Top 10+ 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.

It's easy to over look the gem of an area as it sits between the mega attractions of Bryce Canyon and Arches National Parks, but if you do you are depriving yourself of a real treat. This campsite nestles on the side of an inviting reservoir forming an oasis in the dry Escalante Staircase. The lake side pitches are cool and airy, the facilities are clean and modern (free wifi) and the camping fee entitles you to climb the hill behind the camp site and stumble into a jewel like land scape of a petrified forest where it is impossible to take a step without treading on what looks like rubies and sapphires. There's even a full sizes petrified tree laid out in the car park! Nearby there are waterfalls and petrographs and beavers' dams and fossil beds. It's just magic!

We booked a reservation with a small group and asked to be next to each other.  They accommodated that request.  The spaces were roomy and all of ours were pretty level.  The hookups on our sites were more to one end of the site and not so much in the middle of the site which was not a problem for any of us.  It seemed most sites had great shade trees in the area we were in.  There is a newer area towards the back that did not have the large trees but those sites had a nice little grass area at each site.  The in-ground fire pit is a nice feature.  Clean showers, restrooms, and laundry room.  A well-equipped store and a restaurant are within a short walking distance.  

Oh, Bryce Canyon is right next door!  

The office personnel gave us great information on trails for some 4Wheel drive adventures.  

Great stay!

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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We stayed at Crazy Horse for one night while visiting Zion. It’s located in the gorgeous little town of Kanab. We purchased a campsite just to park our van after a long day of hiking. The staff was so friendly in the front office, they made you feel like family! And their dogs are so cute. We were able to take unlimited hot showers included in our nightly stay, the bathrooms were so clean and felt like a rustic spa. The laundry was coin operated, attached to the office. We walked to Escobar’s Mexican restaurant right next door for dinner and omg it was amazing. Best salsa we’ve ever had. We heated up leftovers the next morning in the office microwave. The best part of it all was the incredible scenery surrounding this rv park, red rock mountains everywhere and hiking trails. Kanab is a special town with friendly people, great shopping and food. Visit the shop Gifts of the West, owner was super sweet and we bought some beautiful native items. This place is a gem!

Context: one night and heavy rainstorm immediately before arrival so this should be considered when reading my comments.

Positives: hot shower, bathrooms cleaned early and quite nice. Well-groomed sites with table, shade cloth, water +/- electricity. Camp host(when I located them) was very friendly.

Negatives: no indication who the host is. No responses to text messages sent to the contact number on their website. Was never given the WiFi password so of no value to us. I’ve heard it’s quick…

Suggestion to a better job communicating with upcoming guests - most AirBnB hosts we have dealt with are a good example of how to do it.