Best Dispersed Camping near Tucson, AZ

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.

40 mile scenic drive on a 4x4 road, dispersed camping along the way. Extremely popular view to park off the road in the saguaros. But I’d recommend cactus forest north of Tucson in blm land if you want that. Farther in you hit the mountains. We stayed off an off roading rock crawler trail. Def the path less taken. Super quiet and relaxing.

After seeing the dispersed camping, my partner and I knew there must be something better and more secluded. About a 1/4 mile before the dispersed camping there is a national forest access road on the right. You’ll see a forest fire prevention sign at the entrance. 4x4 only no trailers. 3 or 4 dispersed sites. Beautiful hike up 4x4 road. Border patrol active. Close to Arizona’s trail trailhead. Great place to stay and see Patagonia.

We were surprised on the number of people who ventured out to this BLM spot off Park Link Road in the Cactus Forest over a rainy weekend in Tucson.

The first dozen dispersed spots were full with camper vans, small trailers and trucks. We continued to drive down the gravel dirt road to a more secluded spot. We didn’t see anyone in our one-night stay beside a mountain biker in the morning.

Even though It was raining in the area for about 24 hours before we travelled to the campsite, we didn’t have any issues navigating the 1.5 miles down to the site we chose. The truck has some mud in it and the 4x4 wasn’t needed (but made it easier). I would recommend a high clearance vehicle to reach the further back spots. Also, the road was narrow, our F250 brushed a few bushes on the way.

Most dispersed sites had a fire ring (check locally fire conditions first). I’d suggest bringing in fire wood unless you just want to burn the few fallen twig and limbs. It’s a cactus forest- so the terrain is mostly saguaros, chollas, Palo verde trees and shrubs.

Our site had a beautiful view of the sunset and a view of Picacho Peak in the distance. We visited in February and the weather was nice (on the chilly side) for our roof top tent. I wouldn’t come here in the summer unless we had a rig with air conditioning. Impressive view of the stars at night. Some traffic noise from I-10.

No water, toilets, or trash. So be prepared to take out what you bring in. We had 2 bars of LTE slcell service with T-Mobile.

It’s BLM land close to Tucson, so locals use the area for gun target practice. We heard gun shots until the sunset and starting again the morning. It was basically non-stop. If you want a place to shoot, this would be a good spot to camp.

🌵 Saguaro Facts: Saguaros can live to be 150-200 years old and grow as tall at 40 feet. A 10 year old saguaro Is about 1.5 inches tall (please watch where you drive, park and step). At 80 years old, it’s around 6 feet tall and starts to bloom. The best time to see saguaro blooms is mid-May through mid-June. At age 95-100, it’s around 15 feet tall and starts to grow it’s first arm. 🌵

Just a few miles up Harshaw Rd. (just outside of the adorable village of Patagonia), you will find a variety of free camping options with no services, just National Forest land available to both RVers and tent campers.  There are streams running throughout the area, but the water simply isn’t drinkable even with filtering and leaves a sticky white mineral residue on everything it touches; thank goodness there is a reverse osmosis filling machine in the village of Patagonia, right in front of the bakery.  The backroads in this area are great for hiking or mountain biking, you can choose from relatively flat to crazy steep with amazing views.

The village of Patagonia is colorful and fun, and has a nice market with a great produce selection for its size, a small bakery, a launderette, a gas station, and a few cleverly named restaurants. Also, be sure to check out the Paton Center for Hummingbirds (a birdwatcher’s paradise) -- it’s free! The locals are super friendly.

Note: You will see Border Patrol both hanging out in hidden spots and zooming down the roads through this area, appearing to be in hot pursuit.  But we never saw a single “situation” that warranted their presence.

This dispersed camping area was a lot more secluded and quieter than I expected. My friend and I were looking to camp overnight before going on a gravel bike ride in the area. 

Harshaw Road was already along the bike route, so this was an ideal location. Bonus that this is pretty close to Patagonia which came in handy when we couldn't make coffee in the morning.

We drove a little further than the GPS marker to find a camping spot that was tucked in from the main road. There were plenty of spots for a large group with rock fire pits. As someone mentioned, there was an area further back that was clearly the bathroom spot. 

Assume that this spot could get full in the shoulder seasons, but again was pleasantly surprised to be the only ones there.

This seems to be the popular dispersed camping area along North Pump Station Road within the BLM Ironwood Forest National Monument. Numerous dispersed sites along a two track dirt road on both sides of the main gravel road. Free dispersed, 14D limit. No water, trash, toilets or designated spots. Cell signal is very good and OTA tv is also very good. Last mile or so from end of pavement is a wide graded dirt road accessing the dispersed sites from either direction, however the Silverbell road access seems to have a narrow bridge with a 6k weight limit?, So access to this site is from the south on gravel west El Tiro Rd for larger rigs?

(Note that State land is adjacent and also offers dispersed camping sites but an AZ state lands permit would be required on State lands.)

One negative issue is the constant target shooting from adjacent State lands.

This area is a short distance from the other Snyder Hill blm area and although closer to the hwy noise, this area is flat and more open for TTs and RVs. Great cell signal, not too trashy and seems BLM rangers patrol weekly. Dispersed camping, no water, no designated sites, no toilets, however a trash dumpster is now at the other Snyder Hill area.

AZ State trust lands adjacent to BLM Ironwood Forest National Monument. I noticed the state lands seem to have more trash than the adjacent BLM, hence the two stars. Note that AZ State Trust Lands require a permit to camp on, this permit is online and costs around $20 good for a year. Dispersed camping. No water, toilets or trash dumpsters. Cell signal is very good however.

This BLM dispersed camping area is along a two-track dirt road that follows a buried pipeline. The start of the pipeline rdo from Avra road is .6 tens mile from the cattleguard on Avra Road and Pump Station road jct. There is no BLM sign or other signage on Avra road for the pipeline road turnoff and the entrance is somewhat obscured by the dense palo verde trees. There was some pink flagging marking the entrance to pipeline road 01.2022. Pipeline road is a lumpy bumpy two track that looks dicey but larger class As and 5th wheels RVs seem to get into this area ok.

The dispersed camping is only for about the first 1/2 mile as the two-track road crosses a deep wash (TTs will drag bumper!) past the 1/2 mile or so and then goes onto State Lands. Access to the paved road and access back into Marana or Tucson Estates area shopping makes this site more useful than other dispersed sites in the BLM Ironwood Forest monument. No toilets, water, tables or trash, however cell signal is very good. Sites are easy to get to and good flat areas are available. Only issue to note as a warning is the exit from the dirt camping road back onto the paved Avra Road is obscured by dense shrubs/trees and make it a bit dicey..the paved road does have truck traffic from the active Silver Bell copper mine at the end of the road. Three stars due to truck noise from the mine that seems to start at dawn..and the recent pipeline construction. In addition the target shooters are constant all around, even though it is illegal to target shoot on the Ironwood Monument and the State Trust lands...the local sheriff and BLM cops do not seem to be able to stop the shooters.

I was traveling from Tucson to Sonoita and had myself a nice overnight. I saw one other camper here, but never heard them. Pulled down the road then through the gate and went about a mile. Beautiful secluded space, bugs weren't too bad. LOTS of nature sounds, heard a pack of dogs, plenty of cows and (?) And the birds are everywhere! It's super awesome! I'm camping in my car, so I didn't find a normal site, just pulled off the road and set up my chair to kick back and enjoy a local craft beer before bed.

It has what's seems like endless road of dispersed camp sites with endless cacti of any/ every kind... It is no cost and forthe ones who have animals it has a fence yard in the first and second spots for public use...BY FAR ME AND MINES favorite place thus far... Four thumbs up

Dispersed camping. No amenities. The spots at the cieneguita camp are full Everytime we have camped at the preserve but there is plenty of open area to pick a spot. We camped just past the cieneguita sites tucked back in the mesquite thicket. The dirt at the spot we camped at was so fine it was like talcum powder so everything was covered in dirt in no time BUT it’s camping. You can hear periodic gunfire as this is BLM but people appear to be shooting in areas that are away from campers and towards hillsides. Super quiet otherwise and great skies without light pollution for looking at stars. Pretty cool spot.

Entire area is fenced off and appears to be closed to dispersed camping. The larger area to the west is still available.

Dispersed camping, no amenities, but FREE. 

Easy drive in on partially washboarded flat gravel road (E Yucca Farm Rd). The dirt road into Road Canyon is manageable, just drive with caution. Area is wide open and quiet with multiple spots. Did not see many people during our stay here, just a few hikers and ATV’ers, and one trailer camping down the road. As you are driving in there are several decent spots to pull off and camp. There are stone fire rings that people have made and the area is free from left litter.

Further down the dirt road you come upon a “no trespassing” sign indicating that it is State Trust land and that a permit is required to go any further, and to call 602-542-2119. Arizona Trust Land Permit is $20/year for family of 4, $15/year individual. 

Saw some antelope on our way out but no other wildlife. There are free range cattle but did not see any. Nice quiet place to let the dogs run free.

There are other camping areas further up the main road. 

Good Verizon and AT&T reception

Great spots along this road for dispersed camping. Saw some wild life like deer and turkey. Only downside is that the road is narrow so if your pulling anything wide just be cautious. Other than that I highly recommend camping here when your at Mt. Lemmon.

This area is also called Empire Ranch. The ranch is 44,000 acres boastes lots of wildlife elk, antelope, coyotes, kangaroo rats, and roadrunners. The ranch house can be toured along with several bunkhouse and barns. Several western movies have been shot on the ranch and lots of the scenery looks familiar from these said movies. John Wayne Frank, Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sam Elliott are some of the actors in these movies. Water can be acquired at the camp host and gift shop area at the ranch house. The ranch has an airport which all the large Class A Class Cs and goose neck campers usually camp because the campsites are on the air strip area and requires very little backing. A true gem of a dispersed camping area.