Box Wash Dispersed Camping

Easily accessible, close-to-town, pretty area with mountain views and good hiking right from your camp. But if you are accustomed to boondocking with some elbow room this may not be your perfect spot. Relatively few camp spots and little privacy. Difficult to level for a larger rig. Convenient stopover camp but would not want to spend a lot of time here.

This place is pretty decent but I think some of the other reviewers gave it a little too much credit. It's a nice desert spot a little off the beaten path with pretty views. I went on the weekend and it was fairly crowded. It's an easy drive and the roads to get there are very well maintained.

1) There are several turnabout camping areas after you pass the main area at the entrance, but if those areas are already occupied there won't be enough room to turn around without backing out. So I wouldn't venture past the main area with anything over 30' without scouting it out first, otherwise it could be a pain getting out if the other sites are occupied. Otherwise the access trails are a little rutted in some places but still very accessible by most RVs.

2) As someone else indicated, the title of this campground review is a little misleading. The sign at the entrance says "Vulture Peak Trailhead", not "Box Wash". Box Wash is actually slightly past it, and being that it's a wash, it's very loose and somewhat deep sand so I wouldn't park there because you might get stuck unless you're in a 4x4 vehicle not towing anything.

3) I'm surprised no one else mentioned it but the chollas are very dense in this area. Be VERY careful if you have dogs, they can easily step in them and then you've got a big prickly and painful mess on your hands. I arrived at sundown so visibility was limited. I took my dogs out for a walk and within a minute their paws were punctured all over with cholla needles. Like a hundred of them. Very gnarly trying to get them all out and ended getting a bunch of needles stuck in myself in the process. Not fun! Your best bet is to walk dogs along the main road, virtually no chollas and much safer.

4) The reported cell coverage is misleading. Even though I was able to pick up 3 bars of Verizon, internet is pretty much unusable during the day because of the number of people sharing the same tower. I only had usable internet early in the morning and late at night. Maybe on a weekday it's a different story.

Maybe I’m just biased towards desert camping in the winter and spring but either way, this is a great spot. A small (6 or so) number of loops behind a large staging area. All good for camping.

Yes there will be ATV traffic. We’ve never had it be problematic. Everyone is friendly and slows down as soon as they realize there’s someone there. Pretty much always space on the weekends if you go scout the rutted road a short walk since most ATV folks seem to stage closer to the road.

Don’t know Why this listing is not called the “Vulture Peak Trailhead” as that’s what all the signs here say ..... don’t know Where ‘Box Wash’ is, never saw those signs ?? Some of the posted pictures are also Not of this area - maybe somebody was ‘close by’ and just posted them on this spot rather than making a new listing with coordinates as they should have. Anyway - this is a Great BLM camping spot. Large gravel parking / staging area with half dozen campsites around the perimeter and then a few off-shoot roads but scout these first as limited turn-around. At the end is the parking area for the trail which is very popular so probably would Not camp in that area - leave it for the hikers. Only had 2 ATV’s the whole week so that was certainly not bothersome. VERY easy access as the road in is very nicely paved and only 10 minutes to Safeway, laundry, fuel or Tractor Supply for propane. Some road noise but not at night. Highly Recommended !!!

When we arrived at Box Wash, the main camping area was quite full, so we drove about a mile and a half further south on Vulture Mine Road and found a large pullout right next to a cattle guard. We had it all to ourselves, and the views were stunning. There was some trash and broken glass left from previous campers but we cleaned it up. Just about 100 yards south of the campsite is BLM Road #9065 with some gorgeous hiking back into the hills. We saw rabbits, deer, ground squirrels, and all kinds of birds, and we also heard coyotes nearby. Be aware that there is plenty of cholla nearby, so watch your feet and your pets/small children.

We stayed here for an overnight weekend trip and loved it. There were several other boondockers here but it didn’t feel cramped at all. There was plenty of space, and it was definitely big rig friendly. The large area is literally right off the road so it isn’t difficult to find. There’s a little bit of traffic but it didn’t bother us. We also hiked some of the Vulture Peak Trail.

We had a great campsite that we were lucky to get . Holiday weekend so it was busy and had some traffic. OHV and dirt bikes were running during the day but operators were very respectful when driving by . Tons of 4 wheeling fun down in the river and a bunch of different routes to go down ( tons of fire wood down in creek ) . Overall we would love to stay here again . Tv service was great and got all local channels through antenna . Cell service was poor and roaming most of the time . 1 pit toilet that was clean. 10 minutes from Wickenburg that has a Safeway, dollar stores, and restaurants incase you forgot anything . Recommended !!!!