Dispersed camping near Sedona, AZ is a great way to experience the area and camp for free.
It’s a popular boondocking area and it’s very close to town. You’ll be able to get to town and trailheads quickly.
During my 6 night camping trip, I stayed in 2 different locations and several campsites.
Dispersed Camping near Sedona
Free and dispersed camping near Sedona is available in several areas. I have a full guide on determining where and how you can find free camping so I won’t go into many details here.
As a plus, there are plenty of spots with cell service (learn how I work remotely while camping).
Best Dispersed Camping Near Sedona: a Boondocker’s Paradise
My favorite dispersed camping in Sedona is on Forest Road 9845.
It has a great view, decent privacy, and is not too far down the road. There were several sites ideal for smaller rigs like vans and people like me, SUV living.
I arrived in Sedona around 10 pm on a Sunday night and drove past West Sedona to Forest Road 9845A which is the beginning of the Cliffhanger OHV Route.
Use these coordinates for the start of the road: 34.8321252, -111.891907. See the map below for a general idea of the area. The tent marks the start of Forest Road 9845.
Driving from Sedona on U.S. Highway 89A, it will be on your left.
You’ll cross a cattle guard to an open area where you’ll likely see small to medium-sized RV’s hanging out. At the time of writing, I would not recommend towing anything past that (my other spots are better for that).
If you continue down the road, you’ll notice the road is more rough and narrow than “commuter” dirt roads where you can go 25mph+. Rather, you’ll be taking it slow on this road which will give you time to scope out the sites.
You’ll see a decent amount of pullouts to choose from. However, rocks block access to some sites that ideally are used for tent campers.
I am not disclosing the exact location of my camp as I believe half the fun is discovering them.
Free Camping on Road 9845, is it for you?
The road gets noticeably worse around 34.82831, -111.88454.
I went for a run for about 15 minutes down this dirt road from these coordinates and found some cool spots if you continue to venture.
There were no campers past that point on a Tuesday, and I saw little traffic besides OHVs and a couple of Jeeps coming from that way while I was working.
I think I could have made it with my Subaru Forester if I had to, but I didn’t see it necessary to try it out, especially when I was solo.
Overall, this area was busier than I expected for a Sunday to Tuesday, but it was quiet at night and I had enough privacy where I would go there again.
Sedona Free Camp Site: Forest Road 525 aka Loy Butte Rd
Forest Road 525 aka Loy Butte Road starts at these coordinates: 34.81423, -111.90512.
This was one of my favorite sites of the trip. It had a beautiful view and gorgeous sunsets. It was also very private. However, there is some vehicle traffic during the day and tour vehicles kicking up dust.
The site was obvious from the road, but hard to actually get to.
It is between 4-6 miles from highway 89A, but it is a good dirt road where you can go 35mph and not feel like your car is going to explode.
One of those sites where you scope it out on foot and move some rocks first to make sure you don’t bottom out. I had 2 tires spinning on the first try, but I figured out the right angle and had no problems after that.
There are tons of sites on the way, and most had a decent signal. Learn more about camping WiFi.
If you are tent camping, another spot to check out is 34°51’45.1″N 111°54’27.5″W. It was pretty private, but no vehicles were allowed to access it for restoration.
Are We About to Rage?
The beginning of Loy Butte Road looked like the infield of a NASCAR race, and I’m sure it had some familiar faces.
The road seemed to have many spots big spots with multiple fire pits. If you grab one of those spots, don’t be surprised if you have neighbors pulling up later.
The first night I had no neighbors. By Friday night, I had several wine-drunk neighbors.
They were far enough away that I couldn’t see them or make out the conversation, but I could hear the drunken cackles every 4 minutes and some music.
Bring some earplugs 🙂
Finding Free Camping in Sedona
Finding free camping in Sedona is rather easy, but you can use my guide: How to Find Free Camping.
The quickest way is to use apps like Campendium, search for Sedona, set “Category” to “Public Land” and set the “Price Filter” to “Always show free”.
This will give you all the options that have been added by users. There are still plenty you will find not anywhere online, but you’ll get a sense of the general locations where you should be looking.
