Hospital Flat Campground


Safford, Arizona
(View other Safford area campgrounds)

Campground contact

Ownership: US Forest Service
Official website: fs.fed.us
Posted by: MountainMan on December 10, 2005
 

Description

Hospital Flat is so named because in the 1880‚Äôs it served as a site for a field hospital for ailing soldiers from Fort Grant. That frontier outpost is located along Grant Creek on the south slope of the Pinale?±os. The restorative powers of this cool mountain meadow, carpeted with wildflowers and traversed by a small creek, were sufficiently notable that it also became a summer retreat for officers and their families trying to escape the heat of their desert outpost. Fort Grant was closed in 1905 and now serves as an Arizona State Prison Facility. Hospital Flat still serves as a popular refuge for forest recreationists who come to its pleasant surroundings for much the same reason as did those soldiers of a hun.Hospital Flat offers a 3/4 mile self-guided nature trail constructed by the Safford Rotary Club in 1985. A printed trail guide available at the trailhead tells how this meadow was formed, what plants and animals live in and around it, and how they interact with one another and with their habitat.

Directions

From Safford drive south 8 miles on US 191 to AZ 366. Turn right (southwest) onto 366 and drive 23.3 miles to the campground entrance on the left side of the road. Accessible from April 15 to November 14, weather permitting.
 

Activities

Mountain meadow settingLate summer wildflowersSemi-secluded sitesNature Trail

Guidebooks

Services

10 individual sitesTables and fire grillsVault flush toiletsTent camping only.Some walking is required to get to your campsite.Hospital Flat Nature Trail is located at the lower end of the campground.Nearest first aid is Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center in Safford, 31 miles away.

Reservation info

Fees

Reviews of Hospital Flat Campground



Reviewed by Guest on February 11, 2009

(1 out of 1 members found this review useful.) Reply to Review
Local says: Really nice place. No RV's or motorhomes. Wet in July and Aug. No water, bring your own. Lots of bears too.
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Outdoor Equipment

Fold N Go Charcoal Grill
* 150 square inch cooking surface * Fast preheat using the unique chimney design * Easy to transport folding design