Verde River Between Cottonwood and Camp Verde, Arizona

by Will
(Arizona)

Verde River

Verde River

This is a nice area to camp above the Verde River. There are plenty of campsites at this RV park and all types and sizes of RVs can easily camp here. There is even a “campground host”. You'll have convenient access to Cottonwood (only 4 miles away) and Camp Verde. The view of the Black Hills is excellent and accessing the Verde River is easy. The Bignotti Picnic Site is just down the road next to the river and the Sheeps Crossing Fishing Site is further down Thousand Trails Road.

RV Park GPS Coordinates: N 34° 40.141’ W 111° 57.717’

Elevation: 3435 feet

Directions: From Camp Verde, drive northwest on Hwy 260 toward Cottonwood. Watch for the sign for Camino Real/Thousand Trails (about halfway between Camp Verde and Cottonwood) and turn right (northeast) onto Thousand Trails Road (Forest Road 147). Continue on Thousand Trails Road for 1/4 mile then turn left onto Forest Road 147A. Go about 0.4 miles to the RV park on the left.



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Verde River RV Camping Journal

11-13-2010

The weather has been very nice with highs in the 70s up until this week. It’s cooled down into the 30s at night, 60s during the day. Thankfully it’s still been sunny. There is noticeably less wind here than at my last campsite - where I was on a hill and at a higher elevation.

Insect problems are pretty much nil, except for the occasional bug found in the trailer (some kind of flying stink bug). If going up into the Black Hills,

there are many bees, especially any place there is water.

I have very fast Verizon mobile broadband internet and great cell phone reception.

5-25-2011

Gnats and no-see-ums weren’t a problem last time I was here in November. They have become a nuisance now. I’ve had some bites on my ankles that became red welts and got very itchy. It wasn’t as bad as last year at Apache Maid Mountain. At least the bites didn’t puss up and last as long. There aren’t as many no-see-ums as there were at Apache Maid either, and they aren’t flying through my window screens when I cook, which is good! There are also larger gnats that just like to fly near your ears or land on you. No bites from them, thankfully.

After spending several months in the Sonoran Desert I got used to hiking anywhere and in any direction I pleased. It was mostly flat and easy going, with sparse vegetation. It’s a different story here. There is more vegetation and it’s mostly hilly. There’s more cactus here, along with thorny bushes that you really have to watch out for as they easily stick into your ankles.

I took a bike ride on Forest Road 147A down to the Verde River. Did some exploring on foot along the river which was fun. It’s a beautiful river.

I had some strong winds (which isn’t too bad as it keeps the no-see-ums at bay), a day of rain, and a few days of clouds. Otherwise it’s been mostly sunny and nice with temps in the 70s and 80s. 

More information from the the Prescott National Forest web site:

Sheeps Crossing Fishing Site

Bignotti Picnic Site

Comments for Verde River Between Cottonwood and Camp Verde, Arizona

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Feb 22, 2021
This area is closed to Boondocking as of Jan. 2021
by: Tony

Just wanted to follow up on this post. I was really excited to go and boondock at this location but when we arrived there were huge signs posted. No overnight camping. We stayed anyway as it was late and dark. By 7:30am a forest service truck and a policeman asked up to leave. When we asked why this had been closed he said that there was too much environmental impact. We were sad, as we always clean up and leave it just as we found it. Boondocking is getting harder and harder to find.

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