Darby Well Road Dispersed Camping

Went 7.1 miles back on Darby Wells road where it turns into Bates Well Road. Found several level places with gorgeous 360 views and spectacular mountains. The Cacti are plentiful and hardly any traffic. We drove our 40’ Tiffin and toad and had no problems. Just take it slow as the road is washboarded. Cell service is not good, but we have Starlink so it didn’t matter. Planned to stay a couple of days. Stayed 12. The peace and quite are astounding out there. No garbage of any kind, and we kept it that way. Very clean as people evidently very much respect this BLM land.

We stayed here to be close to the town of Ajo and the amenities/activities taking place in February.

As mentioned in other reviews cell service is spotty here due to the hills between the camping area and town. Walking around the area changes the reception drastically.

Lots of good sites for rigs of all size but as always scout ahead before taking off on the side roads. Main road was well maintained and easy to get in and out of even after a couple of evenings of rain.

Main roads are well maintained, good amount of sites for bigger rigs. Scout out the side roads some of them can be turn out to be rough if towing a trailer. Quite, a few atv running around but not bad. Quite and dark at night for stae viewing. Ajo is a very nice little town couple if good restaurants ( Agave Grill) a good grocery store (Olsens) free wifi at the library. Cell coverage sucks for the most part. Had to drive back to the entrance off the highway to get any. Beautiful desert 🏜️ scenery and pretty easy walking for the dogs. All in all excellent boondocking area

We stayed two nights with beautiful views and cacti all around. Camping is allowed both in and outside the Wildlife Refuge boundaries and we found the perfect spot for us just before the refuge. There are lots of large flat areas and plenty of privacy. We did not see any wildlife but did mountain bike and there is hiking as well. Some other campers but not crowded at all.

There are a number of roads branching off from Darby Well that have campsites along them. We were along the well-named Scenic Loop Road. The road has a few washboarded spots but otherwise is passable for any vehicle. The scenic loop does loop around and come into into Ajo from the west. I would not recommend larger RVs do the full loop as there are some steep washes and turns to navigate. There are many small side roads leading into the scrub here. You may want to unhitch and explore for a secluded campsite away from the main road. There are some nice secluded spots off the main roads. However, don't try exploring with an trailer or MH. You may find yourself dead-ending at a wash or old mine shaft with nowhere to turn around. There are plenty of campsites right off the main roads if you don't want to explore. Your limiting factor on a campsite may revolve around your need to connectivity. It is very location dependent as a mountain blocks signals coming in from Ajo for some of the campsites. Some sites get great signal will for others there is nothing at all.

We were on a transit from Phoenix to northern Nevada and decided a little detour through Ajo would be nice. In spite of the warnings about sketchy activity at Darby Well, we gave it a go. We had to go farther down the road than we planned to find a site that we felt we could navigate in our rig. The roadside berms closer in were bigger than we wanted to attempt.

We found a good, level spot with neighbors reasonably spread out and walking distance to the well so we decided to stay a couple of nights instead of our original plan of just one since we had enough cell signal to get some work done, the area was quiet, and the neighbors respectful.

The wind the first night was hefty and kept us huddled inside. Picture two adults, large dog, and a motorcycle in a tiny toy hauler! But by morning it easy to enjoy working and exploring outside. And, obviously, being a desert with no large trees around and lots of sun, we were able to keep our action up and running with solar power.

While there, we did see a huge caravan of border patrol vehicles come and go but we had no issues or negative encounters at all. We did, however, have a Colorado Cane Toad hop through our site. Imagine our surprise when my partner said “That rock just jumped!” I was able to break out my biggie zoom lens and get some shots without disturbing it.

[Side note: On our way into town, we did the walking tour which is very engaging if you’re into history and understanding the places you travel through. There is RV parking in town behind the main square but you’ll have to watch your clearance if you want to pull out through the square. We were too tall so we had to maneuver around a bit to get back out.]

I camped here for 4 nights alone with my small dog.

Cell service was hit or miss at different locations, but the site I found had 4 bars LTE with Verizon. I logged into work every day without a problem.

Overall I had a ton of privacy but I could hear and occasionally see other people camping nearby, which I appreciated. Throughout the day cars, cyclists, and hikers would go by.

The stars were amazing and so were the organ pipe and saguaro cacti. I came for the national monument but this felt up close and personal with nature. I heard coyotes on the first night, but my dog saw three of them crossing the dirt road on another day...so I guess keep an eye out. Flies and bees were out and about during the day.

other highlights: The weather was perfect. I saw army planes fly overhead sometimes. I think I heard missile testing one morning.

People need to be better about burying their TP or packing it out, but I’m glad they left firewood behind!

This was my first free camping experience so at times I was overly nervous, but I would definitely go back again.

So much open space to find that perfect spot. The roads are a bit washboard when first coming in, but not bad at all. The further back you go, they do get a bit worse, but still not bad. Same for cell service, the further you drive, the less of a signal. We have AT&T with a booster and antenna. We did get 4 bars of 3G and with our technology, service was great, and we were able to work, watch movies, etc. So many places to wander. Quiet, serene, and peaceful.