Gunsight Wash Dispersed Camping

BLM land 2 miles south of Why, AZ. About 12 rigs here during our stay with room for plenty more. Roads go in all directions and you can venture as far as you want off the main road. It's easier for the big rigs at the front but you can navigate around the brush to get anywhere if you want. These are flat dirt roads and fairly easy to travel.

This is off the main road to the border about 25 miles south. There are warning signs about smuggling and illegal entry in the area but the border patrol is all over the place. We didn't have the slightest concern. We were able to get 9Mbps download with AT&T and 2Mbps with T-Mobile. Enough for streaming TV and cell calls.

One of the days we camped was quite windy. It is a very dusty area so that made it an inside day for us. We were also able to spot woodpeckers, doves, quail and other birds. Our night security camera picked up what may be a fox but hard to tell.

South of Why AZ on HWY 85 and on the right just past MM 55. Large gravel area that provides access to the entrance into the dispersed camping area across a cattle guard.

Lots of room for any size rig and quiet. People obviously respect area, because I didn't see any trash.

Nice place to stay when visiting the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (NPS).

Saw Wild Burros and Coyotes (mostly at night howling next to my rig).

Had no problem with pack rats; although, I did see some scurrying about in the morning hours. Lots of people with truck/car hoods up, as a preventive measure (including me).

A great place to view the dark skies at night, so bring your telescope.

If you like to see military aircraft, you will see and hear them. Had pairs of Air Force A10's fly directly overheard my rig at about 2-300 feet, on more than one occasion. Saw F15's pass over, but not as low. Air Force training range just to the north.

US Border Patrol is active in the area. Also, saw a BLM Ranger pass through twice.

We were visiting Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and gave this spot a try. Glad we did, and we'd definitely camp here again.

Connectivity was great for Verizon, but our AT&T wifi router was unusable most of the week.

Access is pretty simple, although it can be a bit hard to find the road at first. You have to pull off the highway onto a gravel...cul-de-sac? Pad? Not sure, it's just a big open area, and though we could see RVs in the distance we had no idea where to go. You have to actually go north a bit and there is a cattle guard there, and that's where the road for the campground starts. There is also a road a bit further south and we saw some rigs there as well.

Once you find the road, you'll see the BLM sign, a tote with a little library in it, and quite a few spots right away, most of them pull-through. The road goes back a long way, with plenty more spots on the other side of some challenging washes. We pulled up to one of the first sites and didn't regret it.

Lots of big saguaros here, beautiful sunsets over the mountains, and fun washes and roads to explore with kiddos. If the AT&T was better and more clearly signed access, I'd give this 5 stars for sure.

I've stayed here about a dozen times over the years. My last visit was in September 2020. I'm an amateur astronomer so love the night sky. Mostly used by snowbirds between the months of October - March. During those months the weather is in the '70s or '80s during the day and down to upper 30s through upper 40s.

There are plenty of pull-off spots to set up generally denoted by a fire ring but not always. The closer you park near the entrance, the better the cell coverage tends to be. Sites with shade trees are snatched up quickly. There are no trash cans so please pack out your trash.

North on 86 a little over a mile is Why, AZ. The main store in Why is the 'Why Not'. You can get very basic grocery items, some RV products, ice and propane refill. Across the street from the Why Not is the Why Community building. On the south side of the building is a reverse osmosis freshwater machine. 25 cents per gallon or $1 for 5 gallons. There are other such water machines in Ajo.

Next to the Why Not is a restaurant. I've had breakfast and lunch there in the past and food was good.
I've used Coyote Howls RV park to dump tanks and refill fresh water. There is a $12 cost for this. This is the RV park on the HWY to Tucson, not the one just north of the Why Not.

Others have mentioned pack rats. I've never had an issue but my friend who was setup on the site next to mine had pack rats chew through his telescope cords and wiring. We were not very far apart yet I had no issue. We learned some wire manufacturers use soy in their wire insulation. This seems to be catnip for the rats. After lots of online searching and talking to several Ajo residents we learned that peppermint oil will keep them away. We didn't believe it but after repairing the wiring, peppermint oil was applied to the wiring and the rats didn't come back. Yes, we kept our vehicle hoods open.

You will likely be serenaded by coyotes at night and owls. I've only seen one snake (ground snake) in the dozen times I've stayed there. That being said, be careful where you are walking.

We stayed here (three RV's) in February for nearly two weeks...and loved the quiet of the desert here.

Lots of camping options, for big and small rigs. Be aware of mice! We did not have any issues, but our family, in another RV, had a family of little mice move in pretty quickly!

We enjoyed the quaint town of Ajo quite a bit and I fell in love with Organ Pipe cactuses! We spent our time walking the desert paths and washes, studying desert life...and also found and added to a sweet little labyrinth.

LOTS of spots to park. Interesting hikes or mountain bike rides in the wash. Saw a lot of hoods up on vehicles which means pack rats are known to be an issue, but I didn’t have any problems with them for the 5 days I was there. The best free option for exploring in and around Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. I was there in mid-February.

We stayed 2 nights in March 2020 while Organ Pipe Natl. Monument was closed due to covid 9. Most of the camping rigs were clustered close to the entrance (west side of hwy 85, milepost 55), so we took the first left fork at the info board and drove south for about 1/2 mile beyond the last marked site. There’s plenty of pullouts to choose from. It was far enough from the highway to muffle the noise from semis hauling Trump’s wall components south throughout the night. Didn't see a soul either day. The only disturbance was a fighter jet flying on the deck that strafed less than 100’ directly over the camper on the second morning. Great horned and Screech owls were close by both nights. Scenery appears sparse, but sunrises and sets are awesome over the mountains ringing the area. The road is probably not in good enough shape for a large rig- our fwd pickup with a slide in pop up had no problems other than normal brushes with palo verde and mesquite trees in a couple of narrow spots. Cell service (verizon) was 4 bars. Would camp here again in a heartbeat.