Camping in Northern Arizona’s Pines (We Only Got One Night)

We got up into the pines last weekend for a quick camping trip off Camp Wood Road, northwest of Chino Valley, and I figured I’d tell you what it was actually like. It’s not very far from Phoenix, but it feels like a totally different place.

We’d originally planned to head to one of the spots we usually hunt farther north, but that drive is a lot longer, and this one was close enough to make a short trip doable and worth it.

We were supposed to stay two nights. We stayed one, and honestly I’m glad we did, because we knew a storm was coming and figured we’d rather get a night in the trees than skip the whole thing.

From our place in North Phoenix it’s about two hours and twenty minutes to Camp Wood Road. After that we happened to drive another forty minutes or so on dirt to get to where we ended up, but you can find spots a lot closer to the road than we did. And somewhere along the way it all changes, you know? The pines get taller, the air gets cooler, the grass turns this golden color, and you forget for a minute that you’re still in Arizona, because it doesn’t look anything like what most people picture when they hear that.

The weather held, mostly

It drizzled on us off and on, clouds and then little patches of blue and then clouds again, and I kept looking up through the trees wondering how long it was going to last. The big storm didn’t show up until the next day like we expected, and boy did it show up, because it poured on us the whole way home. So cutting it short was the right call, even if I was bummed about it at the time.

Camp

This was our first time using the trailer, and a few of the others slept in tents. We had a big fire going, my nephew made chili, another one of my nephews played music, and then it got dark and the stars were unreal. My son took those pictures, and he did a way better job than I would have.

So, did we hunt?

Sort of. We came up for squirrels since tree squirrel season opened October 1, and we were in unit 17B, which is the section south of Camp Wood Road. There were other people up there with tags for their own hunts too, so it wasn’t like we had the place to ourselves. But with only one night we mostly just messed around camp, and we saw squirrels on the way in and again on the way out and only ended up getting one. Yes, we eat them. They taste like chicken wings, and I know how that sounds.

We saw three turkeys on the way in, and the next morning I was standing there with my coffee when I heard a gobble somewhere out in the trees, which was about the best way I can think of to start a day. Then on the way out we spotted a few deer.

Waking up out there

The thing I keep coming back to is opening the trailer door in the morning and looking out at the forest. No phone, no to-do list, just trees and cold air and a whole day that hadn’t started yet.

If you want to try it

Forest Service land outside the Prescott Basin lets you camp up to 14 days in a 30-day stretch, but there’s nothing out there, no water, no restrooms, so you bring everything and you pack it all back out. You’ll need an Arizona hunting license if you’re going after squirrels, and it’s worth checking the current regs with Arizona Game and Fish since dates and limits can change. Watch the weather too, because dirt roads and rain don’t mix, and take a look at the Prescott National Forest alerts page for fire restrictions before you light anything.

I’m not going to drop a pin on where we camped. Spots like that stay good when people treat them right. But if you’ve ever wondered what it’d be like to live somewhere that’s a couple hours from country like this, I’d love to talk about it. Just reach out.

Deb Moritz, REALTOR® · West USA Realty