #555, along with friends in #554. Thanks to everyone at the resort that assisted during our evacuation! This is a huge place, with over 800 RV sites surrounded by an 18 hole golf course. Many of the sites are side by side with fairways and greens, and several complaints of golf balls breaking roof vents and windows can be found on various forums. Any site number higher than 502 should be safe from flying objects. All sites are back-in, and all except one outside row back to your neighbors. Since the patios are offset, you aren’t looking directly into their back window. However, sewer ports are all the way to the rear, and offset to the incorrect side of the site, causing many to back beyond the center line which gives a bit tighter feel (extended awnings almost touched our neighbors). Electrical and water hookups are on common pedestals between the two back-in spots. The free WiFi ran along at around 1Mb, however upgraded service is available on a paid basis.

Cocopah Bend RV & Golf Resort

Cocopah Bend RV & Golf Resorta

Other facilities such as the laundry room (use a value loaded card), pool, a huge dog park, a restaurant, pro shop and craft areas are clean and well maintained. And, while you’re less than 1 mile from I-8 and a busy rail line, this park is much quieter than Sans End.

Broken Yolk Cafe Bloody Marys!

On Saturday, after an excellent breakfast at the Broken Yolk Café, we toured the Yuma Territorial Prison Park. This park, in an impressive setting overlooking the Colorado River, was once occupied by characters of the old west convicted of everything from polygamy to murder starting in 1876. During our visit, the old prison grounds were being cleaned and polished and set-up for what was apparently a very large wedding and reception. What an ideal venue!

Yuma Territorial Prison

We enjoyed Yuma, and especially Cocopah Resort, and would probably return here on another visit to Yuma. From here we’re off to 4 nights of dry camping at Organ Pipe Cactus, a favorite Federal campground in southern Arizona. More from Organ Pipe…

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Tags: broken yolk, cocopah, prison, yuma
Categories : Spring Road Trip 2022

Sans End RV Park, Winterhaven, CA

5 02 2022

Sans End RV Park, Winterhaven, CA

In search of the warmest spot in the western US, we’ve arrived in Yuma to temperatures forecast into the high 70’s this week and high 80’s next week. We’re actually on the California side of the Colorado River, which defines the boundary between Arizona and California at Winterhaven. Technically Winterhaven is in the Pacific time zone and Yuma, 4 miles away is in the Mountain time zone. Confusion ensues when our phones seem to randomly set Pacific or Mountain times.

We’re parked in site 143 along with friends in 144 at Sans End RV Park. We were booked at Sans End last year and opted to cancel due to Covid concerns. Owners/Managers here were awesome, allowing us to cancel penalty free and then make a new reservation for 2022.

Sans End RV Park, Winterhaven, CA

Sans End RV Park, Pool

This is an older park, and being located between I-8 on the south and a very high traffic rail line to the north, suffers from some noise. Sites are simple gravel, with good 30/50 Amp connections, water and sewer port. In our opinion, some of the best sites are 130-142 which are back-in and tree covered. Specifically site #134 provides a great view across a grassy area of the park. Sites 114-129 aren’t optimal, requiring door to door configurations because of shared utilities. Lower numbered sites 1-12 share a lot of privacy backed up to open, grassy areas. And sites 17-32 are nice back-ins, but would suffer the most traffic noise from I-8. PARK MAP

Sans End RV Park, site 111

Sans End RV Park, site 104

Sans End RV Park, site 134

Sans End RV Park, site 21

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Tags: sans end rv, winterhaven, yuma
Categories : Spring Road Trip 2022

Farewell to Yuma

10 03 2016

Prison Hill Brewing Co, Yuma, AZ

After exploring some of the other RV parks on Sunday, we ended up in old town at the Prison Hill Brewery, named after the famous Wild West landmark, the Yuma Territorial Prison which operated from 1875 to 1909. Located in an old building on Main Street, the brewery is the only craft brewer in town and in fact within 165 miles. We enjoyed a few of their craft brews, along with an appetizer of of Poutine (fries smothered in cheese and brown Guiness gravy) and a plate of Fried Avocados. The avocado’s were good, we weren’t impressed by their version of Poutine. For an entree we enjoyed the Prison Hill Smoked Meat Plate – very good with 2 choices of meats and 2 choices of sides.

Los Algodones, MX

Unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate early in the week – by late Sunday and all the way through mid-day Tuesday the winds howled and the dust blew. We hunkered down, sealed everything as well as possible and waited out the storm. The skies finally cleared on Wednesday and we decided to head across the border to Mexico. From Yuma you actually cross the Colorado River into California, travel about 5 miles further along I-8 and then turn south to the border at Los Algodones. Just before arriving at the gated crossing, there’s a huge parking lot – where nearly everyone parks for $6 and walks into Mexico. There must be more pharmacies, dentists and optical offices here on the main street of Los Algodones than many large cities in the US. The streets and stores are clean and English is being spoken everywhere. Yelp had listed 5 of the best restaurants in town, we somehow managed to stumble upon #1, El Paraiso. Tables are arranged throughout an open courtyard, with plenty of umbrellas for shade and seemingly plenty of wait staff. Speaking Spanish to order or re-order a margarita and some snacks, our inquiries in Spanish were always met with responses in English. Both US Dollars and Mexican Pesos appear on the menu, but USD are preferred. 2 Margaritas each, a bowl of chips and tasty salsa and carna asada Nachos set us back about $35.00. Not inexpensive, but certainly not terrible either. A quick stroll through the shops that surround the restaurant courtyard and we’re back to the border guard station. Except, there’s a long line stretching at least a 2 blocks for those who are exiting Mexico. The lesson here, order another margarita or two and wait for the 3pm departure line to ease a bit. All in all, a very comfortable, easy and fun trip over the border into the small tourist town of Los Algodones.

El Paraiso Restaurant

One of the RV parks we didn’t visit earlier in the week is on the road between Yuma and the border crossing, Cocopah Bend RV & Golf Resort. This park appears to have a bit more grass, and potentially would be a bit less dusty during a windy period. When we get back to Yuma, probably worth a check.

After talking with guys that were washing an RV in the park on Wednesday, we’re hoping they can fit us into their schedule for a truck and trailer wash before we leave Yuma. Unfortunately we find out Riverfront RV Park doesn’t allow washes unless you’re staying at least 2 weeks. Combined with the no-credit card policy when we check out, we think we’ll definitely find a different place to stay next time we’re in town.

Our next stop on the road to Texas will be southwest of Tucson at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. More from the south Sonoran Desert…

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Tags: arizona, El Paraiso, los algodones, mexico, yuma
Categories : Texas Roadtrip 2016

Riverfront RV Park, Yuma, AZ

6 03 2016

Riverfront RV Park, Yuma, AZ

We’ve arrived in Yuma, the last stop before we turn back eastward and head for the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. We’re parked at Riverfront RV Park, on the banks of the Colorado River near old-town Yuma. We selected this park for the large trees and its location near parks and walking/biking trails. There are many newer RV parks out toward the foothills, the newer area of Yuma, but nearly all are directly on I-8 and provide few if any trees. In exploring on Sunday we did find a very nice RV Resort called The Palms about 10 miles east of town along I-8. But, with rates approaching $50/night, it’s a bit expensive and doesn’t get great reviews for cellular or WiFi access.

Riverfront RV Park is a unique mix of older and newer rigs, some of the trailers look like they will probably never go down the road again, some are brand new and look like they were just purchased and driven directly here. There are interesting antique cars, signs and farm implements scattered all around the property. Sites run about $30/night, and as low as $10/night in monthly packages. There’s no pool, no hot tubs and no onsite restaurant. The small building across from the office doubles as a mail room along with a gathering spot for impromptu pot-luck dinners. The laundry room near the back of the property is nearly always busy (with a rate of only $1/wash) and there’s a larger gathering hall next door that was used for a Tuesday morning breakfast and Tuesday evening bingo party. Around this area are a few patios and 2^nd story observation platforms, undoubtedly used for enjoying the sunny afternoons and evenings along the river. But, most of these outdoor structures appear unused, perhaps a testament to the ongoing upkeep that is necessary with a park like this, or perhaps due to the changing interests of the residents. Either way, this park may have a glorious past, but is quietly slipping into a less than glorious future. Certainly property in this location could being high prices as the city is unable to expand either to the west due to the Mexican border nor to the north due to the Colorado River which creates the border with California.

We’ll be here a few days and plan to explore the old-town area and go across the border to the small Mexican town of Los Algodones, Baja Calfornia. More from Yuma as we settle in here…