Very accurate and helpful reviews made this a great overnight spot when arriving after dark! The spots along the first few switchbacks appear to be relatively clean now, probably from lighter use as winter sets in. Don't let the poor road conditions at the cattle gate off 89A dissuade you, that's as bad as it gets.
This FS Road is passable when dry and an uphill ride for several miles with rough spots, non worse than those immediately encountered when driving in thru the gate from 89A, but by and large quite driveable. I know this area from past elk hunting experience. This area is a favorite of hunters. We drove in with my 20' minilite RVtrailer towed by my Ford Explorer on 9/15. We drove~5.5 miles to where 535 ends and 536 goes left. Along the way are numerous camping/RV sites beginning close to 89A. We chose to go to the enormous meadow area at the end of 535. Bottom line, an easy overnight spot or one where one could spend days in this pine forest. Hiking trails, no facilities. Unfortunately, we did see trash left behind at several campsites near 89A. Who are these people who camp but do not respect, transients?
The initial area is littered with trash from lazy campers who don’t understand how to pack out. Once you pass the second and third cattle guards the camping is great. The road is in good shape and I have no issue towing my 25 ft travel trailer in.
The beginning of the road is really bumpy not great for lower cars but we did it in a Prius going slow. The campsite we parked in was really steep and we made it work. We got there at night so we found one of the first sites. There’s no toilets so I don’t suggest walking too deep into the campsite because there’s huge piles of human poo. The one site we were in was completely littered and I found a good size animal skeleton. We cleaned up the one site we were in using 3 trash bags. I hope to see this area taken care of by my fellow community. Maybe a ranger can have someone bury or take care of all the human poo.
A great spot if you don’t mind, as my dad would say “boon-docking it”. Lots of sites along the road. Much more of a foresty area than down in Sedona plus it’s much cooler since it’s higher in elevation!