Looking for dispersed camping near Saguaro National Park? Dispersed camping is the perfect way to get off the grid. You're sure to find the perfect dispersed campsite for your Arizona camping adventure.
Camping on public lands away from developed recreation facilities is referred to as dispersed camping. Most of the remainder of public lands are open to dispersed camping, as long as it does not conflict with other authorized uses or in areas posted "closed to camping," or in some way adversely affects wildlife species or natural resources. Dispersed camping is allowed on public land for a period not to exceed 14 days within a 28 consecutive day period. The 28 day period begins when a camper initially occupies a specific location on public lands. The 14 day limit may be reached either through a number of separate visits or through 14 days of continuous overnight occupation during the 28 day period. After the 14th day of occupation, the camper must move outside of a 25 mile radius of the previous location until the 29th day since the initial occupation. The purpose of this special rule is to prevent damage to sensitive resources caused by continual use of any particular areas. In addition, campers must not leave any personal property unattended for more than 10 days (12 months in Alaska). Campsite Selection Dispersed camp sites are located along most secondary roads and may not be marked. Popular locations can be recognized by the telltale flat disturbed area that has been used as a camp site before. Not all flat spots are sites. If possible, please use existing sites to avoid creating new disturbances. To further protect your public lands, campers must not dispose of any refuse, hazardous materials, sewage, or in any manner pollute the surrounding area.
You may camp outside of developed areas across most of the Coronado National Forest at no charge. We recommend that you stop in to one of our five ranger stations to pick up a free travel management map so that you are aware where vehicles are and are not permitted.
Potable water, restrooms, and other amenities are not available at dispersed sites. If you choose to camp outside developed areas, be sure to bring adequate water or be prepared to purify any water source before drinking. No permits are required to camp in wilderness areas.
The Coronado National Forest has a 14-day stay limit on all camping. Areas designated as “Day Use Only” are limited to posted hours, no overnight use.
Part of the Douglas Ranger District
Location is near Park Link Drive - S. Cattle Tanks Road BLM
Primitive camping
Primitive camping is allowed on existing sites only. Map: https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/docs/2020-12/AZ_LasCienegas_NCA_map-508.pdf Camping may not exceed 14 consecutive days. You must camp at least 0.25 mile from cattle and wildlife water holes. You will need to bring your own water and firewood. The nearest lodging is available in Sonoita, 5 miles south on Highway 83, and in Patagonia. Campfires are allowed, except during periods of extreme fire danger. Food and Supplies A gas station and a variety of restaurants and services are located in the town of Sonoita, Arizona.
Scout
We got to the parking area about 7:40 PM on November 10th. Started up the road to the campsite about 2 miles further up the mountain but at about 1/2 mile the road was so icy that we lost traction. Snow on the ground by the road, lots of deer tracks in the snow. Ended up backing down the road to spend the night in the parking lot, sleeping in the van.
Ranger
Very easy access relatively close to shopping. Out of the way. However there is a light to moderate amount of garbage. It is near a highway and you do hear traffic. Extremely easy to access and there are many spots and the land is pretty full of campers some look like their full-timers or permanent the sign does say 14 day limit. I saw two tent campers as well. There are two or three entrances all on the same road and the camping area is cordoned off with a metal cable so the land cannot be used as a drive-thru or pass through area. The weather is moderate in the 70s during the day down to the lower 50s at night I got here the day before Halloween.
Guide
I’ve camped at Redington Pass a few times throughout the years. It’s a fun trail if you like a challenge of off roading. I wouldn’t recommend larger trailers or RVs to travel too far up the trail, we’ve seen them get stuck trying to turn around. The road is rough but if you don’t mind driving slow over the holes and bumps then no big deal.
Easy to find, follow Tanque Verde Rd all the way East until it turns into Redington Road, this then leads to a dirt road with TONS of dispersed camping pull offs with established fire rings. The further east you travel on the pass the less people you have to camp next to. The camping sites closer to the entrance get packed on the weekends.
The further you go you’ll run out of service, no bathrooms, no water hook ups, nothing, just dispersed wild camping!
ScoutAwesome views, secluded spots. Just make sure you have 4wd and go all the way to the back
Ranger
Great area of you plan to have everything with you. There is a ranch up the road along the way to the end of the road towards the top. Great place to hang out and enjoy the quiet. Take a drive up the road. Onyx Cave isn’t far.
ScoutVery crowded on the weekend but the crowd is friendly and respectful. Great way to escape the summer heat of Tucson! Bring your hats and gloves!
Guide
Off of main road, it’s about 10 miles + of washboard. A bit rough but wide road and fine when going slow. Lots of sites available, also very popular. Beautiful dragoon mountains. Stayed about 1 miles after the Slavin Gulch hike (great hike). Was here thanksgiving weekend (Nov 2023)
Traveler
Moderately rough road out for non 4x4 vehicle road, but fine going slow. Good spots off the road, fairly private and not too many other campers nearby. Lots of animals nearby very loud waking up and ants on the ground, we were glad we were in a roof tent not on the ground.
Guide
Remote, private, and free but accessible. Not a standard RV parking lot campground but rather several campsites with ample space between them for privacy, along an unpaved sandy road, just off a quiet paved back road. About 20-30min from gas stations, water, food, etc. It has no facilities or even pit toilets. Exactly what I wanted. This campground is aptly named as it is quite literally in the middle of a Saguaro cactus forest 🌵 along with many other different cactus species and wildlife. This location is tranquil and wild. I couldn't think of a better way to immerse yourself in the middle of this national park than this campground. It's a tight drive in if you go past the 2-3 RV sites at the beginning of the east side. I have a 2015 Toyota Tacoma with a roof top tent pulling a 12x6 enclosed trailer with standard wheels. My trailer made it through without scratches and at no point did I even think about four-wheel drive. A larger camper I couldn't speak for. It is quite sandy and has some mogul sections where the water flows have washed some of the trail away but overall an easy drive.
Disclosures and warnings:
There are three sides to this campground. The east side, west side, and North end. The West side is the most trailer friendly and most visited as it is where the GPS leads you. However, it gets worse the deeper you go in after roughly 10-15 sites. The east side you could probably manage a trailer for the first 2-3 sites. After that there would be no where to turn around and it gets rough off-road quick, like deep dried up sandy river bed crossings (month of May) and is more exposed to the sun with slightly less cacti than the west side. The North end is the most private and remote of the other two and the quietest. However, it is nothing short of a four-wheel drive off-road trail. I would not recommend anything other than off road vehicles in the north end and the sites are small, just for tents or 1 vehicle.
There are almost no rocks to worry about on the way in but the cacti here are more than capable of creating flat tires so take care to avoid pieces that have fallen onto the road. Especially the Jumping Cholla cacti! They are the worst things you will come across in this campground and are everywhere, easily the most dominant species of cactus in this area. They have evolved to break apart into spiny segments when they make contact with someone or something to propagate. Sometimes if the wind blows strong enough they cover the ground around their base with a mound of their spined segments. These segments often roll or blow into the roadways. The spines are hard as stone and sometimes over 2 in long. They have evolved special reversed barbs that you can't see with your eyes on every main spine. They go into anything except metal, including Kevlar reinforced tire sidewalls like a knife through hot butter and then hook in and don't come out unless you rip them out. I rode my adventure bike through the campground to explore, lost my footing in the sand and fell against one of these. I had 3-4 segments stuck to my arm. I spent 10 to 15 minutes ripping these segments out of my arm, pulling my skin away from my body about an inch before they will rip out. Don't make the same mistake as me.
GUNS! In my opinion the biggest downside to this campground is the almost constant gunfire all day long as there is a public shooting area on the south west side of the campground. If you are in the west side and you are looking southwest, there is a tiny little mountain ridgeline about a half mile away. All around the base of that ridgeline people are allowed to pull up and shoot at targets on the hill side. The locals show up as the sun just comes over the trees around 5:00 a.m. and they don't stop until the sun sets almost everyday of the week. They do however, quit at night so you can sleep.
If you camp here you are IN THE desert. During the day is fine. You will likely only run into swarms of flies. At night however, is a different story. ESPECIALLY If you decide to have a fire on a cold night or set up a lantern near the ground while making dinner. I stayed here for 9 days straight and I came across 6 rattlesnakes (mostly sidewinders), more camel spiders than I can count (at least 5+ per night), 3 brown recluse spiders, packs of coyotes rolling through at night and early morning (watch your pets), and 2 killer bee swarms in the trees. All within the campground boundaries, so just be ready for rugged camping.
TravelerThere are lots of sites along Gardner Canyon road, and it can get a little busy. We had a site by a large tree and a wash. The first time cows were our only visitors, but on another trip there was a camper 100 yards away or so. Some of the sites are quite large and are able to fit several large rigs. Depending on the time of year there are some small water crossings passed the ranch. Overall a great place to camp.
GuideTake 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.
Traveler
Great easy little spot that is highly used so make sure you plan ahead. Not all sites have fire circle and if you don’t have a toilet there are only a few bushes tall enough. Works for a quick one nighter.
Guide
We Camped here for two nights with a nice view of elephant head. It is an open range so there are cows walking around. There are quite a few camping spots but had all of them filled by the time we made camp on Friday afternoon. One of the really downsides was we had two skunks walk through our site early Saturday morning and one did spray our 10 months old puppy.
GuideI can’t say for sure because there is a posted 14 day limit but it looked like many of the people where living there are a permanent basis. Site is small and there is no privacy.
As a solo female, I didn’t stay here. I drove over to Ironwood NM and camped there instead.
Guide
It was well worth the short drive over here to compare it with Snyder Hill. Go through the gate and there are plenty of spaces without being on top other people.
Roads are a little sandy so I’d be careful on them when wet.
Scout
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.
Scout
Awesome spots along the roads in this area. We had to leave our very private site one day and left a few things behind — sadly it was all gone when we came back. Lesson learned, but a big bummer.
Scout
Road in is bad but not horrible. Lots of sites and many open on Wednesday in late February. Great views and clean. 1.5 miles to campground and trailhead.
Traveler
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.
Scout
We parked car on dirt road above canyon. We were only ones for a week. Then other young group showed up.
TravelerDon't go if it rained that day! Clay mud all over. We arrived late dusk and couldn't see well. We have 4 wheels truck and still got stuck in the mud. Next morning most of the water had seeped in the ground... 9am tried to move.... no luck. Another camper offered wood boards... we'll see. If it would have been dry, it would be a great easy spot to use.
Guide
January Rv 24 ft Cell service. Att 2 and o 3 bars. Able to stream
This is a beautiful spot. The spots are a little close together.
Not good for dogs really cus of cholla cactus everywhere. Watch where you walk and be sire to check shoes before entering your home for the night.
There is an outdoor shooting range close enough to Hear semi auto’s all day and as late as 10:45 pm. They were at it again at 8 am. Not sure if it is some military training area or what. That gets a bit old. It’s a good distance away so it’s not real loud, just present Road is good to drive big rv or 5th wheel no lroblem
Guide
The road up was a little rough and slippery, in some places. It had rained a few days before. I was fine without 4x4, but did slide in a few places. If you’re looking for peace and quiet with spectacular views and a lot of outdoor activities available, you will love it. Bring water, etc… it’s always to town. T-mobile cell good enough to stream.
TravelerGreat spot to go camping! The trail into the campground was great, you will need a 4x4 in certain spots, but mostly it’s a smooth ride. At night the view of the stars was beautiful since there was hardly any light pollution. 10/10 recommended
GuideWould recommend pulling in during the day when you have some sunlight. GREAT little hill to hike with a very defined rocky trail. Plenty of fire rings. Do your part and pick up some of the trash! It's such a well-trafficked area that the trash really piles up.
Great little gas station close with water and propane refill stations. Walmart not far either.
Pretty good access to Saguaro NP, less than a 30-minute drive to the visitor center and even closer to the Tuscon Mountain Range.
GuideI would come back here again! There’s several spots and it’s literally next to Saguaro NP! It was a little muddy, but there were paths around the mud. Very private and nice.
RangerMake sure to take the road out of tombstone, east to find. Road it a bit washboard but not hard. So many sites to find.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dispersed campsite near Saguaro National Park?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dispersed campground near Saguaro National Park is Redington Pass - Dispersed Camping with a 3.9-star rating from 15 reviews.
What is the best site to find dispersed camping near Saguaro National Park?
TheDyrt.com has all 42 dispersed camping locations near Saguaro National Park, with real photos and reviews from campers.
