Southwest Kaibab National Forest North Ranger District

[dscluchfc]

Anyone ever taken their Airstream boondocking at the North Rim dispersed camping in the Kaibab National Forest North Ranger District?

I have a 31', and am wondering if there is any place to boondock up there where you can turn it around and get it out?

Any stories?

[Zeppelinium]

I'd like to see this info, too. How soon are you traveling?

There's lots of boondocking opportunity along 89 west of Page on the way to Kanab. You can start right at the Paria River BLM office parking lot. That whole route varies between arid and then junipers as you get closer to Kanab.

You are a real trooper if you boondock with a 31 footer!

[Steve Heywood]

Originally Posted by Zeppelinium

You are a real trooper if you boondock with a 31 footer!

I boondock in my 31 footer ALL THE TIME with 3 people and 2 dogs.

[Mike Lewis]

Originally Posted by dscluchfc

Anyone ever taken their Airstream boondocking at the North Rim dispersed camping in the Kaibab National Forest North Ranger District?

I have a 31', and am wondering if there is any place to boondock up there where you can turn it around and get it out?

Any stories?

David--We just returned from a weeks stay at the North Rim and are frequent visitors to the Kaibab. While we have never had our trailer in there we have tent and car camped there many times. The answer to your question is yes. Once you turn south on rt 67 at Jacob Lake you can camp anywhere in the National Forest. The are several roads that lead through out it and lots of places to camp. This is a big deer hunting area in the fall and there are multiple hunter made campsites to choose from. My advise would be to trailer to Jacob Lake, drop the trailer and scout out a campsite. The reason for this, once you leave rt 67 its all gravel roads, mostly grader mantained but the Kaibab Limestone it VERY hard on tires. Go slow and there is no problem. Looking around without the trailer would be much easier on equipment. As a side note they just had a large forest fire and there are some restrictions at the present time. Information is available at the Jacob Lake visitor center.-----Pieman

[dscluchfc]

OK...that makes sense to scout a place then re-hook and go.
I knew about the fire shutting down the road into North Rim earlier this year, and that there was a large amount of damage to the forest North of the GC Natl Park in places.
I was thinking: In the forest and at elevation would be cooler at night than in the flats someplace. But, I also know that you don't turn around a 31' trailer and a crew cab Duramax on a one lane gravel road....you have to have someplace to back it into a campsite, to be able to get back out of the forest. I can back a trailer with the best of them, but it is not my favorite activity.
Of course, if there is room at Jacob Lake Campground, that would make it easy as well.

[Zeppelinium]

I believe you can drop temporarily right at the visitors center (Park Service, Forest Service, don't recall right now). It's very close to Alt 89 after you turn south onto 67 at Jacobs Lake. I did that a couple years ago for a few hours, after asking at the desk.

[AZstreamin]

David,
Kaibab is one of my favorite destinations. We have not taken our AS up there yet but plan to do so. Back in my tent camping days I’ve taken my Jeep deep into the Kaibab 50+ miles off road to breathtaking vistas. I would recommend buying an Arizona Atlas & Gazetteer
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/089...lance&n=283155
This map is very detailed and valuable for exploring our states back roads and forest roads. The main Forest services roads in the Kaibab are wide graded gravel. Some of the secondary FR could be a little tight for a big AS and the jeep trails would obviously be impossible. There are several large boondock sites just off the gravel along many of the main FR roads. HUGE Ponderosa pines . The North Rim Grand Canyon Lodge closes Oct 15th. A friend of mine just got back Sunday from a motorcycle trip to the N. Rim and just south of Jacob Lake there was a large section of the forest burned from the fires earlier this year. But the Kaibab is so large that a couple of thousand acres burned won’t even be noticed. Have fun and safe travels.

[dscluchfc]

Originally Posted by AZstreamin

David,
Kaibab is one of my favorite destinations. We have not taken our AS up there yet but plan to do so. Back in my tent camping days I’ve taken my Jeep deep into the Kaibab 50+ miles off road to breathtaking vistas. I would recommend buying an Arizona Atlas & Gazetteer
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/089...lance&n=283155
This map is very detailed and valuable for exploring our states back roads and forest roads. The main Forest services roads in the Kaibab are wide graded gravel. Some of the secondary FR could be a little tight for a big AS and the jeep trails would obviously be impossible. There are several large boondock sites just off the gravel along many of the main FR roads. HUGE Ponderosa pines . The North Rim Grand Canyon Lodge closes Oct 15th. A friend of mine just got back Sunday from a motorcycle trip to the N. Rim and just south of Jacob Lake there was a large section of the forest burned from the fires earlier this year. But the Kaibab is so large that a couple of thousand acres burned won’t even be noticed. Have fun and safe travels.

I have the Texas and New Mexico versions of the Gazetter. It is a good publication. Thanks for the reminder.

[elh3946]

Originally Posted by AZstreamin

David,
I would recommend buying an Arizona Atlas & Gazetteer

Even better than the Delorme atlas, IMO, is the one published by Benchmark. These atlasas can also be found at Amazon.com.

[dscluchfc]

Originally Posted by elh3946

Even better than the Delorme atlas, IMO, is the one published by Benchmark. These atlasas can also be found at Amazon.com.

I have the New Mexico version of the Benchmark.
All maps seem to have their good and weak points.

[Boondocker]

I'm looking for an area to camp in the north rim area, I would prefer not to camp in the NP campground, but that is an option. The idea location would be near nice scenery and maybe big enough for upto half a dozen rigs in a reasonable area. Suggestions are welcome )

[Mike Lewis]

Theere is a forest service campground at Jacob lake that while not senic should take care of your needs---pieman

[Boondocker]

Originally Posted by Mike Lewis

Theere is a forest service campground at Jacob lake that while not senic should take care of your needs---pieman

Closed in 2007

[Boondocker]

Anyone know about boondocking along Alt 89 west of Page?

[Boondocker]

Originally Posted by Gen Disarray

Anyone know about boondocking along Alt 89 west of Page?

MY MISTAKE, DELMONTE IS CLOSED

[Zeppelinium]

see this post about route 89

http://www.airforums.com/forums/376618-post9.html

you can go north to the old Paria township, the turnout is just about at the top of the loop in the highway on the map in the other post.

There is a good boondocking spot just west of the Paria BLM trailhead office (this office is not near the road to Paria township--it's where the Paria River crosses 89), maybe a mile or a little more. It's on the north side of the road before you go into the big roadcut that is the little hook at the bottom east side of the loop. Actually, any gate along that road in the yellow area on the map in the post above leads into BLM land. You can see there is some private land near the Paria River and the highway, but only about 1.5 miles wide.

Zep

[Boondocker]

Thanks Zep great information, unfortunately, I was wanting information on ALT 89 to the south of there. I have to agree though, that is a good area...

[Zeppelinium]

Originally Posted by Gen Disarray

Thanks Zep great information, unfortunately, I was wanting information on ALT 89 to the south of there. I have to agree though, that is a good area...

Oops, I get dumber by the nanosecond. But I'll post this anyway, a more detailed map of the area around the Paria River BLM trailhead. Which accompanies the text from my post above.



Now, more to your point--the campground between Navajo Bridge and Lee's Ferry is fine. No cover, and hot as hades in the summer, but a great place otherwise.

One very cool thing at Lee's Ferry is that when the fruit comes into season, you can pick all you want. I loaded up on plums a couple of years ago. So make sure you visit the farm there.

Zep

[mwinter]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to all this, and I'm trying learn. What is boondocking? It is when you can park your trailer for free, right? But you have to manage without hookups and all the little extras? I read that some campgrounds charge as much as $32-$40 a night to park there. It seems like a lot of money. I'm considering of doing the RV think full time for a year, and I want to find out ways to save as much money as possible.

Thanks,

Myra Winter

[Zeppelinium]

Originally Posted by mwinter

I'm new to all this, and I'm trying learn. What is boondocking? It is when you can park your trailer for free, right? But you have to manage without hookups and all the little extras?

Myra, yes, boondocking is camping without a hookup. You'll need a quiet generator unless you're going to be way out in the boondocks. You can boondock in Wal-Mart parking lots for short periods. I guess you can sneak around and find other places inside civilization for one night stands. I do it pretty often, but sometimes it's difficult.

The real boondocking world is out in BLM land and sometimes in National Forest areas that are otherwise not much visited. Popular National Forests areas have restrictions, mostly you have to be in the campsites and they are $10-15, although I have seen a few at $5 and a few more at $8. You can get maps of BLM land at any BLM office, almost exclusively in the western states.

If you have an Airstream older than 1976 you won't have a gray water holding tank, so you'll have to provide for a way to catch the water externally (I use a 5 gallon plastic bucket, which is adequate if you watch it closely, and it provides a highly accurate way to estimate your useage).

Dumping you black tank is more of a problem. Too many butt-head RVer's (and others) have been dumping bad stuff at dump sites , eg, oil, paint, anti-freeze, and other stuff that kills the septic system, so finding a public dump is getting harder (Oregon is an exception, many of their rest stops have public RV dumps). You might as well plan on staying at an RV park every few days in order to take advantage of their showers, dumps, and ability to charge your batteries.

Speaking of charging, if you have two batteries and are careful, you can make it for 6-7 days between charges, so if you black tank doesn't fill up in that time, a once a week stop at an RV park is perfect. You can also charge from your tow vehicle if you have it hooked up correctly, which can completely eliminate a battery power problem if you move often.

Zep