Camp Verde is located 86 miles north of Phoenix in Yavapai County. The climate is arid, the hot summer days are often cooled by monsoons rains and the winters are mild. Camp Verde's valley floor is classified as Lower Sonoran Desert. However, because it is situated on the Verde River, Camp Verde occupies a rare and enviable position among Arizona cities and towns.

The community possesses some of the oldest and finest historic resources in the Verde Valley. Camp Verde is nearly unique in Arizona in having examples of buildings from its entire historic period. Such resources are vibrant links to the past representing the people, processes and events that made the Town what it is today. These resources give Camp Verde a sense of its uniqueness and roots. To demonstrate this point, Fort Verde State Historic Park annually draws approximately 40,000 visitors to the center of Camp Verde, and nearby Montezuma Castle, brings over a million to the area.