Best Dispersed Camping near Castle Dale, UT

We grabbed a dispersed site near the east Goldwater rim trailhead. Excellent pit toilets at the three trailheads. Bring plenty of water as there is none available. The views are unbelievable. Road in from Castle Dale is very smooth, graded and oiled, until the last two miles. The nice road continues to the west rim.

After two days of camping and biking here we took Buckhorn Draw Road down to I-70 and then Temple Mountain to Goblin Valley. Very scenic drive. National Park quality stuff.

    This BLM campground now has designated campsites, a picnic table, large deep fire rings, pit toilets and no trash service. Also no water.  The actual site now in October is 

somewhat overgrown with tumble weeds. Ground is very rocky but there are quite a few tents pitched.  

     Views are 7 on a 10 scale.

     Camp fee is now $15 per night. We used a senior pass and paid $7.50

      There also appears to be true dispersed camping on BLM land just to the NE of this organized camp and more about a quarter mile south on a dirt road.  There don’t appear to be any picnic tables, fire rings or toilets.

This is a cool wilderness area. It is state land in between BLM land.  This is an area between the Temple Mt. Campground East and the Temple Mt Campground a few miles NW. We reconned up and down Temple Mt rd. and the campgrounds. The dispersed camping seemed to be the best option for us. The two CG's in the area do have pit toilets but that seems to be the only plus. The East CG is super open and seemed like a staging area. The other CG had some ruins but was also open with no cover. We found a little space on the northeast side of the road back in a canyon that was nice. Only bad thing were the gnats. Last part of May and early part of June apparently is a bad time for gnats in the Utah desert.  

There are quite a few spots on either side of the road that are kind of established with fire rings made from rock that people have put together. You can scramble over the rocks and hike through the washes. Some attractions near by are the pictograph panel, Temple Mt. ,Wild Horse Window, and Goblin Valley SP. There are also antelope in the area. This is a good place to stage out of if you can't get a spot in the Goblin Valley CG.  Remember there is no trash bins so pack it in and pack it out. Bury your poop.

Dispersed BLM good for boondocking one night while traveling. Small Class C, just watch your approach.

Wide open area south of Freeway exit 99, Miller Canyon Road. Going to the south the pavement ends and you are in a grey moonscape BLM land. Bentonite clay likely so do not be here if wet or rain in forecast. This primitive road goes for miles to the south into the north end of Capitol Reef Nat park, overlander types only!. Amazing that on the ridge to north is a nice cell tower, so couple bars LTE on ATT and TMobile, but not Verizon. Great spot if dry for a overnite stop.

Follow the signs to “The Wedge”. After you get to the lookout area, there are plenty of dispersed camping spaces with fire rings along the edge of the the canyon, and more inland. Amazing views. We arrived later in the day and managed to find a camping spot easily.

Dispersed camp spots, some REALLY primo ones on edge of canyon with dramatic views. Juniper trees create some privacy between spots. Pit toilets are new and nice. No water or tables. Many built up stone fire rings.

This area is accessed by 4 double track dirt roads on right as you pass the new but uncompleted sign for the expanded Goblin Valley St Park. This area used to be BLM dispersed camping but was made part of goblin a year or so ago. Goblin still allows free dispersed on these sites as of 9.2023 but that could change in future? These two track roads go to the trailhead signs for Wildhorse Window and Wildhorse Canyon hikes. Nice level sites with good views but no shade and exposed to winds. Cell signal is dependent on line of sight to Hanksville cell tower. Goblin entrance station has wifi and a water stand pipe they let dispersed campers use. No garbage dumpsters unless you pay to access goblin park at $20 vehicle.

There is also more free dispersed past the Goblin entrance station going out to Little Wildhorse slot canyon, but those areas have longer very rough access roads to get to camp sites and would likely be a problem with loose sand in spots or mud if wet. Plus no cell since on lee side of big Mesa feature.

Note the two BLM developed fee CGs on Temple wash do not have water or trash.
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There are three (3) signed areas designated as Goblin Valley St Park dispersed camping area. This is the first one you see on left heading to little Wildhorse TH. Roads seem very rough, some deep sand and could be muddy if wet?, but RVs and TTs seem to get out there. No services, no cell signal. This area used to be BLM but seems Goblin Valley St Park has gobbled it up. See pic of map I got at visitors center (red sections added). Goblin Valley St Park charges $20 per vehicle just to do a day pass. $45-$65 for camping,!! use the free dispersed or the BLM CGs close by.

To get to this BLM dispersed camping area you just take the "Rest Area" exit from Highway 6 onto Horse Canyon Road. The area we found to camp was about a mile or so down the road on the right side. It's a huge area so plenty of space to dispersed camp and a few fire rings around to use when there are no fire bans. There was no one anywhere near us. Beautiful views for as far as you can see and we had a perfectly clear night. We were lucky enough to be there during the beginning of a meteor shower and saw a few fly across the sky.

We have used this dispersed camp area several times off of I-70 on several occasions. Easy access whither you're traveling east or west bound. If east bound you'll have to cross over the medium which is allowed and enter the area through a BLM gate. It's always closed to keep cows off the freeway so please close it. The area has several places to disperse camp. If you follow the road it will take you to the east entrance of the Black Dragon. I once got a cell call in the canyon that surprised us as there's little cell coverage. In the Black Dragon you'll find a lot of Indian Petroglyphs. It's pretty easy hike to them or a high clearance vehicle. The San Rafael is quite interesting. The rest areas just west of the dispersed camping has a lot info about the area.

A short road goes up to a small circle bordered by boulders. This knob functions more as a cell "phonebooth" more than dispersed camping. The primitive two track road goes past boulders along the open low ridge for possible better overland dispersed camping.

Really enjoy staying here. Free camping and plenty of activities to do in the area. 

Climbing (Bouldering) 

Site seeing (Not far from The Wedge)

Beautiful area

It costs $35 to camp in the State Park or $20 entrance fee, but there are so many dispersed spots in the BLM area right outside the state park boundaries. 

Before you turn onto the road to take you to the state park there are several wide open flat areas to stay in. This area is pretty busy with boondockers but we found a secluded spot 1/2 mile from the Wild Horse trail head at 38.5815894,-110.7954139. There are several spots that are reachable by RV, but further back you’ll need high clearance and possible 4x4. 

The dirt roads off the main road close to the state park are very rutted and washed out. The roads were doable in our 26’ class C but not really worth it when there are so many other easier options. 

There is no water here and no trash service so pack in and pack out including your digested food.:) 

There are pit toilets at the Wild Horse Trailhead, and there appeared to be some overnight campers at the trailhead as well. 

No cell service from any carrier, and our cell booster did not help.

Dispersed camped here because goblin valley sp was full. Very quiet other than someone running their generator. Kinda far from route 24.

This is one of the two dispersed camping areas associated with the mountain bike trail that goes around the rim of the little Grand Canyon. There's a centralized pit toilet that you might have to drive a mile or two and there are a number of dispersed sites in addition to the official numbered sites.

Numerous dispersed camping sites along the road to “The Wedge Overlook.” Pit toilet at the beginning of the road and fire pits at the sites. Visited in mid-April and saw very few other campers. Will definitely come back.

No water available, Restroom is Vault toilet

Directions:

The Black Flat CUA Dispersed camping area is approximately 27.4 miles northeast of Loa. Head north on N Main St toward W 100 N St 0.6 miles. Turn right onto UT-72 N/E 500 N and stay on UT-72 N 9.6 miles. Turn right (east) onto FR015 for 5.6 miles. Turn left (west) on FR43F for 0.5 miles.

Take your fly rod, always remember to pinch your barbs. This includes meat-casters unless you are fishing to eat. 

Not crowded at all.

We set up at the first site on the left as you enter and it is a nice one for a short term visit. The only draw-back is that it is close to a dirt parking lot that OHV owners use. It is the fourth of July weekend though, so probably heavier than usual traffic. We drove our towed vehicle further down the road and discovered that you enter the Manti-Lasal National Forest in about a mile. If you continue for another 3 or 4 miles you will climb up into some absolutely gorgeous groves of Aspen trees. Although we did not see any Motorhomes up there, there were multiple campsites and several were taken by folks that had towed their 35-45 foot fifth wheels up there. I believe my 29 foot Four Winds could have made the drive without issues, although we did not try it.