Arizona Camping: Powell Springs Campground

Approximately 45 minutes from Prescott, AZ

National Forest Service Link

Powell Springs is a free campground set in the Ponderosa pines of the Prescott National Forest. Near Dewey-Humboldt, it's about a 1.5 hour drive from Phoenix.

The campground is located near the "ghost town" of Cherry, which, although small, is a populated retirement community. The area is popular for quads and dirt bikes, and there are springs, mines and ruins in the area to explore.

Overall, I loved this campground. It's an easy way to escape the extreme heat of Phoenix for even an overnight. It was still 92 in July though, too hot for long hikes or anything without shade, especially for the kids. Nights were in the high 50's and very comfortable.

There are 11 campsites of varying quality at Powell Springs. The best sites are 2,3 and 10. All 3 are in good condition and have plenty of shade. All sites feature a large fire ring and concrete picnic table, but some tables are broken and some sites overgrown with vegetation. Most sites have room for a tent, and we had no trouble pitching our 6 person tent and had room for a sun canopy too.

Site 3

Site 10

Restroom Facility

There is no water or trash service, but there is a vault toilet. It was in great condition and surprisingly clean. Along with packing out trash, it and food have to be bear-proofed. We noticed fresh bear scat in the area, so make sure to use bear sense.

Trail leading from campground

Since the stay was midweek, we were expecting it to be pretty quiet. There was one couple and a car camper the first night and the same car camper the second. We were completely alone during the day and it was wonderfully peaceful. Considering most other campgrounds in the area were packed at the time, this is definitely a low use campground.

There are some nice, although mostly poorly marked, trails leading from the campground. There is also an interesting forest walk along FR 372A from the back of the campground. A GPS or good map skills are needed. There are also lots of Forest Roads around to explore. I didn't prepare a detailed enough map to find many features in the area, but that will be a must-have next time back.

Located just north of the campground along Cherry Creek Road, the town of Cherry is also a worthwhile drive. We enjoyed checking out the historic cemetery, which shares a parking lot with the volunteer fire station. There are some historic buildings and town wood carvings to spot also.