Top Free Dispersed Camping near San Tan Valley, AZ

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Best Dispersed Sites Near San Tan Valley, AZ (41)

Showing results 1-10 of 41 campgrounds

Recent Dispersed Reviews In San Tan Valley

180 Reviews of 41 San Tan Valley Campgrounds


  • e
    Camper-submitted photo from Peralta Canyon / Gold Canyon Dispersed Camping - PERMANENTLY CLOSED
    Sep. 22, 2024

    Peralta Canyon / Gold Canyon Dispersed Camping - PERMANENTLY CLOSED

    Dispersed camping not allowed currently

    September 21, 2024: We’ve dispersed camped here many times in last three years, took a trip out there today and every dispersed access point is plowed up with very deep trenches not allowing vehicles or rigs to access. Sad affair with squatters taking advantage and leaving trash, there was not a soul in sight. Maybe they’ll reopen it later when it cools down.

  • Jim A.
    Camper-submitted photo from Saguaro Cove
    Jun. 13, 2024

    Saguaro Cove

    Remote Camping

    Takes a little 4 wheeling to get there or you can access it from the water.  Basic dispersed camping but gets a little warm during the summer months.  Views are nice and its a nice pack it in, pack it out spot.

  • SThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Picket Post
    May. 22, 2024

    Picket Post

    Quick Night

    Good place to pull off in a pinch for free. You do hear road noise. Close to Arizona Trail, where it crosses 60 so you can hike both directions if you decide to, or take the trail up to the top of the mountain. Very beautiful area

  • TThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Cactus Forest - Park Link Road - S. Cattle Tanks Road BLM dispersed
    May. 3, 2024

    Cactus Forest - Park Link Road - S. Cattle Tanks Road BLM dispersed

    Remote, Private, and free but accessible.

    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.

  • Patrick C.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Box Bar Road Dispersed
    May. 1, 2024

    Box Bar Road Dispersed

    Fun spot

    This is a great spot and easy to get to. Lots of shaded areas. You can camp next to your car , wich there might be campers running generators, or you can hike towards the river and set up camp to get away from that. Close to the river with several walk in spots to play in.

  • Jacquelyn I.
    Camper-submitted photo from Box Bar Road Dispersed
    Apr. 27, 2024

    Box Bar Road Dispersed

    Easy Drive In

    We don’t have an offroad car, so it is always nice when the gravel road is well managed. No heart aches getting in and finding an open area to camp. I was pleasently surprised at the many little nooks of privacy that you could set up camp. Outhouses are well maintained. Bring your own water though and you do need to pay ahead of time, there are no pay boxes on site.

  • SThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Cottonwood Canyon Rd. Dispersed
    Mar. 10, 2024

    Cottonwood Canyon Rd. Dispersed

    Enjoyed tent camping

    I’ve never been out here. Got a state land trust family pass for the area just in case we needed it. The cottonwood canyon rd is dirt/gravel and it is very flat and not washboarded. Cars can drive in. Just be aware that many of the pull offs from the road have dips or hills but there are also plenty of flat pull offs that lower ground clearance vehicles can pass. For tent camping finding a spot without a lot of sharp rocks and prickles from the various cacti can be a little challenging but it’s totally doable. Use caution when walking about between the cacti. Lots of prickles you can’t see well on the ground. Be extra careful if you have dogs. Probably want to have tweezers or pliers with you to remove the spines. We came out when it was covered in grass but I can imagine it might get pretty dusty if there isn’t any grass. There’s basically no shade to speak of but plenty of bushes/cacti etc for privacy. Very easy to find spots away from other campers on the weekend. There’s lots of gunfire and explosions in the distance during the day and at night. Many ATVs/OHVs driving up and down the main road at night. It got pretty much silent at about 11pm. There are probably a lot of places a decent way from the main road that may be quieter but there are no signs anywhere so you just kind of have to pull off and drive around. Camp was raided by quail early in the morning and we had some cows visit but they didn’t come too close. All in all pretty cool area will definitely come back

  • CThe Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Schoolhouse Point Dispersed
    Mar. 2, 2024

    Schoolhouse Point Dispersed

    Free Lakeside camping

    Pretty, dispersed camping near schoolhouse Point in Roosevelt lake. On the road down to the state campground there are two dispersed camping areas on the left easily visible on the left side, (the gps point may not be accurate, I made it after I left) if you pass both there's an easy turn around at the boat ramp even for big rigs. Some dips coming off the paved road but very easy access overall, might be tight for really big rigs. Probably 20+ sites at each of the two pull offs, most have fire rings and decent shade. Couple minutes drive to the boat ramp at schoolhouse Point which has bathrooms, dumpsters, and both drive in and walk-in lake access. Currently (as of 3/24) no potable water even at the paid campground at the end of the road, you can either pump from the lake if you have a filter or Tonto national monument about 10min up the road has a water spigot before the pay gate. 14 day limit per usual for national forests but a really lovely spot to call home for a while! Lots of great hiking nearby as well as swimming and boating on the lake

  • S
    Camper-submitted photo from Dispersed Site Near Tonto National Forest
    Feb. 6, 2024

    Dispersed Site Near Tonto National Forest

    Area Closed now due to "homeless problems"

    I live in the area and the BLM finally closed this area along with other areas nearby due to junk, abandoned vehicles, vicious dogs etc. It will become the Apache Junction and Goldfield Recreation area. Closed completely for 2 yr for vegetation restoration and when it reopens it will provide residents with OHV and Horse trails along with Staging areas.

  • Danny T.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Cactus Forest Dispersed Site
    Jan. 26, 2024

    Cactus Forest Dispersed Site

    Very pretty. Little noisy

    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

  • Danny T.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from BLM Sonoran Desert National Monument - Vekol Road Dispersed Camping Area
    Jan. 24, 2024

    BLM Sonoran Desert National Monument - Vekol Road Dispersed Camping Area

    Nice spot. Few issues

    January visit Rv 23ft Easy to find.
    Good cell service Overall it’s a decent spot with a few issues. Several of the spots were trash dumps. We were able to find other spots that were clean though. Spots are just off the road so you’re not real far away from the other campers but we really didn’t hear a thing from anyone. That said , there is a military base close by and jets fly over a few times a day and are real loud. We didn’t mind this but some people may. We also had a couple of helicopters dj a low pass one evening.
    The mountains around the area are very pretty.

    This spot is not real remote so you are close to the freeway and will hear some trucks occasionally.
    There are signs warning of illegal immigrants and that but we didn’t see or hear of any issues.

    Update to this review. We didn’t go as far down the road due to some standing water etc. however , go further down the road to find the better spots that are more remote. Most rvs and big rigs can make it really far down this road There is a few private property signs. Go past those TK the next set of camp sites.

  • J
    Camper-submitted photo from Apache Trail North Camp
    Jan. 9, 2024

    Apache Trail North Camp

    Superstition Dispersed

    There’s a hill north of this spot that we camped on. Some power lines in the way, but generally a great view. Not intense off reading or anything, but not suitable for trailers. Very exposed area so be ready for wind.



Guide to San Tan Valley

Camping near San Tan Valley, Arizona, offers a mix of stunning landscapes and outdoor adventures. Whether you're looking for a peaceful retreat or an action-packed getaway, this area has something for everyone.

What to do:

  • Hiking and Exploring: There are numerous trails to discover. At Lost Dutchman State Park Campground, one reviewer mentioned, "Lace up your boots and conquer one of the park's diverse hiking trails. From challenging climbs to scenic strolls, there's a path for every level."
  • Off-Roading: If you enjoy off-roading, Usery Mountain Regional Park is a great spot. A visitor shared, "Dust off your UTVs and get ready for a blast! The washboard washes offer thrilling rides for off-road enthusiasts."
  • Fishing and Boating: For water activities, check out Canyon Lake Marina & Campground. One camper noted, "You can launch your boat and then bring it to the campsite and tie off for easy access."

What campers like:

  • Scenic Views: Campers rave about the beautiful surroundings. A review for Burnt Corral Campground states, "This is one of our favorite campgrounds. Plenty of spots near the water."
  • Clean Facilities: Many appreciate the well-maintained restrooms and showers. At McDowell Mountain Regional Park, a visitor said, "The bathrooms are immaculate, and the staff is friendly and helpful."
  • Spacious Campsites: Campers enjoy having room to spread out. One review for Usery Mountain Regional Park mentioned, "The sites are very nicely kept/clean."

What you should know:

  • Limited Amenities: Some campgrounds, like Bulldog Canyon Dispersed Camping, have few facilities. A camper warned, "The road is in the worst condition... it was impossible to get through."
  • Busy Weekends: Popular spots can get crowded, especially on weekends. A visitor at Canyon Lake Marina & Campground noted, "Been staying here off and on for over a decade. Great place to hang out with the family. Weekends exceptionally busy."
  • Wildlife: Be prepared for wildlife encounters. One camper at Peralta Canyon mentioned, "We always put away our food/trash at night."

Tips for camping with families:

  • Choose Family-Friendly Campgrounds: Look for places with activities for kids. At Mesa-Apache Junction KOA, a reviewer said, "The staff were helpful and friendly. The place was impeccably maintained."
  • Plan for Activities: Bring bikes or hiking gear. A family at Usery Mountain Regional Park enjoyed, "There are mountain bike trails connected to this campground that were very fun!"
  • Pack Snacks and Drinks: Keep everyone happy with plenty of food. One camper at Burnt Corral Campground said, "There is shade from the trees, but the pollen does come down a lot."

Tips from RVers:

  • Check Hookups: Make sure your campground has the necessary hookups. A visitor at Picacho-Tucson NW KOA mentioned, "Big roomy level spaces, we had a premium spot."
  • Be Mindful of Noise: Some campgrounds can be noisy. One camper at Mesa-Apache Junction KOA noted, "A bit noisy at night from traffic but almost all campgrounds are."
  • Plan for Waste Disposal: Know where to dump your tanks. A camper at Canyon Lake Marina & Campground shared, "They have a truck that will come pump your tank for a small fee."

Camping in San Tan Valley, AZ, offers a variety of experiences, from serene nature to thrilling adventures. Whether you're a family looking for fun or an RVer seeking comfort, this area has something to fit your needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Which is the most popular dispersed campsite near San Tan Valley, AZ?

    According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dispersed campground near San Tan Valley, AZ is Bulldog Canyon Dispersed Camping - North Entrance with a 3.7-star rating from 26 reviews.

  • What is the best site to find dispersed camping near San Tan Valley, AZ?

    TheDyrt.com has all 41 dispersed camping locations near San Tan Valley, AZ, with real photos and reviews from campers.