Searching for a dispersed camping spot near Kaibab National Forest? Dispersed camping means that no facilities or amenities are provided, so that you can truly disconnect and get back to nature. You're sure to find the perfect dispersed campsite for your Arizona camping adventure.
The Kaibab National Forest truly offers something for everyone. If you are anywhere near Northern Arizona, you won't want to miss the chance to visit us! From canyons to prairies, peaks to plateaus, the Kaibab National Forest offers layers of opportunity for peace, solitude & discovery. Whether you are seeking a primitive, dispersed camping experience or something with a few more amenities, Kaibab National Forest has lots of camping opportunities and the option to rent historic cabins.
Pumphouse Wash (Forest Road 237) is__a popular dispersed camping area in the ponderosa pine forest__along SR 89A, midway between Flagstaff and Sedona, Arizona. The area is__conveniently located near__Oak Creek Canyon, Sedona, Flagstaff, Woody Mountain Road, Lake Mary, and a variety of recreation sites. It is a popular alternative to traditional campgrounds for visitors to Oak Creek Canyon and the Flagstaff area.There are four campsite loops, each containing__between__11 and__26 signed and numbered sites. The site offers__excellent camping opportunities for large groups as well as families and individuals.__Most sites offer partial to full shade beneath towering ponderosa pine trees, and are generally flat, making it easy to set up tents or campers. Each site has parking and a campfire ring. There is no trash service, so if you pack it in, pack it out. There are no restroom facilities. Portable toilets are highly recommended.FR 237 and the camping loop roads are well maintained and suitable for passenger cars.__Photo tour from this site [Flickr].
It is labelled as East Pocket on a map, but known to locals as “The End of The World,” the perfect nickname to describe this climactic viewpoint. Flagstaff sits upon a lofty plateau carpeted in high-elevation pine forest, but just south of town, the bottom drops out. Below a craggy rim of volcanic rock, the land takes a precipitous plunge into an entirely different world of red rock and sandstone towers. This is the realm of Sedona, and End of The World overlooks all of it.
Dispersed camping has increased throughout the Flagstaff wildland urban interface in the past several years. In many areas, this has caused resource impacts such as soil compaction and erosion, loss of vegetation, increased fire risk, displacement of wildlife, and accumulation of trash and human waste. To help prevent unacceptable resource damage, disturbance to wildlife and reduce fire risk from dispersed camping, the Forest Service has designated 14 campsites along the Freidlein Prairie road for dispersed camping. Camping and campfires are allowed only at designated sites along Freidlein Prairie Road. There is a map in the area showing site locations. All designated campsites along Freidlein Prairie (FR 522) are located on the south side of the road, with the exception of campsite #1 and #3. Signs have been placed along the road when entering and leaving the designated camping area. The designated campsites are marked with a brown vertical fiberglass post with a site number and a "Designated Campsite" decal. Each designated dispersed campsite has a place to park, fire ring, a place for a tent and no fees. Once you have found a designated site you will find another fiberglass sign that reads "Camp within 50 feet of this post to reduce impact to forest vegetation. Please take all of your trash with you and leave only one fire ring." The east end of Freidlein Prairie Road (approximately 1.5 miles) has a seasonal camping closure for campsites 10 through 14. This seasonal camping closure means campsites 10 through14 will be closed to camping from March 1 to August 31 to reduce disturbance to Mexican spotted owls during the breeding season. This area has traditionally been used by Mexican spotted owls for nesting and a pair of owls are being impacted by increased recreational use and are failing to reproduce. Most sites cannot accommodate RV. Seasonal closures or fire restrictions/closures may be in place. During both Stage 1 and Stage 2 Fire Restrictions, campfires are prohibited at this site. Gas operated devices with an on/off switch are allowed.
Please check the website for the most up to date information about closings and bans.
IMPORTANT Please note: Camping and campfires are prohibited on National Park land. Camping is only allowed once on National Forest land approximately three quarters of a mile from Highway 64, past the cattle guard. Please make sure you are off National Park lands before setting-up dispersed camp. If possible, use existing campsites to limit resource damage.
Please refer to this document: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5313083.pdf
Guide
It was fairly busy with people coming in and out. Perfect for our night there. There were even some fire pits available.
Ranger
Spent two nights here. 10/10 spot. Close to Grand Canyon south rim and town. I would get groceries and gas before coming here as it was quite expensive at 4.99/gal for diesel on 11/2
Guide
Plenty of sites up this road although not all level. Surrounded by trees. Some traffic up and down the road but that settled by evening. We couldn’t hear the highway. Recommended.
Guide
I was uncertain if this was a legitimate site or not, as we seemed to be on National Park land, but once you turn off onto Coconino Rim road, and pass the cattle grid you are on Forest land. So all good! Lots of space on flat land.
Traveler
The area is beautiful Forrest not far off the highway. We drove well past the initial sites and found a pretty quiet spot with neighbors barely visible. The site nearest was full of trash left behind and processed by wildlife. So sad! The road had some pretty big mud puddles along the way, but were passable. There were some pretty big rigs that made it through. I could hear trains in the distance the whole time through Williams or going to the Grand Canyon. Cell service was good for T-Mobile. Level and spacious sites are easy to find. Beautiful place!
RangerI stayed at the top of the first Hill on the left near the information station. T-Mobile cell service is decent. You're far enough away from the road to not hear traffic noise however the helicopters go by from 8:00 a.m. until about 8:00 p.m.. they come by about every half hour. Being that it's the beginning of the road 302 you do get a little bit of cars driving for further spots. All in all great little place.
Guide
Nice dispersed area, no neighbors and lots of space. Almost zero road noise and close proximity to Grand Canyon South Rim Entrance made for a great stay! We had no trouble getting our 39 foot Class A back there, but there is a decent little hill in the driveway that could cause a problem for a longer-wheelbase vehicle, so if you're in a bus-conversion 40+ feet long, I'd scout ahead. You could probably use one of the sites closer to the road and avoid the little hill that we crossed, as an alternative. We stayed a little further back (35.97408272506218,-111.80320237150028) and had the place to ourselves.
Scout
This spot was great to stop for the night. It’s close enough to I-40 to be viable for a quick night, but far enough to be quiet. We don’t see anyone. The road was washboards, so getting to it was slow. Other then that it was great
Traveler
This exact campsite is in a nice area, but right across the street from a rock/sand mine of some sort
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Scout
Great area to camp. Lots of roomy campsites and close to groceries.
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Scout
10-21-2024 Went to site. No camping signs now posted. Road is now a designated OHV trail known as "Outlaw OHV Trail".
Scout
We camped there for several days in Oct.2024. Road was rough but solid. Most any size rig could access this site. Good Verizon signal. Our biggest disappointment was the red dust. It got into all our rigs and is a mess to clean up. Overall it's a good site.
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GuideAs I came in there seemed to be allot of fellow campers, but the further back I drove the less people I came across. Until I came to a spot with no other campers around. I was looking for peace and quiet and found exactly that. Beautiful view and plenty of open space. I will definitely return.
Traveler
I’ve been in some pretty bad roads for dispersed camping but this one takes the cake. These are by far the worst roads and not well marked spots for camping.
Guide
We stayed here for a night and it was great. It was busy but the main reason we picked it was because it was close to Sedona so it was nice and easy for us to go in for a sunrise hike. We stayed in the first pull off lot on the left hand side that didn't have no camping signs (past Surprise), it had a porta potty which was definitely nice to have. Seems like they must block off sites every now and then because some of the ones marked on dyrt were blocked with rocks but still lots of space!
Legend
Super close to the Grand Canyon. Easy access. There are some rough patches in the road but even large rvs can still come and go easy as long as they slow down.
The location can be busy especially during tourist season. I went during the off time so it wasn’t too bad but it still had quite a few people.
The cell coverage was good enough for phone calls no problems but internet was really hit and miss. Mostly miss.
Legend
Very easy to find. The gravel road you go down to get there is extremely well kept and there are lots of sites to choose from.
If you are in a big rv I would definitely suggest stopping at one of the first few sites that are wide open field type. You won’t fit in any farther down the road.
The size of the sites vary and some are have narrow paths to get to but overall I think pretty much anyone could find a site that suits them. I really liked being able to get further into the woods so I had lots of privacy and could not see the road.
The cell signal fluctuated a lot but overall it was pretty good. The farther down the road you go the worse the cell signal gets.
Traveler
We loved the area. Drive around a few times checking it out easy to find and plenty of space for all kinds of campers. Even my Camry made it out. The lava cave was a decent hike but my two year old and pregnant fiancé made it down and up. Camp ground not crowded but the cave was
Traveler
It’s been a very pleasant stay here. Wildlife of all kinds are abundant. People keep primarily to themselves. Pilot Truck Stop is only 5 miles away. Cell signal is pretty good depending on where you’re located. Lava Tube Cave is only 2.5 miles North of this spot and of free to visit but I’d recommend going during the week, it’s very busy in the weekends.
ScoutDirt lot, good for Rv's. Super windy and the grounds too hard for tent stakes, a single tree in the middle. Its a place to sleep. Portapotties available
Traveler
Very easy to stop by when we where om the road and just needed a place to sleep. Open fields gave a nice view. Very close to the highway so easy to stop and continue our journey. Stayed in an rv, so the level surface was nice.
All in all good place to stay for the night.
Traveler
We accidentally stumbled upon this camp spot on our way to the other one we planned to stay at just south of the national park. When we arrived, there was only one van in our proximity. So surprised that this area is a dispersed camping area (read that they are planning to make this spot paid). The best camping area we stayed at in our three weeks road trip.
Scout
Great experience, great camping spots. Although you need to make your own fire pit. When we were there there was a very loud group. Almost like an outside club happening. Music didn’t stop until 3 am then started again at 6 am.
Ranger
Stop before going to Grand Canyon.
Many, many sites. Some aren’t close to level but several are.
We got a good spot to relax, work on some solar, and sleep before going to Grand Canyon.
There is an airport very close and many helicopters coming over. Not too bad though , can’t really hear them in the trees until they pass over.
Saw some cows and heard an elk bugle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dispersed campsite near Kaibab National Forest?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dispersed campground near Kaibab National Forest is Forest Service Road 328 Dispersed with a 4.8-star rating from 85 reviews.
What is the best site to find dispersed camping near Kaibab National Forest?
TheDyrt.com has all 95 dispersed camping locations near Kaibab National Forest, with real photos and reviews from campers.
