Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Childs Dispersed Camping Area
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · AZ · 34.34815, -111.69782
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 — at Childs Dispersed Camping Area
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 2,627 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Childs Dispersed Camping AreaNIFC · 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 Childs Dispersed Camping Area · Coconino National Forest · AZ
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- MMechanic13 mi
- WWater14 mi
- +Urgent care14 mi
- FFuel14 mi
- GGrocery14 mi
- @Mail14 mi
- HHardware14 mi
- LLaundry18 mi
- RxPharmacy18 mi
- ShShower19 mi
- AAir-up21 mi
- DDump22 mi
- EVEV fast charger23 mi
- OOutfitter36 mi
- PPropane52 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 14 mi out.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — Childs Dispersed Camping Area
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
2,627 ft
State
AZ
Coordinates
34.34815, -111.69782
Cost
Free · dispersed public land, no fee in any source
Nearby & resupply — around Childs Dispersed Camping Area · Coconino National Forest · AZ (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureTanko Caliente (water) · nearby
- Nearest townStrawberry · ~12.2 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~17.5 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~22.3 mi · fee
- GroceriesBashas' · ~17.9 mi
- PharmacyWalgreens · ~17.7 mi
- Hospital / clinicCamp Geronimo health lodge · ~19.0 mi
- HardwareHarbor Freight Tools · ~22.9 mi
EV charging — from Childs Dispersed Camping Area · Coconino National Forest · AZ — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger22.6 mi straight-line E — Payson, AZ - Tesla Supercharger (at a shopping center) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 12 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach4 within 25 mi · 22 within 50 · 128 within 100 · 159 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS22.7 mi — CircleK - Payson, Payson
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO42.1 mi — Walmart 5329 (Anthem, AZ), Anthem
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)17.4 mi — MOSCATO STATION2, Camp Verde, AZ · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Pricing at the fast chargernot listed
- Power (kW)not listed by AFDC — “DC fast” spans roughly 24 to 350 kW, so ask the network.
- Read this honestlyStraight-line miles, like every distance on this site. Roads run longer than this, and you have to get back. We know where a charger is listed. We don’t know if it works today, how fast it is, or the road miles. Check the network before you commit.
Snapshot 2026-09-16 · AFDC record 117722 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Childs Dispersed Camping Area · Coconino National Forest · AZ — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletChilds · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletMazatzal · ~3.1 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toilet502/708 Junction · ~4.2 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletHomestead Lower · ~4.4 mi NE · USFS
Open Childs Dispersed Camping Area elsewhere
Other camps near Childs Dispersed Camping Area
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Fossil Creek~5.0 mi
- Clear Creek National Forest Campground~12.3 mi
- Bull Pen Dispersed Campground~13.4 mi
- Sharp Creek Group~14.7 mi
The unit that manages Childs Dispersed Camping Area
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Childs Dispersed Camping Area are set by Coconino National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Childs Dispersed Camping Area
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: drive (road/trail right there)
EV chargers
US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.
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 about Childs Dispersed Camping Area
A land record can put you within a few meters 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
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it
Before you go — Childs Dispersed Camping Area
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Leave no trace →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 →