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Hey, if you were going to do a Sunday night-Monday (Memorial Day) camping overnighter with the family, where would you pick so that it's out of the heat and out of the crowds? Virtually nowhere will be secluded, but just not overrun with people? Would love to take the family fishing on Monday!! Thanks in advance...

Hite, Utah, or White Canyon will be pretty deserted.

I would head for the rim or the White Mtns. Both feature thousands of acres of forest and hundreds of miles of dirt roads. By not showing up until Sunday, its easy to find a "secluded" spot with a little bit of exploring because if there's nobody there when you get there, chances are very good that nobody else will be coming. And most people tend to leave pretty early on Monday, so by afternoon, even some of the popular lakes or fishing rivers should be sparsely populated.

It's always hit-or-miss. Tails that I would expect to be packed on a holiday weekend can be deserted and vice-versa. Get out there and see!

Bear Canyon lake should be empty, just like it was this past weekend not. It sure is pretty though. I think I'll snowshoe there next time or just go Thursday to Friday. I agree with Jeff, big weekends are hit or miss.

I agree on the hit or miss part. But I think you can increase your chances of success by spending more time in the car. I find that 20 miles of dirt road driving really limits the number of other visitors. (Not unlike a long hike). Of course, if you're bringing your family, 20 miles of dirt road driving might not be an option for you either!

check out some camping near Ash Creek in the Pinalenos. the Swift trail (hwy 366) is one of the best scenic drives in AZ. I believe Riggs Lake is stocked, not sure. Check azgf for details. The Mt. Graham area is full of cool stuff to do. hike, photo ops, wildlife, low crowd factor. If you want solitude, stay off the mogollon rim.
if you do go, check out heliograph peak.

The Pinalenos are stunningly beautiful and as you can see from Preston's Webb Peak hike this past weekend, there's still some snow up there. But there is basically only ONE road up there that runs along the ridgeline, so there's no escaping people unless you grab a backpack and get away from it all. Even so, there are a few trails that are pretty popular on the weekend as well.

Go where it's likely to be hot. Sometimes that makes it easier to leave the crowds in the dust if you're conditioned for it. ;)

With dropping temps it might be packed everywhere. The temps are looking to pick back up Sunday and Monday. The illusion of cooler weather might have people on route already.

chumley, I saw that you did the post for Bear Canyon Lake. Did you see any areas around there where camping wasn't prohibited? Or anyone else know?

There's lots of dispersed camping around Bear Canyon Lake. But it is a very popular area, and I tend to avoid it like the plague on summer weekends. Bear Canyon beats Woods Canyon, but I would recommend finding a nice camping area a mile or two up the road and making fishing a day trip. But I guess it depends on if your priority is fishing or relative seclusion.

Yeah, I think finding a high-elevation lake that has unofficial campground possibilities will be the way I need to go. Maybe Bear Canyon would be a good place, if there are possibilities up the road. I certainly won't try Woods Canyon this weekend, I think it's going to be campers Mecca over Memorial Day! Any other ideas would be appreciated though, if you know of lakes where carcamping not too far from the lake will be a good possibility

I take it that means you aren't willing to drive to Hite?

When I visited Bear Canyon a couple of years ago on a hot weekend (not even a holiday), we camped about a mile from the lake and endured unending noise from atv's, generators and radios. We drove around for an hour before finding that spot, too. There are a lot of big campsites out there, and people know about them and love them.

I'm, however, no good for advice. All my favorite hidey-holes are south of Tucson, which means hours of driving for you Phoenix types...

Some of those are getting overrun by ATV and truck camping traffic, too...

i cant stress this enough.. what do people say when they a) want to get out of the heat or b) want to go camping?
"im going up north"
thats right, pro'lly 95% of Mem. Day campers do this only 1-2 times a year, and the only place they think you can camp (or that offers cool weather) is the Mogollon Rim. Try it.. ask your people where they like to camp. I have a high degree of confidence they will say "im going up to the Rim"
You can safely bet that there will be about 14,395 camps set up on that section running from Happy Jack to Woods Canyon. Want to go to the Rim but avoid crowds? Do it either on some random weekend or go to a place like the top of West Clear creek and use the Calloway trail to get down to the water, if you desire.
In light of that, how many people do you hear say "im going down south"?
so im sticking with my previous advice: go south
but if you still want north but desire thin crowds? go where people cannot take their monstrosity house on wheels and do some primitive camping in a "locals only" type environ. I'll even give you this one: Howard Pocket. Take the 89a out of Sedona about a mile past the switchbacks and turn onto the only left leading away from the hiway, fr535. Drive 535 to the signed 536a turn left and take the road to the edge of West Fork canyon to get spectacular south-facing veiws of W. Fork, and all of the Red Rock valley below. There will be others there, no doubt.. but the road 536a weeds out two types of people: those that drive Honda Accords and those that drive toy haulers. (and fwiw, its still officially "the rim" ;) )

te-wa wrote:pro'lly 95% of Mem. Day campers do this only 1-2 times a year, and the only place they think you can camp (or that offers cool weather) is the Mogollon Rim. Try it.. ask your people where they like to camp. I have a high degree of confidence they will say "im going up to the Rim"

you know what te-wa, you're totally right on, i'm sure...at least for those you talk to from the Phoenix area. good point.

te-wa wrote:In light of that, how many people do you hear say "im going down south"?
so im sticking with my previous advice: go south

true, although i bet there will be plenty of people on mount graham this weekend, too. that would be all the 1-2x/year tucsonians go to escape, right? i don't have as much experience in southern AZ with camping (mountains/lakes), except for graham area, which i've done enough of lately anyway. good point, have to look into options going south...

true, Dave. But here's an interesting thing to ponder: Tucson metro population, near 1,024,000 compared to Phoenix Metro at 3,250,500 people. Couple that with the fact that the valley has a buttload of outdoor stores that Tucson does not have, like Sportsman's Wharehouse, Bass Pro, Cabelas, 450 Wallmarts, and other dives that boost the camping section about 500% just in time for Memorial day, and i would bet that the southern ranges see less people than you think. Have fun whereever you go, take ear plugs.

The southern ranges are better, but of course not deserted. And, although Lemmon and Graham are the most popular escapes, the Chiricahuas, Hucachucas, and Galiuros also have a lot to offer and are "rougher" in many ways. There's some good stuff in the Santa Ritas, too, maybe not as high, but definitely pretty landscapes! Not as much water as the rim - true. But, really, don't you bring water with you car camping anyhow?

On second thought, though, with those 3+ million folks up there... The southern ranges are terrible, miserable, bug ridden dens of illegal activity and make for horrible camping. Just awful. Don't do it. Head north young man. Yeah!