Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Arivaca Lake Dispersed Camping
Hike-in · U.S. Forest Service · AZ · 31.53090, -111.25200
Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.
Ask about this camp →U.S. Forest Service lists this site. On most of their ground you can camp away from developed sites pretty much anywhere — so treat this as a known-good spot, not the only one allowed. The unit sets stay limits and how far off road and water you must be. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 3,805 ft.
Fire & smokeNIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.
Everything you need — measured from camp
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- GGrocery5 mi
- LLaundry5 mi
- FFuel6 mi
- @Mail6 mi
- +Urgent care6 mi
- HHardware22 mi
- RxPharmacy22 mi
- MMechanic23 mi
- DDump24 mi
- WWater26 mi
- PPropane38 mi
- AAir-up45 mi
- OOutfitter48 mi
- ShShower57 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 26-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 5 mi out.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors). Open in Google Maps ↗
The site
Access
Hike-in
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
3,805 ft
State
AZ
Coordinates
31.53090, -111.25200
Cost
Free
Getting in
Park at nearest parking · ~0.39 mi in a straight line (trail will be longer)
Nearby & resupply (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureArivaca Lake (water) · nearby
- Nearest townOro Blanco · ~2.9 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~5.5 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~23.5 mi · fee
- GroceriesStore · ~5.2 mi
- PharmacyWalgreens · ~22.0 mi
- Hospital / clinicHoly Cross Hospital · ~21.7 mi
- HardwareThe Home Depot · ~24.8 mi
Nearby restrooms — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomFederal restroom · ~5.2 mi NW · FWS
- RestroomVisitor Center Comfort Station · ~12.1 mi E · NPS
- RestroomTumacácori Visitor Center · ~12.1 mi E · NPS
- Vault / pit toiletPena Blanca Lake · ~13.1 mi SE · USFS
Open this spot elsewhere
Other camps nearby
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Calabasas Group Site~15.5 mi
The unit that manages this camp
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions are set by the unit, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this
Source
OpenStreetMap contributors
Confidence
Researched — The record is detailed and internally consistent, and the coordinates land where the managing agency says this site is.
How it was placed
auto: hike (road/trail right there)
Field check
On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.
What we don’t know
A land record can put you within a few metres of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Seasonal & winter access
- Current fire restrictions
- Whether any water here is drinkable
- Shade & wind exposure
- Noise and who else shows up
Before you go
Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Camping with a dog →All field notes →
Been here? Tell us what changed. This page is built from public records, so the fastest way it gets better is somebody who has actually pulled in. Road washed out, site gone, gate locked, or it is exactly as described — all of it useful. Send a report →