Free Camping Near Flagstaff

After spending most of the winter months in Arizona and slowly working our way north, we were excited that it was finally warm enough to check out some of the adventures and camping near Flagstaff! Since we’ve been travelling with the seasons, we’ve been lucky enough to experience some really great places to boondock – surrounded by saguaros south of Maricopa, in a beautiful wash near Sycamore Creek, near a low key adventurous area by Mayer and on the edge of the Mogollon Rim north of Payson to name a few. Every spot has been enjoyable and memorable in its own way. We had no idea what adventures and experiences camping near Flagstaff would bring us!

Our Experience Camping Near Flagstaff

Not knowing much about the area, we began to notice that there were several areas with numerous boondocking opportunities. With Lake Mary Road south of Flagstaff, the 89 running north east from the Flagstaff area and the 180 W heading north towards the Grand Canyon. So we spent some time in the area and checked out a few different spots.

In this article, we’ll cover three different options for dispersed camping near Flagstaff on three different forest roads in the area.

• Forest Road 245 off AZ-180 W
• Camping on Forest Road 794 off AZ-180 W
• Forest Road 545 off AZ-89 N

Free Camping Near Flagstaff: Forest Road 245

Cost: Free

Ownership: Forest Service; 14 day limit

Directions: From Flagstaff, follow the AZ-180 W for about 13.5 miles then turn left onto FR 245. There are dispersed camp spots all along this forest road but the spot we chose was about a mile and a half in.

Solar: Limited; lots of trees around

Miles From Town: About 15

Water: None

Road Conditions: Well maintained dirt road

Cell Service: Yes. No. Sometimes. Extremely Spotty!

Camp Here Later – Pin it Now!

We turned onto several forest roads before deciding to call Forest Road 245 home for the next two weeks! There is an attraction further on FR 245 called Lava River Cave. Unfortunately, it was closed while we were here due to COVID-19. But there were numerous nice camp spots along this road! The spot that we chose was about a mile down the dirt road, on the left. And we found some service here. Spotty, but enough if you walked around and found the sweet spots.

This camp spot was big and roomy, surrounded by tall conifers. There were two fire rings but fire restrictions were in effect during our stay. We kept on eye on the path of the sun before setting up home and putting the jacks down. We did okay with solar even though we were surrounded by tall trees.

Over our two week stay here, we found that this spot was very quiet! Especially compared to our last spot on the Mogollon Rim which saw a lot more traffic. There was some intermittent traffic throughout the day and it was a little heavier on weekends but still pretty mild.

Free Camping Near Flagstaff: Forest Road 794

Cost: Free

Ownership: Forest Service; 14 day limit

Directions: Follow the AZ-180 W for about 14.5 miles and then turn right onto Forest Road 794. The road turns right and then curves left. From here there are numerous great dispersed camp spots throughout the many forest roads in this area. Our particular spot was about two miles down.

Solar: Limited; lots of trees around

Miles From Town: About 17

Water: None

Road Conditions: Well maintained dirt road

Cell Service: Yes

A few miles further from Flagstaff on the 180 W we turned right on Forest Road 794. We decided to check out the dispersed camping options and found a great spot! After about two miles on FR 794 we found a dispersed site nestled in the trees. Our particular spot was in a roomy, level turnout and had a fire ring.

We positioned our trailer for optimum solar conditions and we fared better in this spot than at our last camp spot on FR 245. Another perk of this specific spot was fairly consistent usable cell service. So with the solar and cell service we stayed busy working on the blog!

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Further down Forest Road 794 is private land with private residences. So on the weekdays there was consistent local traffic in addition to the increase in recreation travel on the weekends. But even so, both weekends and weekday traffic was very mild.

There are a lot of forest roads in the area that we were able to check out during our stay. One in particular was super steep but led us to the top of a hill with amazing views of the surrounding area.

We enjoyed seeing the beautiful Aspens in the area, even though they are often surrounded by fencing due to restoration efforts. After a few days here, we woke up one morning and had a whole herd of cows as neighbors. They were adorable!

Free Camping Near Flagstaff: Forest Road 545

Cost: Free

Ownership: Forest Service; 14 day limit

Directions: From Flagstaff, follow AZ-180 E for about 4 miles before continuing onto AZ-89 N. Stay on AZ-89 N for 12 miles and then turn left onto Forest Road 545. This left turn is directly across for the turn to access Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument.

Solar: Decent but the spots are within the trees.

Miles From Town: About 16 miles

Water: None

Road Conditions: Most of the dirt roads are well maintained. As you explore, there are roads that are steep and rocky so always scout ahead as needed.

Cell Service: Yes

As soon as we turned off the 89 we noticed that there are a lot of dispersed camp spots, pull offs and forest roads accessible from here. And after spending some time here getting to know the area, we also noticed that this part of the forest can be crowded at times, especially closer to the turn off of the AZ-89. A few reasons being: it’s free camping near Flagstaff, Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument is right across the highway, there are several great hike trailheads accessed via this road, the aspens in this area draw major attention in the fall and the dispersed camping options are numerous, convenient and scenic.

Take your time choosing a spot here – there are many camp spots to choose from! You can find spots that accommodate large rigs and you can also pick up cell signal in some spots. The further from the initial turn onto Forest Road 545 the quieter and less busy it tends to be.

We found an amazing spot here! The spot came with decent solar, good cell service, privacy and a great view!

Free camping near Flagstaff was a success!

While we were camping near Flagstaff, we saw several deer, some albert squirrels, birds, horny toads, lizards, chipmunks and heard coyote at night. Once we were even lucky enough to see some pronghorn!

Also, the stars were great looking up through the trees. Not a lot of light pollution around, especially with Flagstaff being a Dark Sky Community.

Overall these were all great spots for free camping within a short distance to Flagstaff! We spent a lot of time working while we were here. And as always we set out to explore a lot of the forest roads within a couple miles radius of each spot, which is always fun. But the nearby hiking and skating in the Flagstaff area was the best part of all!

Cool Adventures In the Area

We squeezed in a few beautiful and memorable adventures that we highly recommend!

• Abineau/Bear Jaw Loop Trails
• Humphreys Peak via Inner Basin Trail
• Red Mountain Trail
• Sunset Crater National Monument
• Wupatki National Monument
• O’Leary Lookout
• Hiking to the B-24 Crash on Humphreys Peak Trail

And we were stoked to find that there were three good skateparks in Flagstaff! Not one, but three!

• Bushmaster Skatepark
• Foxglenn Skatepark
• The Basin Skatepark and BMX Park

Thanks for Keeping Up with The Lost Longboarder!

We hope you found this article about free camping near Flagstaff useful! And if you would like to see some other great free camping spots that we’ve checked out in Arizona check the links below:

• Camping and Exploring Near Mayer
• Boondocking Near Sycamore Creek
• Free Camping on the Edge of the Mogollon Rim
• Dispersed Camping Near Camp Verde

While we were camping and exploring around our two week home in the woods we were also busy creating one of a kind hand painted longboards! If you’d like to see our latest lineup, head over to our Lost Coast Longboarding Shop. We also design and screen print our own t-shirts 🙂

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