Proctor Road Dispersed Camping

The entrance is intimidating, but the road evens out after that. Camped in a 30ft Class C about half a mile from main road. We found a spot to turn around and then backed into another site closer to the main road that worked for our size rig.
The low trees in the area offer a feeling of isolation and privacy, even with other campers 100 yards away. We found some broken glass and other trash around the site, but wasn’t terrible.

This is normally the kind of camp I wouldn’t review for fear of drawing too much attention, but from my experience, the secret’s out.

There are 12 sites, some big some small. Barely a drive to various hiking trails in Madera, or plenty of paths to explore from camp. A short walk behind the right camps leads you to a large stream (the same one you’ll drive through to enter) which was great for the dogs on hot days.

I drive a van pulling a trailer. No 4wd. I was fine. Don’t let the entry scare ya. Verizon 2 bars 4g. Sometimes a little fickle at my site but I was nestled against the hills. Overall the area had good coverage.

Free range cattle and deer everywhere. Spotted a pack of javelina once way off the beaten path. No other wildlife to speak of. One of my favorite things was an unusual lack of bugs. Door wide open, no problem.

You’ll drive a half hour for any conveniences, but that’s typical. It’s a popular place. Other than a few weekdays, most sites were occupied. My biggest beef is that during my 14 day stay, four different groups of campers took the liberty to share my site and only one had the decency to ask if it was cool. As a full-timer, I spend entire days sometimes hunting for a good secluded spot. It’s pretty offensive when someone squats and strips that away out of laziness.

Anyway, you don’t care about that. Loved this place. If you’re browsing sites, give it a shot.

We picked this location because of the prior reviews. And it didn't disappoint. We have a 29 foot skoolie and it didn't have any issues. The road is bit rough and we saw a bunch of sprinter vans but no RVs. I probably wouldn't take a much larger vehicle in. We stayed at site 2 which is very large! We weren't sure how good the road would be if we went any further but it isn't bad and there were other sites available. Excellent hiking! Lots of white tail deer. We are mountain bikers and the only trail that allows bikes is a bit rough. That would be our only negative was lack of biking. But that's just us! Also for wifi we have Mofi with AT&T and we had full bars. We were able to stream netflix, etc with no issues and I was able to work remotely. Our phones are Verizon and they had two bars.

Not much more to say that hasn't already been said. I just wanted to post my pics. :)

If you don't already know about the falls, you must find them. Basically, just head down to the creek from the area by site #1 and let your ears guide you. Very beautiful falls and the water is so pure. The day I was there, there was a young lady in an angel costume getting pictures taken by a pro.

Also, I would strongly suggest walking/hiking the trail upstream from Proctor Rd. You can pick it up on the opposite side of the creek from the campground. No exaggeration: this hike compares with the famous West End Oak Creek in Sedona. I saw turkeys and deer on my Sunday morning stroll.

There are 13 primitive sites on Proctor Rd. The last 2 sites are down a short, steep rd and best left to high clearance vehicles, but at the rest of the sites we saw a variety of rigs. Some sites are very small (tent sized) and others were big enough for large trailers, though we defer to other reviewers for what can handle the road down there. All sites are fairly spread out except for 12&13. The road is in good shape. Some reviews say there are only 10 sites, but they must not have driven all the way to sites 11-13.

Site #11 where we stayed is 1.3 miles down the road and where people park to access the Elephant Head Trail. You will get some people hiking and mountain biking passing by during the day,and some people coming to the end of the road to turn around. It’s very quite at night though. Campfire ring, free range cattle, gorgeous views, close to a paved nature trail, Verizon reception.

We stayed here simply as an along-the-way stop while visiting the (only) Titan Missile Museum (recommended, esp for informing ignorant youngsters) in Green Valley, and had no idea how beautiful and ideal it was. We’d have stayed longer if not for a ‘prior engagement’.
Just past the Proctor Parking Area (trailhead parking; lots of informative signs and plaques) there is Proctor Road to the right - a rough dirt road, turns left, goes downhill under low but thin branches, turns a tight sharp right (limits RV size), crosses a 4” creek ford, climbs up then continues westwards down into the countryside. Our 27ft 5th wheel was fine - I think anything up to 35ft would be OK. There are about 9 or more designated numbered camping areas (saw #1-10. with #4 missing) of various sizes: some could take a large RV. Primitive camping; no facilities. Good cell signal here. Cows wander, white-tail deer often seen. An easy walking trail from the Parking Area crosses near that ford and follows the creek all the way to Madera Canyon, a GREAT area for trails and hikes. Santa Rita Gift Shop has a Wildlife area yard with overlooking seating, ideal for watching wild turkeys, all kinds of beautiful wild birds, and, a Coatimundi! (If you don’t know what that is – neither did we!). This is a popular area, but Proctor Road wasn’t so busy. Get water at Bog Springs Campground, which has a few camping spots, not large. 15mls to Green Valley for supplies, Walmart, Library/wifi.

Passed the 1st 9 sites most of which where occupied then down a seemingly kind stretch with no sites then suddenly #10 and its looks great! We drove a little further to make sure and we came back to #10 to set up. Then later wrntbgor a walk as far as the road would take us and we found #11 which would’ve also been nice. Then the road gets rocky and downhill into a group camping area I wouldn’t want to be in during flash flood season.

There are deer and cows roaming the area at all hours of the day.

Mesquite and tall grass fill the lands in either side of the road.

Fire rings of large stones in the camp spots.

At night we could see the city lights of Green Valley.