Forest Road 302 Dispersed Camping

The goal was to mountain bike the AZT section nearby, and road 302 intersects the trail about 10 miles east of the pavement. There are hundreds of dispersed camp spots along both sides of the road and it gets very quiet with fewer or no neighbors the further you go. Our spot of choice was right next to the AZT and we only saw a couple of hunters and heard one ATV in three days. The road had many potholes still around from the recent monsoon season but the gravel surface made it easy to travel in and out with a compact front wheel drive car. The star ratings below vary by how far you go down the road. In my view, they all improve the further you go.

A great free spot just outside the NP, would easily give 5 stars if it wasn't right in the helicopter path when after 8am there are constant low flying helicopters.. but it didn't stop us from staying multiple nights because it's such a great location with heaps of sites, all very private. We definitely recommend if you are an early riser :)

We just arrived on 3/30/22. I usually wait until we leave to write a review, but thought it appropriate to submit this now. We are a total of 58' in length, truck and fifth wheel. We had zero difficulty finding a site. Even though the entrances into sites had ruts from the rain yesterday, we didn't have any trouble. We are about 2.5 miles from hwy 64. This road is very smooth compared to the last roads we were on near Sedona, barely washboard. We are surrounded by tall pines and yet have enough sun for our solar needs & it feels very private. There were probably 3 sites before this one that we could have taken, my husband walked each one. Today is Wednesday, perhaps there are fewer campers here midweek. There is some noise from the helicopter tours, but we will be gone most days exploring the Grand Canyon. We also drove Long Jim Loop road when we went into town after setting up. FR 302 is SO much nicer and sites are more spread out!!

After reading reviews on several boondocking sites, I felt comfortable with planning on staying here during my trip to the Grand Canyon. This is the first time in 3 years of boondocking other reviewers have let me down.

This is NOT a good place for larger rigs, I'd say anything over 32' is going to have trouble finding something, even more trouble navigating the poorly maintained road. I ended up driving the entire length of 302 (almost 15 miles) after chatting with a forest ranger I ran into, and only ever saw 2 MAYBE possibilities but they were filled with tent and car campers. Very rude on their part when they can easily setup in the trees. The road is also less than 1.5 lanes wide to begin with and only gets narrower the further you go.

The forest ranger directed me to another area which was the 15 miles down the forest road. He assured me I could make it as long as I was adventurous! I did and while I had my doubts at some points I'm very glad I followed his recommendation. I had the entire area to myself my entire stay as the road from the national park was still closed. There was an 80' tall tower I watched the sunsets in over the Grand Canyon. It was amazing.

I've boondocked full time in my 44' toy hauler for almost 3 years across 41 states. Just FYI when considering my review.

Mid March hail and snow storm dropped an inch as we were looking for a spot. The ambience was exceptional and the road got a bit muddy but was totally passable. There are about 6 spot with a mile of the highway, some nicer than others. We picked a spot behind the National Forest regulation signs near the beginning of the road because it was super level, the most dry, and had the best cell service.
The traffic on the dirt road is minimal.
A great free spot in the forest!