Best Dispersed Camping near Bluff, UT

Recent Dispersed Reviews near Bluff, Utah

137 Reviews of 42 Bluff Campgrounds

• 

  Kelsey L.

  Ranger

  

  May. 31, 2018

  Muley Point — Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

  Dispersed camping with stunning views

  Free dispersed camping on BLM land. If you don't want to back track and are continuing south, the only road down is very steep and winding and you'll want to take it slow. Well maintained dirt road is the only way to get there. To get your vehicle closer to the edge for a better view may require 4WD vehicles.

• 

  Summer H.

  Guide

  

  Oct. 27, 2020

  Indian Creek Recreation Area

  The Best Dispersed Camping

  Indian Creek is awesome. It’s BLM dispersed camping about 2-3 miles from the Canyonlands Needles entrance. Dirt road in leads past Hamburger Rock Campground. Keep going and you’ll start seeing sites on the sides of the road. There are several pull thru and sites big enough for RVs. Lots of walk in and drive in tent camping sites. 

  You must camp where there is an established site evidenced by a fire ring. 

  This is no water, no toilet, primitive camping. You must pack out your own waste they do not allow it to be buried. 

  If you do not have four wheel drive be careful of the site you choose. The red sand is no joke and you will get stuck. It gets pretty busy from Thursday on but earlier in the week and day you have a lot to choose from. 

  An awesome primitive or boon-docking experience.

• 

  Granodiorite

  Scout

  

  Jul. 8, 2024

  Cannonball Mesa

  Peace and quiet

  Very remote area. Beautiful night sky. and peace. The entrance is a gate in a private land, drive about 1 mile to BLM land, mostly dirt roads.

• N

  N I.

  Legend

  

  Apr. 4, 2021

  Comb Wash Dispersed Camping Area

  Off Road

  We saw this BLM land on the way to the House of Fire trail came back and passed through to check it out. Flat area with some large trees very open area and since it was weekend there were several families with Atv’s. Very dusty when dry. There were tent campers and rv’s some fire rings. This campground would be about a quarter mile once you pass through The Comb off of 95 about 10 miles north of Blanding on the left. This would be great for group camping.

• 

  Mike E.

  Legend

  

  Jun. 17, 2023

  Valley of the Gods Dispersed Camping

  Boondocking Heaven

  BLM land. Plenty of open space. Gravel road with potholes. Difficult entry off the main highway immediately down a steep but short grade and across a creek bottom which may or may not be full of water. The creek bottom is hard pan so not as scary as it sounds unless of course there's rushing water or a flash flood which is rare. But once through that first obstacle, the road is not too bad at all. The views here are incredible. Not crowded at all. Just pick a spot with the view you like and make it home.

• S

  Sarah G.

  Traveler

  

  Nov. 27, 2020

  Valley of the Gods Dispersed Camping

  Absolutely gorgeous !

  We only stayed for one night, but we would’ve stayed much longer if it wasn’t so windy/cold. Definitely our fault for visiting in November. We want to come back at the end of summer. The views here were second to none. It was the quiet you would expect from a dispersed camping spot, perfect.

• 

  Matt T.

  Guide

  

  Apr. 16, 2021

  Valley of the Gods Dispersed Camping

  Valley of The Gods is amazing !

  Valley of The Gods is truly an amazing place. The dispersed camping is some of the best I’ve ever experienced. Every campsite is amazing. Do yourself a favor and spend at least one night in The Valley of The Gods if you're passing through Utah.

• J

  John H.

  Guide

  

  May. 10, 2021

  Valley of the Gods Dispersed Camping

  Awesome free camping

  Free camping in stunning location. Excellent biking.

• R

  Rebecca R.

  Scout

  

  Oct. 20, 2020

  Valley of the Gods Dispersed Camping

  Dispersed camping among the monuments

  Easily one of my favorite places to dispersed camp. 17 mile gravel road which my outback did fine on, just very bumpy. There are campsites everywhere, some just off the road and others have small roads going to them. Incredibly beautiful views camping in the shadow of monuments. It’s always the nice mix of occupied enough that you don’t feel like if something happens that you’re screwed, but with enough distance between campsites that it feels like you’re the only one out there. Also gorgeous views of the stars if the moon isn’t too bright.

• 

  Greg L.

  Legend

  

  Oct. 12, 2022

  Comb Wash Dispersed Camping Area

  This is not a developed CG

  This area is an informal dispersed camping areas. No signage noting this is an official campground. Large dispersed spots suitable for large TTs. Second dispersed camping pod in is best. Just after second camping pod area there is a steep wash dip that will restrict TYs and RVs. No toilets, no water no tables, no fire rings. No cell signal. Two track roads up and down Comb Wash away from the camping area are risky sandy so be prepared.

• J

  John A.

  Scout

  

  May. 19, 2022

  Valley of the Gods Dispersed Camping

  Valley of Gods

  Words can’t describe the beauty of this place, mid May was ideal . A bit windy this time of year but only in the mid to late afternoon. Out of a hundred dispersed camp sites there wasn’t one that was left trashed or dirty. Amazingly clean and easy to get to.. if there is one camping bucket list that needs a box it’s this one. A convince store just 8 miles up the road in Mexican Hat for basic supplies and a SteakHouse as well.

• 

  Charlene H.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 8, 2019

  Valley of the Gods Dispersed Camping

  Views for days

  Free primitive camping with amazing views. No facilities. Pack in and pack out. Plenty of spaces to chose from.

• 

  Greg L.

  Legend

  

  Sep. 24, 2021

  Dispersed Mexican Hat Camping

  Marginal camping area

  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!!

• D

  DJ

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 10, 2020

  Dispersed Mexican Hat Camping

  Amazing location

  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.

• E

  Ethan R.

  Traveler

  

  Oct. 10, 2024

  Mexican Hat Rock

  Incredibly Surprised

  Never in my life have I heard of Mexican Hat, let alone the rock it’s named after. Jeez this place was cool, the river was beautiful, the dispersed camping areas were great under the stars, and that dang Mexican Hat Rock juxtaposed to the unforgiving sea of desert just put a huge smile on my face.

• 

  Lea B.

  Guide

  

  Apr. 19, 2024

  Devil's Canyon Dispersed Site

  Great, well kept sites

  This park is fully paved with paved, well maintained dispersed camping. Reservatuons can be made online, which I'd suggest. The road up to the park is paved and well maintained. The sites are gorgeous with beautiful fire pits, metal picnic tables and a metal stand for a small grill. Plenty of sun for solar and gorgeous arid vegetation.

• 

  Marc H.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 8, 2020

  Dispersed Mexican Hat Camping

  Gorgeous site under the hat and along the river

  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!

• 

  Madison G.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 23, 2021

  Valley of the Gods Dispersed Camping

  Magical Experience

  Gorgeous views in every direction, and very quiet and peaceful. At night time the moon illuminates the rocks and it almost looks like another world. Best place to camp near blanding/Mexican hat. Will say the road was relatively rough and is not suitable for large rvs and maybe some RWD/low clearance vehicles. True dispersed camping so come prepared with everything you might need.

• 

  Greg L.

  Legend

  

  May. 7, 2024

  Monticello Lake

  Small lake dispersed camping

  Small lake (water supply?) close to hwy. Seems a network of vehicle tracks around the lake for dispersed camping. No signs present of any restrictions.. fishing? 8700 ft elevation, oak trees around the area. No picnic tables, no fire-rings, no dumpsters, no potable water.. however a single vault toilet is by hwy pull off is present.

  FS website has this info: The Monticello Lake Fishing Site is located next to Monticello Lake, a 5 acre lake located about 0.2 miles off FH 49 Loop/Harts Draw down Forest Road #114. The Department of Wildlife Resources of Utah (DWR) stocks this reservoir with Rainbow and Tiger Trout.

• 

  Greg L.

  Legend

  

  Sep. 24, 2024

  Pine Flat Dispersed Camping Area

  Pine Ridge Flat free dispersed

  Nice large area, lots of spur roads going to many dispersed camps. Roads have clay so some low spots can be mud holes after rains. Area is at 8850 elv, seems popular for hunting in the fall so be aware from Sept on. Vegetation is mostly oak brush and scattered pine trees and aspen. Cell signal on T-Mobile was almost useless for downloads. This area has a paved road all the way from Monticello, about 8 miles back to town. No toilets, no dumpsters and no water. Two developed FS CGs are close by but seems to have an aggressive approach to dispersed campers using the dumpsters.

• 

  Greg L.

  Legend

  

  Mar. 26, 2024

  Butler Wash Pay Station Dispersed Camping

  Butler Wash pay station

  Butler Wash day use hiking to ruins has a use fee. $5 day per person or $10 week per person. Dispersed camps are scattered all along this road to the north. No water, no trash, no toilets except the two porta-potties at the pay station. Cell signal is fair to no e depending on location. Road is native surface and would be muddy if saturated. Not recommended for TYs or large TVs, best suited for overlander types or short wb vans.

• 

  Anthony P.

  Legend

  

  Sep. 12, 2018

  Valley of the Gods Dispersed Camping

  quiet and scenic

  This is one of my favorite, lesser known camp spots and areas to explore. Valley of the Gods sits in southern Utah near Mexican Hat. The area is somewhat of a small Monument Valley. The views surrounding the campsites are of spires, towers and red rock cliffs. The best part? There are usually not many people here.

  The valley and camp spots can be reached via Valley of the Gods Rd which connects highway 163 and 261. The roads can be hard to find as you will probably drive right past them. Valley of the Gods Rd is all dirt and is about 17 miles long. The drive itself is very scenic, be aware during rainy season the road can get very flooded and low clearance cars will have a hard time.

  Camp spots are anywhere you want, most of them will be right off the road. Flat spots, pull offs and rock fire rings will tell you if someone has camped there before. The valley is overseen by BLM so there are no fees to camp, on the flip side of that, that means there are no toilets or any kinds of services. Some people prefer camp spots this way.

  I have seen small 2 wheel drive cars to large RV's and Trailers on this road ,but like i mentioned earlier, there are big dips here and there and the rains can flood them. Use caution upon entering the Valley. Overall, amazing spots with equal scenery.

• 

  Leah W.

  Legend

  

  May. 4, 2018

  Dispersed Mexican Hat Camping

  X Talker Extreme Duel Pack at Mexican Hat

  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/

  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.

• 

  Kelly H.

  Legend

  

  Nov. 3, 2022

  Valley of the Gods Dispersed Camping

  I want to do THIS again!

  Amazing. Everyone is spread out! We had no problem finding a great site mid day. Beautiful place from which to explore Valley of the gods, the Goosenecks and the Moki Dugway. 20 ft pick up wit 28 ft of trailer and we had no trouble. It was our first experience with true dispersed camping. We took it very easy and entered from the east entrance as others suggested. Drive the loop and I’m not sure how some of the trailers got to the places we saw them set up! Braver than us😳. A bit of Verizon service with a cell booster.

• 

  mike J.

  Scout

  

  Mar. 17, 2024

  Valley of the Gods Road Dispersed

  A peaceful weekend

  As a dispersed camping area, it's a wonderful location with beautiful vistas with radiant pastel colors splattered everywhere. The weather was perfect towards the end of October.

  The roads are rutted and although I see plenty of passenger cars back here, my 25 ft travel trailer pulled by my F150 did all it could to pull thru the ruts, hills and hollows. Don't go off the main road without dessert 4x4 capabilities. Spots filled up Friday thru the afternoon. I arrived around 12pm and luckily got a nice spot about a mile in as I did not want to pull my trailer any further in.

  Stayed all weekend!

• 

  Alex B.

  Scout

  

  Mar. 16, 2021

  Muley Point — Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

  Incredibly Epic Views

  Views: Incredible. Some of the best I’ve seen for a boondocking location.

  Cell Service: Verizon LTE with booster. Enough for consistent web browsing/working, not enough for consistent video calling (I.e. Zoom).

  Accessibility: We easily accessed in a 28 ft Class C motorhome. I HIGHLY recommend coming from the north part of 261 and not the south. We’re pretty “eh, let’s try it, why not” kind of people, but it was 10% grade, gravel, hair pin switchbacks. So glad we didn’t try that one. Coming from the north was super easy though.

  Privacy: Not much, but views were worth it! We got a spot off to the side that was more secluded than others.

• 

  Jeff V.

  Traveler

  

  Jan. 24, 2025

  Valley of the Gods Dispersed Camping

  Great Place, but bring water and firewood

  It's a breathtakingly beautiful spot with a fair amount of simple pull offs for camping.  Unless it's raining or just finished there won't be any water.  There is precious little vegetation as well, but a fair amount of rock outcroppings to block the wind, which howls come spring and is far more common than precipitation.

  Speaking of which, don't push your luck if it has rained recently, as the clay softens and becomes slick, packing around tires, and everything else.  Plus even if your vehicle can handle the soft soils you'll wreck the road for everyone once the deep ruts dry out and harden.

  Some sites have fire rings but that's the extent of facilities, although there might be a port-a-potty by the western entrance to the road, closer to the Moki Dugway.   Summers get hot, and I'd head up to Cedar Mesa if so. 

  There ample dispersed camping on Cedar Mesa, as well as plenty of scraps to get a fire going.  This is one of the greatest concentrations of smaller Ancestral Puebloan (formerly Anasazi, which is controversial and regarded as insulting by today's Pueblo tribes) villages, so there are a life time of ruins to explore.  

  Researching ahead of time will pay off, but both the BLM station by the Kane Gulch trailhead and the Natural Bridges National Monument visitor center have maps, guidebooks, and advice.  Please follow the regulations, as this is a sacred ancestral site for numerous indigenous peoples. 

  The Recapture Lodge at the east end of Bluff has decades worth of old maps to hidden sites for those who want a hotel (I recommend them highly, having visited off and on since the 1990s).  They'll give great advice if asked. 

  Both Natural Bridges and Hovenweap offer something precious in short supply across southern Utah, amazing and beautiful hiking, abundant ruins, and few visitors (this is the rare part).  Both are far more enjoyable than Arches or Zion, which are now overrun by tourists. 

  Valley of the Gods, Cedar Mesa, and the nearby national monuments (also Canyonlands, which isn't as packed as the other famous national parks) offer a chance to experience Utah's red rock country without standing shoulder to shoulder with other visitors.  That's getting increasingly difficult to find as the beauty of the region is well known by now. 

  p.s. Those wanting even more solitude should ask about the off site ruins managed by Hovenweap: you'll often have these to yourself.