Camp ObserverPalisades Ranger Residence Cabin
$125.00/night
Camp site features
Across 1 camp site:
- Fire pit: all 1 sites
- Picnic table: all 1 sites
- Pets allowed: all 1 sites
- Longest RV: 20 ft
- Largest party: 4 people
Directions
Driving Directions: From northeast Tucson, take East Tanque Verde Road to East Catalina Highway. Turn left (north) on East Catalina Highway, which becomes the General Hitchcock Highway, for approximately 23 miles to Organization Ridge Road and turn left (just before Palisades Visitor Center). The cabin is located approximately 100 yards in on the right.
Stay Limit
Check in from 2 PM, check out by 12 PM.
Reviews
Dorothy S
Loop:Palisades Ranger Residence Cabin
Site:
Reviewed 10 days ago
We were celebrating our daughter's 13th birthday. Camping is what she wanted. we all had a great time. The weather was great and Mt. Lemmon was beautiful. The cabin was a real find for us. Clean, fully furnished and a great kitchen. We are telling our friends about the National Forests for a get away. Not far from Rose Canyon Lake or Summerhaven. Good hiking and birding. We thought the price was reasonable too. Thank you for such a nice facility close to Tucson.
Thomas O
Loop:Palisades Ranger Residence Cabin
Site:
Reviewed 20 days ago
Wi-fi access has changed over the years, but I am sad to see wi-fi access is now zero. The visitor's center next door used to reach across the parking lot, barely. And the password was posted in the cabin. For some reason the USFS turned it off. Why? There was also a small TP-Link wi-fi extender plugged in at the cabin. That, too, was removed. So even if there was a 2nd nearby open wi-fi (there was) you can't get it. And the 2nd one is gone as well. Someone is working hard to delete all wi-fi options. I recommend bring your Starlink mini and place it on the ledge just North of the cabin, toward the Northern sky. It's obstructed so you will have some drop outs. But good enough for most purposes.
Cassandra M
Loop:Palisades Ranger Residence Cabin
Site:
Reviewed a month ago
Loved the fenced in yard for our furry family members. Was clean and had all basics we needed. Location is perfect so close to. Trails, Summer-haven, Ski Valley. Enjoyed staying somewhere with so much history. Thankyou from Annie, Blue, Cassandra & Bob Greiner.
Sheehan W
Loop:Palisades Ranger Residence Cabin
Site:
Reviewed 3 months ago
Nice trails right nearby, really comfortable modern cabin with all the amenities.
Patricia S
Loop:Palisades Ranger Residence Cabin
Site:
Reviewed 3 months ago
The Palisades cabin was a private, quaint , quiet getaway for my husband, son and I. Nice area. I was surprised the kitchen had plenty of dishes and pots & pans. Simple coffee maker worked just fine. The size was larger than expected. Cute dining area!
I wasn’t sure what to expect. Upon arrival luckily I took all my cleaning supplies . I had to clean the entire floor with my swifter 2xs to get dirt, dust, pet hair off floor. ( I took a picture which I wish I could have included in this review) I sprayed Lysol, took sanitizing wipes and I wiped, and disinfected all surface areas around the entire cabin and bathroom before we used it.
We were happy there was a gas grill, nice picnic table and large yard. Probably my favorite part of the cabin.
The gas grill my husband gave it a good cleaning before we used it. But enjoyed our time outdoors. This was the part of our stay I truly enjoyed.
In the bedroom, the bed mattress cover definitely needs replacing , I just laid my personal plastic cover over it before my bedding. The futons in living room were adequate, but bring your own covers to drape over them before placing your bedding. If ever I go back I’ll bring some clean throw pillows .
If anyone has a bingo game or checkers or simple playing cards that might be a nice addition for this quaint space.
Needless to say it was a lot of work for me cleaning upon arrival and then cleaning again before leaving…. But I left the place 150% better than what I found it.! It smelled fresh… and I hope the next renters didn’t have to work as hard.
Thomas O
Loop:Palisades Ranger Residence Cabin
Site:
Reviewed 3 months ago
I love this cabin. Very peaceful... quiet... simple... 10 minutes to the general store or restaurant... easy hiking all around you...
I'm happy to see other visitors making small improvements. A Yamaha bookshelf music system. A cutting board. 2 decent kitchen knives. A tub drain plug. A new tablecloth. Recently someone put some badly needed futon covers, NICE JOB. Someone recently put a small folding kitchen table, excellent! If you are a repeat visitor, take note of what's missing. No junk, please! Example: toss out the old hand soap and leave a new one. Donate your roll of aluminum foil or trash bags, if there are none. Right now it could really use a better toaster oven (small not big). No one wants your food but I think everyone appreciates an unopened soda pop in the fridge, am I right?
A TP-Link extender (on an outlet in the cabin) grabs wi-fi from the visitor center so the cabin gets 5 bars. But recently the VC wi-fi was no longer running. I tweaked the repeater to grab a different signal. If not working again, log into the extender to look for other nearby wi-fi, like this: Choose the TP_Link_extender wifi, then go to www.tplinkrepeater.net (written on the back) and use pw MtLemmon123. Or reset it with a paper clip and log in. See what nearby signals it offers. Maybe something, maybe nothing. Ya takes yer chances.
Some people clean well, others don't. The floor is often not good. Strongly recommend to bring your robot vacuum (Roomba, shark, etc) and run it while you're out hiking. Last time I dumped 8 vacuum loads of pet hair, dirt, pine needles.
I think the USFS needs to consider new fence planks. Many of them are barely hanging on.
Popularity: Quiet
Busiest in November, when about 23% of guest capacity is reserved. Based on 4 years of reservations.
Season dates
Peak season
Jan 1, 2026 – Dec 31, 2026
Reservable online
Peak season
Jan 1, 2027 – Dec 31, 2027
Reservable online
Peak season
Jan 1, 2028 – Dec 31, 2028
Reservable online
Camp Sites
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