Best Glamping near Big Water, UT

So, take Ruby's with a grain of salt. It's historic, big, and tourist-y. We camped in the tipi (most tipis are ON the highway, so request tipi 10) that was by the lake. The tipi is probably the only secluded camping available. It was fun and pretty comfortable. It was cool at night in June, unlike all the other places we have camped in Utah. Sadly, there are so many lights at Ruby's, you can't see the stars. But, the atmosphere at Ruby's is more like being at an attraction than being outside in nature. Bathrooms are too small and there aren't enough of them to support the campground. There are shuttles to Bryce Canyon park available from Ruby's. There are shops, groceries, and anything you need at Ruby's. If you're used to nice mountain bikes, do t get your hopes up with the rentals. They are in bad shape. Also, there really are not mountain bike trails in the area. Even mountain trails that allow bikes are really horse trails and terrible to ride.

We had a great view from our camp spot and there were nice trails leading out of the park. The staff were very helpful to us, especially as newbies in camping. The internet worked well the first day but not the second, we should have paid the extra fee. Cell reception for us was poor throughout this area.

The park was a conveniently located between Bryce and Escalante. We spent.most of our time in Escalante. We discovered a cool coffee shop at what appeared to be a lookout, it was built into the side of the hill. There is.so much to see in this part of Utah, this LOA makes a great basecamp.

Best reason to love this campground: they have a shuttle that picks you up from the campground and takes you into Bryce Canyon National Park. You don't have to worry about driving in the NP, parking your car, etc. It's a great shuttle service that we used and would highly recommend. 

As for the campsite: it was our last stop of our Utah Mighty 5 adventure and we were t-i-r-e-d. Luckily, this place made our last night enjoyable and was a great stop. 

Nothing particularly exciting about this, although I'll add that they do have a swimming pool which was nice to use to cool off after our hike. It was fairly crowded, as were the bathrooms and those amenities. 

Our site was mostly dirt and slightly angled, which wasn't the best for tent camping, but we made it work.

Important to note: it gets COLD in this area, even in the summertime, so prepare accordingly.

Campground Review

Ruby’s Inn RV Park and Campground Definitely the closest campground outside of Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah with all the amenities (absolutely positively everything) and even a buffet and restaurant within walking distance. We visited Bryce Canyon in the off season and it was still super crowded but worth the views and experience! I would highly recommend making reservations well in advance and planning your trip accordingly in the summer. You can catch the bus right outside the campground that takes you straight into The National Park so you don’t have to stress about parking (big hassle trust me). We really enjoyed this campground and would definitely stay here again!

Product Review

As a Ranger for the https://thedyrt.com/, occasionally I have the great opportunity to test and review products. At this Campground we had the pleasure of being introduced to https://morselspork.com/ and Wow.. was my first reaction! This XL Morsel is going to be a game changer.. Let’s get down and Dirty and talk sporks!

It’s length alone is the first noticeable upgrade in comparison to generic double sided utensils as seen in my pictures. Standing tall at 10.5 inches the XL Morsel will give you the ability to scrape, scour and reach deep into a dehydrated meal pouch without getting your hands a sticky mess

 The second thing I personally noticed out of the box was its giant rubber sided spoon, perfect for scooping and teething according to our little. The spork itself seems extremely durable and also able to withstand boiling water temperatures. Not to mention dishwasher safe. The serrated cutting edge is also a worthy mention! It sliced and Avocado great! 

Overall We loved it and we would love to tell the world this this spork has everything the others don't but that’s obvious from the picture comparison. I wish I had an action shot of lunch but I know there will be more chances because  I’ll never leave for an adventure without the https://morselspork.com/ XL again! Even ordered the mini for our “minis” to test on the next stop!

The property is exclusive and off the grid. Don't forget to look up at the night sky, beautiful star lite.

We've camped here several times during the spring, summer and fall in our 26 foot toyhauler.  Gets pretty hot in the heat of the summer but great in the shoulder seasons.  Dirt access road that can get impassable when it rains (and believe them when they say impassable!).  Not a lot of dispersed camp sites, maybe 6 or 7 in this immediate area.. if you drive down the road toward Lake Powell (Highway 389).. there are more places to camp, but the road can get washed out or blocked by falling rocks along the way, so be prepared to turn around and head back towards Cannonville.

We love this area and would come again. We loved the forest feel and the trail riding as we typically come with ATVs. There is a gas station 5 minutes from the site

Great dispersed sites if you get about 1/2 -1 mi from 89a. The pines offer shade. Great cell service for some weird reason (verizon 4 bars?!) 80F summer temps are wonderful with the breeze and shade. Peaceful.

Located close to Bryce Canyon ad Kodachrome State Park. New facilities. Overall great atmosphere!

Beautiful Bryce Canyon NP is a short drive away but coming back to the peace and comfort of this KOA is well worth it. The campground hosts and staff were friendly and knowledgeable and suggested visits to other areas nearby. We actually extended our time here--mid AprIl 2018. They were so helpful accommodating. Four stars (the public restrooms/shower were quite a way from our RV campsite. Not a real problem for us though).

This campground was well kept and the employees were great. The community kitchen, restrooms, and showers were close enough to the sight to be convenient, but far enough away to not wake you up at night with people walking by. The tent sights in the upper portion are on different levels from neighboring sites, so you are separated from your neighbors, but they are close enough if camping with a large group. The upper tent sights have no trees around them, so you get a great view of the stars on a clear night, and you can watch the sun rise and set on the cliffs, but if you look to the left of the cliffs, you get a great view of an industrial-type area. Because there are no trees around the upper sites (and it's nearly impossible to drive a tent stake into the ground), windy nights can get really crazy. I had weighted the corners of my tent with everything I could (camp chairs, suitcase, even some rocks), but the tent still blew around and collapsed on me. Overall a great campground with KOA standards, I just have an old tent and some bad luck.

We really enjoyed this campground after a few days travel. Well maintained and very helpful staff. The only downfall I would say was price. We had a gorgeous view though.

First off, centrally located between Bryce Canyon & Escalante/Kodachrome Basin. Top that off with o e of the cleanest campgrounds and not too crowded. Full hookup with dumpsite. Clean hot showers/bathrooms. Nice on site store with RV needs. Gravel not dusty. Trees for shade.

Breathtaking red rock canyon views all around you!

Golf carts to use for back trails so cheap!!

Great store host and Maintinence couple will make you feel like family!

Such a well-maintained, comfortable, clean, campground!

We came down early in the season, so it was still a little cold, which ended up freezing our fresh water hose (my fault!), but it is such a beautiful location to camp in!

And the staff....HOLY COW!! So friendly! So helpful! I ended up blowing out the hot water faucet on my outdoor kitchen, and they were nice enough to bring me some teflon tape to put on the new fittings to avoid leaks. 

Just all around a great place!! We'll DEFINITELY be back!

We stayed a couple of nights while hiking in the area. Reasonable sized RV sites width wise. Pull through sites would not be long enough for a one night stay where we want leave truck hitched to 32’ trailer. Clean campground and restrooms.

We stayed in a cabin with four twin beds (two bunk beds) and one queen bed. It was a small two room cabin but it was quite cozy and cute. The bathroom were a bit of a walk from the cabins which was not ideal but they also had a basketball court that we played around on and had a good time.
It’s a bit dry a barren at the campsite but otherwise a nice place to stop.

This was our second stay. We like the terraced pull through full hookup RV sites in the upper back part of the park. Privacy hedges planted between each site in the upper section. Beautiful hills, scenery. 15-20 minutes from Bryce, without the circus of "Ruby's tourist traps" right outside of the park. Really nice management. Quiet. Convenient kitchen wash area, showers, laundry in a satellite convenience station for the upper campsites. Cabins and tent sites available as well. Gas, restaurants and groceries available in the adjacent township of Tropic.

Very nice KOA with pool and laundry facilities - clean and well maintained. Little country store has all that you need.

Nice KOA with great camp sites. Beautiful panoramic Mountain views. Nice place to bring the family. Campfires highlight the interesting landscape. The sunrise on the mountainside was absolutely beautiful! The colors were amazing! We camped in a tent site, but there are RV and cabin sites available as well. There’s a little convenience store where wood is available. Very clean and lovely place!

nice park..clean restrooms, conveniently located to visit Bryce canyon NP and Kodachrome state park...pull thru sites, level. camp fire pits available but VERY close to our rig. no obstructions for tip outs and ample room to park our jeep.

The spots were great with River rock and hook ups, and the staff was great. Bathrooms, showers and dish cleaning areas were close by. Short drive to Bryce.

Thankfully it was the slow season or I’m not sure how I would have been possible to back our trailer into the back in/pull in site. They are definitely designed for rvs and not trailers so plan for a pull through if you’re towing.

Wi-Fi signal was non existent in the back section of this campground but we didn’t come to be on our phone. Bathrooms do the job but could use a renovation.

This is backcountry camping and is a great way to get away from the crowds. It is away from the Hoodoos but you follow the rim and there are some amazing views you won't get by staying in the popular areas.

Awesome place, friendly staff. Nice pool, amenities. Basketball court. Very Close to Bryce Canyon.

My wife and I are digital nomads, we run our company where ever we go so it's CRUCIAL that we have comfort items, but most importantly that we have **solid internet. **

We travel with 3 kids (ages 5, 3 & 3), 3 dogs, a cat, and a grandma in our 31' Travel Lite, Evoke Model B with the hopes of a road school education for them. EmpoweringHumansAdventures.com

We booked a deluxe premium site (site 16) and were very pleased with the room, the patio, the fire pit, grill, and nice table.  The parking was gravel and not flat, we had to level up.  Had access to 50 and 30 amp, sewer, and water.  Make sure you use a pressure monitor as the pressure was strong.  They offered firewood for sale and our fire pit was very nice.

We were close to the clubhouse which had coffee daily for a charge. ($1.30)  The store had the basics and all but one of the staff was extremely kind to us. If you need more you could walk to Sinclair and get more items.

They were very specific about dogs being leashed all the time, which we fully agree with.  As a former Marine K9 handler, it's normally not the dog that is the problem, it's the handler.  The dog area is very close to site 16.

The basic internet was blah, we upgraded to the faster speeds for $5.23 a day and it was well worth it.  We were able to stream tv for the kids, work on the laptops and do live video conferencing.  Support was very quick to respond when I asked for speed but they weren't able to give me more, but again it was good enough to get work done, stream and do video conferencing.  

Cell coverage was ZERO for Sprint, and have to drive a ½ mile before getting coverage.

Overall the campground was pretty quiet, we are pretty close to the highway so you did have some large/loud trucks that drove by.

There are showers (very small) but the water pressure was great and the water was hot.  Bathrooms are always clean and the laundry was just fine.

We shot a few videos to share our experience and will stay here again.  

Mossy Cave was very close and we highly suggest the short hike back to the waterfall.  A little further is the petrefried forest which was also nice.

You can zip over to Bryce Canyon National park ($38 entry fee) for the day.  It's well worth it and there's a ice cream shop just before you go into the park that I recommend.

Things we loved:

• The deluxe Premium site is great if you have small kids.

• Internet was solid and gave us what we needed

• This campground was extremely clean

No so much:

• No cell service

• Feels very old

• Road noise

Hope this review helps, we hope to see you on the road!

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