Forest Road 688

This was my first ever stay on free National Forest land and it was better than I expected. I had my wife, 5 year old and mother in-law and we all felt very safe. Lots of room, we could see other campers but they were not close enough to hear them. Great! Very close to the Grand Canyon. No cell service on site but service at the Starbucks Coffee just a few miles down the road. Outstanding site - Loved It! I will come back and stay longer next time.

This campsite is perfect! You’re minutes from a cute little town: Tusayan. And the entrance to the Grand Canyon is right on the other side of it.

Tusayan has fast food, sit down restaurants, gas stations, a grocery store and a Starbucks (great for free WiFi!).

The forest road has plenty of sites, spread out and private and can accommodate any make and size. Shaded too.

FYI: it is hunting land so expect to find carcuses and bones EVERYWHERE, perfect if you have dogs with you!

This was our first camping experience on BLM land and it did not disappoint. We have a 37ft fifth wheel towed with a Ram 2500 and we didn’t have a single issue getting in or out. It was super close to the south rim (about 10 minutes) and our spot was nice and secluded. There was even a group of wild horses that we saw the next morning. If you like free camping and the beauty of nature this is it. The app made it easy to find in the GPS.

Considering this is 10 minutes or so from the Grand Canyon, it's amazing how uncrowded and quiet it is. We chose a spot about a half mile from the highway on the north side of the road. Plenty of trees for ambiance and privacy but plenty of sun for solar too. We've had neighbors come and go but none parked too close or made any real noise. Most only stayed a single night.

Our site was pretty level and the road in, even in the rain, wasn't an issue. A great place to visit the national park or just spend some time in the outdoors. We hiked all over the forest and it goes on forever. Only real complaint is the data speeds are hit and miss. AT&T was almost unusable, even boosted, and Verizon seemed to fade in and out. Areas closer to Tusayan had better internet, at least according to friends parked up that way.

We might find a different road with better internet next time but we'll certainly be back.

We found this site using the app. We were about a ½ mile in on Forest Road 688. We found a clearing on the south side of the road that would accommodate three fifth wheels (we were traveling in a group).

This was a beautiful site. We were in among the pine trees and it was generally quiet. We couldn’t hear the highway at all, although there was occasional airport noise (the airport was nearby). There was also quite a few cars that would travel further down the forest road, including US Forestry vehicles. This was dry camping, and we had full LTE service on Verizon, but no service at all on AT&T. We were only a few miles from the entrance to the Grand Canyon. We would stay there again.

There are plenty of places to set up for Boondocking here.
We miss this place a lot!
No facilities so bring water and pack out your garbage. The pine trees are tall and spread out, so you've got a great view from anywhere you decide to stay.
You will see rock fire pits to guide you on where you might want to set up.
There was enough sun to use my solar charger. It is safe, pretty, peaceful, and best of all only 10 miles to the Grand Canyon south rim. It was our first time seeing it and we were both completely amazed at the beauty of this natural wonder.
We hikes about 2 miles down and back on the Bright Angel Trail. It took roughly 4 hours. Note to anyone thinking about hiking this trail: it's gorgeous but remember going down is easier than coming back up, so plan according to your fitness level.