Loy Butte Rd. Dispersed Camping (FR-525)

Loy Butte Rd, also known as FR525, is equidistant from Sedona or Cottonwood right off 89A so all the activities in the area are very accessible. There is a great deal of dispersed camping here and we chose a spot about 2 miles from the main road. Access was decent but dusty with some washboard. You can camp anywhere unless its specifically signed that it is not allowed. The views are spectacular and noise almost non-existent. Goatheads, a particularly nasty thorn, are abundant so this may not be the greatest spot for pets. Big rigs may not have enough turning room in many of the spots but we were fine in our 27' Airstream. The site was only moderately level and it took a couple of tries to get the best spot. Cell and internet were fine with Verizon. Be careful with fire as this is very dry country unless you're here in the summer monsoon season. Would camp here again.

Knowing I would be running into town a few times I chose to stay near the highway (a little noisey). I could have ventured miles down the gravel road where there are many other sites worthy of camping. Some have great views of the red hills towards Sedona while others are tucked away behind hillsides for maximum solitude. One recommendation if you are coming out this way is to take the time to drive the entire length of the road before making your camping decision.

The site chosen also happened to be the rally-point for the numerous ATV tour companies based of out Sedona. Each morning a truck (or three) would pull up with a half-dozen ATVs in tow. Then a van filled with paying customers follow, each mounting an ATV before buzzing off into the desert only to return a few hours later to buzz back onto the trailer, into the van, and drive off in a cloud of dust (and dog barks). However, it also happened to be the rallying point for the hot air balloon companies which flew overhead each morning in the cool air. While the ATVs were an annoyance, the balloons were a treat and some of the pilots clearly enjoyed having a target to aim at in the desert. On one occasion the balloon, filled with waving and smiling customers hissed by only 20 feet above my head as I snapped the camera in their direction.

Thanks to a tip from our friend A Solojourner (who scouted out the area a few days before we arrived) we took a chance and drove about 5 miles up the dirt road on FR 525 toward the Palatki Ruins in our 32 foot Class A (with a toad) and found a great spot with amazing views.

The road is pretty well maintained and, aside from a little washboarding, perfectly safe for a large rig. It IS on the narrow side but most of the traffic comes from 4x4 and Jeep tours who all have the ability to move over for you. You'll pass quite a few spots suitable for large rigs but if you're lucky you may find the very spot we did...and it will be worth all of the dust on the rig.

Verizon and AT&T signal goes in and out as you travel up the road. Some areas it may disappear but the signal at our site was very much usable. We had very little trouble getting level and there's plenty of room to maneuver. The only downside is that this is a pretty popular area for the local Sedona Jeep and ATV Tours and during the day they pass by fairly regularly. Not enough to be a big bother but it might depend on your tolerance for such things. They seem to stop by about 5pm and then it's so serene (and you can see the Milky Way).

The views...wow! You get this for FREE!

This is such a beautiful spot, we thought we might never leave. What is better than waking up to glowing red rocks every morning.

We drove just under 5 miles along the 525 from the 89A turn off just opposite Page Spring Road part way between Cottonwood and Sedona. Our GEO co-ordinates were 34.876786,-111.904478. It was worth the drive along the dirt road to get the best views.

It can be a bit dusty here and we had a few windy days when we had to batten down the hatches, but mostly it was pleasant, warm and bug-free. The road is busy with the Jeep tours from Sedona but we parked far enough off the road for them not to bother us at camp.

Several of the Sedona hikes are nearby with Doe Mountain and Boynton Canyon Trails just a short drive away. Bell Rock and other Sedona sights are a little further across town. You are also very close to the delightful town of Cottonwood which is cute and not as crowded as Sedona.

Great cell coverage, but just like many spots we have found in Arizona the towers seem overloaded, and we found speeds to be compromised a lot of the time we were here.

Good location, good views = good life.

We stayed at the same coordinates as The Scenic Route, and driving down the road was definitely worth it! We managed to squeeze into the spot at the end of the loop and had amazing views of the nearby red rocks, lots of peace and quiet, and hot air balloons every morning! This place was just awesome. Can't wait to go back next year!

We arrived when it was raining. It continued through the night and in the morning many spots in our immediate camping area were quite muddy and in some places my shoes would sink down at least an inch. We have a dog, so the mud was definitely a pain to deal with.

That afternoon we moved down the road to one of the more popular locations with fantastic views of the mountains. Our first few days were spectacular. During our walk between 6 and 7 every morning, we enjoyed watching the hot air balloons.

The last day we were here, there was a 30 second wind gust that carried a LOT of dirt directly through our screens and dumped it inside our trailer covering EVERYTHING inside with red dust.

Mud and dust aside, I'm still giving Loy Butte Road 4 stars for beauty, and it sits in a great location between Sedona and Cottonwood.

We were here the last week of April, and during the day the temps were extremely hot. Probably a little too late in the season.

Oh and as far as driving directions go, access is easiest if you use the coordinates on Campendium, and once you get to the dirt road punch in coordinates from one of the reviews. Otherwise, your GPS might take you the back way from Sedona which has a longer dirt road and a dip that might not be good for the Class A crew.

We had LTE without a booster and over-the-air HDTV.

The first night we stayed here: 34.868201,-111.903586
For six nights we stayed here: 34.976313, -111.904857

Was camping here in April 2015 with Aluminarium and was a little too hot for me, but oh is the night sky so beautiful. I loved being close to the red rocks that you could really appreciate their beauty. The site is also close enough to Sedona that you can get what you need, get out of their as soon as possible, and return to your excellent camp site.

For access, follow Aluminarium advice so you don't have difficult access.

This was a great boondocking spot. Despite our decision to come here in September when it was up to 97 during the day and the 5 mile washboard road coming in, we still give it 5 stars because of its peace and seclusion.

We used The Scenic Routes coordinates to get the great spot at the end of a loop off the road enough so people couldn't see us and there wasn't much road dust. It did take a bit of creativity to back our 30' into the spot so we had a view out of our front panoramic windows but not too bad.

During our 5 days there, there were two ATV's that peeked in and one guy who was scouting the place for an Airstream rally with his friends otherwise, no one was around aside from the Pink Jeep tours on the road during the day but we barely heard them.

To get to Sedona, we took a right out of the spot and took back roads which were tolerable and had only 3 miles of dirt roads vs. 5 if heading towards 89 instead of going down the washboard 5 miles.

By some grace of buddha, a guy had been grading the road all week and reached the road by our site the day we were pulling out which made for a VERY easy 5 mile drive out.

When in the area, don't miss Palatiki Heritage Site. The guides are awesome around the old ruins and pictographs. And our favorite hike nearby was the easy Fay Canyon Hike.

Super fast 4g LTE Verizon without a booster.

We might be a little biased, because this was the site of our first boondocking experience, but we absolutely loved it here. There are tons of free campsites up and down this road and its offshoots, and we found a quiet area big enough for a small army, but housing only ourselves and one other friend.

We were able to get in no problem with our 36' 5th wheel, although some of the campsites are better suited for smaller rigs, or even just cars or vans. Our advice: check out the satellite view first, identify some potential sites, then scope it out in person. We actually unhitched our rig and scouted with our truck before coming back for the 5ver once we'd found the site we wanted.

If you want fabulous views of Sedona and a basecamp to explore the surrounding areas for free, this is the spot. We were going to use The Scenic Routes coordinates, but there was a group there, so we ended up further down at another spot: 34°52′04″ N 111°54′13″ W

This place is beautiful, but for being 30 minutes from Sedona in the National Forest, the Loy Butte Road is BUSY. With a capital B. Pink Jeep Tours every 15 minutes, it seems like, and other people flying up and down the road. We had one person come speeding through our campsite. Which is not really encouraging when you have young children. I feel maybe we didn't visit at the right time of year, as others have had quite experiences. As others have pointed out, there is a lot of camping up and down the road, so you might fair better.

The majority of this traffic is around working hours, though. Around 3 p.m., most of it died down. And it's silent and peaceful here at night. Excellent place for night time sky viewing.

Watching the hot air balloons early in the morning is also a plus.

Verizon coverage is excellent. Unboosted was 15mbps down and boosted we saw 28mbsp down and 18mbps up. Great place for getting work done with amazing views.