Free Camping in Sedona, Arizona
We finally made it to Sedona, Arizona and found a great free campsite down National Forest Road 525. The site is listed on Campendium & Free Campsites.
When we arrived the area was pretty crowded, but it still had some space for us to find a site. Within the first 2 miles of 525, there are enough spots for at least 15 rigs. The road continues further with more sites available, but the extreme washboard makes it a pain to drive on.
Notice From the Forest Service: We often have RV campers violating the Travel Management Rule, which states that motorized vehicles cannot drive more than 30 feet from the forest road in most areas (especially those first two miles of FR525). This overuse and misuse is causing tremendous damage to the area, impacting private ranch lands, grazing allotments, as well as creating illegal roads, illegal campsites, and a large amount of dust, trash, and road damage. Due to the impacts and misuse, we are now looking in to different options that may limit camping in that area.
Here’s the Breakdown:
Location: Sedona, Arizona
GPS: 34.8334, -111.9083
Date / Temp: We camped here for 5 nights in late October. It was a little too hot for us with highs in the upper 80s and lows in the 50s.
Amenities: This site offers no amenities and practices a “Pack In, Pack Out” policy. We filled up with water at the Conoco in Flagstaff – that gas station also has a FREE dump station.
Wifi / Cell: We received a 4G LTE signal with both AT&T and T-Mobile (using our WeBoost Cell Booster). The speeds were slow, though. It was one of the few downsides of the campsite.
Noise: This site was pretty crowded, but relatively quiet. At the front end of 525, the first developed site was the busiest with 7+ rigs. Our site only had us, a class B and tent camper.
Grocery / Errands: Downtown Sedona is 7 miles from the campsite and Cottonwood is 9 miles. There is plenty of shopping in both areas to complete errands and grocery runs.
Dog Friendly: This site is dog friendly. River had a lot of space to play and explore. Unfortunately, there are thorns in the shrubs – we kept River on the dirt drive.
Entertainment: There is so much to do in the Sedona area. We hiked on many trails, to a day trip to Jerome (an old mining town) and explored downtown Sedona & Cottonwood. Best of all, this is a hot spot for full time RVers.
Ultimate Sedona& Arizona Camping Guides
Sedona offers so many amazing camping spots! Here’s your Sedona Camping Guide for the entire area. It includes more free camping and a few paid National Forest spots (still pretty inexpensive).
If you’ll be camping in the state of Arizona and don’t want to pay, here’s the best Arizona Free Camping spots.
The Best Free Camping in the Entire USA
We love camping across this amazing country. And, we really love it when its free. Here’s our list of the 20 Best Free Campsites in the USA.
If you haven’t tried free camping before, also known as boondocking, take a look at our beginners guide to boondocking filled with everything you need to know to get started.
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[…] Experience: Sedona is full of great hiking, biking and beautiful scenery. We camped in the National Forest for free and were just a short drive from town. Theres lots of great shops and restaurants in Sedona, but […]
Hello Kyle and Olivia,
My and I have joined the Vibe tribe since January of 2017. We enjoy watching your videos and learning so much. Thank you. We just retired in January of 2018 and rving full time. Again thank you for your inspiration.
God bless you