Camping near the Village of Oak Creek

FR 120A Dispersed and FR 689 are both dispersed camping areas on Forest Service land, named after the forest roads they sit on. Our records for both are thin, and we would rather say that than dress them up: what we hold is little more than a location and an operator.

What dispersed camping means

No hookups. No water. No toilets. No tables or reliable fire rings. No host, no gate, nothing to book, and no guarantee a spot is free when you arrive. You find a place that has clearly been used before, and everything you bring leaves with you, including waste.

Take water for everyone for every day and then more, a way to deal with human waste, a shovel, and more fuel than the drive needs. Expect no phone signal.

Check before every single trip

This is the part that catches people, and it is not optional near Sedona:

• Fire restrictions. Stage 1 bans campfires outside developed sites, which is every dispersed area. Stage 2 goes further. In a dry summer that is most of the summer.
• Closure orders. A fire or a flood risk shuts whole areas at short notice, and the order is what makes entering illegal rather than merely unwise. Several orders around Sedona and Oak Creek were in force this year.

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 what actually decides.

Forest roads are not maintained roads. A high-clearance vehicle is often the difference between arriving and turning round, and a monsoon storm can make a road impassable while you are out there.

If you want facilities

Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood has a campground and cabins, about forty minutes away, with water, toilets and a booking system. The Jerome campgrounds up on Mingus Mountain are Forest Service sites at around 7,000 feet, much cooler in summer.