The first community to be settled in the Verde Valley, Camp Verde began as Fort Verde, founded in 1865 to protect settlers from raiding Apaches. Average elevation is 3100 feet above sea level.
The Verde River, Clear Creek and Wet Beaver Creek all meet and wind through sections of Camp Verde, providing incredibly rich soil along ancient flood plains. These lands have been irrigated for centuries by native people. Because of this great abundance of perennial streams and rivers in Camp Verde, greenbelt, irrigation rights and waterfront properties are abundant among our real estate offerings here. Camp Verde is truly a garden oasis in the middle of the desert.
 Camp Verde has hundreds of ruins and archeological sites. Apparently, native peoples also found Camp Verde to have plenty to offer area residents! pot shards (Antiquity laws prevents their removal) and remnants of rock walls in cave enclosures are found hidden and tucked away in the limestone hills surrounding the rivers and streams. A short hike up a wash will often reward the visitor with an unexpected ruin, arrowhead or collection of potshards washed out by a recent rain.
Camp Verde is adjacent to Interstate 17, providing residents quick and easy access to Phoenix, Flagstaff, and Prescott. When ADOT completes the project to widen Hwy 260 to 4 lanes (project will be done in sections, starting in 2008), Camp Verde residents will enjoy much quicker access to the neighboring town of Cottonwood. (14 miles away). Since many Camp Verde Residents work in Cottonwood or Sedona, this will certainly help shorten daily commutes….not that anyone here can REALLY complain about commute times!
Although Camp Verde has undergone an amazing “renaissance” in the last 10 years, it remains a quiet, close-knit community where cowboys, country folk as well as others who trend towards the conservative side of life, raise their children in a community proud of it’s past present and future. Retirees looking for a warmer climate and a quiet, friendly, hometown atmosphere will find that real estate in Camp Verde surely fits the bill!
If I had to chose a few words to give you a feel for life in Camp Verde AZ and Camp Verde real estate offerings, I would think the words would be: farms, families, fine homes and ranches. Horses, farm animals and farming are an integral part of the community and city zoning regulations regarding farm animals are more lax here, than any other Verde Valley community. One half acre is all that is required to have a horse in most Camp Verde neighborhoods.
If you happen call certain Camp Verde residents “rednecks”, there is an excellent chance they may just smile and take it as a compliment! The spirit of the old west is very much alive in this rural Arizona community!
The City of Camp Verde also has a heritage of promoting families and protecting small town values. In fact, the City of Camp Verde shuts down main street several times a year and hosts a number of festivals and carnivals. Festivals include the Cornfest, Crawdad Fest, Fort Verde Days, Pioneer Days, The Pecan Festival, Block Parties, an Easter egg hunt (see what I mean about farms and families?) and several other events throughout the year.
Although many neighborhoods and properties in Camp Verde offer equestrian rights or facilities, traditional home and land parcels are also available as well as new subdivisions and home communities. New home construction is occurring in all areas of Camp Verde, including the new communities of The Views, Verde Ridge, Verde Cliffs, Pebble Rock, Diamond Creek, Millwood Estates and Equestrian Estates, though the pace of construction has slowed down substantially in the past two years.
While Cottonwood is currently the commercial center of the Verde Valley, that may change over the next 20 years or so, as Camp Verde still has a fair amount of commercially zoned real estate available for development. Recent approval of the Ruskin Land Trade many also eventually bring a lot more commercial developments to Camp Verde, as the Town has u nofficially stated that these lands and their location is preferred for commercial development.
Camp Verde High School recently underwent a large expansion project and recent commercial construction in Camp Verde has brought several new franchises to the community, Camp Verde has one full service grocer, medical and dental facilities, A hardware store, department store, 3 motels and several local and national chain restaurants. Cliff Castle Casino and Out of Africa Wildlife Park are both located in the City of Camp Verde and provide immense economic benefits to the residents and businesses in the area.
Camp Verde proper recently received a much needed face lift when a grant matched by town funds paid for the installation of lighting, curbs and sidewalks throughout the Main Street area. Several buildings have also been completely renovated and are now occupied by boutiques, gift shops and other local businesses.
Camp Verde is a community with an excellent future. Those who buy Camp Verde real estate are sure to enjoy a wonderful community that is doing a fantastic job of preserving the past, while looking forward to the future. If I haven’t answered all your questions about Camp Verde and Camp Verde Real Estate, please give a call or send an e-mail. We would love to help you relocate to Camp Verde!
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