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
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 2,627 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
- 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
- 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). Open in Google Maps ↗
The site
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
2,627 ft
State
AZ
Coordinates
34.34815, -111.69782
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply (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
Nearby restrooms — 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 this spot elsewhere
Other camps nearby
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 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: drive (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
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 →