Camping near Jerome

Mingus Mountain Campground and Group Site and Playground Group Campground are both run by the Forest Service, up on Mingus Mountain above Jerome rather than in the town.

The altitude is the whole point

Jerome sits at about 5,200 feet and the campgrounds are higher again, around 7,000. That is roughly twenty degrees cooler than Camp Verde on the same afternoon, in ponderosa pine rather than juniper and scrub. In July, when the valley floor is punishing, this is where people from down here go.

The same altitude is why the season is short. Snow closes the mountain in winter, and the road is not maintained for it. Check the Prescott National Forest alerts before you plan anything outside the summer months.

The road

Getting up there means the switchbacks through Jerome and then a forest road along the ridge. It is fine in an ordinary car in good weather and it is slow, narrow and exposed. A large trailer or a big motorhome is a bad idea, and the group sites in particular are worth ringing about before you commit a party to them.

What to expect and what to take

These are Forest Service campgrounds, not resorts. Assume no hookups, assume you bring water, and assume you pack out what you bring in. A group site normally needs booking in advance rather than turning up.

The other thing that closes these, more often than snow, is fire. Stage 1 restrictions ban campfires outside developed sites and Stage 2 goes further; in a dry summer that covers most of the summer. A closure order can shut the whole area at short notice. The trail closures and conditions guide explains how the orders work, and the conditions page carries current items.

If you want a tap and a booking instead, Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood has a campground and cabins about twenty-five minutes down the hill, and the dispersed areas near Cornville are the free, no-facilities alternative.