Searching for a dispersed camping spot in Arizona? Find the best information on dispersed campgrounds in Arizona, including sites, reviews, and tips. Search nearby dispersed campgrounds or find top-rated spots from other campers.
It is labelled as East Pocket on a map, but known to locals as “The End of The World,” the perfect nickname to describe this climactic viewpoint. Flagstaff sits upon a lofty plateau carpeted in high-elevation pine forest, but just south of town, the bottom drops out. Below a craggy rim of volcanic rock, the land takes a precipitous plunge into an entirely different world of red rock and sandstone towers. This is the realm of Sedona, and End of The World overlooks all of it.
Pumphouse Wash (Forest Road 237) is__a popular dispersed camping area in the ponderosa pine forest__along SR 89A, midway between Flagstaff and Sedona, Arizona. The area is__conveniently located near__Oak Creek Canyon, Sedona, Flagstaff, Woody Mountain Road, Lake Mary, and a variety of recreation sites. It is a popular alternative to traditional campgrounds for visitors to Oak Creek Canyon and the Flagstaff area.There are four campsite loops, each containing__between__11 and__26 signed and numbered sites. The site offers__excellent camping opportunities for large groups as well as families and individuals.__Most sites offer partial to full shade beneath towering ponderosa pine trees, and are generally flat, making it easy to set up tents or campers. Each site has parking and a campfire ring. There is no trash service, so if you pack it in, pack it out. There are no restroom facilities. Portable toilets are highly recommended.FR 237 and the camping loop roads are well maintained and suitable for passenger cars.__Photo tour from this site [Flickr].
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Location is near Park Link Drive - S. Cattle Tanks Road BLM
Elevations range from 6,000 feet to over 8,000 feet. The name originates from the profile of a prominent ridge that appears from the distance as a "saddle", horn and all. Vegetation is diverse. It ranges from pinyon pine - Utah juniper in the lower areas to mixed conifers in the highlands. The lower elevations provide valuable mule deer winter range, whereas the higher elevations of the southern portion provide summer habitat for deer and blue grouse. In the upper portion of House Rock Valley a herd of buffalo roam.
Scout
The area is maintained fairly well. There are plenty of spots to choose from and very level. Not alot in the area to do, but the Vekol ranch is awesome, if you're into abandoned homestead. Some trails for sxs also. Mountain views and sunsets are awesome here. Verizon signal is very good, enough to stream.
Scout
This is a reservation-only group campground. There is a parking area across the street for the trailhead but not recommended for more than a quick overnight.
Guide
Parked here last two years, 6 months at at time over winter. Quiet, spacious, close to water, stores, lake pleasant. If you drive to the back, off new river road, you can find less people and traffic.
Guide
You GOTTA visit the annual Quartzite RV Show!!! Lots of Camping & RV stuff plus Hundreds of other vendors. We spend at least a week here in mid-late January every year. Meet old friends from around the country or make new ones. The show also includes a week of different Seminars covering a host of topics.
There are vault toilets as well as Dumpsters for your Trash. Across Hwy 95 there are dump stations and water available. Cost is: Up to 14 days = $40 Up to 28 days = $80 Up to 180 days = $180
Scout
Only spent the night here. The road in had about a mile of washboard but not too bad. The sites are simple and spread out. We took one of the first ones. Could see one other camper. Had a great sunset and a quiet night. There is an Ironwood sign at the gate and addition alsign with rules about 1/4 mile in on right.
Traveler
I stayed two nights and found the area to be perfect. It was not overly crowded, except for the area right off of the main road. If you go a little farther in on the trail you get a little more space. I full time in a class c and flat tow my Jeep and was able to get about half a mile off the main road for my own slice of heaven.
There are lots of flat areas for easy setup, but there are also quite a few areas that would be challenging to level. Depending on your rig you may want to walk the area first.
There was a little bit of highway noise, but nothing major. Town is about 10 minutes south, and interstate 40 is about 10 minutes north.
Scout
Nice location with dispersed camping options. When we were setting up a man came up & warned us that it was a popular spot for Nudists. He was not wrong. Be prepared to run into some interesting people.
TravelerSo thankful for this desert and the solitude it brought. The further off carefree you get, the more solitude you’ll find. It’s been pretty windy (25-30mph gusts) which causes a lot of dust but it’s gorgeous and warm during the day, even in January. Recommend black canyon city for laundry and hiked on the black canyon trail. Shell by this spot is pricey so make sure to get some stuff at Walmart in Anthem or somewhere else, however the shell is super convenient when in a pickle. Tons of stuff within 15-20 minutes such as groceries, shooting ranges, hiking, trails for the ATV/offroaders. I’d definitely visit again and recommend it. Also, great AT&T service, was able to work off hotspot from Tues-Friday with no incidence.
Guide
We headed in for a night of dispersed camping before heading into Grand Canyon NP. There were lots of available spots to choose from being January. It was easy to find and the drive in was fairly smooth.
We went in after dark but did some exploring in the morning before leaving. We found lots more sites available, some large, some small. Most having fire rings.
Cell service was spotty but we were camping so it was to be expected.
Traveler
It’s gorgeous. Not very many spots but love being right by the river. With this being said it’s tucked in there by the mountains so it gets colder than desert overnight and has wildlife around plus little to no service for AT&T. However, if I didn’t need service this would’ve been perfect since my dog loves the water.
Ranger
We spent 10 nights here and really enjoyed the experience. There are campsites over several miles, along the road and places in the floodplain of the lake.
We camped near the gate valve station 2. Very quiet at night and almost no visitors. We loved the solitude!
Bathroom is located East of our camp site in a densely packed camping area with little to no privacy. We found the bathrooms only convenient when we drove there.
This is supposed to be a wildlife refuge but we awoke several mornings to gunshots which we presumed were quail hunters. That was confusing.
There were a lot of off road vehicles stiring up dust on the weekends. I got the impression that they were joy-riding. Simple pleasures...
Guide
We stopped overnight traveling from the Phoenix area to Canyon DeChelly. Great spot. Quiet. Clean. A few other campers but we didn’t notice them.
Scout
First time at BLM. Crowded. Dirty. Lots of broken glass and I have dogs. Right off highway so car noise. Looking for a better spot.
GuideWe stayed two nights in this spot, visiting the Saguaro NP during the day. Only 2-3 other campers in the area while we were there. Fairly easy in and out. The road had some washboard but you could easily avoid by staying in the outer edges of the road. Very quiet with good views of the sky.
RangerBasic boondocking in the desert. Lots of room and others campers keep their distance.
Beautiful views of mountains with lots of birds.
The road in is about two miles of dirt road. Not too bumpy and appropriate for most cars and trailers. No end of room to turn around.
Scout
Free 14 day camping. Very dusty when wind picks up but plenty of places to tent camp or RV. VFW club house on site.
Scout
Stayed 3 nights. Easy access to/from town, recently graded road as of this writing, and (kind of) level sites. Quiet during the winter season at least and plenty of wildlife. Like most dispersed camping, kooks leave trash everywhere.
Guide
FREE & SPACIOUSNESS! Lots of places to park without being on top of the neighbors. Closest camper is over 400 yards away. Great views in all directions and only 3.5 miles to Palm Canyon. PC is the ONLY place in AZ where Palm trees are native. Apparently they have been growing in this secluded spot since this whole area was under water. Think of the song "Beach Front Property in Arizona".... Anyway, something cool to see. It's less than 4 miles off AZ-95 on a dirt road followed by a 1/2 mile VERY EASY hike from the parking area.
Traveler
This was an open spot at night, and we needed to park, so we did, and saw the place covered in broken bottles, paint brushes, garbage, and up the hill someone has been using the bathroom all over the grounds and leaving nasty toilet paper all over. The horse pen is full of broken bottles and empty gun casings, you can see that people come up here to trash the place.
Guide
Great dispersed camping spot close to Sedona!
Heads up we camped a little further down on Beaverhead Rd where there were more open spots and an easier dirt road to drive onto. Plenty of spots to choose from which was surprising on a holiday week (Christmas to New Years). The camping was a lot quieter than I expected even though there were a bunch of other campers. Everyone seemed to be able to find a spot far enough from another to have a secluded space.
The location is super convenient from Oak Village and downtown Sedona. There is even a back way on highway 89 if you find yourself in West Sedona and don't want to drive through traffic to get to highway 179.
TravelerNot a fan. Won’t be back with my trailer.
Traveler
We 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
Traveler
We chose to keep going until we hit actual BLM land, maybe one mile from the highway. The views were phenomenal and very little noise. The moon and stars were beautiful too.
It looked like there was BLM land on the North side of I8, which we’ll check out the next time we pass through here.
Even though the road is a little bumpy, any rig and trailer can make it!
Scout
Had a wonderful time white tail deer walking thru the campsite. Plenty of sites to choose from. The only problem we ran into were the wild pigs trying to open our tote (no food in the store ) board games and camp kitchen utensils.
Scout
The road is totally doable in a minivan or the likes if you have some experience driving on rougher terrain, but only if you are coming in off of hwy 17. If you are in Sedona and decide to take 89A because you don’t want to drive out to hwy 17 like we did you will be met with a side by side trail. It is not a road. We barely made it in a 2025 Subaru Outback wilderness. If you have 4x4 and a solid 12 inches of ground clearance then go for it cause it is fun but damn. We took hwy 17 the rest of the days we camped here and it was a breeze. Beautiful views!
Traveler
Great place, drove about a mile in and found a site that is spectacular. Had no problem with our 35 foot 5th wheel and truck combo. Will need to revisit in the spring.
Traveler
This is a nice spot just outside Page The turning isn't marked if you're driving in the dark and it's a bumpy drive to the camping spots There was only room for two vans max, thankfully we were the only ones Nice views in the morning We were passed by a few vehicles going off roading
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