Cottonwood AZ is about 30 to 40 minutes south of Sedona and about a 1/2 drive north of I 17 on 89A.
The area is popular in the spring and fall because it is about 3000' (Sedona is 4000'), and has 2 national forest areas so there is a tremendous amount of dispersed camping for us.
The weather there is cooler than Ehrenberg when it starts to get too hot but not so cold like it would still be at 7000' north of Flagstaff. It makes an excellent middle ground place to spend the transition seasons.
One can choose to be less than a 1/4 mile from the paved highway or you can go several miles back in and see no one for days.
Last year some of us found a spot high on the edge of a plateau where each morning we watched the hot air balloons on their sunrise flights out of Sedona. The red rocks of Sedona are spectacular and are visible from a long way off and from a lot of the dispersed camping. After a couple of weeks there I moved closer to the highway so I could go sightseeing rather than just sit and watch the sights...
And when I wore out my welcome there (14 days), I simply moved less than 10 minutes to the other side of Cottonwood and in to the 'other forest'.
There is also a whole lot of sightseeing that can be done, anything from Pueblan and Tusayan ruins to Jerome perched on the side of the mountain. And of course a whole lot of time can be spent just watching the rocks change colors with the sun and clouds...
The community center offers $5.00 day passes where you can use any of the facilities including the gym, tennis courts, pool and of course the showers. There's lot of good dining if that's your thing too. WalMart and Home Depot are handy as well as a lot of other shopping.
