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It's getting warm in Arizona...

Desert_Captain
Explorer II
Explorer II
Just returned from a 4 day trip to Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood {about 25 miles southwest of Sedona}. This State Park is one of just about everyone's favorites which makes it difficult to nearly impossible to get a site. I found ours 4+ months ago, probably a cancelation and lots of folks book it up to a year out. Every site in the three loops was booked. It is only 76 miles from our home in Payson but with all of the mountain roads and traffic in Cottonwood it was an hour and 45 minute trip.

We hauled my Can Am Spyder in our cargo trailer behind the 24' Class C. We rode up to Jerome and enjoyed an amazing lunch at Haunted hamburger, don't miss it when you visit Jerome. The food is great and the view is to die for. It's an interesting place with a lot of ghostly history. The Gold King mine is another don't miss when in Jerome. Leave your RV's in camp and take the toad as the road up and the streets of Jerome are very tight, no vehicles over 50' are permitted just like 89A north out of Sedona through Oak Creek Canyon. Sedona was calmer than I remembered but we were there early in the day which is recommended.

The weather was nice with temps in the mid to upper 80's but by the middle of May triple digits will be the rule vs the exception for the rest of the summer. Fortunately all of the CG's up on the Rim and in the White mountains to the east opened on May first. Once you get up to 7 to 9,000' heat is no longer an issue but again most of the CG's are booking out quickly.

Most {perhaps all} of the state is now under a Stage 1 fire restriction, no open fires, charcoal etc but propane stove and fire pits are permitted. We will be heading up to Pinegrove, about 20 miles south of Flagstaff in a couple of weeks for another 4 day run. Pinegrove is at 7,400' so the weather should be awesome and it is a little over an hour away. hoping to get a site at Big Lake {9,200'} in June for some Rzr SXS riding fun.

:B
8 REPLIES 8

Cptnvideo
Nomad
Nomad
We're capable of boondocking 100% of the time. We just wanted to be plugged in to do laundry, dump tanks and fill fresh tank.
We're going to a RV park in Camp Verde for the weekend then head for the rim. Probably sit at the 6000' elevation for a few days before venturing up to the 7000' + level.
Bill & Linda, 2019 Ram Laramie 3500 dually 4x4 diesel, Hensley BD5 hitch, 2022 Grand Design Solitude 378MBS, 1600 watts solar, Victron 150/100 MPPT controller, GoPower 3kw inverter/charger, 5 SOK 206AH LFP batteries for 1030 ah

Desert_Captain
Explorer II
Explorer II
Getting a site at Dead Horse is hard to do as the park is so popular. There are however a number of areas nearby where folks just camp off the grid for free. Drive towards Sedona from Cotton wood and on the west side of 89 you can pull off and set up... just look for all of the other folks doing the same thing. Know that after the middle of May Cottonwood starts getting pretty hot with triple digits expected before the end of the month. Good luck.

:C

Cptnvideo
Nomad
Nomad
What a coincidence! We are currently boondocking in the Kaibab NF 7 miles south of Ash Fork. And we were planning on making Dead Horse SP our next stop before going up on FS300 on the Rim. We wanted to spend 3 to 7 days at Dead Horse and take the Verde Canyon train ride, but the online reservations only show a maximum of 2 days available. We wanted to be plugged in at Cottonwood as we see the need for A/C.
We noticed 2 nearby (to Dead Horse) RV parks that have a lot of long term usage but don't know how desirable those parks are.
Bill & Linda, 2019 Ram Laramie 3500 dually 4x4 diesel, Hensley BD5 hitch, 2022 Grand Design Solitude 378MBS, 1600 watts solar, Victron 150/100 MPPT controller, GoPower 3kw inverter/charger, 5 SOK 206AH LFP batteries for 1030 ah

Chum_lee
Explorer
Explorer
Desert Captain wrote:
Just returned from a 4 day trip to Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood {about 25 miles southwest of Sedona}.

The weather was nice with temps in the mid to upper 80's but by the middle of May triple digits will be the rule vs the exception for the rest of the summer. Once you get up to 7 to 9,000' heat is no longer an issue but again most of the CG's are booking out quickly.

Most {perhaps all} of the state is now under a Stage 1 fire restriction, no open fires, charcoal etc but propane stove and fire pits are permitted.

:B


Yep! IMO, the area is stunningly gorgeous, but, as you say, if you are in an RV, you need to be "OUT OF THERE" by the middle of May. (too hot) We stayed at Dead Horse Campground several times through the mid/late spring and found the facilities/area/people to be wonderful. I could not recommend them more highly. It's close to stores, facilities, fuel, fishing, recreation, etc., but, not too close.

It doesn't have the "little bit stuffy" attitude towards RV's as Sedona.

Chum lee

Janss
Explorer
Explorer
Desert Captain...Reading your posts makes me feel reminiscent of our days gone by, when we had a small Class C and my spouse was more able-bodied, and didn't need supplemental oxygen.

We used to frequently boondock or stay in USFS campgrounds (like Pinegrove) all over Coconino and Kaibab Nat'l Forests. Also plenty of camping in the White Mtns. Unfortunately we never made it to Big Lake, but did get to Greer.

Now we go to the low elevation Coast with our bigger Class A and tow car to get out of the heat. A great option too. Just a little farther ๐Ÿ™‚

I enjoy reading your trip reports!
2002 Itasca Suncruiser 32V
2012 Suzuki Grand Vitara

Desert_Captain
Explorer II
Explorer II
Most folks aren't aware of just how mountainous Arizona is. While admittedly we do have our fair share of desert the average elevation of Arizona ia more than 4,000'. We have quite a few "Sky Islands" that reach, 9, 10 and even 11,000'. This makes for great camping year round as we just select our destinations accordingly.

On the 76 mile drive to Dead Horse Ranch we started at 5,000', quickly climbing up over 7,000 before dropping down into the Verde Valley which is just a little over 3,000'. Not a lot of level ground hereabouts...

:B

Durb
Explorer
Explorer
Kind of envious of the Southwest right now. It is still cold and rainy in the Northwest with a few nice days sprinkled in. At 7,400 feet here, you would be camping in deep snow. At 9,200 feet, you would be boondocking on a glacier!

mleekamp
Explorer
Explorer
Sounds beautiful. Will have to put that on our looooong list of places to camp in the future. Hopefully w/o the fires!