Saddle Mountain Dispersed Camping

This is our second time staying here and after we got settled in we remembered why we wanted to come back. For being relatively close to Phoenix, about 50 miles west, this place just doesn't seem to be well used but there are acres of level dispersed camping opportunities and the roads going to them are in fairly good shape. They get a bit rougher and rockier as you go closer to the mountains so it's wise to scope out a spot in your tow vehicle or on foot before driving too far in. It had been raining for a couple days before we arrived and the ground was surprisingly hard with no mud.
There is only one formal hiking trail going to the saddle, but there are jeep roads and lots of places to just go exploring on foot or mountain bike. We can hear a bit of noise from I-10 but it's several miles away so not bothersome.
Our Verizon internet is super fast as is our friend's AT&T. It wasn't this good even when we stayed closer to Phoenix in White Tank and McDowell Mtn County parks.

We decided to check this location out, after not finding too many reviews of it online to go by. And so glad we did. What a gem!

It's not too heavily used at all - during our 2 weeks there, we maybe saw 6 or so other RVs on our road.

Absolutely stunning views, lots of level spaces to find a spot to your own. Recommend coming down near mile marker 13 - some of the dirt roads to the east of there are tougher to navigate. Park your rig at the entry way, and scout out your spot. The roads go up all the way to the mountain. The east/west road (8709) is not passable by non 4x4s (huge washes) - so don't plan to be able to hop roads too easily without going back out to Courthouse Rd.

There are endless hiking opportunities in the area, and over a 100 geocaches placed. Also petroglyphs to discover.

And to top it all off.. solid cellular signal on Verizon & AT&T - although the towers seem to switch between bands, and did cause some connectivity issues.

All and all.. a perfect spot to just be, especially if you are transitioning between Phoenix & Quartzsite. Use Saddle Mountain RV Park at the exit (with $16 PA rate) to refresh your tanks. Propane and basic supplied available at the truck stop. Shopping available 30-40 minutes into the town of Buckeye.

Staying here for the next few days and I'm impressed.

It's easy to get to; very little dirt road travel. I followed the directions from the other reviews and found it fairly easy.

There's not many neighbors, I can only see two other campers from our spot and can't really hear anybody at night.

Nice flat area to set up camp. It's a little rocky but flat.

It's got good views of the mountains and easy access to hiking, biking and 4x4 trails.

Really good cell reception; we stream movies when we wanted to watch TV.

I don't really like the stack and pack of RV parks, so this fit us well.

I was looking for a boondocking spot in the Phoenix area for a few days and recalled Technomadia raving about this place a few weeks earlier, so I figured it had to be good. Saddle Mountain did not disappoint one bit! There are various unmarked dirt roads around mile marker 13 on the paved Courthouse Road that will lead you to the boondocking spots closer to the mountain. The couple of dirt roads I explored had large campsites that were fairly flat, and a few even were large enough for a large RV to turn around.

I stayed through the weekend in late March and only had 2 or 3 other RV neighbors at any time (and we all were well spread out to barely notice each other). While I could see traffic along I-10 in the far distance, I never could hear it. This was a quiet place to hike & chill out.

Verizon cell & OTA TV signals were fantastic, there's a nice $5 dump/water station at the Love's in Buckeye about 15 miles east (or stay at the RV park in Tonopah if you're a P.A. member for only a few bucks more). Lots of big box & grocery stores about 30 miles east in the greater Phoenix area.

Can't do much better for a great, free boondock!

Was looking for a place close to home for our Maiden Voyage in the used Class A we just purchased. While the area was very nice for hikers and rock hounds not really anywhere good to ride UTV's. More for just a get away with some hiking.

Only had two others out there so was nice and quiet.

If you are there in the Winter (we were there 12/3) make sure you are far enough away from the mountain to get sun in the morning. We were a little to close and did not get sun till around 10AM. Also quite a few bee's around.

We had seen several reviews of Saddle Mountain BLM here and on other sites. All had been very good and we have to agree. There are several entrances off of Courthouse Rd. All are very near mile marker 13. Ours was just past the marker if you are coming from Harquahala Valley Rd. This one and another one just before it are the best ones for big rigs. Both go right to the base of the mountain with plenty of spots. During the week we saw maybe three other rigs in the area. There were a couple of more on the weekends but still had a lot of space between campers. The sunrise and sunsets are beautiful here. You really couldn't ask for more than this if you are looking for a boondocking spot not too far from Phoenix.

Like other reviewers, we followed the directions easily to mile marker 13. Take the entrance slow as it's a bit bumpy but flat after you make the turn. We found a spot somewhat close to the road and disconnected our toad to check out the area (hoping to find a better spot). We decided we were good where we parked.

We spent almost every day hiking all over the area. I'd have to say we covered a lot of ground. If you're so inclined, you can climb fairly high up on the surrounding mountains.

Working from the motorhome was a breeze with the strong Verizon signal.

The neighbors are very sparse around the area and there are some really nice spots to set up camp. We brought our own firewood which turned out to be a good thing. (Just scrub and twigs)

We really enjoyed our stay here and thought about heading back here after we emptied our tanks at Saddle Mountain RV park but...on down the road we go!

Rox called the RV park about emptying our tanks but contrary to previous reviews you are required to stay one night. Price was very reasonable to stay and get set up for our next trip.

Nice place overall, we will be back for sure.

We read raving reviews and decided to check this place out. It did not disappoint. We are boondocking newbies but are absolutely hooked after this experience. We read Technomadia's review and followed their directions to the dirt road just past mile marker 13. Found it after dark without issue. The road is dirt but well packed - no wash board or anything. We saw maybe 20 other RVs dispersed throughout the entire area, all very spread out. My only complaint if you can call it that is we were kinda lonely - never met a single neighbor because we were so spread out and most of the campsites are a ways off the road. We travel with our 3 year old, and he was getting kinda bored by the end of our week here because there were no other kids around. I'm an accountant, and it's tax season for me, and this place was just perfect to hunker down and get a lot of work done and then go out hiking and exploring in the afternoons. Verizon signal is excellent here. We called Saddle Mountain RV Park, and they no longer honor Passport America. For 1 night they wanted over $30 plus an extra $2 for our toddler. El Dorado RV park was over $50. Neither place offered dump. We went to the Love's in Buckeye once to dump and fill and get groceries. Be aware that there is only one spigot at the Love's with a "non potable" water sign. The management told us it is a normal city water spigot, and we didn't have much choice, so we went ahead and wiped it clean, ran it for a few seconds, put our own hose and filter on it, and filled our fresh. We bought bottled drinking water - it was fine for dish washing and bathing. Definitely hope to come here again. It's amazing that you can come spend a week or more at this place completely free and no one even really knows where you're at. Oh and p.s. I was amazed at how clean and how little trash there was for it being such a remote area with no rangers that we ever saw.

Saddle Mountain is 31 miles west of Tonopah, AZ just off I-10. It is far enough from the freeway so that you see truck lights but seldom hear anything form I-10. Strong Verizon 3-4 bar LTE and digital TV is like you're in Phoenix. Lots of close hiking. Buckeye, AZ is 30 miles for whatever shopping you may need.
See my video at: https://youtu.be/gl4T7ECww-I

We read all the other reviews, which had great information.

We entered the area on the road numbered 8210, the second entrance on the left as you head west on Courthouse Road. There are several great places to pull into. This road ends, there was a great site up there, but it was occupied. We saw about 20 rigs in the area on Saturday, and then thinned out the second night we were there.

We hiked around the area on the existing roads and made our own trails up to get a view of the whole area. We came across, what we later read, was the trailhead for the trail to the top of saddle mountain, there was no signs to indicate that it was the trailhead. We plan to do that hike next time!