Whether you're an RVer or tent camper, Alta, UT is a great place to post up for the weekend—or longer. Alta is filled with the activities, sights, and experiences to make everyone in your crew a happy camper. Search nearby campsites and find top-rated spots from other campers.
"An amazing spot to drive to and spend the day or backpack in and spend a night or two. Be warned you will need a 4wd vehicle if trying to go up the road after a rain storm. "
"You can’t drive to the coordinates, you have to park at the uppermost parking lot for Silver Flat and hike up to a camping spot. Camping anywhere along that road will give you gorgeous views, though!"
"Red Pine Lake is located up Little Cottonwood Canyon, on the south side of the road."
"wonderful place to backpack up to during the week. can access 3 different beautiful lakes from this drainage and 2 beautiful peaks!"
"You can backpack in and camp anywhere a 1/2 mile from any road like the other nearby canyons. Good trails to approach from are Church fork and Lambs Canyon Trailhead."
"Millcreek Canyon is home to some wonderful trails that can be accessed by foot or bike. Although the canyon offers many hiking trails, the main use of the trails seems to be for trail running."
"It was just off the road and basically no privacy but I was just looking for a safe place to sleep and that’s what I got!"
"These campground spots are hidden within trees up the dirt road just past Silver Lake flats on the dirt road. The dirt road gets rough and rocky, but is driveable."
"great hike to the lake!"
"Several fire pits, large covered lighted pavillion with three rows of picnic tables. Large grassy field, two wooded areas, boarders a residential neighborhood, flushing toilets."
"Our family really likes dispersed camping near Mill hollow reservoir. It’s very peaceful and scenic!"
"Over Memorial Day weekend, my husband and I got away for a night and dispersed camp in the Unita National forest near the Mill Creek campground. "
$40 / night
ScoutGreat place for dispersed camping. Sometimes there are fire bans so pay attention to that. Be sure to practice leave no trace!
GuideAbsolutely awesome spot. Hosts were really friendly. Stayed in my pop up camper for a night and there was tons of space for pop up and our site (A1) was the best in the campground, I think. It was secluded with tons of trees. Not all sites had a lot of tree cover. It wasn’t right off the river but it was still only a 30 second walk to the river. There were fire bans in Utah but because of the type of fire set up on concrete and built in fire places, we were able to have a fire all night which was awesome. Also my buddy is a professional singer and brought his guitar so I’m impartial. We had such a great time!!
GuideNot much out here but you’ll likely see a hawk or a Golden Eagle. You will have to put up with crazy OHVers and drunk partiers in some spots but there are a lot of places to go with a few pit toilets spread about.
This is the desert and there is no water so come prepared. Please leave no trace and clean up after yourself.
LegendI really loved this campground! And I really love Diamond Fork Hotsprings! I can’t wait to visit again! We camped the Thursday after Labor bad and had the entire campground almost all to ourselves! On Labor Day weekend there wasn’t an empty campsite. Cost is $22 for a single site, $44 for a double.
We arrived to camp around 7:30 and pitched our tent then headed up the road a few more miles to the parking area for Diamond Fork (5th water) Hot Springs. I recommend visiting the Hotspring at night in the summer to escape the overwhelming crowds. There were only a handful of people at the springs during our evening visit. The trail to the springs is about 2.4 miles in.
We returned to camp around 1 AM and slept soundly in the still, quiet nature. You can hear the stream babble nearby. We slept in and as we were breaking down camp, Marc, the camp host stopped by to se how our visit was and if we needed anything. What a wonderful man! We chatted for quite a while about the area and he offered to give us a tour of the campground in his golf cart. This is a pretty leather campground! 3 separate loops. There are some hike in tent sites but they are set up for dual tents and are priced as such so they are $44 which is quite speedy for a pack in tent site. There is a well maintained nature trail the passes through the campground. There are educational kiosks along the trail. There are multiple restrooms throughout the campground. The 2 I used were very clean considering it was post holiday weekend.
Each campsite had a fire ring, grill, and a picnic table. Tent sites all offered nice level areas for pitching your tent. You can purchase fire wood from the camp host.
This is a great place and I can’t wait to return!
GuideWe were road tripping through with no reservations. The whole South Fork area has many campgrounds. Magpie is the first and one of the smaller of the campgrounds as you drive up the canyon. We drove through all the campgrounds and didn’t find any hosts to talk with to find out if we could occupy a spot. We thought it would be ok but weren’t sure if we could stay in a spot that had a weekend reservation posted. Plus there was simultaneously not very much shade and lots of overgrown vegetation that made tent camping not very feasible. All the sites with actual river frontage were occupied and most folks had campers. This was especially true at South Fork, Lower Meadows, Upper Meadows & Perception Park campgrounds. We finally found a host at Willows campground who explained the process but we didn’t see any sites we liked there. Magpie actually had some shaded sites so we headed back down there. We grabbed a spot that had no obvious river access but good shade right next to the host site. It was pretty overgrown but had enough of a flat spot to set up our tent and a big concrete pad for the picnic table and huge fire ring. Midweek it was only half full. Campground is literally mere feet from the road. Lots of road noise. Bathrooms were good enough. The host when he finally came around was very nice. The adjacent site was vacant (a double site that cost more $$) and we were able to get to the river there. We stayed two nights mid week and it never filled up but all the sites had weekend reservations. There isn’t a lot of hiking but if you like river recreation or we saw lots of paddle boarders headed up to the reservoir. We drove up Monte Cristo which was still closed for the season but probably would have been more our style. Birding was good around the campground probably due to the river. Again, road noise was annoying but expected. Also note that the forest service’s website was out of date as far as all the campgrounds in this area being open.
GuideSuch a beautiful site with site #7 the best access to the lake. Easy in and space to set up camp. Site included fire ring/pit and picnic table.
At nearly 10000 feet elevation, Temps were coll and air refreshing!
GuideThis campground is ok, would expect a little more since you have to pay $25. In a nice little suburban neighborhood. Spots are close together and not much privacy, our site was along the back fence. Each site had fire pit and picnic table. There are two bathrooms, no showers and no electricity. It looks like there are a couple water fill up spigots but not potable.
ScoutSite is pretty dirty, some have never heard of leave no trace . It is 7 pm and still extremely hot not much shade up here at this location
GuideDirt road is washboard hell, but you are rewarded when you arrive to a clean and quiet campground stay. Plenty of trees, flowers and wildlife including hummingbirds, deer, sandhill cranes, moose, beaver, chipmunks, squirrels and fish. Water is cold, but plenty deep for fishing, boating, canoes and paddle boards. Fishing was steady. Be prepared to pay to launch your boat and empty your tanks at the dump station.
This campground has reservation and first come first served sites. There is tent and trailer camping available. Loop B has group sites. There was no water available in the campground the last few times we were here. There are no hook ups-electric, water, sewer at this campground.
There are restrooms in each loop of the campground. There is a quiet time enforced from 10 PM to 6 AM. No generators after 10 PM.
Bring cash or check as they do not take credit cards on site.
We will camp here again.
Tent camping near Alta, Utah offers a stunning escape into nature, with a variety of campgrounds that cater to outdoor enthusiasts looking for adventure and tranquility.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Alta, UT?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Alta, UT is Silver Lake Backcountry with a 4.8-star rating from 8 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Alta, UT?
TheDyrt.com has all 26 tent camping locations near Alta, UT, with real photos and reviews from campers.
Keep Exploring
