Camping around Cornville

There is no campground near Cornville in the sense most people mean. All four listings here, Angel Valley, Javalina, Rockview and Surprise, are dispersed camping areas on Forest Service land. That is a different thing from a campground and the difference will spoil a trip if you find out on arrival.

Dispersed means exactly what it says. No hookups. No water. No toilets. No tables, no fire rings you can rely on, no host, no gate, and nothing to book. You drive in, you find a spot that has clearly been used before, and everything you bring comes back out with you, including waste.

What to take

Water for everyone, for every day, plus more. A way to deal with human waste. A shovel. More fuel than the drive needs, because the nearest pump is back in town. And a plan for having no phone signal, which is likely.

Check before you go, every time

This is the part people skip. The Forest Service closes these areas, and it closes them at short notice:

• Fire restrictions. Stage 1 bans campfires outside developed sites, which is every one of these four. Stage 2 goes further. In a dry summer that is most of the summer.
• Closure orders. A fire or a flood risk can shut a whole area, and the order is what makes it illegal rather than merely unwise.

Our trail closures and conditions guide explains the current orders in plain words, and the conditions page carries live items. The Forest Service alerts page is the one that actually decides.

The quieter alternative

If you want a tap, a toilet and a booking, Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood is twenty minutes away and has both a campground and cabins. It costs money and it fills at weekends, and on a monsoon weekend that is the trade most people would take.