Dispersed Camping

Dispersed Camping Areas

• Actividades y Recreación
• Douglas Ranger District
  

  Dragoons, Chiricahuas, Cochise, names that hark back to the Old West. All are associated with the lands that now make up the Douglas Ranger District. Located in southeastern corner of Arizona; southwestern corner of New Mexico, the district includes the Chiricahua, Dragoon, and Peloncillo mountain ranges.  Visitors can enjoy hiking trails, the Chiricahua wilderness, several campgrounds, and Cave Creek Canyon, a world-famous birdwatching area.

  Ranger	Phone	Address
  Douglas "Doug" Ruppel (District Ranger)	(520) 364-3468 FAX: (520) 364-6667	1192 W. Saddleview Rd. Douglas, AZ 85607

• Chiricahua Mountains

  The Chiricahua Mountains are the largest of Arizona’s Sky Island mountain ranges and the second highest. The main crest of the mountain range resembles rolling hills atop a narrow high plateau rather than distinct mountain peaks. This relatively flat area is bounded on the east and west by steep slopes and sharply dissected canyons. Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmanii)reaches its southernmost limit in North America in this mountain range. The vegetation at upper elevations is dominated by ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir, and white fir, with the ponderosa pine evenly distributed and the other two conifers confined mostly to north-facing slopes. Small dense stands of Engelmann spruce are found on several north-facing slopes.

  Special Places:

  Chiricahua National Monument: This National Monument features a wonderland of rock spires eroded from layers of ash deposited by the Turkey Creek Volcanic eruption 27 million years ago.

  Chiricahua Wilderness: The Chiricahua Wilderness is home to a fascinating diversity of both plant and animal life, as well as some of the Southwest’s most spectacular geology. This 87,700-acre wilderness covers much of the upper slopes and inner canyons of the mountain range.

  Southwestern Research Station: The Southwestern Research Station is a year-round field station owned and operated by the American Museum of Natural History. Since 1955, it has served biologists, geologists, and anthropologists interested in studying the diverse environments and biotas of the Chiricahua Mountains.

• West Turkey Creek
• Dragoon Mountains

  Part of the Douglas Ranger District

• Cochise Stronghold Dispersed Camping
• Peloncillo Mountains
• Nogales Ranger District
  

  The Santa Ritas are topped by 9.453 foot Mt. Wrightson, which is surrounded by the 25,260 acre Wilderness area of the same name.  Madera Canyon in the Santa Ritas is famous among birdwatchers the world over.  A number of Forest roads, including the Madera Canyon Road, provide access to campgrounds, picnic areas, boating and dozens of forest trails.

  Pena Blanca Lake, at the edge of the Atascosas, offers developed campgrounds, picnic areas and fishing for stocked and resident species.

  The Pajaritos are home to scenic Sycamore Canyon, the 7,420 acre Pajarita Wilderness and a history of mining boomtowns and hardy pioneers.

  Ranger	Phone	Address
  Marlon Avantyr (District Ranger)	(520) 281-2296 FAX: (520) 281-2396	303 Old Tucson Rd. Nogales, AZ 85621

• Pajarito Mountains

   

• Santa Rita Mountains

  Northernmost mountain range within the Nogales Ranger District. Includes the popular Madera Canyon.

• Madera Canyon Recreation Area
• Proctor Road Dispersed Camping
• Tumacacori Mountains

  Mountain range within the Nogales Ranger District which lies just west of Interstate 19 and extends southward to the International border.

• Red Spring Singletrack
• Safford Ranger District
  

  This recreation area is the home of the Coronado's most extensive mountain range, the Pinaleños, and topped by the highest peak in southern Arizona, 10,720 foot Mt. Graham.  A scenic road named the Swift Trail (Hwy 366) leads into these unique mountains and provides access to campgrounds, Forest trails, and fishing at Riggs Lake.

  The Safford Recreation Area is also home to the Galiuro Mountains and the Santa Teresa Range.  The 76,317 acre Galiuro Wilderness is steeped in history and contains an extensive trail network.

  The Santa Teresas are rugged and remote, with a variety of primitive trails leading into a 26,780 acre Wilderness (area is unavailable).

  Ranger	Phone	Address
  Detailed District Ranger (District Ranger)	(928) 428-4150 FAX: (928) 428-2393	711 14th Avenue, Suite D Safford, AZ 85546

• Galiuro Mountains

  

  The Galiuro Mountains are a large mountain range in the Madrean Sky Islands region of southeast Arizona. The range is noted for its height and ruggedness. The Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness encompasses the north perimeter of the range, and the large Galiuro Wilderness covers the central-south. To the south, the Galiuro Wilderness borders the Redfield Canyon Wilderness. A river valley borders the range to the southwest, and Aravaipa Creek and Valley border its northeast.

• Pinaleño Mountains

  The Pinaleño Mountains, capped by 10,720-ft. Mount Graham, are the tallest of southeastern Arizona’s sky island mountain ranges. State Route 366, also known as the Swift Trail Parkway, offers easy access into this beautiful mountain range. The route climbs more than 7,000 feet over 35 miles and offers incredible views of the surrounding landscape. The first 22 miles are paved; the last 13 miles are dirt and require a high-clearance vehicle.

  The Pinaleños rise like a forested island out of a sea of desert. Ascending this mountain is the ecological equivalent of traveling from Mexico to Canada in just a few short hours. Varied biotic communities, layered in life zones, provide ideal habitat for a diverse array of plants and animals, including endemic species found nowhere else in the world. The uppermost life zone is home to relic species from the last ice age, including the southernmost stand of Englemann spruce in the United States. High elevation meadows, cool forests, groves of aspen, perennial streams, and an alpine lake make for an enchanting escape from the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts below.

  Numerous picnic areas, campgrounds, and hiking trails are accessed along the Swift Trail Parkway. Scroll down for a list of recreation opportunities.

• Clark Peak Corrals Dispersed Camping
• Cluff Dairy Dispersed Camping Area
• Frye Mesa Reservoir Lakes
• Grant Creek Dispersed Camping Area
• Jesus-Goudy Dispersed Camping Area
• Snow Flat Dispersed Camping Area
• Turkey Flat Dispersed Camping Area
• Upper Hospital Flat Dispersed Camping Area
• Santa Catalina Ranger District
  

  Located adjacent to Tucson, the Santa Catalina Ranger District is the most heavily visited part of the Coronado National Forest. The Catalina Highway (Sky Island Scenic Byway) winds nearly to the top of 9,157 foot Mt. Lemmon, providing paved access to trailheads, campgrounds, picnic areas and a ski area. The Santa Catalinas are also home to Sabino Canyon and the 56,933 acre Pusch Ridge Wilderness area.

  For information about road conditions on Mount Lemmon Highway call 520-547-7510.

  For information about the Sabino Canyon Shuttle: Sabino Canyon Crawler

  For information about concession-operated campgrounds:

  • Spencer Canyon Campground 520-576-1492. 
  • Rose Canyon Lake Campground 520-576-1325 
  • Whitetail Campground 520-576-9198. 
  • Showers Point Campground 520-314-0069.

  You can reserve campsite and/or group areas at these sites at Recreation.gov. Please note that InterAgency and Coronado National Forest passes are not valid at these sites.

  For information on guided nature walks, hikes, children's programs, family activities, and school field trips: go to Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists.

  Ranger	Phone	Address
  Don DelMastro (District Ranger)	(520) 749-8700 FAX: (520) 749-7723	5700 N. Sabino Canyon Rd. Tucson, AZ 85750

• Rincon Mountains

  Mountain range within the Santa Catalina Ranger District

• Santa Catalina Mountains

  Welcome to the Santa Catalina Mountains, one of the premier natural areas in southeastern Arizona. The elevation ranges from 2,724 ft. in Sabino Canyon to 9,157 ft. at the top of Mt. Lemmon.The lowland desert as well as the high pine forest offers settings for a variety of recreation opportunities including hiking, biking, rock climbing, skiing, and camping

  Outstanding scenery  features steep rock cliffs and foothills covered with unique desert vegetation adjacent to riparian corridors.

• Sierra Vista Ranger District
  

  The Sierra Vista Ranger District includes several mountain ranges which are separated by rolling hill county and some of the Southwest’s most extensive grasslands. The area includes the Huachuca, Patagonia and Whetstone mountains and the Canelo Hills. These areas were once the focus of extensive mining activity and their canyons and ridges are rich in the history of those colorful days. An extensive network of trails provides access to the Huachuca Mountains and to the 20,190 acre Miller Peak Wilderness. In Ramsey Canyon, where miners once sluiced, blasted and tunneled for gold and silver, birdwatchers have found a gentler bonanza. A number of scenic drives cross the area;s broad grasslands and anglers find their reward in Parker Canyon Lake, where stocked trout, as well as other species, challenge fishermen.

  Ranger	Phone	Address
  Celeste “Daisy” Kinsey (District Ranger)	(520) 378-0311 FAX: (520) 378-0519	4070 S. Avenida Saracino Hereford, AZ 85615

• Canelo Hills

  Historic ranching and mining country with broad grasslands and distant buttes provides the setting for this medium-length loop drive. The route starts out in the little ranching community of Sonoita and winds south through a series of grassy, oak-dotted canyons along Arizona Route 83 to the intersection with Forest Road 799. This junction actually marks the beginning of this scenic drive. At this point, the drive turns west and begins climbing into the Canelo Hills. Canelo means cinnamon-colored in Spanish.

  After topping Canelo Pass, as quickly as you got into the hills, you're out of them, and the scenery changes dramatically. The road turns, the trees open up, and an extensive rolling grassland stretches to the south into Mexico and well to the north, toward the Santa Rita Mountains and the Santa Catalinas near Tucson. In the distance, landmarks such as Indian Head Butte and Saddle Mountain slide in front of one another as you move across the vast grassy plateau.

  Enjoy these views while you can because totally without warning the road drops into a series of oak-filled canyons cut into these southern Arizona slopes. Suddenly the views can be measured in hundreds of feet instead of scores of miles. The route then continues its way through these canyons toward the old mining settlements along Harshaw Creek and the drive ends in the picturesque mining, ranching, and tourist town of Patagonia.

  This area is a very popular gravel mountain biking area. 

• Huachuca Mountains

  The Huachuca Mountains are the third highest of the Sky Island mountain ranges in southeastern Arizona and they rise almost 4,500 feet above the desert floor. The mountain range is oriented in a northwestern direction giving it more north-facing slopes and perhaps a somewhat cooler climate than some of the other Sky Island mountain ranges with similar elevation. The highest elevations support mixed conifer forests on north-facing slopes and pine forests on south-facing slopes. Lower elevations have extensive oak and oak-pine woodlands. Management of this mountain range is divided mostly between the U.S Forest Service and Department of Defense (Fort Huachuca). Fort Huachuca occupies roughly the northeastern quarter of the range; the Forest Service manages the northwestern quarter and southern half. A small part of the southern end of the range is managed by the National Park Service as Coronado National Memorial.

  Special Places:

  East Side Canyons: Spring-fed streams, northeast orientation, and high canyon walls provide the canyons on the east side of the Huachuca Mountains with a moist cool environment unusual in the desert southwest. Water-loving trees like sycamores and maples grow along the streams often within a few feet of cacti, yucca, and agaves. The principal canyons accessible to visitors are Huachuca Canyon and Garden Canyon on Fort Huachuca; Ramsey Canyon, which is a private preserve managed by The Nature Conservancy; and Carr Canyon on the Coronado National Forest.

  Miller Peak Wilderness: This wilderness of 20,190 acres occupies much of the high country at the southern end of the mountain range. It has an extensive trail system.

  Coronado National Memorial: Francisco Vásquez de Coronado led the first major European expedition into the American Southwest in 1540 in search of the mythical Seven Cities of Cíbola. This park on the Mexican border was established to honor that quest. The park occupies the lower elevations at the southern end of the mountain range. It has excellent grasslands and evergreen oak woodlands.