Coffee Creek Dispersed

I was out there this afternoon looking for a place to Eventually stay and all the spots were taken. Beautiful landscape, however. The first part of the road just off the Hwy. can be rough. Giant, axle-breaking ruts in parts. Internet connection is hit and miss. Sometimes I had 2 bars and then nothing just a few feet away. It was tough on my 4x4 and so good luck getting a trailer in there. It’s obviously been one. Proceed cautiously.

One of the closest public land camp spots near Cottonwood and great for larger rigs; people could easily get the biggest class A, 5th wheel or skoolie into this area with plenty of space for friends. The single negative to this area is that it is super popular for those wanting to shoot all kinds of weapons. I was there five nights and every single day there was shots from high power rifles starting as early at 6:45am and going until dusk. my last day there, someone brought out a M198 Howitzer cannon and shot it off less than a 100 yards from my rig. it literally rocked my rig and left my ears ringing. I thought for sure I had blown a tire. I posted a youtube video of the experience including footage of the guy driving away with the Howitzer towed behind his truck. so, if you don't mind gunshots all day, and big weapons, this is a great spot to camp and close to the city (I have to say night time is super quiet!)

This Coconino National Forest area is outside of the Red Rock district so no pass is required. It is about 9 miles from Cottonwood (Walmart Supercenter) and 12 miles from Sedona, just off of Hwy 89A. From Sedona, turn right onto NF-9571, from Cottonwood make a U-turn at the NF-525 turnoff. [NF-525 is the route to the Palakti and Honanki ruins - https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/coconino/recreation/outdoorlearning/recarea/?recid=55368&actid=119]

The GPS coordinates are 0.5 miles up the NF road which is rough dirt, but easily passable by any vehicle. The area opens up to a large plateau with lots of spots for any size rig. NF-9571 continues on to the left to several sites but it is recommended, especially for large rigs, to park on the plateau and check out this area on foot/toad before going any further.

The highway (89A) cannot be seen from here and traffic is seldom heard. One down side – this area is popular as a shooting range which can be annoying, especially on weekends. Its also an open range for cattle. Otherwise, it's much less crowded than the multiple spots along NF-525 to the north.

Multiple over-the-air TV stations are available.