Best Dispersed Camping near Pinetop-Lakeside, AZ

This is BLM land, so it is free to camp here. There are picnic tables with covers, and cement pads at some sites. If you camp close to the permanent resident on the other side of the fence she will grouch and swear at you so there is that. The smell of cow poo is strong at times. But if you're going to the Petrified Forest this is THE place to stay, as it is close and conveniently located. Can't beat free either. I've stated here twice now and my kids love it. Big pieces of petrified wood on site you can touch and sit on even.

Right outside the South Gate of the Petrified Forest National Park. They offer free camping with no hookups for self contained rigs. Water is available at city hall if needed. They even have a dumpster so getting rid of trash is easy.

There are two gift shops with camping areas here. The Petrified Forest Gift Shop on the left heading into the park, has 10 sites with 30amp electricity and a picnic table. $15.98/night. The Crystal Forest Museum on the right has free RV camping. Each site has a picnic table. The owner of the Petrified Forest Gift Shop just purchased the Crystal Forest Museum (which is still closed) and is still allowing free camping on that property. Fires are not allowed in either campground.

We stayed here for a few days while we explored the park and rested up for more travel. Something to note, if you get there after dark, the free camping is at the museum on the right. There's some camping on the left too but I think those sites cost money. We parked on the paid side at first but they were fine with us moving in the morning.

Along with this site, there are many dispersed camping sites right on the side of the rim with great views that you can see miles out. Great for tent camping but also big enough for campers and RVs

Visited in May on a Friday afternoon, there were no spots available. All of the sites are also close together, I wouldn't consider it dispersed camping. Drove down the dirt road 20min each way and had to find somewhere else

I am just like everyone else, I LOVE a good FREE campsite and along the way I have learned about so many of them, but in two trips by this one I didn't know it existed then BOOM there it was and I suddenly questioned how I had passed by it and never known!

Sure like all good campsites which are free there are a few negatives, this one being that there are ZERO amenities. NONE!!! But when I had attempted to camp in the petrified forest there weren't any there either so no big deal.

So how did I miss it?? Well upon first glance it just looks like a picnic area with some covered tables next to a gift shop and there isn't a welcome wagon just rolling out to say "hey come stay here". it is one of those places you have to know is there to know it is there if that makes any sense.

A fellow traveler told me about it and when I glanced I noticed some boondockers there but then upon a more careful evaluation there were tent campers in the distance. SCORE!!

If you aren't able to camp without then this won't work or you at all, but if you are ready for an adventure then here you go, close to the park and perfect for getting in those early morning sunrise photos. We always wonder how they do it… well this campsite is a BIG reason some of the photographers are there for those amazing money shots.

TIPS:

• Come prepared, you won't have a store with all your extras until you get into Holbrook so be ready for anything.
• Don't get to close to the residents, they give you the stink face but you have every right to the land, if you don't believe me, do your research on the BLM website!
• Take your camera, you will want to make sure you get your late evening and early morning shots that are once in a lifetime.

Located just before south entrance. FREE ("Boondock") camping on East side. Electric (no water) for $15 on West side. We picked East as Solar gives us all the A/C we need! Gift shops to explore on both sides. SEVERAL abandoned cars in front of shops to "chum for patrons".... Great place to stage before a day of exploring. Not sure I'd stay more than 2 nites but a night before and nite after visiting the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert is perfect! Just make sure to spend some $ at the gift shop if you stay for free.

What a wonderful place to stay for a few days and close to the Petrified Forest! Plus it is FREE! 

It's not much but if you are Boondocking for a few days or just wanna stay overnight, this is a great place to stay! I'd say get there before 5pm-ish as it starts to fill up due to people leaving the park. There a few spots that have covered picnic tables and the rest are out in the open. It's a gravel/dirt base for the most part and leveling is pretty easy!

FYI, there are NO hookups of any kind here. So be prepared ahead of time. The associated campground across the street has "electric only" for$15, if you need it.

I really loved these camping spots at the South gate of The Petrified Forest National Park.

There are two locations across the street from one another, one paid, one free. We stayed on the paid side, as it was evident to us they were well cared for.

Hosts were very nice. I hope to stay again in our way home. Gift shop has some lovely specimens of petrified wood.

Rating this place was a little bit tricky. I can't really give it four stars because there are ZERO amenities here, BUT this place is completely free. Yep, you heard me, F R E E. Bear this in mind as you contemplate staying here.

We stayed here overnight before heading into Petrified Forest. The nearest official campground is the KOA in Holbrook, and they wanted to charge me an arm and a leg to camp there. Don't get me wrong, I don't have any problems with KOAs in general, I just wasn't that interested in paying 30 bucks to pitch my tent in an RV park, when there was another option that was closer to the park and, you know, not $30. Plus, I won't lie, there's a part of me that loves to discover little off the beaten path places (some of which may even earn the moniker "sketchy"), especially on road trips. So I figured, oh, what the heck, why not?

You really can't be any closer to Petrified Forest without being in the park, where you have to camp in the backcountry (which is totally, completely, 100% recommended by the way). Night time is a wee bit tricky as the restrooms are in the gift shop that closes at night (but both are owned by the same people??). But, whatever. We were prepared for that in advance. There's also no potable water, so prepare for that as well.

Other than that, this place really isn't that bad. It's quiet (almost eerily so), reasonably well kept, and abounding in quirkiness. If you're in an RV and can handle a night of essentially boondocking, stay here! There are covered picnic tables, cement tipis, very strange dinosaur sculptures, and a LOT of free petrified wood, which is totally fine to snag as it's outside of the park. This was a fun addition to our road trip, and I will definitely stay here again for the accessibility, the price, and the kitsch.

Used the free RV parking. There is a $15 with electric hookup version across the road too. The free site is strictly for fully contained campers. No car overnights, no tents. The museum/gift shop is stocked with tons of petrified wood pieces for sale. Bring lots of cash though… 😉

A free spots a free spot! There were about 8-10 spots to pull in to with picnic tables. Only one bar Verizon and att. We got there around 6 and got the last picnic table spot. Dumpster onsite which is nice! Right outside the petrified forest entrance so great if you are going there.

Free, what more you want?

Located right outside the park. It’s free!!!

Free big parking near the museum where they allow you to use the restrooms during the day. It is mostly a gravel parking and it was very windy

This is basically a small RV park without the hookups. Very kind of the owners to allow so many spaces (20?) for free. Be sure to visit the museum and give them some business as a thank you.

Easy to find and park, lots of campervans and RVs set up, slabs, picnic tables , seemed like 30 watt power outlets but didn't work when I tried to plug in (makes sense, it's free!) Store opens in the am with bathrooms, big dumpster, beautiful stars