Best Equestrian Camping near Coconino National Forest

Campground Review: This is dispersed camping in Coconino National Forest. There is camping throughout this area and it is all dispersed. Some spots are better than others but everything is pretty awesome. Tall pines all around, lots of exploring room for kids. The camping areas are all pretty open and there are plenty of spots to park a trailer or RV. This is just open forest so there is nothing for resources or amenities. There are spots higher on the ridge and also a few amazing places to camp right in pivot canyon. It has been an especially dry year but the canyon is shaded and was very green.

There is some great hiking especially through the canyon. If you follow the canyon about one mile from the road, then go down and right onto a cow trail, you can get to Pivot Rock Spring. We weren’t able to make it that far because we had so many little kids with us this time. This is also very close to Strawberry and Pine which have a perfect small town feel. You can stop at the lavender farm, buy local honey, and they have little festivals pretty often.

Something to note is that Tonto National Forest is usually fire restricted this time of year but Coconino is not. This site is barely into Coconino. It is still very dry so be careful with it!

Product Review: Grub Stick As a Dyrt Ranger I get to try out awesome new gear from outdoor companies. This trip we cooked with our new Grub Stick set. I love cooking over a campfire, and that is what Grub Stick is all about. The kids also had fun roasting. Definitely be aware that these are hot sharp pieces of metal so of course we had a close eye on them. Like any roasting get your fire going for a while until you have a nice bed of coals, that will cook better and cleaner than big flames and smoke. The handles are heavy duty and extendable and the different heads are easy to exchange, even when hot. Grub Stick really planned well on giving you what is needed in the moment. The hot pad, and grabber were very useful. We started out with grilled cheese sandwiches in the Grubcage and Burgcage. They worked great and you can see I was even about to prop a few up on the rocks whichever I got the next batch ready. For dessert we did s’mores. Roasting the whole s’more got the chocolate all melted and toasted the crackers too. I was a little doubtful that the marshmallow would roast enough but it did well. If you’re into perfect browned marshmallows, I would roast them separately. Next we used the Grubpocket, which is the short metal cylinder. Now I was really excited for this one. My wife’s family has always made “woofems” which are made from wrapping crescent roll dough around a dowel on metal rod. You roast it and then fill it with pudding, berries and whipped cream. So with the Grubpocket, they cook much faster and the best part is that the interior cooks too. We’ve always had the problem of a doughy middle. I filled mine with chocolate pudding and bananas. It was amazing. I did butter the stick first and I would suggest that or else the dough can get stuck. There were a few other tools that we are looking forward to using next time including the bacon clip and the Grub Tube. I love the simplicity of the product. It makes campfire cooking easier and pretty fast. I saw the recipes on the site and some of them seem a little over the top. I like that the tools simplify the process for me. I also love the durable carrying case that easily fits everything.

The forest was closed in Northern Arizona so I decided to camp out at Dead Horse Ranch SP.  I was pretty pleased overall with my trip.  My campsite was comfortable and private enough, considering how close the sites are at this campground.  I had some shade trees to help keep my travel trailer cool but definitely needed to run the AC all night in order to stay comfortable.  The RV sites here have fresh water and power, but no sewer.  There is a dump station at the park entrance that is easily accessible when both entering and exiting the park. I enjoyed fishing, hiking, and bike riding while I was here but had to limit my outdoor activities to the morning hours due to the heat.  

One afternoon I went into old town Cottonwood, which is only a couple of miles from the park.  It's a great place to visit if you're into antiques or wine tasting.

We pulled into our spot at Dead Horse Ranch as the temps crept below freezing. This was our first night ever in a campervan, and we were feeling very fortunate for scoring the last site with electricity. 

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It snowed in the night (February) and we woke to discover that the bathhouse was heated with free hot showers. This, combined with dishwashing stations (again with hot water) and friendly campground hosts, made for a lovely stay at Dead Horse Ranch.

The only downside was the lack of privacy between sites - fine for van or RV camping, but not ideal for tenters. 

There are a couple of nice trails in the park, one leading into Old Town Cottonwood - try Old Town Cafe for their flaky croissants! Dead Horse Ranch is about 30 minutes from Sedona and fantastic hiking, which we took advantage of all three nights we were there. 

Bottom line, this was not a wilderness experience, but Dead Horse Ranch provides nice sites and great amenities, and you can't beat the convenience of the location. 

We preferred the Red Tailed Hawk loop to all the others, and really liked sites 57 - 64 for the views and access to trails.

This place is a scam! The spots are literally on top of each other. From the front door of your trailer you have 4 feet and then your stepping on someone's sewage line. Then they market all kinds of amenities but they are never even open. The golf carts are only from Thursday at 3 through Sunday. The Cafe is only open Friday through Sunday. The horses... they have a few and there is only 1 ride a day, if you can get a reservation. They have the INDOOR pool closed for the"weather"... it was sunny outside. Not that it is that great anyway. It is so small that you can barely walk around the pool much less sit down. The deck around it is also dirty disgusting. If your looking for somewhere quiet to relax and camp, DON'T go here. It's like grand central station and all you hear at night is the highway. If I was prepared to dry camp, I would have left the second I got there and camped in the woods. Don't let the website fool you like it did me. It was a waste of my vacation.