Oak Flat Campground

Just south of highway 60, West of Superior, AZ (about 4 miles). Paved road to the turnoff for the campsite and then dirt but not too rough. My Prius made it just fine. Though there are definitely some roads farther on that are extremely uneven granite dells.

Two pit toilets are the only amenities, but there is plenty of hiking. You can hear road noise from highway 60. There’s a nearby mine and I occasionally heard muffled explosions but I did not feel them. On two of the days I was there I saw or at least heard low flying fighter jets (but within FAA regs) go by and a couple of multi-rotor helicopters. Had the skies not been overcast I’d have seen all of them. They were very loud but it was maybe five minutes total out of my week-long stay.

There’s no WiFi, even if you have a yaggi antenna. There’s enough cell service for text and phone calls (maybe/iffy) on the Verizon network.

Primitive campground with vault toilets

Oak Flat is a Forest Service campground in the Tonto National Forest and is about 90 minutes from Phoenix. It's a short distance off a windy mountain highway which means it's easy to get to but traffic can be heard from camp. (Luckily it's not a busy interstate and traffic is pretty infrequent at night.) It's not spectacular location but there are decent views of the oak scrub desert surrounding the camp.

There are a handful of campsites with picnic tables and firepits, plus several flat and open areas for RVs or tent cities. Some sites are open and others have a few shady tree for hammocks, slacklines, and more. There is a bathroom which was clean and well-stocked with toilet paper, despite the campground being quite full when I stayed here for a few nights in April. There is no water, however, so be prepared with as much as you'll need. The elevation is just shy of 4,000' which means nights are typically a few degrees cooler than in the Phoenix area.

There are no hiking trails from the campground but there is a network of dirt roads which take you back into the desert scrub oak forest and through hundreds of bouldering problems of all levels. Just a few miles away, however, the Arizona Trail crosses the highway and heads north into the Superstition Wilderness.

This campsite is pretty basic but is a good place to kill some time, especially given that it's free! It's also a great place to set up your base camp if you want to do some bouldering.





Basic, Easy, and Free Campsite with Bouldering Nearby

I wish I could call this an "oasis int he desert" but... I can't. Lots of desert plants with some not so friendly critters and very little shade when it comes to the campsites. They are relatively flat but you won't find the ground forgiving at all (so bring something soft to sleep on). There is a dried out creek bed through the grounds but I doubt there is ever water in it. There are a few single stall bathrooms that are in fairly good shape but smell like a skunk may be living in the bottom.The big kicker for me here was the plastic tarp teepees as you come into the campground. It looks like a few people may have set up permanent residence in these and threw a weird vibe into the place.

Are they staying?

We came here for our wedding anniversary in November since it wouldn’t be too cold. We enjoyed the peace and quiet, but not much else to say. The sites were pretty small, but we have a pop up so not bad. It was very busy that weekend. It was only 5 minutes from Superior, which was nice for gas, food, water, etc. There was a few vault toilets throuout the grounds. Each site had a fire ring and tables. It was clean for the most part, but there was some sketchy people there and a couple sites reported theft. There was recently some vandalism as well. It’s only about an hour from Phoenix, but we probably won’t go back

Desert Camping

This campground is found between the town's of Superior and Miami, Arizona, so if you are not am experienced camper, you could always drive to town in a pinch if you needed something or forgot something.

Some of the campground is along a wash, with a small pond on the west side. The official campground site is relatively small and has more established sites, but remote camping is found further down the road. Oak Flats Road provides a few miles of rougher trails (some might call them Jeep trails, but someone who knows what they are doing could get through most of it in a car) and would be great for a short overland type camping experience.

There are some great views with just a short hike and can make for a rewarding one day camp, or camp for a couple days.

There are is a bathroom within the small, more established campground, but no other facilities (including trash) so you must pack in and pack out whatever you are going to use.

Nice semi remote campground

While working on the Woodbury Wildland Fire here in Arizona my Ambulance was staged at Oak Flat Campground. It was nothing but desert, a few picnic tables, with some trees with nice shade and two bathrooms. It’s probably the least nicest campground I’ve been to. Luckily we weren’t staying there for the night just parked there during the day. It appeared to be free, it was a decent distance off the main highway. If you’re just looking for a place to stop and rest for the night then it’s not a bad spot but I wouldn’t take my family there for a vacation.

Well it had a bathroom...

We were not impressed with this USDA Forest Service operated campground. There are better places to stay in the Tonto National Forest area. I’d only stay here again if everything else was full. 

It was toilets. That was about it. No cell service either (T-Mobile). No water or trash. Pack it in, pack it out. There are also some protests going on in the area right now. The land is sacred to Western Apache tribes and it might be opened up to copper mining. 

The picnic tables and fire pits are nice. I highly recommend driving along the Gila-Pinal Scenic Route. Breath taking vistas. 

Isolated with lots of old oak trees

We went for the day to explore the area due to it possibly being lost to the nearby copper mine soon. Didn't really have a destination other than to just hike and look around. Shortly after setting out we met a very nice gentleman who grew up in the area, and was very familiar with the history. He was kind enough to show us to a hidden cave that had a water fall due to a recent rain. We would have never found this beautiful location had it not been for Carlos. He mentioned other falls and pools of water further back in to the area. The cave he took us to was just off a trail less than a mile from the campground. I recommend taking time to explore the area if you get a chance. Certainly will be a shame if this place is turned in to an open strip mining pit....

More Than Meets the Eye

It’s a really nice spot, not the best amenities but there’s so much to explore, you can drive ahead this campground and take the dirt road to some of the most wonderful places, I was able to get really deep with a road motorcycle so you don’t really need an 4*4 but I would definitely recommend taking one