Snyder Hill BLM

Perfect spot for being near Tucson. You’ll find every rig imaginable from big RV’s to the desperado crowd sleeping in cars or full timing it in a tent. Throw in some dirty kids, year round residents, the daily passing through and motorcross enthusiasts and everyone including some shady hombres are represented.

Well mannered roaming dogs taking themselves for a walk was a daily occasion. So was one of them visiting my portable fire pit every day and pissing on it. I told the son-a-bitch to quit but he wasn’t the listening kind. This may seem like a negative review but it ain’t. Despite the diversity of characters including a senior citizen couple that everyone suspected of siphoning gas from peoples vehicles at night, desperado paradise was mostly quite with a great sunset every night.

As per the desperado’s... there were a few... but even desperadoes don’t want to attract attention when they’re laying low. I’d definitely come back here next time I’m in Tucson... because for the price... it’s not worth complaining about.

I work remotely full time.
Verizon: ranges from 1mbps upload to 55 and 2mbps download to 42. I have a weboost and that seriously helps. also if you have 5g router it helps. Usually this is best certain times of day. I lose connection midday usually.
ATT: more stable during the day hovering around 12mbps up/7 down. Weboost can keep it up. I can get up to 25mbps though. This is what I use probably 80% of the time here for working all day.

I have more luck with verizon some days and att others. it varies widely. I have to use my booster during the day most days and especially at night. Around 5pm here I lose all connection when everyone starts streaming their netflix. This is generally for about an hour or so then I can stabilize it. I don't schedule meetings at that time. Wifi is blazing fast in the morning so if I need to upload or download anything large I do it before 9am.

There's more BLM camping around than just what is listed here. do speed tests. the side of the mountain you're on matters.

Many reviews state that it is difficult to access. With some spots, this is true, but if you seek out the road that fits your specific rig, you should be able to get in almost anywhere. There are many access points. We have very low clearance and found a couple of roads in that weren't too rutted. we were camping with friends with Class A's and they made it in just fine. You may have to unhook your toad, but you may not. Just depends on the access road you choose. There are many places to choose from, just take your time and don't come in here for the first time at night. While it is close to Tucson, the noice is less than I expected and is a decent spot to be so close to Tucson. That and the MTB trails are about 6 miles from here...perfect for us.

It's not the prettiest site, but it was great to stay to access Tucson, MTB trails, hiking trails, breweries, and work while camping here. Cell service is excellent and the other people camping here in general, are kind and friendly.

If you have high clearance, you won't have a problem. We have a 36' class a and toad - there were a few other class a rigs here too. There two most level entry points are on San Joaquin, one at the light, and the other at Old Ajo highway. There is some trash left from previous campers, but it's mostly in piles and not scattered. Road noise is about same level and your typical WalMart. Just not for us due to road conditions.

I spent two nights midweek here while visiting Tucson. I had a fairly level spot. Quite a few others there ranging from tents to large 5th wheels. It was quiet and a decent place to stay. T-mobile had 3 bars of 5g, 150 Mbps download. I used the entrance recommended in other reviews and I'm glad I did, most of the others were pretty rugged.

We had plans to see the BioSphere, catch a couple of women's college softball games and to revisit the Desert Museum, so we needed a spot close to Tucson. While not scenic and a little bit of road noise, it is very close to everything Tucson!

The entrances are getting pretty rutted, so check them out before you pull in...but there are lots of spots to choose from, varying degrees of level! We were traveling with family and we found spots for all three of our rigs.

Don't miss the Desert Museum...particularly the Raptor Show. And the historic El Charro restaurant is fabulous!

We have camped here and at Justin's Diamond D RV Park down the road. Great blm slice of land right off Hiway 86 in SW Tucson. We found a private spot off to one side that had shade. Fill H20 and dump at Justin's Diamond D RV Park. We did a hike (can't remember name) accessed from Gilbert Ray CG. The desert was stunningly beautiful at the end of March. No size limit for rigs, although I suggest you drive around the perimeter first to select your entry point; some entrances are deeply rutted. Kitt Peak Nat'l Observatory is visible from Snyder Hill BLM and worth the drive. We camped in March 2018 in a big fifth wheel. Unfortunately I wasn't collecting cell phone data at that time, but I don't recall it being a problem.

Here's a short video, less than a minute, that does a 360 view of a small portion of the main camping area.
https://youtu.be/9J2GCEgIVMQ

If you make a right hand turn from W Ajo HWY onto S San Joaquin Rd keep going until you see W Old Ajo Hwy on your right. The dirt turnoffs into the BLM area are easier to access the closer you get to W Old Aho Hwy. I made the mistake of turning off into the second dirt opening off of the highway that I saw and it was a pretty big rut. My 24ft Class C towing a CR-V made the dip with the rear end slightly hitting the gravel. On the other hand my partners 40ft Class A towing a motorcycle and jeep had a louder and harder hit on the gravel. So, save your bumpers and go a couple of yards down the road and then turn in. We arrived on a Thursday in late April around 6:00 PM during the COVID-19 epidemic. There were plenty of open spots still. Maybe only 4 other campers in the area. We saw 1 other person walking their dog, rigs were quiet, and we couldn't hear the highway until about 7:00 AM this morning when traffic picked up.

We spent the afternoon here so my partner could work before we got back on the road and received better data service through Verizon rather than AT&T. AT&T Data: 35 MB down and 1 MB up with an average of 50 millisecond return times and no dropped packets on a 1 minute ping test to Google.com. Verizon Data: 75 MB down and 3 MB up with an average of 50 millisecond return times and no dropped packets on a 1 minute ping test to Google.com.

No closure or warning signs. Some trash and broken glass.

We needed a free over night spot on our journey to our safe long term isolation spot and this fit the bill!

Safe travels everyone!

The best wifi is on the side of the mountain that the GPS coordinates take you to - further towards the corner of Ajo Rd. The other side of the mountain is terrible even with my Drive Reach Boost.
Verizon internet about 60mbps upload and 25 download with a tiny booster. ATT is crappy.
During C19 no one is patrolling so you can chill here to quarantine.
Right next to the national park.
Convenient location to a dump station at a gas station 35 min away that's free and has potable water (free too) and propane!! (Shell, 6150 S Klob Rd, Tucson, AZ 85756)
Really chill spot. Hour drive to a bunch of outdoorsy things! I will be returning here in the fall for sure.
Some of the access roads suck and have some serious dips that will take your underbody out but the one on the corner of 86 and San Joaquin is the best access.

To address the previous concerns about homeless people here - yeah there's lots of people camping here in tents too. They're all very nice and I have had no issues with them (I actually live the closest to these people unlike the other RVers it seems). Some of them leave bins or their tents rolled up to return to - homelessness is an issue but no one is dangerous or mean. They actually have some sweet setups. I'm all about living off the grid in whatever format works for YOU and I love that this place is policed basically by the residents and not cops driving by yelling "14 DAYS" at me, especially during a pandemic. Neighbors help each other here. It's pretty awesome. I'm going to probably say people who are "uncomfortable" here are bougie and come from high income where they previously didn't live in very financially diverse areas so they're making assumptions without actually speaking to anyone.