US Naval Observatory

This is a fine site if you're just looking for somewhere free to camp near Flagstaff. It's only about 10 minutes into town which is super nice.

The sites themselves are nothing exciting - you can see the other campers through the sparse trees, and it's right by the highway so a TON of road noise.

Once on Naval Observatory road go in about half a mile and you'll see folks camping ⛺️ on the left. We went pretty far (not that far) in to be alone. We are on day two of what we believe wii be a 14 day stay.

Nice "Dispersed Camping area". Sites are mostly undefined but there are plenty to choose from. My guess is this a kind of tree farm. Lots of stumps with young growth.

Our neighbors were 700+ away and we only saw one person walking their dog.

Verizon bandwidth 15mbs.

Call reception was fine.

For our money (free) this 5 star in primitive camping.

Of course any free camping less than 10 miles from a major city with always be busy. Thankfully we still found a spot for the night. The roads leading to each campsite is pretty rough and tight. May be tough for big rigs. The biggest rig out her looked to be 32 ft 5th wheel, and even they stayed towards the entrance. Overall it was quite and clean. Zeus loved all the trees so we’ll probably stay again when we are near Flagstaff!

This is one of the locations I did a scouting trip on before dragging the big rig into. As others have said, I wouldn't try to go beyond the large camping area you'll see once you reach the US Naval Observatory sign. There was no one else here in late December and since the temps are 60 during the day and mid-20 at night, I opted to go elsewhere with full sun exposure.

I liked the road is fully paved leading up to the camping sites to help keep the rig clean and figured there wouldn't be a ton of traffic since only authorized folks are allowed past the naval sign, but I was looking for a more isolated and sunny location. There is a narrow dirt road going off but no way I would try to bring my rig down it. I did hear the train, but no whistle so not too bad.

Most campers seem to stay close to the paved access road. That's too crowded for Bandit & me. We went slowly down the dirt road to the right out into the forest. It is rutted but manageable in our 32 ft Class C. Camp spots are not defined but obvious. Great hiking through the Ponderosa Pines or along the roads. The trees provided just the right combination for shade and solar panel collection. Fifteen minutes to Flagstaff stores for resupply. Great solar store there with low prices, Northern Arizona Wind & Solar. Very good experience.

This is the Naval Observatory property. It is a very important facility in the US space watching program.

I followed what others said and went in past the beginning loop. There are many spaces back in with much room between for privacy. Just got here this am. Have had many cars without trailers come by all day . They go way past where I am and about 15 min later they come back out.... hmmm. Will update this when my stay is done.

For a big rig, only a few spots at the entry will work. Ok but not a preference. Not planning to stay.

Drive one mile in past the first few pullouts until the road basically ends and you’re far from people and road noise. You can hear the train off in the distance but it’s not loud.
The dirt road is rutted and rocky but our Class B did fine. Lots of trees and sun alike.

Cell service with our We-Boost was great! Two-three bars on Verizon.

Perfect pit stop on my way to Santa Fe. Pulled right into a spot pretty close to the road. I was worried if my car was going to be able to make it but the path was pretty decent outside of a few spots. Cell reception for ATT was great too.

This beautiful spot is easily located right off the highway. We pulled in kind of late, saw a lot of campers, but found a nice spot anyhow. We’d def stay here again.