Hannagan Meadow Campground

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Location: South of Alpine, Arizona.

Elevation: 9,120 feet

Season: May through September

Access: Paved road

Fee: None

Reservations: No reservations. Sites are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Usage: Medium

Days Limit: 14 days

Amenities: 8 single unit sites, trailers and motorhomes up to 16 foot, no hookups, picnic tables (at each campsite), vault toilets, water (potable water hydrants) – might not be available at all times, pets must be restrained or on a leash, campground host available May thru September, lodge and restaurant at nearby Hannagan Meadow

Information: Alpine Ranger District, Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests, (928) 339-5000 or www.fs.usda.gov/asnf

 

Alpine, AZ WEATHER

 

Directions: From Alpine, travel south on U.S. Route 191 for about 22 miles to Hannagan Meadow. The campground is 0.25 miles south of Hannagan Meadow Lodge on the west side of U.S. 191.

 

 

Hannagan Meadow campground is located 22 miles south of Alpine on Hwy 191. It’s about half a mile from the Lodge on the same side of the highway.
There are 8 spots available, each spot is numbered, but the numbers are not clearly visible. Each parking spot is recognizable by wooden posts surrounding it. Each campsite has a metal picnic table.
As you enter the campsite you’ll see the information board on the left and “camp host” sign on the right. Camp host has his own spot.
Right next to the host’s spot is campsite #1. Campsite #2 is much better defined.
You’ll need to follow the dirt road loop counterclockwise to find sites #3-8. Try finding one of those sites since they are away from the highway and offer more privacy and peace. The only downside is that the vault toilet is located in the center of the little loop and you might smell stuff with wind gusts.
Restrooms are clean and stocked with toilet paper.
There are several water hydrants, one next to camp host and few throughout the campground.
There are times however when water is not available. Just to be safe you definitely should bring a couple of large water canisters filled with fresh water with you.

There are no reservations necessary and the campground is free of charge. Campsites are first come first served. Your stay is however limited to 14 nights. It seems like the campground is popular with mostly retired men who spend all 14 days at the site when weather is nice. They seem to be experienced campers and hunters who enjoy spending extended periods of time in the woods. That means that you can not expect that weekdays or school days are going to be slow here. You have to just drive here and hope for the best.

There are a couple of other campgrounds just few miles south on Hwy 191 if you have no luck here.
There is no phone reception at the campground, but if you drive just a few miles back towards Alpine, the is reception right by a place called Joe’s Ranch.

If you plan on doing some hiking, you’ll find a trailhead for Akers Lake just in the center of the campground, however trail is in a very bad condition. It looks like it hasn’t been maintained in many years, probably since the Wallow Fire back in 2011. The trail has many trees fallen across the path and all the new growth makes trail finding very difficult.
Fish Creek Trail, which branches off the Akers Lake trail after the first 100 yards is in even worse condition. It is marked with blue signs on trees until you reach a fire road after about 200 yards more, but it is very easy to get lost here if you don’t pay attention. It is supposed to cross the road and head downhill but it just becomes impassable with all the young aspens growing everywhere. That means that there is no direct connection between the campground and Fish Creek that could be hiked.
You can drive down few miles south on Hwy 191 to FR25 and then turn onto FR24. If you follow FR24 for few miles you will reach Fish Creek and can hike Fish Creek Trail #60 following the river.

If you’re ready for a next adventure and want to plan it right, check out some of these camping guides – Arizona has so many awesome destinations to explore!

 

                         

 

August 20, 2017 |

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