Dispersed Camping Near Sedona | Forest Road 761

Sedona is beautiful. And it attracts a lot of visitors. A location well suited for some free camping near Sedona is very sought out. And it seems as long as people find a spot, it doesn’t matter how many neighbors they have or how close they all are to each other. Not to mention, the effects on the landscape from the overcrowding…

It was our first time in the Sedona area and we couldn’t wait to see what all the hype was about! Then, while we were looking for dispersed camping near Sedona, we ran into a few areas that were reallyyy overcrowded. We couldn’t believe how many people were here! Later, we understood why it was such a busy place as there are not many options for free camping near Sedona… We thought that the surrounding area was very pretty but not enough to make us want to share a turn out with 3 other campers. And although the views were great, the features weren’t close enough to play on or hike around. If there was a spot close enough you can be sure that the Pink Jeep Tours will be making their rounds. This was definitely not our scene.

Luckily, we decided to keep searching and we found a few spots for dispersed camping on Bill Gray Road – Forest Road 761.

where we stayed while camping near sedona

Quick Info: Camping Near Sedona

Cost: Free

Ownership: Forest Service; 14 day limit

Solar: Good

Directions: From Cottonwood, take Highway 89A towards Sedona. After two stop lights, turn left onto Bill Gray Road/Forest Road 761. Continue past the church to the unpaved forest road and drive about 6.5 miles. Here you’ll find an intersection… There are a few spots if you branch left here and a few if you continue straight. We continued straight and found a nice spot after about another 1.5 miles.

Cell Service: Spotty as you drive along Bill Gray Road but we had decent service at our spot.

Water: None

Miles to Town: About 10 miles

Road Conditions: The dirt road is in good condition though it is bumpy and washboard in some spots. And if there’s rain, the dirt road gets extremely muddy!

Our Experience Camping Near Sedona on Forest Road 761

After seeing the overcrowding at the last area, we were really hoping to find a nearby alternative. After we turned onto Forest Road 761 we weren’t too sure. Right near the beginning of Bill Gray Road, there were whole communities of trailers crammed into a flat, open area. We thought that they’d only all be huddled together if there weren’t any other options nearby but we decided to continue looking further, just in case.

After a few miles on this bumpy, dirt road we started to find side roads and dispersed sites here and there. But, on the Avenza Map app that the local rangers were adamant that we used, many of these roads did not appear to be open to dispersed camping. So we drove further and further. Many of the places that we were allowed to camp were places that we could not take our trailer…

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Finally, we had driven far enough! We found a great turn off with nobody around except for some friendly cows.

a cow we encountered while dispersed camping near sedona

And the vast views of the red rocks in the distance were incredible. The colors and shadows were ever changing as the days went on, creating a new view to appreciate almost every time we looked out. And the sunsets were just amazing!

the view from our spot dispersed camping near sedona

While we were here camping near Sedona, we had almost an entire week of rain! And the amount of rain that we received created very muddy conditions – the roads were very slippery and the mud was deep enough that at times we chose to use four wheel drive. If the conditions are muddy, we would not suggest attempting to tow a trailer back here. We were camping on Bill Gray Road long enough that the sun eventually came back out and dried the mud so that we had no issues when we left.

Getting Out and Exploring

Free camping near Sedona was difficult to find, if you wanted any privacy at all. So we were thankful to have found this area. We love exploring around wherever we call home. With all of the rain we got, we didn’t get to see as much as we would have liked. And the red rocks in the distance were too far to walk to. But we did find a few little adventures nearby.

We drove and checked out this very cacti dense hill. The number of cacti covering this area was very visually appealing!

After getting cabin fever from being stuck inside during the rain, we decided to go out in it anyways. We wanted to drive to some nearby small red rock walls. But due to the mud, we never made it. We were just thankful to have made it back home without getting stuck!

Another day, we took some time to drive further down Bill Gray Road to see where it went. It reached a river crossing before leading to some private property. So we just got out before the water crossing and walked on some old trails. It was very scenic and we even got to see some pronghorns 🙂

After the rain let up and the mud dried out a bit, it was time to experience somewhere new. If you’re looking for camping near Sedona and don’t want to join the crowds, we recommend camping on Bill Gray Road. It’s not extremely close to Sedona but for us it was close enough.

Thanks for Reading!

If you are set on exploring the Sedona area, this spot may be a bit too far. But if you happen to be in the area and need a good free spot to camp this may work for you! After seeing the crowds and getting to know the restrictions for free camping in the area, we didn’t think it was worth the hassle. Not to mention the lack of parking at the trailheads for the hikes as well as the fees and busy trails. There are a lot of other beautiful places to visit…

We have found some really nice dispersed camping on our travels. Here are a few that really stood out:

Although the Sedona area was a bit difficult, we were able to go on some other really neat adventures in the surrounding area.

While we’re living life on the road, we are also working hard on our hand painted longboards. If you’d like to see our latest lineup, head over to our Lost Coast Longboarding Shop! We also can work with you on a custom board order =)

lost coast longboarding handcrafted longboards and apparel

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