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Dispersed Camping

Cottonwood Canyon Rd. Dispersed

9 Reviews

About

State Park

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Location

Cottonwood Canyon Rd. Dispersed is located in Arizona

Coordinates

33.19268969678876 N
111.28673047481192 W

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Access

Drive-In
Park next to your site
Walk-In
Park in a lot, walk to your site.

Stay Connected

WiFi
Unknown
Verizon
Available
AT&T
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T-Mobile
Unknown

Site Types

Dispersed

Features

For Campers

ADA Access
Phone Service
Alcohol
Pets
Fires

For Vehicles

Big Rig Friendly

Enjoy dispersed camping on government land and leave no trace. Pack in and pack out. No (or limited) services at this camping area. Permit may be required.

PERMIT might be REQUIRED

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Sammy S.

Scout

Reviewed Mar. 10, 2024

Enjoyed tent camping

I’ve never been out here. Got a state land trust family pass for the area just in case we needed it. The cottonwood canyon rd is dirt/gravel and it is very flat and not washboarded. Cars can drive in. Just be aware that many of the pull offs from the road have dips or hills but there are also plenty of flat pull offs that lower ground clearance vehicles can pass. For tent camping finding a spot without a lot of sharp rocks and prickles from the various cacti can be a little challenging but it’s totally doable. Use caution when walking about between the cacti. Lots of prickles you can’t see well on the ground. Be extra careful if you have dogs. Probably want to have tweezers or pliers with you to remove the spines. We came out when it was covered in grass but I can imagine it might get pretty dusty if there isn’t any grass. There’s basically no shade to speak of but plenty of bushes/cacti etc for privacy. Very easy to find spots away from other campers on the weekend. There’s lots of gunfire and explosions in the distance during the day and at night. Many ATVs/OHVs driving up and down the main road at night. It got pretty much silent at about 11pm. There are probably a lot of places a decent way from the main road that may be quieter but there are no signs anywhere so you just kind of have to pull off and drive around. Camp was raided by quail early in the morning and we had some cows visit but they didn’t come too close. All in all pretty cool area will definitely come back

Month of VisitApril

Austin B.

Scout

Reviewed Dec. 9, 2023

Has its good, has its bad

Close-ish to get to, plenty of spots, plenty of fire pits, great place to get out to and sleep under the stars!

That said, there were tons of people near us, a ton of people driving razors and rangers, camps were playing loud music all night, and people were shooting pistols and rifles till 4am. Probably possibility any time you come on a weekend.

Definitely better place to go for RV/Trailer camping

Month of VisitJanuary

Ryan

Traveler

Reviewed Mar. 27, 2023

Great close spot

Camped off cottonwood this weekend. Great weather and good area.

Month of VisitApril

Jeffrey P.

Guide

Reviewed Nov. 25, 2021

Awesome time.

Quick getaway close to home but seemed like we were far away. Yes there are OHVs out here but nothing rowdy going on by us. We camp wit a TT and had a great time.

SiteDesert camping

Month of VisitDecember

(4) View All

Chantal S.

Guide

Reviewed Apr. 20, 2021

Box Canyon dispersed camping

We were actually a bit south of this (but the app won't let me add a new camping area). This is on AZ State Trust land d and a permit is required. https://land.az.gov/

There are wide open spaces for solo or group camping and it is close to town. This is a great winter camping spot!

SiteDispersed

Month of VisitMarch

(5) View All

Steve T.

Traveler

Reviewed Oct. 5, 2020

Wide open

Can get dusty from riders if you stay near the front. If you take some time to come scout it out you can find some great spots.

Great for trail riding around the sites plus if you have time there is some mountain trails that lead to box canyon.

Cows everywhere, wake up and have a good cup of coffee & conversation with a couple of bovine.

Road coming is not as bad some say, the company that works down this road keeps it maintained.

Lots of shooting once you get down into the blm, dont hear it much from camp site we pick. Stay on the road and you will see them being safe and firing into remote back drops.

No power, no water, just straight up dispensed wide open sites.

Have fun

(5) View All

Eric W.

Scout

Reviewed Sep. 11, 2020

Ridiculous

The area itself is reasonably nice desert camping. Lots and lots of spots in both the AZ State Trust land (permit required) and the BLM land.

Pros -Lots of fire rings made from rocks in almost every spot. -Room to spread out. -Free.

Cons -The road coming in is the worst washboarding i have ever seen. Like the worst. Almost un-drivable...and I’ve been down a lot of rutted roads that require high clearance. I didn’t need clearance, i needs a road that isn’t ridiculous. -There is a quarry or something at the end of the road, which you wouldn’t think would matter, but starting at 4:00am...giant, and i mean GIANT rock hauler semi trucks started barreling down the washboarded road every 5-10 minutes until we packed up and left a day early at 10:00am because we couldn’t take the noise anymore. These trucks go down the road at 45mph and just absolutely SHAKE the ground and roar with noises. It was the most absurd thing that had ever happened to me while camping. Do not go here for peaceful camping.

Beth G.

Ranger

Reviewed Mar. 1, 2020

Perfect for ATV/dirt bikes

No amenities but perfect place to base out of for off-roading adventures. This place is really popular, so it’s a cool place to ride with other people and check out their rigs.

Make sure you pay for your Arizona State Trust pass before you get there.

Trailers/RVs are fine. It’s mostly just dirt, so I wouldn’t recommend tents if it’s been raining. There is also a great restaurant/bar down the road (the River Bottom Grill) that has live music on the weekends.

(6) View All

Robo A.

Guide

Reviewed Nov. 13, 2018

Dispersed Boondock Desert Camping

Turn off Hwy 74 between Apache Junction and Florence, Turn East on Cottonwood Canyon Rd. and there is dispersed camping with ZERO amenities starting in about 2 thru 5 miles on both sides of the road.

This is a very popular off road spot for Motocross motorcycles, Jeeps, ATV's, and Side by Sides so be prepared for some dust and some noise from vehicles. There are lots of trails to ride.

This is Arizona State Trust Land so a permit is required but can be purchased and downloaded from their website at a cost of $21.00 and it is valid for 1 year for the family pass.

The location was clean and well cared for buy the people that camp there, and there are rock rings for fires but you will need to bring your own wood to burn as there is little in the desert and nowhere close to purchase any.

We stayed with a group in November and the weather and the sunrise and the sunsets were absolutely amazing to behold. We will definitely be back both for the wide open spaces and the great places to ride.

SiteDispersed

Month of VisitDecember

(4) View All