About this place
Black Jack sits at 6,300 feet, with 12 camping units.
It is a large area, good for a group, and there is a fine view at the south end.
Above the campground are rocky bluffs and Blackjack Cave, and below them the sites sit under ponderosa pine and oak.
The Coronado Trail Scenic Byway is nearby and makes a good day out.
There are grills. There is a vault toilet and no drinking water.
Every Forest Service campground has a 14-day stay limit. Take your trash home.
The New Mexico state line is about 10 miles east.
The facts
- Cost
- Free to camp
- Stay limit
- 14 days
- Drinking water
- No, bring your own
- Toilet
- Yes
- Type
- Specific campsite
- When it’s open
- All year, weather permitting
- Managed by
- Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest
Getting there
It is about 14 miles southeast of Clifton on Highway 78. The highway climbs steeply to the campground, and the pavement is narrow and winding.
Coordinates 33.059447, -109.080770
Open in Google Maps Agency page
What is near here
A few more of our own spots are within reach of this one, along with some better-known places.
- Black Hills Back Country Byway Directions
- Mogollon Baldy Directions
- Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area Directions
- Whitewater Baldy Directions
Every distance on this page is the driving distance. A short distance can still take a long time. The road may be closed for the season, covered in snow, or washed out. Many of these roads are dirt. Plan your route before you leave home. Out here there is often no phone signal to look it up on the way.
Nearest town and supplies
- York, AZ Directions
- Clifton, AZ Directions
Clifton is big enough that you’d normally expect fuel and somewhere to buy food. Nobody from here has been to check, so don’t count on it if you’re running low.
Why the drive to town is usually twice what the map says — what we found measuring every campsite in this guide.
When it’s time to move on
You can camp here for 14 days. After that you have to move on. This is Forest Service land, and each forest sets its own rule for how far you have to go, so check before you travel.
The nearest other free campsite in this guide is Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area, Arizona — 27 miles in a straight line, but a 55 mile drive. Five more sit closer than 25 miles, if the rule here allows them.
This guide covers five states and does not list every free campsite, so there may be something closer that we do not hold. Check this site’s own rule before you rely on it.
Have you been here?
Fees and access change, and the records do not always keep up. If you have been, tell us what you found.
Thank you, that is recorded. It helps the next person.
Add road notes for this site
The thing we cannot get from any government record is what the drive in is actually like. If you have done it, this is the most useful thing you can leave behind. We read everything before it appears, and we print a first name with it if you give one.
Thank you. A person will read it before it goes on the page.
Where this information comes from
The description on this page is ours. The facts in it, and the fee and facility details below it, come from the Forest Service’s own records, read in August 2026; a second independent record also says there is no fee.