San Francisco Mountain, Arizona

by Will
(Arizona)

Welcome to the top of Arizona! San Francisco Mountain is the highest mountain in the state, and this RV camping area gets you close to the action. Nearby Humphreys Peak Trail (accessed from the Arizona Snowbowl Ski Area) takes you to the 12,633 foot top where you can see it all, including the Grand Canyon. There are several superb hiking trails in this area. Some trails are great fun for mountain biking too. There are also dozens of forest service roads that provide a closer look at this majestic mountain range. This location makes the perfect base camp for exploring one of the most beautiful mountains in the country.

Humphreys Trail Video Slideshow

San Francisco Mountain RV Camping Journal

8-2-2011

Wildlife: I see many squirrels at my campsite; golden-mantled squirrels are very common and I also see tassel-eared squirrels (Abert's squirrel) which are grey and have long tassels on their ears. I usually see these squirrels at a distance and hear them climbing trees. I see and hear many birds: robins, mourning doves, woodpeckers, turkey vultures, and many others. There are deer and elk too. I saw a huge bull elk with a very large rack. I haven’t seen any lizards here. I heard coyotes yipping a couple times.

Cows: I didn’t see any cows here when I arrived, however about a week ago several appeared.

Weather: The weather has been nice overall. I’ve had highs in the 70s and lows around 50. At almost 8,000 feet, this is a higher elevation than I camped at last summer, and it is a bit cooler here. This is monsoon season and storms usually roll in after 11 am. I haven’t had a whole lot of rain though; there were just a couple days where it rained most of the afternoon. Otherwise, I’ve had just a shower here and there.

Wind: It’s been very calm most of the time. The wind usually only picks up when the sun is shining. Since it’s been mostly cloudy, especially in the afternoons, the wind is down and I’ve been able to fly my micro RC plane about any time I want (and it pretty much has to be dead calm to fly a 1 ounce airplane!). It is much calmer here in the forest than it is in the desert.

Cell Signal: Cell phone reception is excellent. Verizon mobile broadband internet has been fast, and very fast with my external antenna.