10 Things To Do in Camp Verde With Kids. Camp Verde is located in Central Arizona and about 1.5 hours from Phoenix. The area offers a wide variety of activities for families! We’ve stopped once or twice while traveling across the state but never explored until this spring. There was plenty to keep us busy and lots on our list for next time!
Here are 10 things to do in Camp Verde with kids!
Out of Africa Wildlife Park – this is probably the first “to do” in Camp Verde that comes to mind. And for good reason! Out of Africa was opened in 2005 and has an impressive assortment of animals. They offer safari tours where you get to drive through and see a variety of wildlife uncaged and roaming free. This is definitely a highlight of this zoo. The animals are very interactive and will come right up to you as you sit in the safety of the bus. A detailed review can be found here.
Parks and Playgrounds – nothing beats a good playground for littles. Camp Verde offers four neighborhood parks, a small aquatic center, and a lighted skate park. You can read more information here. In particular, we really loved Butler Park (fun playground) and Rezzonico Family Park (nature path, walking trails near the Verde River; also look for the map and marker mentioning the center of Arizona).
Camp Verde Community Library – across the street from Rezzonico Family Park is a fabulous library! We stopped here just to fill up our water bottles and ended up staying an hour. The children’s area is bright and well decorated, including a fun outdoor play yard. And don’t miss the mascot, Dewey the Bearded Dragon! We even got to hold him on a non-busy Saturday afternoon, thanks to the friendly librarian. You can learn more about the library here.
10 Things To Do in Camp Verde With Kids
Fort Verde State Historic Park – for history buffs, this is a fun stop. The site that is now the park held US troops in 1870, with the fort being being in 1871. It was an active base during the Central Arizona Indian Wars. Today, the preserved buildings are preserved with artifacts and interesting setups for families to learn about late 1800’s life on a military base. When we visited, we were surprised with reenactors for a special event, including cannons being fired! It’s a worth a call to see if the fort has any upcoming events during your visit. Learn more here.
Hikes – there are some amazing hiking options around Camp Verde! We’ve done the nearby popular Fossil Creek and highly recommend it. There’s also Badger Springs to the south (watch our video of Badger Springs here) and Wet Beaver Creek to the north. But closer to Camp Verde, this website has some great trail options and we’ve bookmarked several to try next time!
Day Trip Options – Camp Verde is a good hub to stay and explore other areas of central Arizona. Cottonwood is 25 minutes away, Jerome is 40 minutes, Sedona is 35 minutes, and even Prescott and Flagstaff are just an hour drive! We have some great blog posts covering things to do in these areas. Just click on the city listed above.
Montezuma Castle and Well – another popular stop is this national monument, just north of town. Here you will see well preserved ancient Indian cliff dwellings. But you are not able to access the dwellings, just observe from afar. Also, Montezuma’s Well isn’t terribly impressive. We like to tell people that if you already have a National Park pass, it’s worth a stop. Otherwise, while it’s an interesting history stop with a couple of hiking trails, our kids haven’t been interested. You can learn more on the national park website here.
Hauser and Hauser Farm – this family farm offers seasonal truckloads of sweet corn in July! It’s worth a call if you’re in the area around this time and want local produce. Their website can be found here. https://www.hauserandhauserfarms.com
Restaurants – we had a small sampling of restaurants in Camp Verde. Our favorite was Mexican take out from Beto’s Corner! Thanks a Latte Espresso had some great cold brew too. Crusty’s Pizza was average but decent. On our list for next time is Babe’s Round Up and Verde Brewing Company.
Verde River Adventures – we really wanted to do a rafting tour with this company during our April visit to Camp Verde, but it wasn’t the right season. Next time! Verde River Adventures is highly rated and offers rafting and kayaking trips for ages 5 and up, plus adventure options in Sedona.
Where to Stay – need overnight lodging with the family? We’ve got you covered! There are a few hotels in town, but we suggest choosing the unique route. We’ve stayed at Safari Village at Out of Africa, Verde Valley RV Resort and Cabins, and Verde Ranch RV Resort, all of which are fabulous.
Safari Village has cozy glamping tents, full bathrooms, and a kitchen tent, plus you can hear lions roaring at night!
The Verde Valley resort with one or two bedroom cabins is right next to the Verde River and offers a playground, dog park, and mini-golf.
Also right next to the river is Verde Ranch resort with cabins, glamping tents and, our personal favorite, covered wagons! They offer modern amenities like heat and air-conditioning, electricity, a private bathroom, and the resort has activities like a pool, splash pad, playground and more.
More great day trip ideas in Arizona can be found here!
