Gardner Canyon Road Designated Dispersed Campsites

We found free camping in the Coronado National Forest off of Gardner Canyon Road. In this video, we show you a free camping area off of Gardner Canyon Road in the Coronado National Forest. There was no Verizon, AT&T, or T-Mobile cellular service at this location during the time of our visit. Grid coordinates for this free camping location are as follows: 31.722331, -110.713332

We stayed along this road pretty much right at the entrance. Once we turned onto the road there is a large spot near a half circle of sycamore trees on the left - not far away from the staging area for OHVs. The tree has an active bee hive so be careful.

- Beyond this site are tent sites that go further back.
- We had good cell service here.
- The trucks and ATVs create a lot of dust during the day and noise is an issue at this spot. This stops after dark and it is very quiet.
- You can kind of see Rt. 83 from this spot, but it isn't an issue. Road noise from that road is minimal.
- We saw a bobcat chasing a roadrunner!
- Great access to all the trails further down Gardner Canyon Rd, such as Tunnel Spring. There are water crossings beyond the designated campsites and the road can be very rough. I wouldn't suggest attempting this is a 2WD low clearance vehicle. However, it is fine for a Subaru Outback.
- This site was clean overall. Some trash, but not too bad.

Dispersed camping with easy access to the main road 83 Sonoita . There are many sites between 2-7 miles down a washboard dirt road for dispersed camping the first 5 having an actual sign and beyond site 5 the road Y's, go to the right and you will find several nice spots to fit a trailer and many more for tents. The sites are nicely spread out so you are not sitting on your neighbor. Many of the sites will accommodate multiple trailers or tents.
Cons:
Many folks come out to ride dirt bikes or quads so there can be a noise level issue.
It does seem to be a great place to target shoot.
Luckily neither of these activities are continuously happening. People drive by and are gone for a while. Target practice might happen a couple of times a day for 20-30 minutes.
No cell service.
Pros:
When it's quiet it's quiet.
Birds and other wild life.
Hiking trails and vistas.
No cell service.

There are some really pretty sites here nestled under cottonwoods in the canyon and well protected from the wind. Maybe about 10 of them, and all numbered. (Personally, I checked out Cieneguitas WCA 3 miles north, and was not as impressed as I was with these sites.) I was there in mid-april and numbered sites were all taken. Some of them are big enough for several large RVs and I saw big family gatherings. There are a couple of make-do sites before the numbered ones start, maybe a half a mile in, and I don't know if there were dispersed sites beyond them. I got fair cell service in my make-do site before the numbered ones, but I believe I lost my Verizon cell service when I went into the canyon further.
Note that if you take the first right off of Gardner canyon road toward Kentucky Camp, you go into a different canyon. You first go through private property but reach some more really nice numbered campsites after about a mile and a half. There are maybe six of them, and they are large and also well protected from the wind. I also believe that I had cell service all the way. If you continue past those sites, you will start going up a ridge road and you will begin finding some occasional makeshift dispersed sites after a while. Since it is a ridge road, you will have some really terrific views, but also expect for the wind speed to seemingly double! A nice plus is that my Verizon cell service really exploded in speed when I started rising up above the valley.

Drive-by review.

I visited the Gardner Canyon Road camping area to take some pictures. Here are my thoughts on the area:

* No Verizon service

* There are 5 distinct camping areas, each of which can handle multiple rigs. If you don’t want company, this might not be the best place for you. If someone comes to stay at the same area you are at, there is no privacy.

* The camping spots are pretty close to the main forest service road, so expect dust from passing traffic.

* At time of visit, the forest service road was pretty washboard.

* The roads/paths leading into the camping area can be pretty tight and there is a distinct hump (dirt mound) you have to negotiate to get into several of them.

* Visit was on a Friday at the end of February and there was pretty good use of the areas, including a family reunion at one.

* Overall, this isn’t that glamorous of a place to camp. No cell service (for those that need it), potentially a lot of dust, not outstanding scenery. There are much better places to stay in the immediate area, including Cieneguita Camping Area in the nearby Las Cienegas National Conservation Area.