Lots of sites, all free, primitive.  GREAT views of the Mexican Hat geological features.  Good for 2wd cars.

Dispersed Mexican Hat Camping

Mexican Hat is free dispursed camping on BLM land outside of the town of Mexican Hat Utah. There are sites available for RVs, tents, vans, etc. This is desert dispursed camping so there are NO amenities, however there are occasional camper made fire pits. We made it into a site with a 2WD Pontaic Vibe with no issues, although we did watch a couple campers struggle to find a place to turn around. This is hot sunny camping with no shade opportunities, so it warms up fast in the summer.

This is some of the best dark skies and quiet camping we had on our trip. During my 2 am pee, the milky way was out of control! This area is named for the geological feature that is the name-sake for the town, the Mexican Hat, an obvious toadstool like sandstone formation. Because it is here and you are camping below it, you will have passerbys swinging through to take photos or climb the feature (technical rope skills required). This site also gives you quick access to Monument Valley and Valley of the Gods.

Midland X Talker Extreme Duel Pack Review

[https://midlandusa.com/product/x-talker-t77vp5/](https://midlandusa.com/product/x-talker-t77vp5/)

We were those crazy people climbing the Mexican Hat, and it was an ideal location to test out these walkie talkies. In climbing, communication is key and for a climb like the Mexican Hat where it is steep, overhung and roof like, the climber and belayer get separated. The walkie talkies came in hand!

Pros

1.) Battery life- we charged these up on their charging station at home before we left on our trip and they lasted the entire 10 day trip on regular use. This is extremely important to me, as it is my biggest bet peeve when electronics die in the moments you need them most.

2.) Intuitive usuage – We didn’t need to score through the manual to figure out how to use the walkie talkies. Everything made sense and was user friendly.

3.) EXTRELEMLY Clear Communication – These were crystal clear when using them, not at all like the static-y walkie talkies of childhood. Also, we had them hooked up to our harnesses (at waist level), and they picked up our words without having to yell into them, or unclip them to bring them to our mouth.

Cons

1.) There is no closed attachment potential. We couldn’t carabiner or string them to ourselves as there were no loops or holes of anykind. This meant that if at anytime during the climb, we dropped the device, it was going to be a goner. We managed by using a rubber band to “close” the clip (See photos), however this wasn’t ideal. Additionaly, the clip isn’t super strong, as I had the walkie talkied hooked to the strap of my backpack on our hike off and it popped off super easily when doing my pony tail. It does come with a headset, however, it needs to be plugged into the device (not wireless), so it doesn't solve any issues.

Conclusion

A great product for casual hiking, but it might not be ideal for more extreme situations where it has the potential to fall off/get lost or damaged (rafting, climbing, skiing). We will most likely just try to keep them in a pack, rather than on our body in those cases.

X Talker Extreme Duel Pack at Mexican Hat

To find this, go north out of town and go right (east) on Mexican Hat Rock Rd. Bear left at the only fork. Road ends at the San Juan River and the suggested spots are before it ends, near the river. 
After sunset it was cool on a hot day, and the river made for nice foot-washing. 
There are several pull-outs that make decent camp sites. No services of any kind but it’s close to town and there is a decent cell signal. And the night skies are lovely, as is The Rock. 

Nice quiet dispersed area

This was night four of our Grand Canyon Trip, and our only cloudy, starless night. I have heard such good things about the view at night, even so, it was one of our favorites. We put a speaker in a nearby bush we dubbed the "bluetooth bush" and piped in some native flute music. I'm here to tell you, there's nothing I recommend more. If the sweet serenity of the pure quiet doesn't do it for you, then get those old disembodied melodies going. There are no bathrooms or trash, so pack-in, pack-out. 

[Our approach](https://youtu.be/TpWAibOBFNk?t=44).

The closest to Mars I'll get.

We camped here overnight. A hummingbird bird came and said hello during breakfast. That’s pretty much the only other living thing I saw in this area. It’s beautiful at night too. Check it! 

Not too shabby

We were chased out of Valley of the Gods by a massive dust storm and came here, finding a nice spot along the San Juan River and right below the hat. Simple, no amenities dispersed camping but the road was in reasonably good shape, even after a light rain. Thanks to the dust storm we were treated to a tremendous sunset! 

Gorgeous site under the hat and along the river

You can see some lights from cars on the highway but if it wasn’t for that you would think you were in the middle of nowhere. Beautiful location between Mexican Hat and the San Juan River. dispersed camping so no amenities, and please clean up after yourself.

Amazing location

I stayed here on the 26th of September. The spots are nicely spaced out. I took the third spot from the last. There was a short trail with vegetation straight from my campsite to the river. A deer and her baby were grazing in the vegetation in the late afternoon. The sky is so dark at night, stargazing is incredible.  There was an egregious amount of litter, mostly beer cans. I filled an entire garbage bag picking up trash.

Spectacular!

19 miles south of Monument Valley- perfect location.

Fabulous spot 

Kinda tough to find but definitely worth it. Very secluded.

Excellent views

One of the best dispersed sites we’ve camped in. Camped right under the Mexican Hat next to the San Juan River. Nearest neighbor was 1/4 mile away. Spectacular scenery, hikes, wildlife. Hummingbirds galore. Mule deer, coyotes. Amazing night sky. No cell service. Valley of the Gods and Gooseneck SP nearby. One of our favorite dispersed sites ever. Definitely will go back. 

Best of dispersed 

i arrived around 1 am and the place was practically empty, although there is so much space i don’t think more people being there would’ve been an issue. you can get closer to the river if you’d like or stay back a bit, either way it’s beautiful. you absolutely should visit 

Beautiful Scenery, Lots of space 

Easy to find, we picked a spot off to the right of Mexican Hat Rock Rd, right at the base of Mexican Hat. Explored more spots accessible via 4WD only on our bikes.  We got to our spot with a small camper trailer and we saw a few other cars who found other spots you could get to without 4WD.  Really fun to explore on a bike!  


Beautiful spot! 

Camped here in May 2021. Absolutely gorgeous. We chose the last spot before going down the hill toward the river and could see Mexican Hat, the river, and a wonderful sunset. There were only two other people camping in the vicinity (it was a Thursday) and they were far away so we had the spot essentially to ourselves! Unreliable cell service, couldn't get bars on the mifi. No facilities

Stunning 360 views

Gorgeous! Red cliffs on either side of a river valley. There are no facilities, which is fine, and the campsites are a decent size. Most of the road is drivable for a low clearance, FWD vehicle. You can easily see the stars at night.

Highly recommend

This area is more of a photo op than a good dispersed camping area. Road is actually a pvt mining access road.  Cell is ok but limited camping...go east and camp at Valley of the Gods instead!!

Marginal camping area

Plenty of space for even the biggest of RVS. We were in a high top and had no problems getting a spot for the night with a view of the hat. 

Awesome place to stop

Stayed here close to monument valley so I could be there for sunrise. Roads are pretty okay, camping areas are not very even. No one was here when I got here. 

Close to Monument Valley

Very clean area, no problem finding a camp area. Try to get there before night, so you won’t get disoriented. 

Mexican Hat disperse camping

First of all it’s free so you can’t argue with that. We got in around 4 PM, thought for sure other people would show up later but no one did so we got the place to ourselves. Like anywhere there is going to be some litter; fortunately there wasn’t a lot so we filled a trash bag of old cans. Got to enjoy the quiet solitude and enjoy the sunrise coming up over the Hat Rock in the morning which was beautiful. 

Checks all of my boxes

Do not hesitate to follow the pretty accessible dirt road to reach the San Juan river and its nearby spots (turn left at the fork before the “Mexican hat” rock). Really quite amongst the trees.

Nice spot close to the river

We got here late after a long day of hiking and driving. There were enough people that it felt safe but enough space that there was plenty of privacy. Great spot to watch stars, we saw 6 shooting stars. Can get a little dusty, but we’re in the middle of a desert so that’s to be expected.

Great spot 

I road in at night and the road was sandy and wiggly. If you can make it all the way down to where the trail ends, it’s a pretty dank opening to the water. Be respectful, friendly, and never put a sign in “your spot” that says “taken” or “occupied” — you are on native land and that’s also an obnoxious, unfriendly Karen move.

Hats a good one

This was a great spot to camp, quiet, and the view was just amazing. Numerous spots available and access to the San Juan River. If there isn’t anything available, Vally of the Gods is right in the area with endless available sites as well and worth a the scenic drive. I would recommend this to anyone wanting to camp in this area. 

I’d camp here again! 

There are many camping sites distributed throughout the well maintained roads around the Mexican Hat. A regular 2WD passenger car shouldn't have a problem getting to many of them. There are smaller trails that require 4WD with a bit of clearance and articulation, but didn't see anything a unibody crossover couldn't do.

  

You get plenty of privacy and seclusion at each site with beautiful views in the morning. And please respect the land and its people! We are lucky they are generous enough to allow us to camp here.