Camper submitted image from Great Western Trail Dispersed - 1
View All
Camper submitted image from Great Western Trail Dispersed - 2
Nature
Camper submitted image from Great Western Trail Dispersed - 3
Roads
Camper submitted image from Great Western Trail Dispersed - 4
Camping
Camper submitted image from Great Western Trail Dispersed - 5
Signs & Maps

Free Camping Collection

Dispersed Camping

Great Western Trail Dispersed

Great Western Trail Dispersed, near Bryce Canyon National Park, offers a unique camping experience for those looking to escape the hustle and bustle. This area is perfect for tent camping, with several spots scattered along the road, providing a sense of privacy and tranquility.

Visitors have noted the established fire pits at many sites, making it easy to enjoy a cozy campfire under the stars. The views are stunning, and the quiet surroundings are ideal for stargazing, though be prepared for chilly nights. As one camper mentioned, “Great place for overnight camping. There was a fire place. Beautiful view!”

If you're up for some adventure, this location serves as a great base for exploring nearby attractions like Red Canyon and Bryce Canyon. The road can be a bit rough, so a vehicle with good clearance is recommended, especially if you want to venture further into the area.

While amenities are minimal—no drinking water, toilets, or trash services—this is part of the charm for those seeking a more rustic experience. Just remember to pack out what you pack in. Whether you're looking for a peaceful night or a launching point for hiking, Great Western Trail Dispersed has what you need for a memorable outdoor getaway.

Suggest an Edit

Location

Great Western Trail Dispersed is located in Utah

Detail location of campground

Coordinates

37.67091921295418 N
112.20276497128101 W

Open in Google Maps

The Dyrt Alerts

Get reservations at sold-out campgrounds.

Learn More

Access

  • Drive-In
    Park next to your site

Stay Connected

  • WiFi
    Good
  • Verizon
    Good
  • AT&T
    Good
  • T-Mobile
    Good

Site Types

  • Tent Sites
  • Dispersed

Features

For Campers

  • Phone Service
  • Alcohol
  • Pets
  • Fires

For Vehicles

  • Big Rig Friendly

DISPERSED CAMPING

Enjoy dispersed camping on government land and leave no trace. Pack in and pack out. No (or limited) services at this camping area. Permit may be required.


PERMIT might be REQUIRED

We curate permit requirements across the US for our PRO members. Try PRO to see if Great Western Trail Dispersed needs a permit.


Reviews

Add Review

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

66%
16%
10%
0%
16%

4.0

out of 5

26 Reviews

Reviewed May. 19, 2024

Small area but good for the night

A few small lots towards the entrance of the road but ended up going farther down the road and finding a smaller private area for the night. Fire pits were at the site. Quiet but neighbors were kind of loud.

Month of VisitMay
Reviewed Oct. 20, 2023

Dave’s hallow

A lovely flat spot with established fire pit. Quiet, even with hunters coming through, could hear cows and coyotes, great for stargazing. Only drawback it was super cold!

Month of VisitOctober
  • Review photo of Great Western Trail Dispersed by S K., October 20, 2023
  • Review photo of Great Western Trail Dispersed by S K., October 20, 2023
Reviewed Jul. 19, 2023

Great location for local hiking

The forest road 2367 was passable using a rear driven SUV when dry but judge from pictures if you can make it. After negotiating the rough bit there are 3 established spots, some shaded, and a 4th but only accessible with a 4x4. If you can’t make it, there are spots earlier coming from hwy 12, as well as later if you continue on the dirt road towards Bryce Canyon City.

This is a great location for Red Canyon as well as Bryce Canyon trips, the Tropic Reservoir is also short drive away. If you’re visiting in summer, there’s also Dark Ranger observatory 5min away.

Month of VisitJuly
  • Review photo of Great Western Trail Dispersed by Rad C., July 19, 2023
  • Review photo of Great Western Trail Dispersed by Rad C., July 19, 2023
  • Review photo of Great Western Trail Dispersed by Rad C., July 19, 2023
Reviewed Jun. 9, 2023

Perfect!

There are ‘no overnight camping’ signs in the very beginning, but past that there are huge camping spots. If you keep going down the road, it opens up more into a field and there are spots on the sides as well. About 20 minutes from Bryce Canyon trails!

Month of VisitJune
  • Review photo of Great Western Trail Dispersed by jenna , June 9, 2023
Reviewed May. 15, 2023

beautiful

the most beautiful blm land i have stayed on! gorgeous views, highly recommend! you need a 4WD to reach the camping section. i was able to drive my 2WD sedan but it bottomed out the whole way. you will not be able to drive if it is wet or raining.

Month of VisitMay
  • Review photo of Great Western Trail Dispersed by Megan D., May 15, 2023
  • Review photo of Great Western Trail Dispersed by Megan D., May 15, 2023
  • Review photo of Great Western Trail Dispersed by Megan D., May 15, 2023
Reviewed Sep. 6, 2022

Great location

This area is located minutes from Bryce Canyon. Great access point for the national park. Zion is an hours drive. Escalante Staircase less than an hour.

Month of VisitSeptember
  • Review photo of Great Western Trail Dispersed by Troy S., September 6, 2022
Reviewed Jul. 7, 2022

Restful Pines

We followed the route given just past a U.S. Forestry camp, and noticed sites spread out along the road pretty far apart from each other. We kept going until we found one that we preferred. It’s nestled in the pines but still feels wide open. It’s totally silent other than the wind in the trees. We have a Mercedes Sprinter 170” with just 2 wheel drive and made it just fine.

Month of VisitJuly
  • Review photo of Great Western Trail Dispersed by Martin H., July 7, 2022
  • Review photo of Great Western Trail Dispersed by Martin H., July 7, 2022
  • Review photo of Great Western Trail Dispersed by Martin H., July 7, 2022
Reviewed Jun. 7, 2022

Quiet place to sleep

Many parking sites to camp! Enjoy the silence in the woods. No amenities. Drive carefully. Sometimes deers are crossing.

Month of VisitJune
  • Review photo of Great Western Trail Dispersed by Jonas B., June 7, 2022
Reviewed May. 30, 2022

Hidden Gem

There are about 8 - 10 camp sites along a 2 mile or so stretch of road. Our site was about a mile in. Got 5G service with Verizon! It’s located 15ish mins from Bryce Canyon National Park and 10 Mins from Red Canyon. Highly recommend!

Month of VisitMay
  • Review photo of Great Western Trail Dispersed by Willie W., May 30, 2022
Reviewed Apr. 16, 2022

Great sport near Bryce

Can’t beat the location to Bryce. Took us 12 minutes to get to the park entrance. Just be sure to go where camping is allowed. Don’t be that person and ruin great spots like this for the rest of us!

Month of VisitApril
Reviewed Mar. 18, 2022

Closed

We drove here on 3/18/22 and the road/camping is closed.

Month of VisitMarch
Reviewed Nov. 10, 2021

Close to Bryce and Accessible

Parked for the night after the corrals on FR 88. Roads were dirt and grooved but was firm and I felt confident in my low power van.. Multiple spaces with fire ring. No amenities. Great place to stop! Prior reviews were spot on.

Month of VisitNovember
Reviewed Sep. 21, 2021

Listen to Greg

We followed Greg’s directions and found the perfect spot for the night. Secluded quiet clean campsite.

Month of VisitSeptember
Reviewed Sep. 6, 2021

Dave's Hollow Dispersed is NOT closed

This area is correctly called Dave's Hollow. There is a camping closure but it is close to the border of Bryce NP. The rest of this area including FS Rd #088 and FS Rd #103 are still open to dispersed camping. The corral area right at the beginning of Rd 088 does have no camping signs but that is only for the corral area. Past the corral there are many good camping sites open. The camping restrictions starts at mile 2.2 on FS road #088, the camping closure on FS Rd #103 starts at mile 1.2. everything before that is open to camping, limited to 16 days. No water, tables, trash. Good cell signal however. See photos of the FS closure map and my screenshot of the area showing obvious camp sites and the camping closure signs are noted as a red diamond. Note that FS Rd #103 is much better to use than FS Rd 088. Roads are native dirt little gravel and can be rough and rutted so beware in wet conditions.

Month of VisitSeptember
  • Review photo of Great Western Trail Dispersed by Greg L., September 6, 2021
  • Review photo of Great Western Trail Dispersed by Greg L., September 6, 2021
  • Review photo of Great Western Trail Dispersed by Greg L., September 6, 2021
  • (16) View All
Reviewed Sep. 25, 2020

Closed

Many closed signs posted

Reviewed Sep. 23, 2020

Lovely spot, so close to Bryce!

You do have to drive back a little ways (see map) but quite a few spots of varying sizes, pretty spread apart. There were a handful of other people there. There are parts of the road that require 4wd further back but otherwise not a bad drive down a dirt road, leading to nice tree covered, spaced dispersed camping!

  • Review photo of Great Western Trail Dispersed by Emily , September 23, 2020
  • Review photo of Great Western Trail Dispersed by Emily , September 23, 2020
Reviewed Sep. 7, 2020

Closed!

This place was closed to camping September 7th unless the map took us to the wrong place.

Reviewed Sep. 7, 2020

Bryce Free Camping

Very close to the camp entrance. Very convenient. Nice shade from trees. Lots of good spots. We had to camp closer to 1.5 miles from the start of the dirt road to be out of the restriction. Huge spots (five 5th wheels) and small (one car/ one tent).

Reviewed Sep. 5, 2020

So close to Bryce Canyon

Like the other reviewers mentioned, there’s a camp restriction at the first .5 mile in but if you keep going you’ll find some really nice large spots with fire rings and perfectly spaced trees to put up your hammock.

Reviewed Aug. 31, 2020

Secluded woodsy campsite

Due to fire restrictions, you need to drive 1173 or other older interstate dirt roads to find eligible camping areas. We found a great one about 50 yards back from the dirt road and stayed for two nights. It made getting to Bryce Canyon very easy, and we were even able to make a small fire pit to stay warm as we chilled in the evening. Definitely recommend staying along this trail for your visit to Bryce! Big love

  • Review photo of Great Western Trail Dispersed by Kate L., August 31, 2020
  • Review photo of Great Western Trail Dispersed by Kate L., August 31, 2020
  • Review photo of Great Western Trail Dispersed by Kate L., August 31, 2020
  • (8) View All
Reviewed Aug. 3, 2020

A woodsy paradise

So upon arriving on this campsite, we discovered quickly that among these hot summer months the area is closed for camping. Due to a high threat of forest fires, the camping spot can’t be used but it’s not impossible! Based on a map posted at the entrance, we followed the road to find a bunch of spots about 20 minutes down the dirt road. The spot we found was very secluded ( mind you we only spotted 2 other groups of campers ), and offered great shade with the trees. Sunset was absolutely amazing, and although no fires are allowed we had a very peaceful and amazing time. The entrance to the dirt road is 3 minutes away from the entrance to Bryce and after a long day of hiking, this campsite was the perfect refuge.

Reviewed Mar. 18, 2020

Closed to camping

Used to be a great spot but is now closed to all camping. Signs are posted all over the place.

Reviewed Sep. 22, 2018

Little Known Free Spot outside of Bryce NP

Upon entering Bryce National Park last year we discovered all of the campgrounds were full. We decided to ask a park ranger where else we could camp, he handed us a map (in the pictures) and sent us on our way. About 5-10 minutes outside of the park there is a series of dirt roads on the left hand side that offers free dispersed camping. Forest road 090 or 1173, the main road in the area is called The Great Western Trail.

The spots here are your typical dispersed camping, with no official marking for sites. No picnic tables or restrooms and there a no fire rings. We found a nice clearing with a rock fire ring already made. While driving down the dirt road we did see a few RV's and trailers, i would say you could comfortably take any vehicle down this way to spend a night camping. The road was fairly well maintained, a few bumps and holes along the way but nothing major. Id say all in all we drove about 10 or 15 minutes to find a camp spot.

The distance back to the National Park was about 10-15 minutes from our camp spot, well worth it to stay outside the park and save some money as well as have a nice quiet and private area. The directions we were given by the park ranger had us take an immediate left after the Bryce Canyon NP sign onto rd 090. We eventually found a spot about a mile or so down that area.

Note on the map, if you follow road 087 down towards the reservoir, the Park Service recommends this as the best place to view wildlife before dusk. Next time you are down in the area, try out these spots. You will not be disappointed.

Month of VisitMay
  • Review photo of Great Western Trail Dispersed by Anthony P., September 22, 2018
  • Review photo of Great Western Trail Dispersed by Anthony P., September 22, 2018
  • Review photo of Great Western Trail Dispersed by Anthony P., September 22, 2018
  • (5) View All

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the elevation of Great Western Trail Dispersed?

    Great Western Trail Dispersed is located at 7712 feet.

  • Are fires allowed at Great Western Trail Dispersed?

    Yes, according to campers on TheDyrt.com, fires are allowed at Great Western Trail Dispersed, although make sure to check current fire restrictions in the area.

  • Is there cell phone reception at Great Western Trail Dispersed?

    According to campers on TheDyrt.com, Verizon signal is good, AT&T is good, and T-Mobile is good.