BLM Middle Fork Shafer Canyon Dispersed

Spending the night on the rim of canyonlands national park— Definitely one of the most magical experiences of my life setting our tents up during sunset and waking up during sunrise overlooking the vast canyon!

Stayed one night in early Oct 24 before making my way into Canyonlands NP on a Sunday night. Absolutely stunning campground. Probably one of the most gorgeous sites I've stayed at. It wasn't too hard to get into or anything on the road and seemed to have tons of sites. 

The big BUT is that there was a lot of toiletry waste around the area tho and when it became nighttime tons of people started coming in and that place echos. Please leave no trace, it's such a gorgeous place.

First time camping here! Rolled up during the day and it was quiet with breath taking views of the canyon. Set up camp and once night fall came so did all the off roaders (who seemed young) rolling up to our campsite trying to find a place to camp. This went on until almost 12am. This must be a really popular and well visited disperse camping. Great place to camp if you don’t mind people camping on top of you.

Just here for a night but one of my favorite spots yet! Seemed a little crowded (might have been a big group) but it wasn’t an issue. The road is a little rough (but fun). Had no issues in an Outback Wilderness.

You should have high clearance 4x4 though I saw a Subaru (don't recommend). The road in is rutted in spots, sandy in spots and rocky in spots. If you can get past all that, you are in for a treat. Most spots have incredible views.

Seeing the reviews I figured this spot would be packed on a holiday weekend. (Labor Day) had the entire place to myself. Countless camp sites directly on the edge.

4x4 needed to get through some thick sand spots but an easy trail nonetheless.

10/10

Buddy of mine told me about this spot, was excited to check it out. The road going in has no signs, its sandy & rough. There's a fun way & a bypass lol. We hooked a right after it Y's, this opens up to more spots but the "road" becomes more rocky, we went pretty far to the right, you def need a high clearance vehicle, we did everything in 2wd in my 4runner, but you should probably scope it out before venturing in. We got a massive spot right in the middle, there were ground tents setup below us, but there was enough privacy. Tons of people were at this spot. Try to get there before 6, we got there right around 5pm and got our spot. It had a fire ring, plenty of bushes, but the view though, CRAZY NEAT!!! Pro tip, maybe bring ear plugs, there wasn't any rain or wind in the forecast, but the wind was nuts, you could hear it  howling around the canyon and than smacking the side of your tent as it came around. Sunrise was epic!

This was the craziest camp spot. The road down was definitely rough, my hyundai tuscan did okay but we couldn’t keep going because I got too nervous as it got really rocky. I recommend high clearance, but you can find a spot without it. It was absolutely beautiful, super windy, we did run into a rattle snake. We walked through the brushes and found the view to the canyon which was a sight to see. Very empty, felt like we were the only people around for miles.

This spot has incredible views and makes every bit of the trek out there, worth it. I took my Subaru Forester out there without any issue. I was there on a thursday night and there was only one other campsite taken (from what I could tell)

Absolutely amazing views.  We saw at least 6+ sites along the cliff edge spaced a good 30 or so yards apart.  The road getting in requires high clearance 2wd.  Lower SUVs (Outback, Rav4, CRV, etc.) could do it being careful.  My 4Runner had no issues.  There are bypasses around some of the steeper rockier sections.

Aerial shots taken with a DJI MINI 3

Visited April 11, 2024

Plenty of camping spots right along the rim. I was there Sunday morning through Wednesday afternoon and just about every established spot was taken.

High clearance or 4x4 road getting out there. I saw about 4-6 spots people have camped in around this pin, and while I was there, 4 of the spots were taken. Amazing views off the mesa. Nice and quiet.

We found this one through the Dyrt app and was glad we did. We had rented a Toyota 4x4 through Turo and it worked out perfectly for this trail. Definitely recommend 4x4 with some clearance but it’s not overly difficult to navigate or crawl through. Plenty of camp sites along the rim of the canyon. And plenty of privacy if you space apart.

Incredible views and not a sound for miles. Worth the drive, anyone who does it without 4x4 and good clearance is a beast or is just ok with trashing their car. Driving south on Island in the Sky road turn left onto the “Big Flat Trail” according to Apple Maps at 38.50379° N, 109.80542° W. Then there will be an obvious fork to the right that leads to the edge of the canyon.

Definitely a sketchy road! Highly recommend 4X4 & high clearance but we made it with a stock Honda Odyssey mini van! Skill are needed to maneuver around the dirt road, there was one spot where we doubted continuing but managed to get trough & it was so worth it. Pulled into the first spot we found, it was too sketchy to keep going with the mini van. There was snow on the campsite but a spot was cleared enough for us to park. Someone had already started a fire ring with sand but we added rocks around it & made a fire to stay warm. It was quiet throughout the night & clear enough for us to see many stars. Amazing views all around, highly recommended this spot to everyone.

My boyfriend and I stayed a night on the edge of a canyon in the back of his Tacoma. Definitely recommend a 4x4 with very high clearance. I was scared in the truck lol. This is so so worth it the prettiest place I’ve ever camped. Million dollar view for free.

A car with some high clearance and 4WD is probably necessary for this. The road in is just dirt and not labeled, but you just turn right into one of the paths breaking off the main dirt road and head towards the canyon. There were multiple available campsites when we went with no one remotely near us. Views of the canyon are next level.

The road to the campsites was a bit questionable. A 4x4 would have been nice, but be sure to have a high clearance vehicle. We had a van with is, and besides it being a tad scary sometimes, it was well worth the trouble. The view is absolutely worth it. Pure amazement. Lots of mosquitos, but even 100x the amount would have been worth the view.

I have a Mazda CX-5 and was able to maneuver well enough to get to this spot despite it being recommended to have a high clearance vehicle.

The spot was easy to find as long as I had the dropped pin on Apple Maps giving us directions to the spot before we lost service.

Amazing views, will definitely go back. About 30 minutes from Moab and beautiful views on the way to the site too.

I tent camp and what I learned here is that there is so much rock under the sand. It was very hard to get things staked down because it was only about two inches of sand before the stake hit rock underneath. The tent we managed to secure with rocks and things but the bathroom/shower tent blew over in the night.

Would definitely recommend!

We were out exploring and came upon this site. We had other plans for the day so we didn’t camp here but man would it be awesome to!

This is definitely the place with the best canyon views you can get! The spots are right on the edge of the cliffs (be careful with your pets and in the dark). Fire rings are right up on the edge so can see the entire canyon while you hang out. The road in is pretty short and mostly sandy, but there are some slick rocks and steep drop offs. I would highly recommend a higher clearance 4x4 but there was someone in a VW Tiguan so it’s doable in a basic SUV if you know what you’re doing. Turn in from Island in the Sky/Grand View Point Road. If you’re on your way into Canyonlands going south, the road will be on your left. It’s not marked but the coords are approximately 38°30'01.9"N 109°47'39.4"W for where the turn in is. 1 bar of LTE Verizon but not enough to get a message to send.

Had some difficulty finding the road for this site but glad we did. Per Greg’s review, this road would be very difficult to navigate without a 4 wheel drive with adequate ground clearance. My Subaru Outback managed nicely with X mode. But some additional ground clearance would have been nice. We had the area to ourselves for two nights. Likely because folks simply don’t know about this campsite. The ranger at Canyonlands visitor center was able to help pinpoint the location thanks to Greg’s gps coordinates. The view and the quietness make this site a hidden gem.

This is a great overlander dispersed camp area just on edge of Shafer Canyon and Canyonlands NP. Sign at dirt two track from paved hwy notes no camping for 3/4 mile. The road track in is either sandy or rough rocky and only recommend overlander types, jeeps, trucks, high clearance vans, all with good tires. NO RVs or large TTs are recommended unless you want to leave axle and underbody parts along the route. Cell signal limited to none. Views are tremendous as you are on very edge of Shafer Canyon cliffs. Note that Special Rules are in effect, portable toilet systems required.