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Bonito Campground is located 18 miles northeast of Flagstaff, near Sunset Crater/Wupatki National Monument. Elevation is 6,900 feet. Bonito Campground is named for the Bonito Lava Flow which oozed across this high desert plain some 900 years ago. That river of liquid rock, now frozen forever, is just one of the many remnants of volcanic activity which lend an otherwordly appearance to this starkly beautiful place.
Hiking, sightseeing, wildlife viewing are popular activities.
The campground has 44 single campsites with 1 ADA accessible site. 22 sites are reservable and 22 sites are dedicated as first-come-first-served sites. Each site has provided picnic tables, fire rings and cooking grills. The campground has paved roads and spurs, drinking water and flush toilets. Bonito campground is pet friendly. Pets must always be restrained or on a leash.
Beautiful tall Ponderosa pines are abundant throughout the campground and across nearby ravines and hillsides. Bonito is a restful place to simply relax and enjoy nature.
Also nearby is Wupatki National Monument. The centerpiece of this area is a four story masterpiece of Native American stone masonry. Construction of that stone-age condominium began in about 1120 A.D. At one time it contained as many as 100 rooms and housed as many as 125 people. Both Sunset Crater and Wupatki have visitor centers and feature self-guided as well as interpreter guided. The entrance to Sunset Crater National Park is adjacent to the campground. The Visitor's Center provides much information on the geological history of the area. You can enjoy learning about the Native Americans who populated the area as you wander through the nearby Walnut Canyon National Monument. The historic downtown section in nearby Flagstaff will provide a glimpse into the early days of the city's past.
Location: 18 miles northeast of Flagstaff, near Sunset Crater/Wupatki National Monument. Elevation is 6,900 feet.
GPS (Map): 35°22'13.5"N 111°32'37.0"W
Access: Drive 12 miles northeast of Flagstaff on US 89. Turn east (right) on FR 545 (toward Sunset Crater) and drive 2 miles to Bonito Campground. Campground entrance is JUST BEFORE the entrance station of Sunset Crater National Monument.
This is a very clean and quiet campground with lots of trees, clean bathrooms and trash cans throughout and the managers are very friendly and helpful. Spaces 1-22 are 1st come 1st serve. We have a 34" motorhome and got into space 22, but it was too sloped and we could not level it so we moved to space 15 and had somewhat the same issue, but with some work got it leveled. Spaces 1-22 just barely fit our rig with our Jeep because you have to stay on the pavement, so a big trailer with a big truck couldn't fit into those spaces. However, some of the reserve sites are bigger and more level. No hookups, quiet hours are 10pm-6am. I recommend it for an overnight stay, or even a week. It's 25 minutes to Flagstaff so you can easily shop for groceries or go to a restaurant.
A very nice Campground in the pine forest just pass Flagstaff on our way to the East entrance (or Desert View Entrance) of Grand Canyon . They have clean bathrooms, you can buy fire wood. No hook up in the sites (dry camping only) picnic tables, fire rings and a BBQ in each sites nestled in the pine forest with the Sunset Crater near by, farther down the road is Wupatki National Monument to check out. They have an amphitheater were we saw about an 1 hour Ranger program of the history of 1857 with a train of 22 Camels, 20 wagons and 40 soldiers, my grand daughter had a great time are doing and she got to pet with 2 real camels! It's a new program they are do once a month.
The location is awesome. The pine trees are not too close which makes it perfect for star gazing. The washrooms are clean. The hosts are great. It's quiet and close to the sunset crater national monument, which is a must visit. You can see the lava rocks from the campsite. I have camped twice here.
A great place to come and camp out! The people there are very friendly, and I enjoyed my time there! It is in a great location with hiking options close by, or take a longer drive to the Grand Canyon. They also have a bathroom that is well kept and a place to fill up on water! The only downside is that there is no shower, but I would come back!
Nice campground but the camp host (we stayed early September 2023) is sorely lacking on how to do her job. She seemed more concerned about people going 2 miles over the 10mph speed limit (it was me) than the drunk campers that could be clearly heard over the whole campground.
Outside of a poor host it’s very pretty there with mountains all around. Minimal to no insects and the camp sites were well spaced and nice in size.
