Best Dispersed Camping near Elgin, AZ

I enjoyed this camp site overall. It was only 10 minutes away from Patagonia and it had lots of dry firewood. The downside is there is no water source and also road noise. I was there Friday night through Monday morning and heard road noice throughout the night except for Sunday night.

I would recommend exploring above where the pin is because there is more free dispersed camping that will be quieter and more remote.

40 mile scenic drive on a 4x4 road, dispersed camping along the way. Extremely popular view to park off the road in the saguaros. But I’d recommend cactus forest north of Tucson in blm land if you want that. Farther in you hit the mountains. We stayed off an off roading rock crawler trail. Def the path less taken. Super quiet and relaxing.

After seeing the dispersed camping, my partner and I knew there must be something better and more secluded. About a 1/4 mile before the dispersed camping there is a national forest access road on the right. You’ll see a forest fire prevention sign at the entrance. 4x4 only no trailers. 3 or 4 dispersed sites. Beautiful hike up 4x4 road. Border patrol active. Close to Arizona’s trail trailhead. Great place to stay and see Patagonia.

Boondockers paradise. Beautiful views and spacious campsites. USFS Coronado National Forest controlled. Ranger came by a day after we arrived and checked in with us. 14 day limit on staying here and it seems like it is enforced.

Had two Canyon Towhees come visit us every morning.

Some traffic as it is a popular rock climbing area especially on Friday and Saturday. Middlemarch Road is wide but very washboard-y. Took us about 45 minutes to go 10 miles. We found a nice spot on FR 687. We got water at the Stampede RV park in Tombstone. The other RV parks didn't allow us to fill. About 45 minutes to Sierra Vista for supplies. Will definitely stay here again.

Just a few miles up Harshaw Rd. (just outside of the adorable village of Patagonia), you will find a variety of free camping options with no services, just National Forest land available to both RVers and tent campers.  There are streams running throughout the area, but the water simply isn’t drinkable even with filtering and leaves a sticky white mineral residue on everything it touches; thank goodness there is a reverse osmosis filling machine in the village of Patagonia, right in front of the bakery.  The backroads in this area are great for hiking or mountain biking, you can choose from relatively flat to crazy steep with amazing views.

The village of Patagonia is colorful and fun, and has a nice market with a great produce selection for its size, a small bakery, a launderette, a gas station, and a few cleverly named restaurants. Also, be sure to check out the Paton Center for Hummingbirds (a birdwatcher’s paradise) -- it’s free! The locals are super friendly.

Note: You will see Border Patrol both hanging out in hidden spots and zooming down the roads through this area, appearing to be in hot pursuit.  But we never saw a single “situation” that warranted their presence.

This dispersed camping area was a lot more secluded and quieter than I expected. My friend and I were looking to camp overnight before going on a gravel bike ride in the area. 

Harshaw Road was already along the bike route, so this was an ideal location. Bonus that this is pretty close to Patagonia which came in handy when we couldn't make coffee in the morning.

We drove a little further than the GPS marker to find a camping spot that was tucked in from the main road. There were plenty of spots for a large group with rock fire pits. As someone mentioned, there was an area further back that was clearly the bathroom spot. 

Assume that this spot could get full in the shoulder seasons, but again was pleasantly surprised to be the only ones there.

This area is a short distance from the other Snyder Hill blm area and although closer to the hwy noise, this area is flat and more open for TTs and RVs. Great cell signal, not too trashy and seems BLM rangers patrol weekly. Dispersed camping, no water, no designated sites, no toilets, however a trash dumpster is now at the other Snyder Hill area.

Dispersed camping. No amenities. The spots at the cieneguita camp are full Everytime we have camped at the preserve but there is plenty of open area to pick a spot. We camped just past the cieneguita sites tucked back in the mesquite thicket. The dirt at the spot we camped at was so fine it was like talcum powder so everything was covered in dirt in no time BUT it’s camping. You can hear periodic gunfire as this is BLM but people appear to be shooting in areas that are away from campers and towards hillsides. Super quiet otherwise and great skies without light pollution for looking at stars. Pretty cool spot.

Entire area is fenced off and appears to be closed to dispersed camping. The larger area to the west is still available.

Dispersed camping, no amenities, but FREE. 

Easy drive in on partially washboarded flat gravel road (E Yucca Farm Rd). The dirt road into Road Canyon is manageable, just drive with caution. Area is wide open and quiet with multiple spots. Did not see many people during our stay here, just a few hikers and ATV’ers, and one trailer camping down the road. As you are driving in there are several decent spots to pull off and camp. There are stone fire rings that people have made and the area is free from left litter.

Further down the dirt road you come upon a “no trespassing” sign indicating that it is State Trust land and that a permit is required to go any further, and to call 602-542-2119. Arizona Trust Land Permit is $20/year for family of 4, $15/year individual. 

Saw some antelope on our way out but no other wildlife. There are free range cattle but did not see any. Nice quiet place to let the dogs run free.

There are other camping areas further up the main road. 

Good Verizon and AT&T reception

This area is also called Empire Ranch. The ranch is 44,000 acres boastes lots of wildlife elk, antelope, coyotes, kangaroo rats, and roadrunners. The ranch house can be toured along with several bunkhouse and barns. Several western movies have been shot on the ranch and lots of the scenery looks familiar from these said movies. John Wayne Frank, Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sam Elliott are some of the actors in these movies. Water can be acquired at the camp host and gift shop area at the ranch house. The ranch has an airport which all the large Class A Class Cs and goose neck campers usually camp because the campsites are on the air strip area and requires very little backing. A true gem of a dispersed camping area.

Open space for boondocking. Historic ranch house open for visiting. Saw many birds and few other campers. Public bathroom at ranch headquarters and water . A mountain biking riding area - gravel roads and cattle in fields.

This is site is always a fun time, i’ve been camping along this dirt road so many times and now make it a yearly visit. All of these photos are different years. For greener grass I recommend going any month before late August! All photos taken with dry grass is October various years. Tons of dispersed camping sites and pull offs along the dirt road once you pass Parker Canyon Lake area. Good hiking in the area, tons of wildlife. Watch out for rattlesnakes and javelina especially if you have dogs with you! Most of the sites have fire rings already established so you don’t have to do much work. I’d rate it 11/10!

First time taking our 30’ travel trailer out. Selected Patagonia because it’s close to home base and there was dispersed camping available. Traveled on a weekday and arrived early. Found a site tucked back enough from the road so road noise wasn’t a issue. After we unhooked we explored further down the road. Hook a right and drive all the way to the mine entrance. You’ll pass numerous campsites along both sides of the road to pick from. Total dry camping but wooded and peaceful. We enjoyed hiking and exploring the charming town of Patagonia. Returning on Saturday we noticed lots of traffic headed to Patagonia (boats, off road vehicles, rvs, etc). Patagonia is popular with Tucson residents for recreation.

We visited again in April and stayed in a larger site on the road closer to the mine entrance. Liked our larger site an had it to ourselves for a night. During a hike went up a well worn path to discover an area campers had been using as their bathroom. Lots of wipes with rocks placed on top. Yuck! Later a big group of campers arrived pulling a pop up. The next morning we saw some of them trooping up the hill to the “bathroom” spot. Not much to say except pack it out people or dig a hole and bury.

Take Middle March road on left off of highway 80. Campsite is 10 miles on the left. The first .5 miles is paved, the other 9.5 miles is primitive (embedded rock, loose gravel, and about 75%washboard). You’ll cross a few cattle guards and dry river beds. Plenty of camping spots with fire rings.

This is a huge group campsite with a few fire rings and plenty of space to spread out. It can be reserved during certain times of the year so be sure to check out the BLM site. Otherwise it’s free and in a great spot just off the highway and near Empire Ranch. You should definitely bring bikes to ride along some of the trails and go check out the Old Empire Ranch buildings two miles further down the road.

I first came upon this area three years ago and have come back every year since. It is isolated, camp sites are well spaced and the scenery is great. There is no highway noise and the night time stars are brilliant. It is free range for cattle so you may wake up several mornings to see them in 'your backyard'. There are Coues deer (a small whitetail), pronghorns (get up early to see them), a prairie dog town, coyotes can be heard many nights, and all kinds of birds.

Empire Ranch has a great but small museum, with trails around it for walking, nice restrooms, free water for filling your RV, and a rich history. If La Cieneguita campground is full (only eight sites) There are other areas with La Cienagas National Conservation Area for camping including a large former small airport on the other side of Empire Ranch.