Best Glamping near Colorado City, AZ

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at this resort. All sorts of different styles of camping, glamping, or staying in a lodge available. Great amenities, although we spent so much time in Zion hiking that we didn't make use of even half of what there is to offer at the resort. We will be back.

We were just looking for a place to sleep, checked out the first camping outside of Zion east entrance and decided to check out the next closest one according to info from the Zion ranger. Info said 2 miles, but more like 7-8. Upon arrival my kids eyes lit up and we booked 3 mid week nights. Free, private hot showers. Dish was station. Free pool and hot tub, ball sports, playground and fitness trail. Pay for stuff like bungie trampoline and rock wall and put put. 2 camp stores recently equipped, even individual beers(4%). Our site was a little small, tent was to close to the fire ring to feel comfortable with a fire. We peaked at the glamping tents and were jealous, maybe next time. Great spot at $30 a night plus taxes etc.

I have stayed here twice in 2020. Once in January and again in July. I haven’t stayed in an rv but they do have glamping tents and tiny houses to rent on Airbnb for reasonable prices.

This place is about 45 minutes from Zion National park and 2 hours from Bryce Canyon.

There’s a laundry room for you to do laundry (bring your own quarters) and the bathrooms are nice and clean. You don’t get as much privacy for the showers as I’d prefer but it’s not that terrible since I think only Airbnb guests uses the restrooms and not the rv guests. WiFi was available for us which helped plan our hikes.

There are tables around the laundry room building to sit at and relax. It’s a very quiet campground too which made sitting out in the evening very peaceful. The owners are so nice and accommodating. Cell service was okay but goes in and out (1-2 bars for Verizon)

The Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort is a large area with cabins, yurts, a lodge and a campground. The campground is located away from the resort features which we appreciated, so that is was a little more of an authentic camping experience. We still had access to the resort features including a pool, restaurant, and activities to sign up for, which could be a nice feature for some people. The campground area had a small store and great bathrooms and showers. Our site was fairly small but large enough for our small tent and car as well as a fire pit and picnic table.

Good access to Zion and its shuttle. Stayed here for a night and definitely did not have any privacy. Would not go back to this particular campground.

This is a private campground located a few miles from the Zion National Park entrance in Springdale. This campground is run by the Quality Inn Springdale and located just behind the hotel. I spent two nights here in March 2017 on a Friday and Saturday night. After not successfully reserving a campsite in the park and hoping to avoid the stress of first come first serve, I found this private campground still available. It is $39 per night for tents and each site comes with a picnic table and fire ring. The campground has flush toilets, free showers (one token per night per person and 6 min of shower per token) and drinking water and some sites back up to the Virgin River.

While this campground is conveniently located to the shops and restaurants of Springdale and close to the shuttle stop, it lacked greatly in ambience. Our site backed up to a fence with homes on the other side a mere 5 feet away. The sites themselves were very small and we had to rearrange the camp to fit our small two person Marmot tent on a flat piece of ground. The campground was loud with many uncourteous neighbors who were loud well past midnight. It’s hard to get up early to hike when your camp neighbors (who are only 5 feet away) arrive at 10PM, set up multiple tents and then decide to start partying around midnight. 

I did appreciate the clean hot free showers and the closeness to the park and restaurants. I walked to the park entrance every day instead of using the shuttles. I also highly recommend two close and local restaurants. The Whiptail Grill had an amazing dinner with delicious enchiladas and the Café Soleil had great breakfasts and lunch. I went to the café 3 times on our 3 day trip and purchased some of the local art available in the front of the café.

Zion Park itself is beautiful but overcrowded. Having been to 30+ national parks I don’t quite understand the level of popularity of this park over others besides its close proximity to Southern California and Las Vegas. 

For more information or to make reservations click here.

We had the wonderful fortune of securing a campsite right on the Virgin River. It was gorgeous. Our kids used inner tubes and rafted down the river for hours while hubby and I relaxed with a bottle of wine before jumping in and joining them. The little Ice cream shop across the street Is great! Walking distance to the park entrance. Get on the first shuttle if you want an uncrowded Narrows experience!!

Pretty packed in tent camping it we were up at sunrise and hiked in to Zion. After 12 hours in the National Park the showers came in handy and campfire finished off a great day.

Potato Hollow #8 camp site is part of the West Rim Trail in the Zion National Park. The hike to camp site 8, I would rate as difficult but it is well worth the trek. The view is fantastic and you encounter so much wild life (all different types of birds, baby frogs, horny toads, deer, snakes, raccoon), just watch for Rattle Snakes in the warmer months. To reach this camp site you might want to bring trekking poles because the trails can become very steep and eroded. At camp site 8 there are no restrooms, please pack out what you packed in. There is nothing worse than coming across other campers trash in such a beautiful place. You will need to pack in water as well! But there is a stream close by you will need a handy dandy shovel to dig down to it, also a good filtration system would be very beneficial. You do need a camping permit to camp here. So, be sure to plan ahead! We had an absolute blast pushing ourselves to the limit and enjoying what nature had in store. On this backpacking trip we encountered a thunderstorm every night at 5pm and with it came rain, hail, wind and whatever else nature decided would be a great addition! It was a bit intimidating but well worth the trip! You will need to purchase a discovery pass or Zion National Park Pass as well as your permits. You can bike to this camp site as well.

Cons:

No safe water to drink without filtration system and you have to dig for it

No bathrooms, so leave no trace please

No trash cans

Pros:

The difficult trail

The Views and wild life

Best quiet sleep of your life!

No power hookups or cell service

Ranger Review: Oofos Oolala at Potato Hollow Campsite #8

https://www.oofos.com/

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get the wonderful opportunity to test products from time to time, today I am testing Oofos Oolala recovery shoes. These shoes are great recovery shoes and I have been testing them out to the max. I have used them as shower shoes at a KOA in Salt Lake. These shoes are very light weight and comfortable. The first time I walked around in Oofos Oolala Recovery shoe I lost my balance, it was pretty funny to watch. So, just prepare yourself before adventuring too far in them.

I took my Oofos on my camping trip to switch out of once we were done hiking and setting up camp. It was a great idea but these shoes aren't really geared for people who have blisters. They comfortably cradle your feet and help reduce the stress on your feet and knees after a long day, but they do have this amazing ability to press on every single one of your blisters after a long backpacking trip! Ouch. The rubber does tend to heat up too, so if you have dirt on your feet, the shoes cause your feet to sweat and the sweat rubs the dirt and then you're left with an odd looking rash. So, I wouldn't recommend taking these as an extra pair of shoes to switch out of after a day of backpacking. They are unstable to walk in on uneven terrain, much too hot, press on blisters not for the rustic life style.

I do recommend these shoes for urban use! I work and stand on cement floors every day and when I come home my feet are killing me. One day I decided to try my Oofos when I got home from work and these shoes helped relieve all the pain in my feet, lower back and helped with the extreme level of fatigue I was feeling. I felt as good as new! These shoes are a real feet saver after a full day at work or after a long run. They even work great as shower shoes! I love the color and style of them, they fit my feet perfectly. I am an 8.5 and I had to order a half size up. I did get the Oofos OOMG shoe as well but should have ordered a full size up, they are too short and I haven't been able to review them. =( But my Oofos Oolala are very comfortable, they do not slip off my feet (not even when they are wet) like so many flipflops usually do. They also float! So if they do fly off the back of a boat don't worry! They wont sink!

I give my Oofos Oolala 5 stars, they didn't really help out on my camping trip but they have saved my feet after a long week at work.

Thank you for letting me test Oofos Oolala!

Zion NP is one of the most beautiful places to visit ever. There is a bus shuttle that regularly picks up and drops off visitors, and many visitors will stack stones up to mark their trail. You'll also see raindrops in some parts of the parks, even though it's completely dry. Breathtaking to visit!

Tent sites are on top of each other. It is not quiet as you’re near to RVs and quiet hours are not fully respected. But the view is very nice, and the bathrooms are clean. It’s near food/grocery and the park. The shuttle picks up in front of Campground.