Best Dispersed Camping near Bonanza, UT

McCoy Flats BLM is a mt bike focus recreation area with a network of excellent nonmotorizrd singletrack trails. Dispersed free camping allowed, and currently there are several nice vault toilets scattered along the main access paved road.

This camping area is at the third new vault toilet. Lots of room for large TTs. No trash dumpsters and no water, but cell signal is excellent 5g five bars. Only few miles from main hwy on an old paved pothole filled road. And then only 3 miles back into Vernal and a Walmart on this end of town, so logistics are very good.

https://www.blm.gov/visit/mccoy-flats-trailhead#

Overlander camping only recommended. This area is just outside of Dinosaur National Monument on the Blue Mt Road...leaves the NPS and crosses a small piece of State land and then a BLM sign notes you are on BLM. Flat area to camp at this border and more large flat spots behind on State lands also ( State land here allows 15d camping). HOWEVER, to get to this spot you have to enter the NPS Dinosaur National Monument and deal with an entrance fee, but if you are a Senior like me..it is free and you are good to come and go as you wish!. Note that on the NPS section of the Blue Mt Road they note " no trailers" not sure if that is enforced but could be an issue, however I have seen TTs camping on the State and BLM along this area. This dispersed is likely better suited to the van/ truck camper types. Once you leave the NPS the road goes from graded gravel to native surface dirt that could be an issue if wet. The cliffs on both sides of this dispersed camp area has glyphs but you have to work to find them! The Blue Mt Road then continues into a big scenic valley and then climbs steeply to the point of pines ridge area...would not go there unless you have a good overlander setup with good tires! Cell signal is good due to tower array in sight on top of blue mtn.

This dispersed camping area is called the " range study" site but there is no sign saying such. It is a very large open area along a dirt road FS #217 that runs down a flat open ridge toward the summit of this area. Sites are obvious and very large with lots of turn around space for large trailers. 16d limit and a sign warning about "Residential Camping" which seems to indicate this site is used by the locals to stash trailers for the season. Cell signal was very good for ATT, only extended network for Verizon and TMobile was nada. A single vault toilet is at the cattle guard close to the hwy. No dumpsters, water, tables, or metal fire rings.

Ranger Review: INNO INH120 2-Tray Bike Rack at the McCoy Flats Dispersed Camping

Campground Review: This type of camping is my jam…not crowded, primitive and scenic, and free. The only reason why it is getting 4-stars is because of the wind…not so much my jam. It did die down overnight but then it picked up again the next afternoon. McCoy Flats is located about 6 miles southwest of Vernal, UT and you stay here for the proximity to amazing mountain bike trails. This trail system boasts 46 miles and 15 trials for all skill levels. If you are a mountain biker, this area is not to be missed. The camping, therefore, is dispersed along the main road from the designated trailhead. The main road is paved then you can pull of and set up camp along any unpaved spur road. It is primitive camping…whatever you bring with you is what you have. When you are done, don’t be that guy, and pack out your trash. The area is wide open but is susceptible to wind, which makes this a great area for vans, RVs or trailers. But if there is no wind, tents are awesome. You are also in the high desert plain, so watch for snakes. Because you are within the trail system, you can set up camp close to a trail and not have to move your vehicle, which is nice. The other nice thing about this area is a forest service pit toilet at the trailhead. So if digging a cat hole is not your thing, there is a toilet accessible. Overall, this area is going to become one of our regular haunts not only for the scenery but the trails.

Gear Review: Since we were visiting McCoy Flats, I figured this would be the best time to test out the INNO INH 120 2-tray bike rack and as a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get the opportunity test out gear from their awesome partners from time to time.. The popularity of tray racks have grown over the past few years and this rack clearly demonstrates why. It was super easy to put together right out of the box. It fits both 2” and 1.25” hitches securely so you don’t have to purchase converters which extend the rack out further. It fit our two fatter tire bikes (3” tires) with ease and the grooved channel in the tray would easily fit the skinny road bikes as well. Plus, it can adjust to different size bikes (i.e. kid sizes). 

Sure, it can fit a lot of bikes, but how secure is it? One word…AMAZING! Each tray has two arms which secure over the tires so both the front and back tires are secured. The bikes have very little movement when loaded (any movement detected is normal from the rack in the hitch or due to the car hitting a bump) and the bikes don’t touch each other. This prevents any scratching or potential damage while in transport. The latching mechanisms are durable and easy to tighten/loosen, making loading and unloading super easy. We have had this rack on our car for the past week and due to the ease of use my husband has gone riding every day. When not in use, the rack folds up easily and sleekly (it does not stick out obnoxiously from the back of the car).

Three things I want to warn about. 1) If you are at risk of scraping your car when going over a bump or down a curb, you will definitely scratch with the hitch on. Higher clearance vehicles won’t have any issue, but a car may risk some loud scrapes. The hitch seems to be taking them well, though. One benefit is the trays are slightly tiered, so if you do scrape, you scrape the area where the rack goes into the hitch and not the trays. 2) Be sure to load and secure your bikes with fully pumped tires. While this may be a no-brainer for some, we caught this before heading home. As mentioned, it secures your bike by the tires, so if your tires are low, it may not be as secure. 3) While the rack is metal, it does have plastic coverings and the plastic covering the area between the hitch and the rack has already started to crack along seams. This may be due to the scrapes from bottoming out or perhaps it is designed to come apart as I can push it back together, but in any case it has no impact on the performance of the rack, so I am not too worried about it. 

Overall, the INNO INH 120 is an amazing bike rack and well worth the investment for anyone who is or wants to ability to easily pack up for a ride. I don’t think I will ever own a prong bike rack again.

This location as more camping spots available down CR16 past the GPS waypoint. The site at the waypoint has 2-3 more sites tucked back down the grassy double track you can see from the initial pull-off. Great views from any site, if windy.

This area is a BLM road that leaves the Dinosaur National Monument, so you need to pay NPS access or have a Senior pass to not pay. The dirt road is a sandy entrenched two track with a high center so high clearance is advised. Spots on top at right fork (.6 miles) are scenic views. Spots are few, small and are suited to truck camping, tent camping. No RVs or TTs would be able to access these sites safely....IMO

The BLM Dragon Trail rock art sites are along County Road #23 south out of Rangely Colo. No designated sites and most are best for overlander types. Camping opportunities start at the County road #100 access to the Shield site and then go south along County Road #23. Camping is possible at Shield site mp 5.6, Fremont Ridge site mp 9.7, Crooks Brand site mp 10.1 and Carrot Men site mp 11.6. Additional camping possibles to south to end of County road #23. Note that many side roads are deadend in .5+ miles to oil and gas pads so recon first. County Road #23 is a wide graded gravel road with dust abatement so no washboard and no dust. Look out for oil and gas trucks zipping up and down the road. At night area is very quiet but all bets are off on weekends as this area is also a designated OHV area. Cell signal is very good if you can see cell tower array on Big Ridge to east.

Really nice and quiet, we were all alone. Not sure how many spots are there. We found a spot that forks left from Harper's Corner road, and there was only one spot, but it was free.

I drove further down the road slightly over the utah border and it was silent and serene with beautiful views. All the spots available on this road were gorgeous.

This spot is for OHV parking. There’s a fire ring and we parked to the left of it so we didn’t interfere with parking. There’s 5 sites up the OHV trail that we saw. It was muddy so we weren’t comfortable towing our 19’ rig up the trail. We took our 4 runner up the trail and didn’t need 4wd. If dry, you could tow your small camper in if high clearance. There’s a bit of a rise to get from the road to the grass. Sites are perfect for tent camping.

Just randomly driving thru Colorado and run into Dinasaur and a peaceful off grid place to camp. No one around. No one else on the planet. Great place to stop.

Off CR16 easy to find. I just saw a couple of spots at the gps point. The view is beautiful and it’s quiet but windy. We’re the only ones here.

Not a lot of other campers, great views, right in the monument. (Must pay entrance fee or arrive after 5)

We didn't end up staying here because the fire pit was small, maybe six rocks. It's right on a ledge and you're barely off the road.

Not really enough space to feel comfortable with traffic coming through the monument.