Apache Trail Dispersed Camping

Its VERY easy access, any size rig could fit in here. We have a 34ft class A with a tow dolly and had no issues. It was kind of crowded, but thats to be expected at this time of year in AZ.

There are fire rings, but we ended up making our own because someone had left tons of trash laying around (shame). The location is great! 15 min to Canyon Lake 2 min away from Lost Dutchman State Park. Great hiking. Would stay here again for sure.

Small area right off the road. During the day horse trailers come in and take up alot of the space, late in the day, they leave and spots open up.The area has maybe a dozen level areas and it may be challenging for bigger rigs.

Very hilly terrain so having blocks will be helpful but there are flat spots to be found. If possible, sending a scout vehicle in first is a good idea. There is a bump out right when you pull in so we unhooked our toad there and did a quick loop through the area (but people will camp in this bump out, so it might not be available). Even though it was very busy, we thought there were at least three different places we could have stayed in our 33' motorhome. There were probably about 15 rigs while we were here and a fair amount of 'turnover'. Consistently busy area with campers and horse trailers. Some people running loud generators late into the night, but most campers were using solar while we were there.

There are some nice trails right out of this boondocking spot or Lost Dutchman State Park is just 2 miles up the road. Lots of cacti (cholla and saguaro), many evenings with coyotes howling nearby, and unfortunately a fair amount of trash left by campers.

We ended up in a great spot, able to make our patio area private and have unobstructed views of the Superstitions. We were very close to the road though, so there was a fair amount of traffic noise.
Had an awesome moonrise with silhouettes of the saguaro on the hill in front of it. So incredible.

As you head NW from Apache Junction, just beyond Lost Dutchman State Park, the turn into this boondocking spot is 0.9 miles past Mile marker 202 on Apache Trail Rd.

You can most likely find a spot even if it looks very busy when you pull in. We were able to get a spot in the back along the fence with a nice view, so we were pleasantly surprised at the feeling of privacy we had. Fair amount of trash around which is disappointing. Good location for both city and mountain exploration which is why we stayed.
Not impressed, but it got the job done.

Camped Sunday night, 2/3/19. As per the other reviews, it was crowded, even on a rainy Sunday evening. However, we found a spot, and surprisingly, it was level. This boondock site is sandy gravel with dips and hills, and no marked sites; you just park wherever. Being rainy, there was some mud and soft areas where people drove, but mostly it was hard-packed. There were a number of larger to smaller RVs and some tents. The area is enclosed in barbed wire fence. No porta-potties or trash containers provided, and people left their trash laying around. While the road noise wasn't bad, someone ran their generator all through the night.

On the flip side, the views and landscape are amazing, and the location convenient. My husband had to catch an early morning flight out of Gateway Airport in Mesa, which was a half hour away.

A fellow camper said the weekend was noisy with partying. We'd stay here again, but only if we had to.

Pulled in and the place was trashed.... Lots of horse trailers which is fine for they only stay for a few hours and then gone. But you have the homeless camping there with their kids swinging from the trees, very trashy area and deep holes and with this last storm there was water everywhere. Would not recommend for rigs over 24ft.

We were here while Larry stopped through; it may well have been my kids swinging from the tree. FWIW? Not homeless (though they may well have looked it; they played HARD here.) Heavy rains (3 inches in 24 hours) caused significant pooling in the lower areas of the campground which is, as reported, really just an extra-large horse-trail trailhead. The ground is packed dirt, very unlevel and with many washes BUT the views are breathtaking and lush desert trails are easily accessible. We went to sleep to coyotes howling and woke to birds singing. There are piles of horse poop and sometimes a lot of hay on the ground, but the area is not "trashed" with garbage the way that many boondocking sites are. (One group of tent-dwellers overstayed their 14 days by a significant margin and left substantial trash behind; the next RV who pulled in there did a beautiful job cleaning it all up.)

There were a few different "homeless" groups here while we were. All were friendly and respectful. We've never boondocked with such close neighbors as the busyness and limited space here requires; I think that plus the bad weather contributed to a community dynamic that we really enjoyed. YMMV.

Our FW is 37.5 feet. While we were here there were at least five other fifth wheels and class A's in the 38-40 foot range, plus a skoolie. Smaller RVs may have an easier time leveling or finding a place when the horse trailers are here (hot tip: park at the entrance and scout by foot), but there is absolutely space for any size rig.

Horse trailers pull in around 10am and out again around 3-4pm (at least this time of year). When they are here, navigating or finding a spot can be tricky if not impossible. Overall it seems there is a good bit of turnover. In our two weeks we saw a few days when the campground was FULL and just as many when it was less than half capacity. Nearly always there would be "room for one more" if you just need a place to overnight and aren't too picky. We highly recommend arriving during daylight so you can see the washes.

Fry's grocery ten minutes away has drinking water for 20 cents/gallon, Clicklist curbside grocery pickup (yay!) and a decent price on diesel, especially with any Kroger card (Fred Meyer, Smiths, etc.). Laundry, propane (Metro Lift had best price when we were here; gas station's nearby was almost double it), Costco and Winco are all within reach. Lost Dutchman State Park offers water for $7 or dump-and-fill for $15. There is also free water available at the Shell(? Cheveron?) close to the traffic circle; we inquired inside and were able to fill water bladders no problem. Cell service is lacking across all networks, but is great at the Parks and Rec Center ($60 for family pass for a month which includes gym, climbing wall, kids club and SHOWERS) and the library. Friends were able to work from their RV with a WeBoost. Also! We loved the Superstition Mountain Museum! The expansive grounds are interesting and free to walk. The Lost Dutchman Museum (inside the gift shop) is well worth $5 (kids free).

…you don’t mind rubbish left everywhere, barking dogs, two generators left running all night and couples fighting all through the night. We just pulled in for a quick overnight stay and so grateful that was all. There were some others camping like we were, but there were also multiple sites where people were clearly living out of their trailers. Very little care was given for picking up the rubbish they were creating and the noise they made. The only saving grace for this site is the view of the Superstition Mountains. The surface is very uneven with lots of ruts and holes created from rains and mud. You’ll have to work to find a level spot. Wish we could give it more than 1 star, but there’s just nothing good here. Last review on here was 2+ years ago, we thought it might improved, it hasn’t.

I will preface this by saying that we didn’t camp here, and thank goodness for that. We were there to check out the area and bike some of the trails behind the dispersed camping as we had to bike. We ended up biking through the dispersed camping area which was super sketchy. Trash everywhere, actually smelled like urine, and some people definitely staying past the 14 day limit. Dispersed camping used to be great years ago, but this is the worst degradation of it I’ve seen yet.

This area used to have overnight camping / boondocking, but now they have changed it and have signs posted all over: NO CAMPING ALLOWED.