Redington Pass - Dispersed Camping

We parked car on dirt road above canyon. We were only ones for a week. Then other young group showed up.

I loved this spot, stayed here for 11 days. It’s up above Tucson so it’s a bit cooler and you catch some breezes. At first I stayed pretty early along the wrong, right past the trailhead parking. There was a lot of people parking next to me and unloading there off-road vehicles in the morning, so I decided to go further up. It was a great decision, I had a nice small private spot, and an incredible view. My photos don’t do it justice as my camera is broken.

The GPS coordinates of this site are way off. Site is at the end of Reddington road. Sites are not far off the road bed. A 2WD car can make it on this road without any issues.

This is a great place to explore the Eastern side of Saguaro NP. There aren't very many spots, though, and it's pretty busy. We had to drive up a couple of miles to find an area to pitch up our tent. And it wasn't the cleanest. The road is in good condition and you won't need clearance to drive up

This area is so beautiful it ALMOST makes up for its short comings. The GPS cords of this are wrong btw. It’s up Redington pass after it turns to dirt, follow the road for a few miles and find an open spot. Was v busy when my husband and I were visiting. Difficult to find a spot away from others if you are after some privacy. Ended up driving a fair distance up the road before camping d/t the amount of people around. Site are right off the dirt road and people drive FAST up and down it late into the night. Also met some interesting folks that decided to “share” our site with us while they went for a little night hike around 9pm, which they informed us by rudely yelling through the window of our van 🤷🏻‍♀️ All and all it was an ok place for the night but not a peaceful secluded spot if that’s what you are looking for. Road is a bit rough but very passable in most vehicles if you go slow. Best to arrive before it gets dark!

It worked in a pinch and was close to the national park entrance. Unfortunately, I arrived in the dark so be sure to go very carefully up the mountain. It’s very difficult to find a spot at night time because you cannot tell if it’s already taken or not. Sites are not the most level nor very big but it’s comfortable sleeping. When I woke up in the morning, I was walking around my site and discovered there was trash everywhere including clothes and tents and a bunch of other stuff. Felt safe while I was there but if I would’ve arrived at that spot in the daytime, not sure if I would’ve stayed. By about 9 AM, a bunch of people were parking in and around my site to access one of the trail heads in the area. So I ended up heading out early.

It is an absolutely beautiful area, and the views more than make up for some of the shortcomings of the site. Our site was more secluded, and it was very peaceful and serene at times. There was a full moon when we went, but I would imagine the stars are just brilliant out there on darker nights.

We drove up on a Saturday evening and had to go pretty far up the road before finding a campsite, but there were still a couple available for a weekend in November. As other reviews have mentioned, the campsites are directly off the road so it can be kind of loud with cars and ATVs driving by periodically throughout the day as well as due to nearby shooting ranges. Our campsite also had a lot of trash to clean up, unfortunately.

Overall, for how scenic and peaceful the area was in the morning, I would absolutely come back again. 

I’m browsing for a campsite and, using these coordinates, I don’t see any access to the point

The path leads up a mountain away from the city lights of Tuscon. It’s just a short drive away. There’s plenty of spots. Watch out for huge ants! We almost camped on a mound. They won’t bother you however. All in all a good spot. It overlooks Saguaro National Park. You can see the many cacti from the ridge.

A lot of ATVs, noise, and trash, but the view is pretty fantastic. Park along the road and set up camp, but there are many prickly friends nearby so be careful.

It’s just past the Tanque Verde Falls trailhead parking lot. Beautiful views and lots of RVs around. Off-road route can be bumpy but worth it. Car camping OK.

We tried to camp here on a Tuesday evening (01/19/21) and all of the spots were full, to our surprise. We brought our small tow-behind popup camper up the winding road until we reached the information pull-off, and decided to unhitch there and continue up the road in search of an empty spot with just our car (Subaru Crosstrek). The road is very bumpy, with lots of potholes and washouts. I would personally not suggest towing anything up this road, unless you’re an experienced tower perhaps with OHV tires/capabilities. This would be a lovely spot, had we been car camping. The foliage is beautiful and the view of Tucson is amazing, I’d love to come back here without a trailer. These spots, although they are more like small side-of-the-road pulloffs than campsites, are definitely better suited for conversion vans or truckbed campers, as every space we saw was very uneven and sandy.

The directions to this area were accurate. Multiple sites off of the dirt road. Traffic was a little heavy during the day but died down at night. Shooting was allowed after a certain point so gunshots were heard during the day. The site I stayed had a lot of broken glass and random garbage. I filled a couple grocery bags of cans and bottles. The views were phenomenal during the day and even better at night. For a free campground I cannot complain. I would stay here again.

Didn't look like it'd be very comfortable to pitch a tent on the ground, probably best for small RVs and camper vans. The road up is twisty and bumpy. Mountain biking just up the road.