Marshall Lake Dispersed Camping

Less than 10 miles away from Flagstaff, AZ you can take advantage of excellent camping, right next to the (former, now owned by the US Navy)Lowell Observatory. There are two separate sections of the Marshall Lake camping area, a lower and upper. When I arrived in April, the upper was still too muddy and the NFS hadn't opened the gate yet, but I hiked around up there and at night, you will get some amazing dark skies for star gazing. Marshall Lake does not have fish in it, so keep the poles stored for this trip, but it is still nice being around water. The lower section has plenty of sites, firepits, trails for hiking or biking, and scenic views. There are a lot of dispersed camping throughout the Coconino National Forest, but I loved this place and found it sight rewarding.

This was our first experience with dispersed camping, so we were a bit nervous at first. There were a few other people there which made us feel better, and it was a really pretty spot. Sites were well spaced out. Only issue was the cold! It got below freezing at night

We camped at the south end of the lake. It had rained a few days before so some of the spots were a bit rough. We woke up at about 4:30 am Saturday and found the field full of Elk. Kind of made the place for us. With the snow capped mountains in the background and this marsh lake you will find no other spot more beautiful, and of course you cannot beat the price. This is a great spot and only 12 miles to Flagstaff. The Giant Gas Station off of I40 has a free dump station and fresh water.

We took Gru, our 38' class a motorhome here and parked in the gorgeous field of yellow grasses. We had no trouble getting or out as long as we took it slow. There were other folks camping here and there (especially during the weekend) but overall this was a beautiful and quiet place to stay. The sunsets were gorgeous and we saw plenty of squirrels and rabbits around. Lots of antelope, elk, and deer to be see down the hill at Mary Lake.

The only downside was the unfortunate the amount of trash and toilet paper left by others campers. Folks - clean up your crap (literally and figuratively).

Our cat and dog enjoyed the open spaces and we enjoyed exploring some of the rougher roads in our little 4x4.

The dirt road was rough and rutted but to be expected. I learned a thing or 2 about my packing ability as the bumps n ruts rattled and dislodged things in my 33’ MH.

The atmosphere however more than made up for the road. The things swayed and the breeze sang. The air was pure and the sky was blue. I could live there... but...

We work remotely and need that 4G signal to earn a living. Kind of hard to upload t-shirt designs to Lifedecelerated.etsy.com with a jumpy signal.

You could also hear occasional off road toys and gun shots.

The campsite was beautiful with a great view of the mountains in the distance. Road was easy enough going in and get a little rough if you turn off to the right. But besides that the road was no trouble!

The site was large and pretty empty, so we didn’t have any trouble finding a spot.

The short version: It's an alright location and easy to access, but if real peace and quiet is your goal then you might want to look elsewhere.

The long version:
There are a fair number of sites, but not a ton. Most site are clumped together in pods but there and a few isolated sites. We went father's day weekend and all of the sites were full, even with prescribed burns and fire activity in the area. Fair amount of ORV and ATV traffic.

There was a family in a sprinter van that decided the side of the road right by our isolated site was a perfect spot to set up, which was unfortunate. Especially since camping is prohibited on the side they parked and setup on. The sound of a generator cut through the birds most of the morning, and there must be a municipal airport nearby as there were multiple low-flying planes throughout the day (and one at night).

Access off of Lake Mary Rd is very easy, paved road that climbs a few hundred feet over the valley overlooking Lower Lake Mary. The road heading north towards Marshall lake turns to dirt- but it was quite smooth when I was there, straight up to the east side of the Lake. If you want to traverse across the south end of the lake to the campsites on the west side- the road is far more sporting, with some large divots. However- might be worth it as you'll be further from the traffic running up and down the dirt road.

The area is pretty- with stands of Ponderosa Pine, a beautiful meadow, brilliant stars, and plenty of rather obvious dispersed camping sites, nicely spaced, most of them pretty flat.

Of importance to us- it is right on the Arizona Trail https://aztrail.org/ So, being able to star trail runs right from our campsite was a boon. And- upper Lake Mary is just 3mi drive for swimming/boating/etc. Great spot with easy access for plenty of outdoor activities.

Verizon cell phone coverage was 2 or 3 bars. However, data was slow and intermittent.

I stayed there over probably the most crowded weekend of the year- 4th of July. Weather was perfect. No mosquitos. Most camping spots were occupied, but still open space between each. For the first few days the breeze from the west blew all of the dust that the cars were kicking up from the road away from our site. However, the last day, with calm winds, the area filled up with dust in the evenings.

Many of the campsites are pretty close to the main dirt road- and with it being so smooth- a few people would drive overly fast. With probably 100 people camping in the area- I can think of two individuals that were consistently inconsiderate and broke the serenity for everyone else. One guy on a quad with opened baffles, who incessantly sped up and down the main road with his engine noise echoing off the hills and breaking the silence. And one other guy in a very loud pickup with aftermarket exhaust- that seemed to go in and out of the area multiple times at 3am. Other than that, most others drove reasonably and didn't ruin it for everyone else.

I could imagine that on a less crowded weekend, it would be an easy place to enjoy.

All the forest roads are closed. Good job AZ. Let’s pack full timers into Walmart parking lots to prevent the covid spread instead of DISPERSED camping. Round of applause.

Marshall Lake / June 12-14, 2020
Free and everyone knows it...when battling with $24-$26 local camping fees this is a great option. Due to its free nature my wife and I spent 30 minutes driving around to find a spot we could safely fit (trees, rocks) and away from others. This area is more accommodating to the “tenter” or “travel van”—I did see some 35 footers parked in some places (please be mindful of the trees!) We did settle on a pull off area 100 yards from canoe launch area. Wonderful view of the lake, but right on the edge of FS road.
** Tbone camping scale: (0-10) “0”=horrendous “10”=phenomenal
—getting there: “4” (15 minutes off Lake Mary road, main FS road is easy to travel— not many turn arounds. Any road off of FS road will have bowling ball sized volcanic rock.
—bugs: “9” (some flying insects, no bites)
—temps: “9” (day: 80’s, shorts, t-shirt / night low 50’s, double blankets)
—bathrooms: “2” (none. There is something refreshing about the great outdoors.!)
—yahoos: “8” (only 2 beer runners at 11 pm, that’s it)
—supply access: “6” (Flagstaff is 10 miles away)
—things to do: “4” (the lake is mostly marsh, very good for kayaks or canoes. Fishing is not very good—birds are your competition. You will have to drive to get to hiking, swimming, or fishing. A mountain bike would be very beneficial. Worst board-stiff scenario—go to Flagstaff and do some shopping!)