Dispersed Camping Near Madera Canyon In Arizona

While in Arizona we wanted to visit the hubby’s parents who live in Green Valley. While looking around for some free boondocking we discovered the Proctor Road dispersed camping area right outside Madera Canyon.

This free camping area is part of the Coronado National Forest and is run by the US Forest Service.

There is a 14 day stay limit and campsites are on a first come, first served basis. It is open year round for visitors to use, but I’m assuming it gets pretty hot there in the summer.

The entrance to Proctor Road is a bit intimidating and hard to navigate.

There are a couple of very tight turns and some dips making it quite unsuitable for larger rigs to enter. I think any rig over 25 feet would have a difficult time getting in. I saw a couple of larger trailers there, but I’m assuming it took them some work.

My best advice is to scout the road out ahead of time if you can and see if you can navigate the entrance.

I should also mention there is a small creek that crosses the road near the entrance. It’s not deep or anything and I don’t think it’s always there (could be wrong on that one though).

The gravel road is a little rough in some parts, but nothing you need 4WD for. You would need high clearance 4WD to reach the last two campsites at the end of the road, but I don’t think they get used often.

There are also a couple of locked gates to private property on the road so be sure to stay on the main forest road.

There are around twelve numbered sites, but they don’t seem to be enforced as the only place you can camp.

Many of the sites can handle multiple rigs and people were kinda camped everywhere during our stay. Rangers and maintenance drove through multiple times and never told anyone to move.

This is boondocking so no bathrooms, water, or hook-ups can be found here. There are no trashcans so whatever you pack in make sure you pack out.

Pets are allowed, but please be sure to pick up after them. This is also bear and coyote country so never leave pets unattended outside.

I don’t want anything carrying your fur babies away!

There were a few homemade fire rings in the area for campfires. As always be sure to check on any fire restrictions beforehand. Always make sure every spark is out before going to bed or leaving camp.

We had great Verizon cell service while we were here and were able to get some work done. I don’t recall if our AT&T was any good, sorry.

There wasn’t a lot of shade provided in this camping area so keep that in mind before making your weekend plans. If you’re running solar though, you’ll have no problem topping off those batteries every day (weather permitting of course).

Like so many other free camping spots in the west there were cows roaming about here as well so watch where you step. We’ve gotten so accustomed to camping with cows at this point we barely even notice them.

The cat on the other hand never gets tired of watching them.

We actually stayed in two camping spots during our two week stay here.

The first spot was one of those really large ones for multiple rigs and we got neighbors pretty fast. We decided we wanted a little more privacy so on Monday after the weekend crowd cleared out, we moved to another spot.

The second spot was hidden way back in the brush and the side road to get there was a bit rough, but we made it.

That week we only saw two people who drove back to where we were and then turned around. It was a much more peaceful and private spot for sure.

It was a very popular hangout for the cows though and we shared camp with them most of the week, lol.

Besides the larger sites that are able to accommodate multiple rigs, the other sites have enough space between them for some privacy. Just a heads up that most of the spots aren’t that level though.

If you need supplies Green Valley, Arizona is less than thirty minutes away and has everything you could need.

Madera Canyon is just minutes away from Proctor Road and there is a ton of hiking to do there.

We kind of just drove down the road and stopped at viewpoints and trailheads and hiked. We did multiple hikes, but I can’t really remember the name of any of them.

They were pretty though and we had fun.

The Proctor Trailhead (31.74112, -110.88688) is located right before the road to the camping area and has informational kiosks and maps for the area.

There are also trashcans and restrooms located in the parking area. You can also find spigots here to get potable water.

A really nice trail starts at the parking lot as well.

We really enjoyed our stay and would camp here again.

It did get a bit busy on the weekends with the area filling up with campers and people just driving through, but that always happens. It was quiet, for the most part, and we never felt unsafe.

We didn’t get to spend nearly as much time as we would have liked hiking in Madera Canyon, but that’s something we can do more of on our next visit.