Tonto National Forest Dispersed Camping at Lake Roosevelt

Beautiful desert camping, lots of birds and wildlife. I heard coyotes in the middle of the night that woke me up, and was glad for a rooftop tent.

We stayed one night with our dog here a few weeks ago and it was really nice. Spent some time walking around checking out all the different cacti. Would certainly use this spot again. We have t-mobile service and although we had a few bars occasionally, the service was very minimal.

I stayed here on February 19th and 20th of 2022. The weather was great! High of 78 and mid 40’s at night. I pulled off of the main road 188 onto 83 which is a dirt road. The road was easy to navigate. There were about 6 sites that had rock fire rings. I stayed right before the first cattle guard. I did see some cows while I was here but they didn’t seem to care about me being there. There was plenty of downed wood to collect for a fire. Awesome views and great stars at night. I would definitely come back here again. Full dispersed experience.

There is many different pull through spots off this road. Pack it in and pack it out. Many different wildlife animals out. Great views.

camping in a 2 man tent, traveling in a raised 2WD. We took the dirt road to the end looking for a nice secluded spot, we passed a handful of sites for both rvs and tent. We found a small site in a dried out run off area past the second cattle guard.

We ventured down as far as we could go and carried our tent the remaining 20 or so meters.

Lots of dried wood around for kindling, enough stones to make a fire ring.

The sunrise and sunset here were spectacular, the lake provides an awesome blue.

One of our all-time favorite boondocking spots. There are many forests roads off 188 on the southern shore of Lake Roosevelt where dispersed camping is allowed. Some have spectacular views of the lake but are high up and difficult to get to. We found the most easily accesible dispersed camping off Forest Rd 83 between the national monument and little town of Roosevelt. There are large level sites here right off the forest road. As you go further up the forest road, sites get smaller but more private.

This is all working open range with lots of stock. We woke up many mornings to cattle rooting through our stuff and one morning to a real roundup with cowboys on horses. Amazing. There are lots if Saguaro and jumping Cholla cactus around as well as rattlers and scorpions so be alert.

We stayed nearly three weeks here and will go back. Lots to do around and across the lake.

No amenities but there is a dumpster at the head of FS83. Otherwise nearest towns are Punkin Center to the west and Roosevelt to the east, Globe being the nearest large town about 40 min away.

Note there is also dispersed camping off 88 along the Salt River, also worth taking s look. No cell service along 88, no amenities and roads get much more steep and difficult.