Best Dispersed Camping near Thatcher, AZ

This is the first time I've ever stayed on BLM land. I parked at the 3rd spot in midday and stayed all night. I only saw about 6 vehicles go by the entire time I was here, but I couldn't see or hear anyone else aside from that. The view was nice from my spot. Had about 2 bars on average with AT&T

Found a beautiful dispersed camping spot beneath the Aspens and Ponderosas on the north side of FR803 about a mile west of the Riggs Flat Lake Campground. There’s a great overlook to the east looking out toward Pima and Safford.

Wildflowers at their peak. a full on superbloom of California poppies amidst cacti greeted us at this BLM spot just southeast of Mt. Graham. Lots of places to pull over for a night or for a week or two along Tanque Road, and almost no road noise since the highway is far enough away. Tanque Road is dirt but was doable for our vintage trailer for the first mile or so, but we've heard it gets sandy and harder to navigate the further in you get.

Well-positioned in between the Coronado National Forest and the Hot Well Dunes area. No services, no water, no toilets, just beautiful open desert. Come prepared with drinking water and please Leave No Trace.

Closest town is Safford, AZ about 30 minutes away, and has all that you need.

Review of RV Boondocking at Cochise Lake Willcox, AZ

Cochise Lake is a fantastic boondocking spot with plenty of space, making it perfect for big rigs. It is easy to access, peaceful, and offers a great place to settle in for a night or more.

The real highlight, though, is the incredible experience with the sandhill cranes. You’re just feet away from hundreds of not thousands of these majestic birds. Watching them take flight at daybreak is absolutely breathtaking. Many return around 1 p.m., and sunset brings another spectacular show.

If you love birdwatching, wide-open spaces, and the beauty of nature, this spot is definitely worth a visit!

The perfect place to boondock, we did just one night but you could easily do a few and have a nice chill quiet time w a great view

Not really much to see here just a horseshoe parking. Didn’t stay since the spot so small right off the road. We are in 40ft Rv it’s just a place to rest your head boondocking

Millions of years ago, volcanic activity in the Southwest create lava rocks and fire agate. Inside the Rockhound area you can walk and collect fire agates right off the surface of the ground. It is the desert equivalent of searching for sea shells at the beach. It makes a fun day trip for families and rock enthusiasts. If rocks aren’t your thing, bring an ATV, 4x4, or dirt bike and enjoy miles of trails and dirt roads.

The Rockhound area can be accessed from the Black Hills Scenic Byway or the main access road. We had no issues finding it using Google Maps. We did take a 4x4 on this trip, but it isn’t necessary. Any vehicle that can handle a few miles of primitive/gravel road should be fine.

If you’re adventurous enough, spend the night in one of the dispersed camping sites. Just be prepared. There are no facilities or water available. The site only has a sign, a log book and a small trash can. The area is very rocky and I don’t recommend tent camping, but it would be feasible with some raking. There were 3 other groups camping while we were there and they were all sleeping in some type of camping vehicle. There aren’t any trees, so we experienced lots of high wind gusts. As a precaution, We took our awning down in the middle of the night, but our roof top tent was fine. Although this area is remote, you can see the lights from Safford,AZ at night. We didn’t have a fire, but they are permitted (as long as there isn’t a fire ban in effect). Some of the sites had camper-made fire rings/pits dug into the ground and surrounded by rocks.

Easy access off 191. Shot gun shells, bullet casings, cigarrette butts, broken bottles, mild trash, wide open desert terrain with panorimic Mountain views. BLM free. No services. If this is your thing, go for it. Spent one night.

This has been our favorite campsite of our road trip so far. Noteworthy mentions: It is off the beaten path. It’s free. There are free roaming cattle There are endless rocks to explore and climb. It will keep your attention for days. Not many people here. Campfires allowed. Would recommend a 4x4 to get to further sites. Awesome remnants of Native American activity. You’re right next to where you wanna be. Thumbs up.

The campsite is a single fire ring in an unpaved parking lot about 100’ from the road which has moderate traffic. It’s free, and if you’re needing a spot to camp for the night, this might be for you. I visited in August so decided to opt for a motel room instead since the heat was well over 100. The “playa” itself featured a trail, it’s about 2.6 miles to the trail’s end and back

This area is beautiful and dispersed. A lot of campers so scout out your site before you pull in, we pulled in with our 24 ft TT and it was a little tight to turn around.

-Youtube: Likely Lost

A beautiful, serene location not too far from I-10 and Fort Bowie. We arrived at around 10pm in our Sprinter van and found a quiet location. The campsites are far apart and you travel on compacted dirt road to get there. The father you go, the more space you have. It will be quite bumpy if you do not have an AWD or 4x4.

This area has five to ten campsites suitable for small rigs (we pull a 17-ft trailer, wouldn't go much past 20ft).   From the almost-ghost town of Bowie, AZ, take the Apache Pass Rd until you reach the Happy Camp Rd.  This is a good gravel/dirt road that goes up to a public picnic area (no camping).  Here take the turn-off to the right to continue on Happy Camp Road.  Soon you will see turn-offs and side roads.  We didn't explore the side roads but we did see a couple of small rigs a hundred yards or more from the road, so it is possible to find sites there.  As you continue along the road it gets worse and you'll need decent clearance (there are also sites before the road gets a little dicey, closer to the picnic area.  About a mile from the picnic area we backed into a site right below the rocks with a grand view of the plains below.  We camped for two nights, saw no-one.  In late September, 90s during the day and 60s at night.

This site is on the *other* side of the hills from the Chiricahua Monument.  To get to the monument, you can either go back to Bowie, and then to Willcox, and back to the Chiricahuas, or you can take the Apache Pass Road (the one you turned off from to get to the campsite) over the hills, past the ruins of Fort Bowie (you will have to hike 1.5 miles to the actual ruins).   Total time is probably the same either way.

We drove past the campgrounds near Portal AZ as we were exploring.  In late September, they were all full and there were lots of ATVs buzzing around.  Compare and contrast to our empty, quiet campground with neat-looking rocks and a fine view. 

We had two bars of Verizon coverage and it was fast.

Came in early on a Friday afternoon to find the parking area vacant. Signage is clear: camping is only allowed in the designated area. No amenities, not even a dumpster or a pit toilet. Towards dusk a van pulled in. They were very quiet. But the parking lot is right on a paved 55 Mph Highway with quite a bit of traffic into the night, no trains or planes. Big rigs could easily get in and out of here but after three or four RVs it would be too crowded. No migrating waterfall here at the end of March, just a lot of mourning doves, ravens, and a couple of cows. Not bad for free. This is a state wildlife viewing area but no mention of any required permits

Nice Spot. Easy to find, and easy to find a spot. Big Rig friendly in the 1st area. Gets a little tighter the further down you go like most places. We stayed in the 1st area for stronger internet & less fuel consumption when we go to town. Diesel prices are stupid right now. We found a nice level unobstructed spot looking out at the snow capped peaks of Mt. Graham. Verizon via Visible 2-3 bars. ATT via Straight Talk 3-4. Haven't tried OTA channels. 4 Rigs in the 1st area, about a football field apart. Some overnighters, but most we talked to here 7-14 days. Minimal trash, but some. Pretty quiet and only about 8m to town, but it feels more remote. Free dump station at the Water Reclamation Plant in Safford, just sign in, dump, sign out. They also have water to rinse, not potable. Cute diner in town called Jerry's. Good burgers at JD's sports bar (loud though). Great RV repair shop (Trek RV) squeezed us in for a Furnace motor issue. This one gets added to the Will RETURN list.