Capitol Reef National Park Dispersed Camping

We were not planning on going to Capitol Reef on our Utah trip but we got some unexpected snow at Canyonlands so we headed out early. So glad we made the trip! Capitol Reef had lots of wildlife like Deer and Bighorn Sheep and petroglyphs that were really cool to hike to and see.

Along with the petroglyphs, there is the historic hike to the site of the Pioneer Register.  Mormon pioneers signed their names on the cliff walls as they were traveling though.  Some signatures are over 125 years old. https://utahsadventurefamily.com/pioneer-register-hike-capitol-reef/ does a nice description. 

Me made a stop at Goblin Valley State Park so we arrived to Capitol Reef a bit later than we would have liked. All the standard campgrounds were full but the ranger at the visitor center told us to head out of the park towards the town of Torrey and almost immediately on our right there was free BLM camping land.

Totally free, no amenities, but what a beautiful night!! It was cold! But so quiet even though we had many neighbors on their own Utah adventures. Our neighbors were a single girl in a truck and cab over camper from Alaska, and a couple in a blue school bus. Quite the assortment. Obviously, a variety of vehicles will make it our there.

No toilet, leave no trace, no fires. Totally a park, sleep, and go spot. There is so much to see and do in Utah, that is ok by me! We woke up, drove into Torrey, picked up a cup of coffee, and started hiking down Capitol Gulch with no one else around.

Free camping, beautiful scenery.  Is this heaven?

After visiting two very popular Utah parks -- Zion and Bryce Canyon -- Capitol Reef was a breath of fresh air. And one of our favorite parts about visiting this park is that it was almost totally free!

When we arrived at the visitor center, they informed us that their only developed campground, Fruita Campground (first-come-first-served only, not reservable) was full for the night, and rangers were ready with a handout full of alternative camping areas. We had not dabbled into BLM (Bureau of Land Management) camping before, but this experience would encourage us to utilize it throughout the rest of our year-long trip to the national parks.

This “campground” is located about a mile outside of the national park, which allows great access to everything inside Capitol Reef. Usually free camping like this is harder to discover, but this pull-off is just off the road.

Benefits of camping in BLM land include the cost (free!), solitude (you can be as far away from people as you’d like), and easy access to the national park (in fact, _most_ national parks are surrounded with National Forest Service or BLM land!). Downsides, of course, include the lack of amenities, the sometimes uninspiring scenery, and the feeling of uneasiness (can I _really_ just camp here? For free?)

Capitol Reef’s BLM camping is plentiful, but this site was definitely the best. We were able to drive up on a high ridge of the pull-out area that the RVs could not easily access, so we felt alone and watched the gorgeous sunsets from our campsite each night.

During our five days in the park, we had some favorite activities: backpacking in Upper Muley Creek, hiking to Cassidy Arch, picking and eating fruit right off the trees in the historic orchards, hiking the tough Navajo Knobs trail, and, most of all, the Sulphur Creek trail through a narrow beautiful creek with three waterfalls to climb down.

You can read much more about our four days in the park on our blog: [Switchback Kids (Capitol Reef)](http://switchbackkids.com/capitol-reef-2/)

Free and easy access to Capitol Reef National Park!

During our stay here, we were on a budget and looking for dispursed camping locations. The nights were cold in late Oct, so we ended up sleeping in our car at this location.

Amazing views. Great skies! No amenities, but you can wake up in the morning and easily start your adventure!

OCT had great colors... but no fruit in the orchards :(

We love dispersed camping...

After exploring capital reef for the day we ended up here a bit late. We camped at Cathedral Valley the night before and liked this even more. It was even more remote. I know this is a repeating theme but no amenities = the best. Theres nothing out here.

Camping is wonderful. The night sky is amazing. The hiking in Capital Reef is so much fun and the carvings in the stone from early travelers very cool. Very cool October. Stay warm and enjoy!

Utah never ceases to mazes me

My favorite backpacking trip this year. Rangers were great resources for picking this trail. We came in over the Burr Trail switchbacks and hiked down into the canyon from there. The whole thing is 18 miles round trip around and over the Waterpocket Fold, but we opted to leave the same way we came. We were the only ones around for miles! Beautiful scenery, towering cliffs, neat caves. Highly recommend

Lower Muley Twist Canyon backpacking

Llike quiet open space in the desert. Go camp in Capital reef!

Back country 

Easy park and sleep spot with gorgeous sunrise views. We were just off the 24 no amenities. Photo taken as we were leaving the spot. 

Near west entrance to park

We drove 16 hours from WA and needed someplace to sleep so this dispersed campground was a great find. We pulled in in the middle of the night only to wake up and find ourselves among the red rocks. There are absolutely no amenities here, but there are several established sites with fire pits. Good views and a good spot close to the park if you're okay with going without water and plumbing for the night.

Great Place to Rest

We camped here the night before heading into Escalante area. It’s a great place to get to from the upper SLC area on a Thursday night for a 3 day weekend adventure in southern UT.  It’s very sandy and no amenities.  There are quite a few spaces for camping, we camped in a group with 5 tents. There are rock fire rings identifying the spaces. I will definitely camp here again! 

Beautiful and FREE

We were hoping to camp in the Fruita Campground but was full, so the park rangers recommended dispersed camping, Just outside of the park gates, about 10 minutes from the visitor center. Plenty of campground spaces with fire rings. No amenities. Awesome dark sky views and wonderful hiking at capitol reef.

free, beautiful sunset and 10 minute drive to capital reef visitor center

Stayed here in April 2019. Great spot to set up camp for the night if you want to have easy access to Capitol Reef. Beautiful views. Main downside is it is didn’t feel very secluded from the road or from other campsites. 

Convenient spot for easy access to the park.

Only one night but words fall short for the beauty of the area. 

Paradise 💜🙏💜

I have camped a lot of BLM sites and this was definitely one of my favorites. Easy to find. Right outside of Capitol Reef and even had portopotties! Got in late on a Sunday night and still plenty of spots also. 


Great Spot, beautiful, easy to find

Very easy to find! Right off the road however we did not hear any sound all night from the road. Great sites and a lot available! Never use the Porta potty‘s but saw them. A lot of red dirt is my only complaint if I had one. We were here on a Sunday afternoon and evening.￼

Red dirt but beautiful 

Wicked east to find right off the highway, can’t beat the convenience to Capitol Reef. Plenty of room to feel spaced out but not isolated, absolutely gorgeous views of the surrounding area!


Easy to get to and beautiful spot

This spot was very close to Capitol Reef. There was room still for a few more folks when we arrived on a weekday around 8pm.

It was extremely windy so we stayed in our car. Most other folks were in their cars or rigs as well. There were some spots amongst trees though that may have been a bit less windy. Big rig friendly. Dispersed camping - no amenities except a porter potty, which was clean! The landscape here was beautiful. It is right off the road, so there is some noise but not too much.

Favorite hike was Grand Wash to Cassidy Arch. We arrived early and had no parking problems at Grand Wash, and enjoyed extending the Cassidy Arch hike and not dealing as much with the crowded lot. Another one you want to hit early due to sun and heat. Gorgeous! Another tip - attend a ranger talk! We really enjoyed the geology one we went to, and it completely changed how we viewed the park from thereon out.

No reliable service here. To work during the day, we drove down to the visitor center in Torrey. Was able to work off of our mifi, Verizon.

Convenient for Capitol Reef

The location of this pin is on  tiny corner of a section of Fishlake NF land, there is NO dispersed camping on the National Park in this area..  This site is likely 
In wrong location and is actually the area at top of rise on the hwy where the cell signal comes in from Torrey. 

This is not NPS 

This site had clean porta pottys and plenty of sites to pick, however was pretty busy as it is very accessible to the entrance of the park. Amazing sunset views over the canyons. Plenty of flat options.

Sunset Views!

Plenty of spots, &amp; more than enough space to keep distant if that's what you're looking for. Good cold night.

Cold night at Capital Reef

Camped here while doing some hiking in the park, can’t beat how close it is. it’s a decent spot, not exactly the prettiest, but lots of sites though. There’s also a nice little hike (cooks mesa) that’s trailhead is nearby.

I was here during easter weekend so there were a  dozen RVs and a group of somewhat noisy car campers, but maybe it’d be more peaceful another time.

The area is literally right off the road, however the dirt road that goes through it is a bit rugged so i’d be careful without high clearance/awd, should be okay though.

Free, but no bathrooms so bring a trowel and some tp ;)

Nice spot, a tad crowded 

We came here because the campground inside the park was full, and were so glad we did. It’s a smallish area with many many sites designated by a rock fire pit. Normally we avoid dispersed camping areas with so many other campers in sight, but for being so close to the park with such incredible views, and so many nearby hikes, it’s completely worth it. Besides, we are further away from neighbors than we would have been at the campground, and for free.

  

 Amazingly there was no generator usage, and it was nice and quiet other than the road noise, which wasn’t too bad. Easy access, right off the road, and there were many spots accessible to larger RVs. Just watch for the ruts and bumps and rocks, and good luck finding a level spot. 

  

Zero amenities, no trash service or toilets, so please handle your waste and help keep this area clean so we can continue to enjoy it. 

  

Dump station available at the campground in the park for a $5 fee. There’s also trash dumpsters and plastic and aluminum (no glass) recycling there. 

  

Most amazing of all, there was great cell reception here, even for T-Mobile.

Great Spot! Free Dispersed Camping on USFS Land.

Bit rough getting in and finding a spot, lots of deep dents on the road. I’m in a big Campervan and was struggling a bit to move around and finding a flat space which is important to sleep and cook inside the van. Very quiet even though it’s so close to the road. Pretty great for a free super close space to the park. You’re basically in it. The sunset and rise views are fantastic. 

Great views, rough but good spot to park 

Great area near Capital Reef NP. Plenty of level spots with fire rings and amazing views. The road is pretty packed and easy to navigate (RVs, trailers, ect). There are a few rocks here and there poking out, but you can drive around. 

There are a few areas, and you can space out pretty well for privacy. There is an awesome spot if you turn left and go all the way back into the rock walls, where you are surrounded by the cliffs. Not a lot of level ground at that spot, so it's better for tent campers. But plenty of other great spots for RVs, trailers, and other campers. 

No services. Pack in, pack out. Verizon service was good. There is an awesome hike to the top of the cliffs for a sunset. You can find the route on alltrails. 

Awesome spot near Capital Reef 

There are plenty of spots around the rocks and closer to the road. Went in early April and was one of the only people there. Lots of fire rings and only a few minutes from the park. It was beautiful and rocks helped shield the wind in a tent. A fun spot to adventure and climb on the rocks.  Beautiful views too! 

Great Spot! 

Further apart than you would’ve been at an established campground, sometimes. Established fire rings ONLY. Scattered potterpottys. Pack it in, pack it out. TENT &amp; RV 