Camping near Safford, Arizona
Camping near Safford, Arizona includes 16 public campgrounds on record, 7 reservable and 8 first-come. Most (12 of 16) are run by the U.S. Forest Service. The nearest, Roper Lake State Park, is 5.5 miles from Safford in a straight line, and 5 of 16 are within 15 miles. 5 stay open all year. Another 1 public campground filed under nearby towns is within 30 miles of Safford.
Roper Lake State Park 
Riverview Campground Upper Arcadia Group Campground 
Arcadia Twilight Group Site 
Shannon Upper Hospital Flat Group Site Camping near Safford at a glance
- Public campgrounds
- 16 (12 National Forest, 3 BLM, 1 State Park)
- Getting a site
- 7 reservable and 8 first-come
- Cost
- Lowest posted fee at Hot Well Dunes Recreation Area: "$3 per vehicle; $30 annual pass from the Safford Field Office"
- Distance from Safford
- 5.5 miles (Roper Lake State Park) to 38 miles (Fourmile Canyon Campground) in a straight line; 5 within 15 miles
- Elevation
- 3,128 ft (Roper Lake State Park) to 9,350 ft (Soldier Creek), 15 of 16 on record
- Season
- 5 open all year, 7 seasonal with posted dates
- Campsites
- 104 across the 7 campgrounds that state a count
- RVs
- 13 take RVs; hookups at Roper Lake State Park; longest stated RV length 45 ft (Roper Lake State Park)
- Drinking water
- 7 of 16
Distances are straight-line miles from Safford's point in the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2025), not driving distances. Every other fact comes from each campground's own sourced record, linked from its page.
Reservable Roper Lake State Park - Agency
- State Park
- Sites
- 50
- Season
- Year-round
- Fee
- $50 electric, $30 water only, $25 non-electric per night
First-come Riverview Campground - Agency
- BLM
- Sites
- 13
- Season
- Not on record
- Fee
- $5/night (two vehicles); $2 per additional vehicle; 50% off with Senior or Access pass
- Agency
- National Forest
- Sites
- Not on record
- Season
- Year-round
- Fee
- Group Site: $50 per night, plus $10 per vehicle
First-come Arcadia - Agency
- National Forest
- Sites
- 19
- Season
- Year-round
- Fee
- Single Site: $20 per night; Double Site: $40 per night
- Agency
- National Forest
- Sites
- Not on record
- Season
- Year-round
- Fee
- Group Site: $25 per night, plus $5 per vehicle
First-come Shannon - Agency
- National Forest
- Sites
- Not on record
- Season
- Not on record
- Fee
- Single Site: $15 per night; Double Site: $30 per night
- Agency
- National Forest
- Sites
- 1
- Season
- April 15 to November 14
- Fee
- No fees are required for this site
First-come Cunningham - Agency
- National Forest
- Sites
- Not on record
- Season
- April 15 to November 14
- Fee
- Single Site: $15 per night; Double Site: $30 per night
First-come Hospital Flat - Agency
- National Forest
- Sites
- Not on record
- Season
- April 15 to November 14
- Fee
- Single Site: $15 per night; Double Site: $30 per night
- Agency
- National Forest
- Sites
- 1
- Season
- April 15 to November 14
- Fee
- $25 per group site plus $5 per vehicle
- Agency
- National Forest
- Sites
- Not on record
- Season
- April 15 to November 14
- Fee
- Group Site: $25 per night, plus $5 per vehicle per night
- Agency
- National Forest
- Sites
- Not on record
- Season
- April 15 to November 14
- Fee
- Single Site: $20 per night; Double Site: $40 per night
First-come Riggs Flat - Agency
- National Forest
- Sites
- Not on record
- Season
- April 15 to November 14
- Fee
- Single Site: $20 per night; Double Site: $40 per night
Reservable Stockton Pass - Agency
- National Forest
- Sites
- Not on record
- Season
- Year-round
- Fee
- Single Site: $15 per night; Double Site: $30; Group Site: $25
Not on record Hot Well Dunes Recreation Area - Agency
- BLM
- Sites
- 10
- Season
- Not on record
- Fee
- $3 per vehicle; $30 annual pass from the Safford Field Office
- Agency
- BLM
- Sites
- 10
- Season
- Not on record
- Fee
- $5/night (two vehicles); $2 per additional vehicle; 50% off with Senior or Access pass
No campgrounds match.
More campgrounds within 30 miles of Safford
- Owl Creek Campground, 24 miles from Safford in a straight line , BLM , first-come ($5/night (two vehicles); $2 per additional vehicle; 50% off with Senior or Access pass); listed under camping near Clifton.
Things to do near Safford
Public land and water within 30 miles of Safford, the public land its campgrounds sit in, and landmarks at those campgrounds, nearest first.
- Mount Graham views and trout, at Roper Lake State Park (5.5 miles from Safford): The lake sits in the shadow of Mount Graham, and the agency says its varied sportfish population is stocked with rainbow trout in winter and spring.
- Dankworth Pond fishing, a fishing water whose mapped point is 7.8 miles from Safford; stocking record and species on fishypedia.com.
- Roper Lake State Park, a state park whose mapped point is 7.9 miles from Safford; its hours, entrance fee, and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
- Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area, Riverview Campground (13 miles from Safford) sits inside this BLM unit; publiclandsdb.com has its camping rule, field office, and boundary.
- Arcadia National Recreation Trail #328, at Upper Arcadia Group Campground (15 miles from Safford): The trail's lower trailhead is at adjacent Arcadia Campground, a former 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps camp site on the Swift Trail.
- Coronado National Forest, 12 of the 16 campgrounds here sit inside this national forest, the nearest Upper Arcadia Group Campground at 15 miles from Safford; publiclandsdb.com has its dispersed-camping rule, ranger offices, and boundary.
- Arcadia National Recreation Trail #328, at Arcadia (15 miles from Safford): National Recreation Trail listed as the nearby trail from Arcadia Campground on Mount Graham in the Pinaleno Mountains.
- Arcadia National Recreation Trail #328, at Shannon (15 miles from Safford): National Recreation Trail from the campground down to Arcadia Campground, with a one-mile spur to 10,022-ft Heliograph Peak and its Forest Service lookout tower.
- Hospital Flat, at Upper Hospital Flat Group Site (15 miles from Safford): A wildflower meadow crossed by a small creek that served in the 1880s as a field hospital and summer retreat for soldiers and officers from Fort Grant.
- Grant Creek Trail, at Cunningham (16 miles from Safford): Starts at the campground edge and follows a scenic route down canyon to the site of old Fort Grant.
Supplies and emergencies near Safford
Nearest emergency room: Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center, 1600 S 20th Ave, Safford, AZ, 2.2 miles from Safford , (928) 348-4000. Next nearest: Northern Cochise Community Hospital, Inc., 901 W Rex Allen Dr, Willcox, AZ, 40 miles, (520) 384-3541. Both report emergency services in the CMS Hospital General Information dataset (accessed 2026-09-26) . In an emergency, call 911.
- Groceries
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- Speedway
- Speedway
- Thriftee Super Market
- Fuel
-
- Speedway
- Circle K
- Speedway
- Propane
-
- Airgas
- Matlock Gas & Equipment
- Pharmacy
-
- Walgreens
- Laundromat
-
- Laundry
Not mapped in OpenStreetMap within 25 miles of Safford: RV dump station, potable water fill, and ice. Stores, fuel, propane, dump stations, water fill, laundromats, and pharmacies are the nearest few mapped within 25 miles, straight-line, © OpenStreetMap contributors (data as of 2026-09-29; this extract under the ODbL). Hours are as mapped; call ahead.
Common questions
Where can I camp around Safford, AZ?
16 public campgrounds are on record near Safford. Nearest first, straight-line from town: Roper Lake State Park (5.5 miles), Riverview Campground (13 miles), Upper Arcadia Group Campground (15 miles), Arcadia (15 miles), and 12 more. 8 are first-come, first-served with no reservations, 6 book through Recreation.gov, and 1 books through Arizona State Parks & Trails reservations.
Is there free camping near Safford, AZ?
Not at a developed campground: each of the 16 public campgrounds on record near Safford charges a fee, listed in the table.
Where can I camp with an RV near Safford, AZ?
13 campgrounds near Safford take RVs: Arcadia, Cunningham, Hospital Flat, Riggs Flat, and 9 more. Roper Lake State Park has hookups.
Where can I camp near Safford with drinking water?
Arcadia, Riggs Flat, Riverview Campground, Roper Lake State Park, and 3 more have potable water on record.
Are there year-round campgrounds near Safford, AZ?
Yes: Arcadia, Roper Lake State Park, Stockton Pass, Twilight Group Site, and 1 more are open all year, per the managing agency. The rest are seasonal or have no season on record.
When is camping season near Safford, AZ?
Of the 7 seasonal campgrounds with posted dates, most open in April (7 of 7) and close in November (7 of 7). Arcadia, Roper Lake State Park, Stockton Pass, Twilight Group Site, and 1 more stay open all year. Each campground's own dates are in the table.
Where is the nearest emergency room to Safford, AZ?
Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center, 1600 S 20th Ave, Safford, AZ, is 2.2 miles from Safford in a straight line and reports emergency services to CMS; phone (928) 348-4000. In an emergency, call 911.
Every campground in the state: camping in Arizona ; by agency: BLM campgrounds in Arizona , National Forest campgrounds in Arizona and State Park campgrounds in Arizona ; by county: campgrounds in Graham .