Hospital Flat is so named because in the 1880’s 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 Pinaleños. 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.
Location: Hospital Flat Campground is located in the Pinaleño Mountains 31 miles southwest of Safford.
Access: 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.
Elevation: 9,000'
Season: April 15th through November 14th, weather and fire conditions permitting.
Attractions:
Mountain meadow setting
Late summer wildflowers
Semi-secluded sites
Nature Trail
Facilities:
10 individual sites
Tables and fire grills
Vault flush toilets
Notes:
Tent 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.
Pack and saddle stock are not permitted in campground.
