Forest Road 171 Dispersed Camping

We arrived on 1 May knowing FS-171 was open having checked the Coconino FS website. As my partner OUTDOOR GIRL said, FS-171 had just been graded smooth for a few miles north of the I-40 frontage road. I strongly suspect that this was for the impending logging season which will probably begin in a few weeks after the roads and area dry out a bit more. The area has been actively logged for at least one season if not more. This forest thinning has opened up the forest dramatically and significantly reduced fire hazard without detracting from its overall beauty.

Campers are very respectful of their compadres, spacing out their campsites. There are lots of camping areas. However, there are somewhat limited good solar exposure sites. The best ones, and where we camped, are along the High Pressure Gas Line (HPGL) route that intersects FS-171 two miles north of I-40.

I wouldn’t drive a Class A motorhome in here if the roads were wet and muddy. Best to investigate beforehand. The road and ground along the HPGL was dry when we ventured in.

We found the area quiet and relatively secluded. There was no shooting going on as one reviewer said. We heard no generator drone either. The only unnatural noise was from train horns which were at a distance; my partner loves to hear them, so we weren’t offended by the minor audible intrusion. We didn’t see a single cow nor fresh cow plop. It may be that they moved the cows out for the logging operation, or they may allow them into the area in the summer. This was a welcome benefit since we’ve camped around roaming cows; it ain’t fun.

As a closing note, we used to camp near Walnut Canyon Historical Monument east of Flagstaff on the south side of I-40. When we saw it missing from Campendium, we researched it and discovered that the entire area was closed to camping in early 2023. FS-171 west of Flagstaff was a wonderful replacement. However, I will qualify that opinion because of the absence of logging operations. When, not if, they’re in full swing, I’ve no doubt that the tranquility of this beautiful area will be diminished significantly, due to noise and dust from trucks running on the red dirt roads. Additionally, this area is scheduled for prescribed burns, probably to burn the innumerable immense burn piles scattered around the forest. When this occurs, I’m sure the area will be smothered in smoke for a limited time.

We arrived here Sunday to find many rigs and tents of all sizes from entering the road to a few miles beyond. They had just recently graded the road and we saw the machine near the entrance.
There are burn piles everywhere and a broken down, stuck machine near where we are camped. My partner talked to the national forest and they will be doing a controlled burn in this area in a week or two. Some of the roads still have large puddles of water and some have small muddy areas. Most are easily gotten around.
We are here till Sunday, but we’re surprised at how many people are camped around here and look like they’re here for a while.

No designated campsites, but lots of areas to camp, dirt with lots of pine needles, so the dust wasn't bad. Nice and quiet. We stopped for a one night. Very clean, lots of trees, but you need to navigate between them. We didn't have a problem in a truck camper, but long rigs might have a challenging time. Mostly flat and a few with homemade rock fire pits. The road in was flat but a little washboard. If you drive slow, not so bad. We were there in early November, and it got very cold. We woke up to 15 degrees, but we have a heater and it worked great! There were only a few campers there. No host, services, water or toilets. We did have good cell service however.

Like other reviewers said, the road in is pretty easy and people fly up and down it. It's not just the dust for me, but also the noise and the fact that there are free roaming cows that they should probably be watching out for. There's also some Logging operations going on so the trucks up and down all day long. The sites are large and spread out. I have great Starlink here and as long as the sun's out, the solar is great.

I know that there's a few other spaces around. So I may or may not Stay here again.