Oak Creek Canyon off Forest Road 535 North of Sedona, Arizona

by Will
(Arizona)

The scenery, especially West Fork Oak Creek, Oak Creek Canyon, and the Sedona area south of here is magnificent and worthy of national park status. Another bonus is that Flagstaff is only 15-20 minutes away. There are 2 great RV campsites mentioned below, and there are several more good RV campsites along FR 535 above Oak Creek Canyon. It’s tall ponderosa pine forest here and there are some meadows further along Forest Road 535. The weather stays nice and cool at this elevation during the summer.

For more photos and information see my Oak Creek Canyon Picture Tour.

RV Campsite 1 GPS Coordinates: N 35 03.065' W 111 45.099'

RV Campsite 2 GPS Coordinates: N 35 02.664' W 111 45.250'

Elevation: 7265 feet

Campsite Directions: From Flagstaff take Hwy 89A south for about 9 miles. Turn right (west) on FR 535. This forest road is before Hwy 89A reaches the Oak Creek Canyon Vista. Take FR 535 up the mountain for about 2 1/2 miles and turn right on FR 9018H for Campsite 1, which is just a short ways down the road on the left. For Campsite 2, continue on FR 535 1/2 mile past FR 9018H to a campsite on the left. There is a rocky and faint road that leads to Campsite 2 from the obvious one by FR 535. This faint road ends at the campsite.

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Oak Creek Canyon RV Camping Journal

August 7th, 2010

I’ve been camped here for almost 2 weeks now. Campsite 2 is a great site as it’s set back a bit from the road, and the forest makes it feel more private. I’ve had

a couple groups camping at the site next to the road while I’ve been here. The site still retains some privacy as I could barely make out their tents through the pine trees. This is probably the best camping spot I can get to with my 25 foot 5th wheel trailer.

There are no biting insects, except for a couple of mosquitoes, which I spotted first before being bitten. Temps have been perfect, even on the cool side (60s) during rainy/cloudy weather. It’s typically in the 70s, low 80s on some days. I’ve had a lot of rain here; 3 days of rain last week and it’s been raining all day today (it's 3 pm now as I write this). They are not joking when calling this monsoon season. I didn’t see the sun for several days last week.

The only thing I would do different is camp here before or after monsoon season (June – mid July or possibly late August – September). July and August are typically the rainiest with around 3 inches for each month.

From Campsite 2 I can take a short walk east to a clearing (a couple clearings actually; one a little further down from the upper one) where I can get a great view of San Francisco Mountain, and also Oak Creek Canyon before Hwy 89A drops down into it. FR 535 isn’t too bad of a road; a few areas are rocky, and it’s about a 15 mph road (which is pretty good in Arizona!). Thankfully it’s still drivable when wet, even with 2wd. You don’t sink so much into the mud here like you do back in Iowa - and walking around is still possible even after a heavy rain.

Oak Creek Canyon Picture Slideshow