Red Rock Ranger District - Surprise Campground | Established Campground

March 24th, 2024 by Gilles Champagne

Bel endroit avec 2 toilettes chimiques.

Beaucoup de boue quand il pleut

February 26th, 2024 by GalavantingGays

Crazy busy. Come early if you want to get a spot. The folks we parked next to were nice but it was just bumper to bumper all night. Did not stay there more than one night. After one night we went north to the Nolan designated camping area. Nolan camping area is still busy but with trees and more space between camping areas, lots more privacy than this first site. Nolan is the last campsite on this road but instead of coming in on Loy Butte road, we drove Dry Creek road to Boynton Pass road all the way back, half of it is paved, the dirt road isn’t bad. We are in a 2WD, low clearance van. You pass all the popular trailheads on the way so it was convenient for hiking in the morning. Tip: get to the trailheads around sunrise or you won’t find a parking spot.

February 12th, 2024 by quietdisconnection45

very popular so popular in fact they have a sign Stating the fact as you Turn in and the pull out /parking area has porta potties. Overall clean, Not very much litter, very popular. The whole area gets full fast at sunset.

January 11th, 2024 by Frankazoid Travel

as described, note that some campers running generators all night long, given I stayed on gas stations in Mexico before it didn't bother me much

December 24th, 2023 by ay_chia

Large circular lot. I arrived around 330PM and there only 7-8 other vehicles parked there. Not too far off the road so easy to get to, but some road noise and atv traffic nearby. 2 bar 5G t-mobile but inconsistent. Two portapotty. Quiet night. Decent spot

December 1st, 2023 by capitalistmanhunt18

We rolled in in the late afternoon and had no trouble finding a place amongst the other RVs. It was quiet until 9pm when the trailer next to us turned on their noisy generator for the duration of the entire night.

November 24th, 2023 by kevinbsport

It’s fine. Open area with a couple port-a-johns. You’ll have company. Def some “long-termers” here but doesn’t feel unsafe.

November 8th, 2023 by atlsanman

Staying up the road at Javelina, but came down here to check it out and update information. Large lot, no 'no camping' signs- plenty of room..2 tmobile 5g bars

May 29th, 2023 by camblanch

This is Surprise Campground. Definitely not private but not insanely busy on a Monday night. I was able to easily get here in my Prius.

April 19th, 2023 by Danes on the Road

Really just a sand lot surrounded by smaller rocks to indicate that camping is allowed here. Accessible for all rigs.

Literally can't be missed, as there are so many campers. We stayed here for a couple of days during the week, and there was at least 20 if not 30 other campers. While it wasn't super idyllic, everyone was surprisingly quiet.

April 15th, 2023 by laurenbreuklander

Arrived around 4pm on a Saturday in April with a decent amount of spots still available, but the lot started filling up around 6:30-7. Be prepared that you will be parked right next to others, especially on weekends. The road in was easy and not too long, no issues for 2wd.

April 4th, 2023 by solscher

Tonight there are about 13-15 campers and vans. Pretty full but not overcrowded. It's quiet, one generator in the distance. overnight lows 26.
The road in is Reddish dirt which will get muddy when it rains.

April 3rd, 2023 by dominikmalik

One of the 3 new campsites designated by the forest service. Closest to the highway, but far enough that any noticeable noise doesn’t reach. Large, level, and very busy dirt lot. No campfires.

March 6th, 2023 by learntorv.com

The sign on FR 525 calls this Surprise. Large lot. Stay up top when it rains l. The bottom area ends up being deep mud. We saw quite a few people get stuck. The spots further back FR 525 are nicer.

November 10th, 2022 by miroandval

This is one of several designated camping areas in the Red Rock Ranger District.

Absolutely full. No campfires allowed.

November 7th, 2022 by Montana

Absolutely packed full of people. There is 5 total dirt lots you are allowed to camp in town 525 and that’s it for that road. They are all extremely packed. A lot of people in RVs who look like they live there. Able to squeeze in with our truck camper but no privacy, not ideal but really the only option. Surprise is the first lot, then Windmill, Cockscomb, Greasy Spoon and lastly Nolan. Any vehicle COULD make it down the road but it’s wash boarded.

October 15th, 2022 by dkingnu

It’s the only place around that sled camping now so it was very crowded. It rained all night and we got stuck badly in mud. Thanks to the nice folks that helped us out with wood boards. I’d stay away if rain is in the forecast.

October 11th, 2022 by charlotte

ALL individual dispersed sites are closed on this road, and probably all 525 sub-roads too. There are now large designated camping areas.

May 24th, 2022 by dmgibson93

Large dirt lot. Few other campers. Nice spot without shade but 2 bars att

April 28th, 2022 by dmhwolfe

Large lot for lots of rigs, not too bad of a road in. Stayed a couple days after exploring Sedona. Perfect place for charging up with solar panels (aka very little shade haha).

February 16th, 2022 by Avi Baram

Only 8 Miles from Cottonwood, 9 miles from Sedona. Gravel road and sports all over.
Easy to find spot. It's National Forest, so, 14 says limited.
Have at&t and t mobile signal.

February 1st, 2022 by mrudoma

As described lots of people but plenty of space, easy road in, couple of bars ATT

November 3rd, 2021 by 2hobos

I thought Sedona would be a peaceful, beautiful little town and the surrounding public land would be amazing boondocking.
Well, Sedona was a chaotic tourist nightmare and the surrounding public land is crowded, full of ATVs, and the roads are terrible (washboard and ruts).
We stayed a night in this spot and it was surprisingly quiet for how many people were packed in here. But we'll be moving on asap.

March 31st, 2021 by joe33305

Probably in 5 years boondocking, this is the busiest camping spot I’ve spent the night in. The road traffic, and my spot was adjacent to it, continued well past 9 pm on this Wednesday night. Very rough washboard dirt road in rattled everything in my cabinets in my class C even at 5 mph. I don’t recommend this spot for anyone wanting a peaceful experience. Great weather.

February 11th, 2021 by anarkiah.com

Rough roads, lots of campers, no amenities. Glorious sky! Good AT&T service.

January 17th, 2021 by cr8kate

We got here late one night and parked amongst a bunch of rigs. It was perfectly fine for that evening. The next day we drove in slowly a couple of miles to a more secluded pull-out. Highly recommend doing this. Make sure 100% it’s not going to rain.

January 16th, 2021 by bpd3t5

Stayed one night in our van. We made sure to find a spot on the East side of the road. Lots of traffic and wind was blowing dust to the west side. Very bumpy, but fairly close to Sedona and neighbors were quiet.

January 12th, 2021 by purplemechanic

Huge dirt lot. A few other campers here. Quiet. 2 bars Verizon LTE.