Harshaw Road Dispersed Camping

we camped off harshaw ave. and it was probably my favourite spot we've been to so far! It's so incredibly peaceful there. The only noise was caused by border patrol, mining vehicles(i think that's what they were) and wildlife. We camped out on a large slice of land near a dried up creek and massive hills near the forest. I enjoyed riding my motorcycle around that area! It's open pasture so there are cows roaming about and tons of cow patties so watch out! You can see the stars so well at night, it's just absolutely beautiful there! We would have stayed longer, but the weather turned to shit and the winds picked up too much. I miss it there. We'll definitely be back!

There are about 10 different spots right along the road. The first couple of sites are shaded. There was constant vehicle traffic due to vehicles traveling back and forth from a zinc mine. Another reason for the traffic is the border patrol that uses that road to patrol an area north of the Mexican border..They start their shift at 5:00 am. Try sleeping when you're camped next to Harshaw road. There is constant traffic from the mining vehicles, border patrol, local ranchers, and the weekenders. I would recommend driving 10 miles to Sonita. There are numerous places off from Highway 83

We liked everything about this spot. Quiet and secluded. Lots of spaces. Solid internet (various by spot but you can find plenty) and great access to Lake Patagonia. You can bike down the road or explore the area. Our two elementary school aged boys loved it. The Titan Missile Museum and the Tumacacori National Monument are both within an hour drive. Great spot!

We camped at a site .9 miles north of the Arizona Trail. Very large site, large enough for a large camper, right on a creek. There was another site similar to ours just south, and lots of other campsites further up the road, though some are much smaller and suitable more for tents. Harshaw Rd. is busy with lots of border patrol and mine vehicles passing, but if you snag this sight or one like it you’re set back from the road. No amenities but someone built a fire ring. There is some trash and a big ash pile, making me believe it’s popular with locals. The road to our campsite was paved, though the road becomes unpaved further down. Very close to Patagonia, the Arizona Trail, Paton Center for Hummingbirds, etc. Cell service was pretty good outside the car, but spotty if we were in the car.

This place is a tight canyon. The second worst part were people who insisted on having campfires. The smoke fills this place heavy at night. { no breeze and it just sits here} The worst part were some of the campers here. The sheriffs need to patrol this place and ID! Really scary people { we assume it was some of the campers} were firing very loud machine guns, day and night, close to camp. Our kids were terrified. We left for all reasons above.

Looking to work and/or pull in some solar power? The first two spots on the right were barren of any possibility of AT&T service, and were beautifully tree covered, making solar charging less than ideal. Beautiful spots though.

The third spot, on the left, had plenty of sun but still no AT&T. Someone was already camping there so we didn’t fully investigate.

The second to last spot we saw, GPS 31.483572, -110.681355, had the best views, a nice somewhat level spot (good enough for our van and likely any small enough trailer / RV with leveling jacks) and good enough cell service to stream Spider-man: Homecoming and get a little work done.

Traffic wasn’t terrible. The border patrol was friendly. Cow patties galore. We could barely fill a single grocery store bag with others’ trash and didn’t see any toilet paper around. We took full advantage of the recycling behind the post office as mentioned in another review. I’d come back here in a heartbeat as I loved the town itself and this spot was just perfect...except for Maybe midday temps in April that turned the cool nights up to 80 by 9am and didn’t let up until the mountains and trees cast a little shade come late, late afternoon.

We stayed at one of the two pull through sites mentioned in a previous review. (31°30′54″ N 110°42′13″ W). The site is within feet of Harshaw road, which has a lot of high speed traffic, mostly white trucks with flags. Construction? Mining? We stayed on a Sunday night and they whizzed by late into the night, and again early Monday morning. The campsite is clearly well used with piles of ashes and paper in the bushes. The dog found a lot to smell, so that we had to keep her on a short leash. Too bad, this area is beautiful and we were excited to explore the area.

We loved our stay here and spend a morning scouting out some boondocking spots before picking ours for the week:

31.514199, -110.703850 - Super easy to access off paved road on the right. Tight squeeze for a trailer, but a van or truck camper would be perfect.
31.525750, -110.708059 - Easy to access off paved road
31.499119, -110.702285 - Huge spot to fit any size rig. This will probably fit 6 or 8 rigs. Off paved road.
31.494847, -110.700969 - Pull off on paved road with amazing views
31.489350, -110.692787 - Small unlevel pull through with a firepit

The next two spots are on a dirt road, in decent condition but washboarded.

31.483572, -110.681355 - We stayed here. We backed in here and had the perfect view and even better Verizon reception. 13.99mbps down and 6.18mbps up.
31.470511, -110.670103 - Huge spot for big rigs. 3 toy haulers could fit here, easily. Beautiful views!

The boondocking sites are moderately private and Harshaw Road is mostly trafficked by border patrol. You'll see a lot of them while you're here. Keep an eye out the hillsides at dusk too. We saw Mule Deer and heard a few coyotes.

Nearest water: We stayed at the nearby Patagonia RV park for the night to stock up on water, but I wouldn't recommend that. Stop at Pat's Gas & Services (300 Naugle Ave, Patagonia, AZ 85624) in town to stock up on gas/diesel, propane, and fresh water. He's a one stop shop.
Dump: We didn't look too hard, but ended up dumping at the Pilot on I10 (5570 E Travel Plaza Way, Tucson, AZ 85756).

Nearby attractions: Check out Nogales to the south. If you do, go to Cocina La Ley for fish tacos. Life changingly good. Also, the Arizona Trail is a great day hike, although a bit rocky. Red Mountain Foods is the best grocery store in Patagonia. We loved our grilled cheese lunch at Gathering Grounds. Patagonia is just a cute small town in general. Everyone goes out of their way to wave "Hi."