The Needles Campground — Canyonlands National Park

Loop A is first come no reservations. loop B is reservations in spring and fall busy seasons. $20/$10 senior. 7 day camping limit. Vault toilets, water at pay stations, trash, recycle. Cell signal is limited to none.

Showed up early with intent of finding open first come site. 2 or 3 avail at 10 ish in morning. Ended up with one of the reserved sites that recently canceled for 2 nights. Great site, lots of privacy. In long bed 1 ton with an AT Overland Habitat.

Was pretty warm while there. Managed to find a little slot canyon in the rocks 30 yards from our site. Temp was 20 degrees or so cooler...Great find.

Beautiful campground in the Needles section of Canyonlands.

$20/night, and there is a 7 day stay limit within 30 days, and 14 days total per year. 

There are two loops: loop A is first come first served, and loop B takes reservations during busy season (is FCFS in winter), but if there is a spot open it’s available for walk up (no reservations) for one night only.  The campground layout is nice and spread out, and the whole area is so quiet and peaceful. 

There is drinking water here, trash and recycling (plastic and aluminum only), flush toilets (no showers). 

No cell service in the whole park but our WeBoost gave us several bars of LTE, and there is wifi at the visitor center. 

This campground is nice in that there are many hiking trails nearby. 

There are 2 handicap spots, and 1 is available for anyone after 8pm for 1 night only. 

Heads up that the driveway up into each camp site can be steep and/or have a dip so if you have a long vehicle you may scrape. I believe the length limit here is 25ft, we fit fine in our 26ft motorhome. Hosts on site were very nice and helpful. 

Campground is free in winter after the water is shut off (approx mid to late November, usually, depending on weather).

There are two loop- Loop A is 14 first-come-first served sites, loop B is 11 reservable sites. Checkout is 10 AM. Lots of competition to find a site- we had to get there at 8am to get a good spot.

We stayed in the Dutch Oven group site, loop A, which was adjacent to the restrooms with running water, and very near to the Squaw Flat trailhead. I really appreciate how the NPS utilized the space. Most campsites seemed to be given some privacy by being tucked into the various nooks and crannies of a long rock wall. This also gave us the chance to see the rock up close.

A few practicalities: there is water available, and there are flush toilets, along with pit toilets. There is an outdoor sink with running cold water. All the water is cold. There is also garbage and recycling.

The group site contains several tent pads, a fire ring, about 4-5 aging charcoal grills (ok, one has a rusted-out bottom). There is ample parking for the site, which is set off the main loop road by a cluster of bushes.

There are no showers, however one can be purchased from the nearby Needles Outpost just outside the park gates. There is also a camp store at the outpost, and I believe they also advertised fire wood and ice? Maybe call to confirm because once you make it to Needles, you won’t want to leave, because it’s beautiful, and because it’s a long drive (excepting the nearby outpost).

Overall, the campground felt remote, fairly private, and very quiet, which is incredible for a campground in a National Park. The Needles district itself, is removed from the hustle and bustle of busier Utah locations and it’s an explorer’s dream. We loved climbing around this gorgeous rock as we explored the various trails. And we hardly passed anyone else. We went in early April. Nights were down in the twenties. I imagine hikers might roast here in the summer?

After a long day of hiking, this was a perfect spot. Adjacent to the trailheads, the sites have great views of the terrain, and level parking. RV and tent sites available-- these are spread out enough for a sense of isolation. There is a fire ring and picnic table. There are basic bathrooms; water has only seasonal availability and there are no showers. It was great for us -- we set up dinner and and enjoyed gorgeous star watching. These sites are first come first serve if open, or reservations through the NPS website.

This campground is really cool and has amazing rock features all around. There were very few campers or hikers there in early September and it was very peaceful. Neighbors could be a little close if others were there. The rangers were really nice. It's super hot, as expected, but there's water at the trailhead.

The campground itself is beautiful, nestled between trees and rock formations the sites are far enough for completely privacy and quiet. There are bathrooms and water and your picnic tables and fire pits. Trail heads for many amazing hikes of different levels start here so if you want an early start this is the place!

It’s unfortunate though that the NPS doesn’t do a better job at running the site and informing visitors about its availability. Rec.gov app says the camp is full without even first comes availability. At entrances to the park a big sign says the camp is full, sign near the camp says so as well. There is no camp host or anyone to ask. When I got there at 2pm “full” meant 3 open sites! Further more, some sites have multiple tent pads, this is mentioned anywhere which is a a shame since it could help with the limited open spaces.

All in all a beautiful, great located campground! Too bad the NPS doesn’t do it’s job efficiently enough for everyone to enjoy it.

Nice sites which are semi private because of the tree coverage which also adds a great smell to the area. You get you standard picnic tables, fire grates, tent pads, but this site has flush toilets. Also, water is available year-round but not at many other location within the park (make sure to plan ahead). First-come, first-served, but wasn't a problem since not alot of people seem to use this area. But you can reserve the group sites...

site: very private. semi-wooded. some shade. amenities: pit toilets and families with running water near. attractions: near great hiking. exceptional views. I drove through to check out the campground and then decide to stay here a couple nights.