About this place
This site was closed in 2026 because of the Pocket Fire. The fire started north of Sedona in June and burned more than 27,000 acres. The site was still listed as temporarily closed in October 2026, so check with Coconino National Forest before you go.
This is dispersed camping in ponderosa pine along State Route 89A, about halfway between Flagstaff and Sedona. It's one of the busiest free sites in this corner of Arizona, and a glance at the map explains why.
Oak Creek Canyon, Sedona, Flagstaff, Woody Mountain Road and Lake Mary are all within reach, along with a string of other recreation sites. If you're visiting Oak Creek Canyon or Flagstaff and would rather not pay for a site, this is where you end up.
What you get
There are four loops of sites, each holding between 11 and 26 spots, all signed and numbered. Tidier than dispersed camping usually is. It works for a large group as easily as for one van.
Most spots sit in partial or full shade under tall ponderosa. The ground is mostly flat, so you won't spend an hour looking for somewhere level, or wake up rolled against the tent wall.
Every site has somewhere to park and a fire ring.
What you don't get
No toilets, of any kind. Bring a portable one. On a site this busy it matters.
The road in
Forest Road 237 and the loop roads are well maintained. An ordinary car will manage them.
The facts
- Cost
- Free to camp
- Roads around it
- Forest Road 237 and the camping loops are well maintained and suit a passenger car
- Toilet
- No. A portable toilet is strongly advised
- Type
- Set campsites, signed and numbered, in four loops
- Managed by
- Coconino National Forest Recreation
The roads around this place are not maintained for a regular car. That comes from the US Forest Service, who grade every road by the kind of vehicle it is looked after for. Those records cover the roads nearby. They do not cover the last stretch in to the campsite, and nobody has checked that part. Treat this as a warning. We are not promising what you will find when you get there. If you have driven it, tell us what it was like and we will say so here.
Rules and restrictions
- Camp only in a signed, numbered site.
- Park within 50 feet of your site's sign post.
- Use the campfire rings that are already there.
- Before you leave a fire, make sure it is out and cold to the touch.
- Pack out everything, including your waste.
- Driving off the road is not allowed anywhere here.
Fire restrictions run here for much of the season. At Stage 1 and at Stage 2, campfires are banned at this site. A gas device with an on/off switch is still allowed.
You can camp here. You can't camp in the country around it. That closed area is the block between State Route 89A, Interstate 17, Kachina Village and Forest Road 237. Fires are banned in it as well. The Forest Service keeps the map on their page for this site.
Getting there
Coordinates 35.054259, -111.726436
Open in Google Maps Agency page
What is near here
This is a good base for somewhere people travel a long way to see.
- Lowell Observatory Directions
- Humphreys Peak Directions
- Anderson Mesa Directions
- Meteor Crater 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
- Kachina Village, AZ Directions
Kachina Village 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 “at least”: this route is hard to measure. We worked the drive out twice, with two separate mapping tools, and they gave different answers. That usually means there is no road close to the campsite, so the drive doubles back a long way. The figure above is the longer of the two. The real drive could be further still, so check the route before you set off.
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
On most public land you can camp for 14 days before you have to move on. Check this site’s own limit before you plan a long stay. 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 Childs Dispersed Camping Area, Arizona — 49 miles in a straight line, but at least a 88 mile drive. One more sits closer than 25 miles, if the rule here allows them.
Why “at least”: there is no road right at this campsite, so the drive is hard to measure and the real one could be further. Check the route before you set off.
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.