Marshall Lake Dispersed Camping

We arrived on a Thursday the lake was a actually a beautiful marsh that wild life enjoy there are cows grazing along the water way which makes for great pictures the surrounding area has tons of trails for hiking,biking,and bird watching. We didn’t have our cameras but saw two beautiful bald eagles fly over lake Mary. This is definitely an annual stop for us from now on

On your way up Marshall Lake Road, you have plenty of forest camping available, many established sites. But if you continue, there are spots that overlook the lake. I haven't seen anyone fishing or boating; maybe there are regulations against such use? If there were heavy rainfall, some of the spots may become extremely muddy based on deep tracks in them. It's quiet, it's peaceful, and the views can't be beat.
Verizon good.
AT&T good.

Before you get to the lake you have to go through a forest area with plenty of sites for every type of rig. I think people find a spot here and don't go further in to where the lake is. Lake has few spots for bigger rigs.
I stayed 12 days in a truck camper. Was able to drop the camper and make day trips with no problems. I dumped twice at Speedway which was free but no potable water.

Easy drive on a county road with beautiful scenery around. Tons of wild flowers, healthy pine trees. Turn off the main road and you are going up on a paved road. About 2 miles. Turns into a dirt road, with some potholes and a few rocks. But very doable in any vehicles, even with trailer. Some sites straight off the main path are full pull-throughs and many easier one way solo sites. I didn't go all the way to the lake, as I found a cool spot with some trees, some mountain views and a fire ring. And level. There are other folks here and there. So, not total privacy but yet very quiet and pleasant.
A really good location on 08/25/21.

First off...there is no lake, just a big mud puddle.
The main gravel road to access the campsites is do-able by any vehicle even though it is bumpy.
Once off the main road, it is terrible! Ragged jagged rocks sticking up through the bad ruts you HAVE to take to reach a campsite.
Bringing your rv or trailer here will likely cause you more $$ in repairs than if you had stayed at a nice pay campground. Chances of ruptured tires are exremely likely.
And putting your equipment through that risk just gets you to an ugly campsite...a jagged rock campsite that is likely to be very unlevel amoung the unhealthiest looking pine trees I have ever seen. IT JUST ISNT WORTH IT!!
Leave this one star location to the tenters.
And while there are indeed quiet moments, there is also soooooo many cars driving through creating one after the other creating huge clouds of dust...which is also what occurs if there is any wind...tons of dust! And farm trucks going back and forth to the farm at the end of the road....rattling so loud you still hear them a mile away.
Like I said...good for tenting but not for anyone with expensive rv's or motorhomes. Don't be a FOOL like me and do it anyway....just because you are there.
Very ugly and unappealing place to spend your days....there are sooooo many other better choices.

This is a beautiful area. Driving in on Tues. afternoon I could see 30 to 50 sites occupied (I saw no numbered sites, just plenty of open camping). On Sat. morning the place started to fill up and got very crowded and noisy, but many left Sun. morning and by Sun. evening the area was quiet again. The weather was perfect, low 80's daytime highs, low 60's in the mornings. It rained in the afternoon three days and the winds also picked up in the afternoons, but settled by evening. The AZT passes through the campground at the lower end of Marshall lake which provides long hiking possibilities. FR128D was very rocky and some low clearance cars had a problem getting back near where I was, FR 128 was good for all traffic. Only had 1 bar with T-mobile, but had no problem making calls. Enjoyed my stay and would camp here again.

Marshall Lake / June 12-14, 2020
Free and everyone knows it...when battling with $24-$26 local camping fees this is a great option. Due to its free nature my wife and I spent 30 minutes driving around to find a spot we could safely fit (trees, rocks) and away from others. This area is more accommodating to the “tenter” or “travel van”—I did see some 35 footers parked in some places (please be mindful of the trees!) We did settle on a pull off area 100 yards from canoe launch area. Wonderful view of the lake, but right on the edge of FS road.
** Tbone camping scale: (0-10) “0”=horrendous “10”=phenomenal
—getting there: “4” (15 minutes off Lake Mary road, main FS road is easy to travel— not many turn arounds. Any road off of FS road will have bowling ball sized volcanic rock.
—bugs: “9” (some flying insects, no bites)
—temps: “9” (day: 80’s, shorts, t-shirt / night low 50’s, double blankets)
—bathrooms: “2” (none. There is something refreshing about the great outdoors.!)
—yahoos: “8” (only 2 beer runners at 11 pm, that’s it)
—supply access: “6” (Flagstaff is 10 miles away)
—things to do: “4” (the lake is mostly marsh, very good for kayaks or canoes. Fishing is not very good—birds are your competition. You will have to drive to get to hiking, swimming, or fishing. A mountain bike would be very beneficial. Worst board-stiff scenario—go to Flagstaff and do some shopping!)