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Valentine Ridge Situated near Canyon Creek, known for its rainbow trout fishing. A 9-mile all-terrain bicycle loop trail starts at the campground. Wildlife includes: Abert squirrel, black bear, mountain lion, elk, turkey and deer. Arizona Game & Fish Department Canyon Creek Fish Hatchery is nearby. Public is welcome.
The majority of campgrounds on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests are primitive and offer dispersed camping. You may camp outside of recreational areas anywhere on the Forest at no charge. Potable water, toilets, and other amenities are not generally available. If you choose to camp outside recreational areas, be sure to bring adequate water or be prepared to purify any water source before drinking. Also, remember if you pack it in, then pack it out, don't leave your trash for others to clean up. No permits are required to camp in Wilderness areas.
Guide
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.
Ranger
Great, great free camping. ~20 sites, most official sites have concrete pads & trashcans but a few more primitive spots just have driveways & rock campfire rings. Great Verizon Service. WINDY. Pretty, too.
GuideRight 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.
Scout
Tons of dispersed camping sites. Most of the road is in fairly good shape. Lots of shade.
TravelerThere 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.
Guide
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
TravelerVisited 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
ScoutThere are al lot of dispersed camping sites here. Most of them are very easy to get to even with big rv’s or trailers. Maintained roads all the way through. A lot of areas to explore. The lake just 6ish miles from the highway has always provided me with a super fun and productive fishing experience year after year. If your new to camping or even need a spot to sleep passing through I highly recommend this area.
LegendI 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:
GuideLocated 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.
LegendWhat 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.
Legend
The Larson Ridge Dispersed camping areas off FR237 don’t have a lot to offer, but it does have space. Plenty of room here to spread out. The further up the road you go, the less rocky the sites become. You are also further away from the vault toilet, if you camp up this far, I wouldn’t expect to use that toilet at all.
This spots are on the ridge, so be prepared for wind. Our last day we had a pop up awning get lifted up into tree branches and aluminum poles snap on an REI tent.
This area is also really dusty which can make you feel like your in a sand blaster when the wind kicks up.
Lots of FR to ride around on ATVs/ mini bikes. We had fun looking at wild flowers and playing bocci ball.
There were lots of pine but it was warm in the sun in the heat of the day. We were there in June though.
Triple check your fire pit before you leave. Make sure it is out
ScoutI 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.
TravelerWe came up from Phoenix to get away from city life for 48 hours and this place is beautiful. We just got here and I have at least some reception because I’m doing the review from the site. Was it easy to get to, right off the highway, we drove back about a mile into the woods and there was tons of places to camp. Granted it’s early January so that could have something to do with all the open spots. There’s no facilities of any kind. We’re totally Boondocking it with our RV no hook ups just the water we brought and a generator, but I couldn’t be happier so quiet.
Oh yeah. If you are checking the weather, it’s closer to Heber than Payson. Payson low tonight expected to be 37, but Heber is expected to get to 24. Brrrrr
RangerRating 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.
Guide
PROS: Spacious campsites; some have phenomenal views overlooking a canyon. Free entry and a toilet near the entrance. Saw some deer while on a hike and seems like a great area for off-roading in an ATV or dirt bike. CONS: some of the campsites are close to the road and passing trucks can be loud. It was kind of crowded and noisy until late this Memorial Day weekend.
LegendStayed here for a couple nights towards the end of May. There were a few other people camping while I was here but it was very quiet. I would estimate there are about 10 sites. Most appeared to have garbage cans. There were two port o potty’s that were not too bad. There were lots of cattle free range grazing around the lake. I was able to find fire wood around for a fire but it was a little challenging finding larger pieces of wood, I would probably bring some wood of my own if I ever returned. Overall it was a great place to stay for free especially since there aren’t lots of campsites in this area. Directions were accurate.
ScoutDispersed
ScoutNice spread out campsites right on concho lake. Trash, port-a-potties on site.
Traveler
In November of 2017, we decided to go camping. But since it was off-season, so our choices were limited. We traveled past Payson in search of a campground that was open year-round, and we finally landed upon this serene beauty. It was a small campground located off of some unpaved forest roads with large campsites equipped with fire pits and some even with BBQ grills. There were picnic tables at the sites as well. There were two small bathrooms available to use near our campsite. At first we were the only ones in the campground, but eventually one other group showed up. Overall, we were happy with this campsite and would be happy to return someday. I am sure there are more campers in the busy season, but I'm sure it is still just as serene and beautiful
TravelerThe campsite itself was nice and clearly marked. Lots of places to camp and close to a little walk where you can find geodes all over the ground!
Issue was, our campsite was right next to the road and people speed by in quads and trucks, kicking up a lot of dust. If we had gotten a site further in I feel it would have been more enjoyable. Would go back to see if we could get a different site but it fills up quickly.
RangerUsed 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… 😉
GuideA 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.
ScoutFree, what more you want?
RangerLocated right outside the park. It’s free!!!
ScoutEasy 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
ScoutWe didn’t actually stay here because the reviews were confusing and we got into town late and needed a reliable place to stay. We ended up driving past it while leaving The Petrified Forest and saw plenty of RVs parked in the lot with signs saying RV’s could stay overnight for free. We asked one of the guys by his RV if there was an electric hookup and he said yes for 30 amps and for a 15 dollar fee which you can pay in the gift shop. The gift shop was open till five. I don’t know how it would work if you got there late and tried to hookup without paying, the lady in the shop was not very friendly. Regardless this looked like a great place to stay for free if you do not need the hookup, or if you want the hookup, get there before five and pay inside!
Discover the beauty of dispersed camping near Show Low, Arizona, where nature enthusiasts can find serene spots away from the crowds. With a variety of locations to choose from, campers can enjoy the great outdoors while embracing the freedom of camping without the constraints of traditional campgrounds.
Frequently Asked Questions
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dispersed campground near Show Low, AZ is Crystal Forest Museum and Gifts with a 3.8-star rating from 25 reviews.
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