Mingus Mountain Campground

We ended up here pretty late on a Thursday night and luckily found a spot. The campsites are close together so that is not great but they are clean at least. There are awesome views from the rim if you are able to get a site on the edge.

I got here around 6pm and was greeted by an incredible sunset. As I tend to do, I went pretty far down the road past the other campers. Lots of space for exploring, hiking, or reading a book. Bugs were few, but I did use bug spray.

Beautiful campground, but get here early. It’s small (~20 sites) and if you’re lucky you can get close to the rim.

Facilities were clean and the amenities were well taken care of.

Stunning sunrise. It gets chilly quick up there.

Both Potatoe Patch and Mingus Campground sites were full by Friday at around 5PM in early October. We were told by the camp host we could go down Forest Service Rd 132 for dispersed camping. Before the road gets too steep, there are flat-ish sites off the dirt road. Even those were mostly taken, so we were able to double up with another camper at a site that was pretty large (and a pull through!).

It was incredibly beautiful, quiet and shaded with nice trees, though these primitive sites were very rocky and rutted.

I took a star off for not expanding sites at the other campgrounds. I do recommend, but get there early!

This campground had fantastic views of Cottonwood and Sedona. Each spot was spread out and had a fire pit and picnic table. Unfortunately the electric doesn’t work anymore so no power to each site. There is water in each loop available. Dirt road out there is pretty rough and entire campground is dirt. If you can do the 5 mile road out there it’s well worth it.

Amazing views of Cottonwood and all of Verde Valley from these camp sites. I was going to give this spot 5 stars but their electricity has been out, due to a lightening strike, since 2016 apparently. Very clean bathrooms. Fire pits and water near each bathroom. The temperature in Phoenix, where I live, is supposed to be 116 degrees today. Only 85 at this campground (7800 ft elevation) and only a quick 2 hour drive. I'd definitely recommend this place to beat the heat.

Love it, but always seem to go during a storm.

In one word views, views for miles some of the best I’ve seen in Arizona. The campground itself is nice so spots not as amazing as others and be prepared to always watch your step because some spots literally are on the side of a cliff. Still plenty of room to set up camp and not worry but 100ft from the cliff side is pretty amazing. Clean restrooms hosts seem to keep campsites and fire pits clean and leave you to yourselves. Close by is a hang glide launch pad and amazing views. Only negative is the road up is unpaved and rough 5-10mph for about 7-10 miles but definitely worth the trip. Electric was struck by lightning a few years back so no hookup but water and toilet and only $10 a night. Stop reading and go👍

A good friend recommended this site. And we've been here 3 times now in the last two months. Only $10 a day to camp here. You don't see the hosts too often, but they're very friendly if you do get a chance to meet them. Campground is very well kept. Bathrooms on site are very clean and don't smell. The view is amazing over looking Cottonwood. We'll be going back for sure in a few weeks.

If you’re willing to risk not reserving and don’t mind the three-mile dirt road up the mountain, this is definitely better than Potato Patch Campground!

The details...Mingus has three loops. The first and second loops’ sites are pretty close together so work great if you are camping with friends, or you want to get to know your neighbors. The bathroom between those two loops is definitely more rustic (smelly) than the others around. The bigger loop has some great sites that overlook the valley (you can see all the way to Flagstaff) and, while the sites have less privacy, they are more spread out than the other two smaller loops. Fishing, hiking, and only 15 minutes from Jerome.

Small campground which made it nice for seclusion. Incredible views off the mountain. You can over look Prescott valley or on the other side of the mountain you can over look cottonwood.