Forest Road 535 Dispersed Camping
Coconino National Forest
Write a Review FR-535 Flagstaff, AZ 86001 928-526-0866 928-527-3600 Official WebsiteGPS: 35.0496, -111.7426
Overview of Forest Road 535 Dispersed Camping
This flyer contains maps of the updated recommended dispersed camping areas around Sedona. Please follow dispersed camping recommendations so that all may continue to enjoy the area.
Current status of access roads to the area can be found on the Flagstaff District Road Status website
Accessibility is not guaranteed, always scout ahead before driving down dirt roads. Learn more: Boondocking 101
Last Price Paid: $0
Reported by roadtrippers-Barrie4 on 6/11/2024
Longest RV Reported: 33 feet (Fifth Wheel)
Reported by Grand Adventure on 10/3/2017
Pad Type dirt
Open Seasonally April to Nov
Elevation 6,988 ft / 2,129 m
Max Stay 14
Tent Camping Yes
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Q&A - Ask the Community about Forest Road 535 Dispersed Camping
To ask questions of the owner or manager please contact the campground directly. (928) 526-0866
djnewtdog asked on 8/11/2021
Hey everyone! Does anyone know roughly how many spots there are along Forest Road 535? Coming from CA and don't want...
SomanRandoval asked on 7/6/2020
Hey everyone quick question, how is the road itself once you get onto the 535? Is a good amount of clearance needed t...
Mattwis139 asked on 6/25/2020
Hello!! Looking at heading up here in 2 weeks from Phoenix. We are new to the state and wondering if I need an a...
Reviews of Forest Road 535 Dispersed Camping 30 people have reviewed this location.
Cell Phone Coverage
Confirmed by 13 Users
Last reported 6/11/2024
Confirmed by 11 Users
Last reported 6/4/2023
Confirmed by 3 Users
Last reported 5/27/2024
“Great Spot”
Reviewed 6/11/2024
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 1 |
Overall Rating
Such a lovely spot after the desert heat. The first 1.5 mile is rough but not that bad. Don’t be fooled by the lower camps - continue up the hill to the lovely flat spots. Flat, fire pits and a lovely walk up the road. No toilets.
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Verizon 5G
roadtrippers-Barrie4 would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Rough road, very nice spots ”
Reviewed 5/27/2024
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 2 |
Overall Rating
We were here with an 25 foot long Cruise america Camper. The road was Rough but we could make it up the hill. The campsites are really nice and at ervery campsite is a firepit.
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T-Mobile 5G
camper-924424 would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Very pretty, lots of campsites but busy and noisy atv”
Reviewed 6/4/2023
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 2 |
Overall Rating
This campsite is very pretty, there are a lot of spots, the road is pretty bad. There are a lot of atvs and the campsites are mostly all fairly close to the main dirt road. I got a great spot, pretty field and open nature. There was a lot of atv noises and cars coming in and out. Still a great spot, just dusty and not very secluded. Th... more
This campsite is very pretty, there are a lot of spots, the road is pretty bad. There are a lot of atvs and the campsites are mostly all fairly close to the main dirt road. I got a great spot, pretty field and open nature. There was a lot of atv noises and cars coming in and out. Still a great spot, just dusty and not very secluded. The area is great, right near flagstaff and Sedona.
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AT&T 5G
Marina_Rose would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Shooting within 450ft of other campers”
Reviewed 5/29/2023
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 1 |
| Site Number: | n/A |
Overall Rating
The first 50 feet of the road is rough, the rest all the way to the top of the world is not bad. mostly gravel. if it is raining that will change quickly. over Memorial weekend, we got to our site after the switchback climbs. the site was great, with no trash and few Nabors. around 4 Pm one of the Nabors started target shooting. this ... more
The first 50 feet of the road is rough, the rest all the way to the top of the world is not bad. mostly gravel. if it is raining that will change quickly. over Memorial weekend, we got to our site after the switchback climbs. the site was great, with no trash and few Nabors. around 4 Pm one of the Nabors started target shooting. this is allowed but not within 150 yards of other campers or campsites. the shooting was freaking out our dogs so we packed up and left. I would rate this single weekend as a 0. we went up there in just the truck to scope out the area. looked great and there were not that many people around, which is why we chose to go back. I would avoid this place on major holidays.
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Verizon 5G
Trbrenke would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Was quiet for a bit.”
Reviewed 5/27/2023
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 1 |
Overall Rating
The road was no big deal. Took the dogs with us to enjoy the weekend. Many people are shooting within 150 yards of campsites. I am an avid gun guy, but this is just irresponsible . I can't recommend camping here.
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Verizon 5G
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Rough Road But Gorgeous ”
Reviewed 5/10/2023
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 3 |
Overall Rating
I love being so close to the state park and having so much shade. The entrance is really rough, it’s probably doable but huge gaps you need to clear. A lot of spots are very steep. It’s probably better for a 4x4 but I see sedans here too.
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Verizon 4G
camper-762788 would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Not big rig friendly”
Reviewed 4/10/2022
| Days stayed: | 0 |
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Overall Rating
Entrance not good for big rigs. Entrance a rocky pot hole mess.
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Leave it for the Locals”
Reviewed 11/8/2021
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 1 |
| RV Length: | 15' (Travel Trailer) |
Overall Rating
The road is is pretty awful. There are a few OK spots, but a lot of it has large boulders sticking out, and after you see how many people drive up and down that road at unsafe speeds at all hours of the day and night you’ll know why it’s so bad. It gets pretty steep and narrow in some places as well. If you have a rig you don’t care ab... more
The road is is pretty awful. There are a few OK spots, but a lot of it has large boulders sticking out, and after you see how many people drive up and down that road at unsafe speeds at all hours of the day and night you’ll know why it’s so bad. It gets pretty steep and narrow in some places as well. If you have a rig you don’t care about beating up it probably won’t bother you.
There are people camping all over. The spot I found must have had standing water after a previous rain storm. The soil had dried out and was cracked and just loose powder. Huge ruts, broken glass and garbage all around. You can tell the locals don’t like out-of-towers there by the glares. It really was awful.
The only plus is the close proximity to Sedona and Flagstaff.
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AT&T 4G
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Perfect for Flagstaff / Sedona”
Reviewed 9/30/2021
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 5 |
| RV Length: | 20' (Travel Trailer) |
Overall Rating
We initially chose this site based on reviews and it’s location. We needed a base camp that would provide convenient access to Flagstaff and Williams to the north as well as Sedona, Cottonwood and Jerome to the south. Flagstaff is an easy 15-20 min drive. Sedona is an absolutely beautiful 40 min drive. The entrance is very easy to ... more
We initially chose this site based on reviews and it’s location. We needed a base camp that would provide convenient access to Flagstaff and Williams to the north as well as Sedona, Cottonwood and Jerome to the south. Flagstaff is an easy 15-20 min drive. Sedona is an absolutely beautiful 40 min drive.
The entrance is very easy to find as there is a turning lane onto 535 from both the north and south. The entire road is a fairly well maintained gravel road with some typical washboard and rocky sections. The further you go the smother the road gets. The worst part of the road is the first 200 feet. Once past that it’s pretty easy going. We were towing a smaller 20 ft travel trailer and had no problems. There are a few hairpin turns and the road is not really a full 2 lane wide so passing on coming vehicles can be a little tricky. There are a few spots on both sides before the first turn that are really only suitable for tent or car camping. After those spots you need to climb the hill about a mile before you arrive at better spots. You will find spots on both sides of the road. Some are smaller and some will hold a larger RV. Our spot was 1.5 miles from the entrance. It was located back off the road and very private. We were there in September and the entire area was covered in fields of wildflowers. Our nearest neighbor was at least 100 yards away. During the week it’s calm and quite for the most part. On the weekend it’s a bit busier with more ATV traffic on the dirt road. Nights were peaceful with no issues.
If you keep climbing up the road will split and you will find more spots. We didn’t explore that upper section much.
Now the bad. Like another reviewer mentioned. PEOPLE ARE DISGUSTING! We spent a significant amount of time with gloves on cleaning up trash that littered our site. The fire pit was full of trash including broken bottles, so most of that didn’t get cleaned up because I didn’t want to cut myself. There was also a random spot on the side of the road that looked like someone just dumped bags of trash in the woods. WTF is wrong with people? This is the crap that gets these places shut down!
Dump station is at the Speedway in Flagstaff. The water at the dump station is potable however id never drink water from a dump station faucet. Be cautious, the faucet has high pressure. I used a regulator on it for my black tank flush.
So, in closing. Perfect location. Beautiful scenery. Private and peaceful. TRASH.
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AT&T 4G
Drumbum675 would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Avoid this place on the weekends”
Reviewed 9/11/2021
| Days stayed: | 0 |
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Overall Rating
I’ve generally had pretty good luck with dispersed camping in Arizona but this one I had to comment on. Granted I did stay on a Saturday night but boy oh boy was it overrun by what I would assume were locals. It definitely wasn’t the usual boondocking bunch. It’s such a beautiful area but it has been trashed by these weekend people. Th... more
I’ve generally had pretty good luck with dispersed camping in Arizona but this one I had to comment on. Granted I did stay on a Saturday night but boy oh boy was it overrun by what I would assume were locals. It definitely wasn’t the usual boondocking bunch. It’s such a beautiful area but it has been trashed by these weekend people. They drive up and down a very dusty road all afternoon and evening on ATVs and 4x4’s yelling and what not. Also I had horrible cell phone coverage with Verizon. It basically didn’t work. When I first arrived it didn’t seem too bad although I did have to burn a bunch of nasty garbage including toilet paper that was strewn about the wilderness. Disgusting. Maybe if you drive further you’ll find better quieter spots. But I drove a good 3 miles and couldn’t seem to escape the riffraff.
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Verizon
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
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1 review not included in the overall rating
The reviews below are not up to Campendium's standards for quality and reliability and therefore are not counted toward the overall star rating. Please see our FAQ page for more information.
“Homeless people tried stealing our solar”
Reviewed 4/27/2018
| Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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| Days stayed: | 2 |
Overall Rating
All seemed nice enough until we noticed someone tried taking our solar panels off of our roof while we were out one afternoon. My husband went to look around at the neighbor's after we're noticed the solar panels had been disconnected and he saw a homeless encampment way up the hill. He noticed the tread on the shoes matched the tread ... more
All seemed nice enough until we noticed someone tried taking our solar panels off of our roof while we were out one afternoon. My husband went to look around at the neighbor's after we're noticed the solar panels had been disconnected and he saw a homeless encampment way up the hill. He noticed the tread on the shoes matched the tread left on the roof. We called the ranger and left the very next morning.
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T-Mobile 4G
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
1 review
27 reviews
noted 4/1/2022
Gated. Cave Springs, Pine Flat camp grounds, and all the FS roads dispersed are seasonal. Not open til April (This is Mar 30!).
“Closed in winter”
noted 12/26/2021
Road is not maintained in winter- we tried to stay, but the road is closed and snowed in.
“Service road closed ”
noted 3/28/2021
Gate was closed at the entrance of the road probably for the season. Some mud and snow visible. We weren’t able to camp here. Looks amazing though!
47 reviews
noted 3/21/2021
For Road closure updates see US Forest Service road status: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/coconino/alerts-notices/?cid=stelprdb5339811
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Grand Adventure Ep. 3: Flagstaff/Sedona AZ, Sunset Crater, Wupatki, Grand Canyon
Filmed October 2-4, 2017 at various locations across northern Arizona, including (in order of appearance) the Coconino National Forest between Flagstaff and Sedona, Sedona, Sunset Crater National Monum...
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