Agency-listedUSFSFree
Valentine Ridge Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · AZ · 34.24359, -110.79753
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 6,656 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
- WWater5 mi
- DDump6 mi
- ShShower6 mi
- @Mail6 mi
- FFuel6 mi
- GGrocery10 mi
- RxPharmacy17 mi
- HHardware17 mi
- MMechanic17 mi
- AAir-up17 mi
- +Urgent care18 mi
- LLaundry43 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 6 mi out.
Not within 60 mi: Propane. Plan those before you head up.
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
Elevation
6,656 ft
State
AZ
Coordinates
34.24359, -110.79753
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureValentine Tank (water) · nearby
- Nearest townPonderosa Spring Subdivision · ~5.5 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~5.3 mi
- FuelFuel · ~6.1 mi
- Propane / LPGPinnacle Propane · ~17.4 mi
- Dump station~5.9 mi
- GroceriesForest Lakes General Store · ~5.9 mi
- PharmacyWhite Mountain Pharmacy · ~17.4 mi
- Hospital / clinicBanner Payson Medical Center · ~29.9 mi
- HardwareHarbor Freight Tools · ~29.7 mi
Nearby restrooms — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletAirplane Flat · ~2.8 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletColcord Ridge · ~2.9 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletUpper Canyon Creek · ~3.1 mi N · USFS
- RestroomGeneral Crook Road · ~5.2 mi NE · USFS
Open this spot elsewhere
Other camps nearby
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Airplane Flat Campground~2.8 mi
- Colcord Ridge~2.9 mi
- Upper Canyon Creek Campground~3.1 mi
- USFS dispersed camp — AZ #6~3.8 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
Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.
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 →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 →