Thousand Trails Road

This is a popular boondocking site near Cottonwood and Sedona. Access is off of Thousand Trails road at FR 147A and RV's can be seen from here. The road in is firmly packed dirt as are the 3 main camping areas on the west side of the road. Sites are generally level. There is plenty of room for any type of RV, big or small but beware of going past the last camp site, there is no turn around past here and the road goes about a mile down to Oak Creek and may not suitable for most RV's. There is a sign giving this warning. The area is sufficiently off the road to not hear traffic and there is a generally accepted rule of no generators later at night. We've camped here several times and will be back, it's a good stop for a few days. Good Verizon cell and wi-fi.

This boondocking site had a beautiful view and was very easy to access. There were quite a few other RVs there (probably about 8-10), but we had no trouble getting a level spot and the area was quiet. We would have stayed longer, but heavy rain was expected and I don't think we would have been able to access the area very easily if there were rain. If we pass through the area again, we'll be stopping!

Flat large area with 8 good looking rigs; felt very safe for single gal. Really close to Cottonwood so convenient to amenities. Would definitely come here again!

Some folks on the further out loop seem to be permanent but friendly. A few sites are not tidy having left behind trash and one abandoned rig. That being said, the closer loop was very tidy and appealing.

Got a little highway noise, not enough to bother.

We wanted a boondocking spot near Tuzigoot and Jerome, but close enough to get back to I-17 to get up to Flagstaff. We stopped here based on the other positive reviews and were very disappointed.

I'm guessing the other reviews came here during different seasons, but we were here in early April and it was PACKED. Each of the two loops had 10-15 RV's each and we barely found a spot in the second loop. People ran their generators all night. And although we had 3 bars of Verizon LTE, we never got up past 1mbps -- boosted.

I'm glad this was an easy shot to some nearby areas, but we won't be coming back here.

Located about half an hour to Sedona and only about 4 miles to Cottonwood. The town of Cottonwood has just about everything you'll probably need from laundromats to grocery stores. There is a Walmart, Fry's and Safeway, so lots of choices. We also saw a natural foods store but didn't go in because we found a Whole Foods & Natural Foods while visiting Sedona.

It was pretty quiet at night during our stay. In the mornings we awoke to the sound of hot air balloons above us!

The best wifi in the area was at the public library. It was pretty fast!

We stopped here when we got frozen out of Flagstaff and needed to get to warmer climates in a hurry. We ended up stopping here which worked out well. It's only about 25 minutes to Sedona which is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. There is shopping handy only about 10 minutes away with everything you could ever need. Walmart, Home Depot, Dump Station at the Giant gas station and as we were happy to find out, a walk in chiropractic clinic. We were even entertained by hot air balloon one morning. Not too much for scenery at the site but it's quiet with no road noise to speak of. Take 206 to Thousand Trails Rd and make a left into the camping area. Most sites are spread along the left side of the road within a quarter mile of turning on to the road. If it rains while you are there plan on staying a couple of days. It turns into the most sticky mud I've ever seen! Some trash around but we left it cleaner than we found it.

About 8 miles west of 17 (exit hwy 260 the Camp Verde exit,) well marked road on the right. When you enter there is a small "parking" are on the right and larger on the left. Quite crowded, and many run down rigs that concerned us but the people were friendly. The lower area is about 1/4 mile further down the road and was packed. Roads a bit rough but do-able in probably most rigs. Was a big pile of bagged garbage and other trash, were told was just a group in "cleaning up" and it was set to be hauled away. Road noise in the upper area, but not to bad at night. Close to Cottonwood and Camp Verde, nice drive thru Sedona to Flagstaff on 89A (no RV's just a day trip). We did have National Forrest Law enforcement visit one night and they do record plates and check to see that the 14 days is observed. Possibly trying to clean up the hole situation. Several over nighters in cars so that was a bit concerning but no issues.

We towed through all of FR525/Loy Butte Rd. and scouted across the street before getting frustrated and ending up here. This site is less scenic but still really nice if you can get a good spot, and it's much easier to access.

We had a lot of neighbors but managed to snag a site by a pretty tree that people couldn't really crowd us in. There was a good amount of noise but it was distant enough that it didn't really bother us.

Verizon coverage was acceptable for work and netflix, but I cannot remember speeds or signal strength.

This is a good location with easy access to the main road (260) and close to Cottonwood and Sedona.

Note, there is major construction on 260 - expect some slow-downs and delays.

Of the three main areas we scouted, the first two have the best access for big rigs (we have a 40' motorhome). As with any BLM camping, it's always prudent to scout ahead. This location is also very popular, so you may want to leave a chair or something to mark the site you intend to occupy, particularly on or near a weekend during the busy season.

Really the main issue for us was the number of obviously semi-permanent residents who are either homeless or living out of a car. Trash was scattered all over near where they camped and there were a few dogs roaming free (a concern for us with three younger children). Like a lot of busy, well-trafficked BLM areas, this is a not a place that I would leave my stuff out and unlocked while exploring the local area.

Internet access was a mixed bag:

Verizon: This was an LTE area but speeds were extremely slow - less than 1Mbps most times and never above 3Mbps. Tower crowding seemed to be one issue, but even upload speeds were slower than I would expect.

AT&T: We had solid service with our hotspot and MIMO antenna - about 12Mbps in the evenings. Our phones didn't do as well - about 4Mbps and they sometimes dropped from LTE to 4G (HSPA).

T-Mobile: T-Mobile showed signs of tower congestion - download speeds were usually slow, about 2Mbps, while upload speeds were well over 8Mbps.

Easy to get into, 1/4 mile off paved road, not too bad just drive around ruts in dirt. Place was pretty busy but pulled into a spot no problem. Quiet, just people looking for a boondock, don't judge, just live and let live..would definitely stay again verizon was a little sporadic but able to stream.