Gateway Recreation Area Dispersed, BLM
Melissa K.
Reviewed May. 5, 2019

Truly primitive camping - BLM - Dispersed Camping

This place is a true gem if you are all about primitive. There are no amenities, unless you get in the very first site as you come in. That one has a picnic table. Beyond that you are on your own for where you sit.

I wasn't sure I was going to find a spot, as this is BLM land, you can camp anywhere. I try to pick spots that resemble a location other people have stayed at so that I am a little nicer to the environment. I saw three spots that looked like they have been slightly developed. The first one just as you come in and that is the one with the picnic table. It was quite large and probably could accommodate some slightly larger vehicles. There was a truck with a topper on hit when we drove in. The second site we saw, also occupied was fairly large. Another truck with a topper was in that one, they looked like they may have been set up for hunting. Then we found our spot, along the creek, it wasn't very big, but had two established fire pits. There were lots of cattle up that way. Now, we did drive beyond this point as well and found the road narrowed pretty good and there weren't too many spots to even turn around. We have a larger truck so we had to choose wisely where we would turn around. I believe if you continue down the road you get to Moab, however, I have seen pictures that appear to have a much larger river crossing so maybe research before going up there.

We arrived, set up camp and then were greeted by the lady and her pup from the very first site. She was really friendly, passing through recreationally. It was nice to chat for a few and then move on to dinner. Temps were about 55 when we arrived and we work to about 42 degrees. It felt cold overnight but not intolerable. We put our tent behind our truck, well next to it, there were a ton of cattle and I just felt like tucking it in a bit. We had our own camp chairs and firewood so we made a fire to warm up, then used our jetboil to boil water for our mountain house meals. My boys loved the area, they loved seeing the cows, even though we have plenty where we live. They loved the space to run around without really bothering anyone else. The fire pit was surrounded by rocks so they enjoyed hanging out by the fire on the rocks as well. It was chilly, which is why we started the fire, to warm up.

It gets really really dark out there, you are surrounded on all sides by rock faces so there really isn't any light pollution. Which is nice for a peaceful night. There also wasn't any noise pollution. We couldn't hear any cars, only cows, so I guess there was a little noise pollution but of the natural variety. If you don't like cows, maybe don't go, it's open range there. But cars are really what I dislike while sleeping and we did not hear a single one. We may have heard an elk calling back to the cows but we were still in our tent so can't be too sure.

Now, there are no bathrooms, so you want to be responsible with your personal needs. We took along a Travel John and it worked really well, our first time using one but made those needs simpler where there was nothing, now if you have no problem peeing in the woods, you'll be just fine.

Overall, it's peaceful, scenic and a nice place to set up camp and enjoy nature's surroundings.

Sitedispersed
Month of VisitJune
  • Review photo of Gateway Recreation Area Dispersed, BLM by Melissa K., May 5, 2019
  • Review photo of Gateway Recreation Area Dispersed, BLM by Melissa K., May 5, 2019
  • Review photo of Gateway Recreation Area Dispersed, BLM by Melissa K., May 5, 2019
  • Review photo of Gateway Recreation Area Dispersed, BLM by Melissa K., May 5, 2019
  • Review photo of Gateway Recreation Area Dispersed, BLM by Melissa K., May 5, 2019
  • Review photo of Gateway Recreation Area Dispersed, BLM by Melissa K., May 5, 2019
  • Review photo of Gateway Recreation Area Dispersed, BLM by Melissa K., May 5, 2019
  • Review photo of Gateway Recreation Area Dispersed, BLM by Melissa K., May 5, 2019
  • Review photo of Gateway Recreation Area Dispersed, BLM by Melissa K., May 5, 2019
  • Review photo of Gateway Recreation Area Dispersed, BLM by Melissa K., May 5, 2019
  • Review photo of Gateway Recreation Area Dispersed, BLM by Melissa K., May 5, 2019
  • Review photo of Gateway Recreation Area Dispersed, BLM by Melissa K., May 5, 2019
  • Review photo of Gateway Recreation Area Dispersed, BLM by Melissa K., May 5, 2019
  • Review photo of Gateway Recreation Area Dispersed, BLM by Melissa K., May 5, 2019
  • Review photo of Gateway Recreation Area Dispersed, BLM by Melissa K., May 5, 2019
  • Review photo of Gateway Recreation Area Dispersed, BLM by Melissa K., May 5, 2019
  • Review photo of Gateway Recreation Area Dispersed, BLM by Melissa K., May 5, 2019
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