A-1 MOUNTAIN ROAD
RUN BY: US Forest
Service
LOCATION:
35.210020 -111.732826 Flagstaff, AZ
UTILITIES: None
COST: None
DISCOUNTS: N/A
OUR RATING (1-5):
Category II, Score 4+
NOTES: This was a
beautiful spot and very close to anything you might want or need. Historic
US-66 is just one exit (1 mile) east of this exit (Exit 190 on I-40). There is a lot to see and do in the
area. If you like towns/cities,
Flagstaff has a lot to offer. If you,
like us, are more into the nature, science and history, the area has four
really excellent national monuments (Wupatki, Sunset Volcano, Walnut Creek and
Meteor Crater) within a couple of miles. It also has the famous Lowell
Observatory. We only stayed three nights only because we were avoiding possible
snow.
Environment:
Small trees and shrubs. Across the road is open. High desert.
Late October-Early November we were having days in the mid to high 60s and
nights in the 30s. Elevation is
7,434.
Amenities:
None
Dump: No
Public Water: No
Toilets: No
Showers: No
Laundry: No
(nearest laundry is in Flagstaff)
Phone Service:
Verizon 4G – 1 or 2 bars
Nearest Propane: The nearest
propane is at a Chevron Gas Station, 3686 Historic Rte 66, Flagstaff a couple of miles
east. Turn onto Historic 66 (aka
Business 40) at Exit 191. You can only go one way.
Location: Exit
I-40 at Exit 190. That is A-1 Mountain Road.
You can only go north. Good
camping areas start about 2 miles up the road.
It does become dirt when you enter NFS land.
Proximity to shopping:
4-5 miles from Flagstaff. Very convenient to almost anything you might
want.
Camping Population:
Quite diverse. There had
obviously been horse trailers in our spot shortly before we arrived. There were
a couple of residential campers* a short distance away, but they never seemed
to be around.
Sites:
dispersed camping.
=======================================================================
RATING KEY:
category - score
Categories: I -
established campgrounds where one might spend a vacation or several days
II
- boondocking, dry camping where there
are no designated sites and no amenities but
one might choose to stay for more than a night.
III
- over-night areas
You must remember that we are scoring 1 thru 5 according to
things which are important to us: the environment, cost, amenities,
location, safety, camping population, site, phone service
* There are people who are not full-timers and van-dwellers
by choice. We try hard not to be demeaning or assume that they are bad people
but sadly, as you find in the poorer parts of a city, there seems to be more
crime. Many call these people van-dwellers. That isn’t really accurate even
though they do often live in vans. We know quite a few van-dwellers who have
good incomes, are full-timers by choice and prefer a van to other types of
vehicles. To try to show some respect for people who have a difficult lot in
life, I’m calling them ‘residential
campers’. It is only when you get a
high proportion of residential campers in an area that you find an increase in
petty theft, etc.
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