Top 10+ Dispersed Free Camping near Cleveland, UT

This is down a little dirt road near the Ghost town remnants of Tucker, Utah. There is a cute little creek, plenty of places to pull into to camp, and lots of neat rock formations to observe. We stayed 2 nights, and after dusk, the noise was minimal. You can hear some traffic noise from the highway, but it's faint. Be sure to mind the signs posted for private property. It seems as though some people have left their trash behind, and it's very unfortunate because this is by far the best spot we found on this HWY near Spanish Fork. Pack in and pack out is a must as there are no amenities other than nature's amenities. I found a few fossils in my wandering of our site. Some spots by the creek have been washed out, and the ground seems to have given way, so be mindful of where you park. The spot we stayed in was the 3rd spot after the private property signs on the left-hand side. Be sure to scout the turn-off roads before attempting to drive down them. This is a sandy spot, and the ground is not the most sound due to water damage. Cool little spot to unwind and enjoy nature's surroundings.

    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.

First off do not pay attention to google directions as it will take you out of the way through a wash. There is quite an easy turn off right off of highway 70 (whether heading east or west, you can turn north off the highway). Once you turnoff of the highway there is a gate that may or may not be closed so once you go through leave it how you found it. 

Follow the very manageable dirt road and there will be multiple pull out areas to camp in. The closer to the highway the more busy it is so keep driving. We found a small pull out between the two trails that take you on hike to the Spirit Arches and Petroglyphs and the other up through the wash to the pictographs. 

The hike to the pictographs is much more interesting as you enter the narrow canyon. There are several spots that are reachable by RV, but further back you’ll need high clearance and possible 4x4. 

There is no camping allowed within the canyon. At the trailhead though there are a few large areas for camping but probably easier with higher clearance. There is no bathroom, trash or water so pack in and pack out even that which you have already digested.;) 

No cell service from ATT, Verizon or TMobile, but was able to get a bar or two on Verizon with the cell booster.  Oddly we did have cell reception on the hike within the canyon.

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.

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.

San Rafael Swell is a large area full of dirt roads, trails, and camping and Lone Warrior Canyon Camp is one of many great locations. This specific location has more space than it seems at first. There are campsites and pull offs in the trees and in the alcoves of the rock. Given that there weren’t any reviews for this spot yet, I expected to be the only one there. It is 12 miles down a dirt road that intersects many other dirt roads. However, there must have been an event of some sort because it was packed. Even so, I still had my own space and wasn’t crowded.

Camping There are a ton of pull offs. Most are side roads like driveways to areas that have a lot of space. One area had 3 campers over 30’ each and several trucks and ATVs - a lot of the areas are like that. So you can come out and set up a city, basically, which would be admittedly awesome. It is a bit crowded (I stayed mid-April on a Wed-Thu) but there is enough space to spread out. I would have stopped earlier but I wanted to come to the exact point listed here to give a good idea of what you’d find if you followed those coordinates. It’s deceptively remote. There are sections of the road/trail that are maybe 400m from I-70 but there is “no access” from the dirt roads to the interstate. Not legal ones anyway. So it’s about 12 miles to this campsite on the dirt road then when you get to I-70, it’s about 45 miles to the next town and it isn’t a big one. Thus it may feel like you’re right there in site of civilization, but you aren’t. Civilization may come to you, though. I chose to just pull off on the side of an unused loop of trail because all the alcoves and treed areas around this location were packed with tents, trailers, and vehicles. Those big adventure tents - one even had a 20’ flag pole. I think it was a waypoint for a trip, I don’t know if this is the norm.

The Approach and Ace Test I used exit 131 Temple Rock/Sinbad Rd which go well together, it would seem. Pavement gives way to gravel gives way to sand at the very end. It is mostly dirt/gravel road and definitely passes the Ace test (for those who don’t know, Ace was my VW Jetta (2wd sedan) that I often took overland). There are some blind hills and a lot of cattle so don’t be mislead by the easy road and fly down it. Speed limit is posted 25 and I’d stick to that. If you follow the coordinates on here, the last probably 400m is deep sand and I would not attempt that unless you have clearance. You may not need 4x4, but definitely clearance. NOT Ace friendly. There is a good parking space at the turn before the final approach, so you could park there and walk the last bit and set up camp in the trees. That would be better for the wind and sand anyway. If it’s raining, then I’d stay away from this area - at least this last 400m stretch - without 4x4 and a friend to pull you out with their vehicle or get covered in mud helping push and dig. Makes for a good story either way.

Activities Hiking is great around this iconic rock. Not hard to get to, as I’ve mentioned, but it’s a process. The people you meet on the rock and have earned the right to share with you so no huffing that it’s crowded or that you’re “in their space.” Y’all know who I’m talking about. So, there must have been a convention because in the space under the rock and the alcove next to it were more than 20 4x4 vehicles. I saw some markers on the way in so it might be this was a waypoint for over landing. Which is awesome. Just caught me off guard as there weren’t any reviews for this spot and it’s pretty full today. Other than hiking, it’s great for photography. Spires and rock formations everywhere.

Weather Mid-April the weather was good. 75 during the day and about 55 at night. It was pretty gusty when I was there which would have been great except that the sand all around the camp is what we call “moon dust” which puffs out and up to your knees just walking through it let alone gusts of wind throwing it around. If you don’t have dust in your car/gear yet, you will - and there’s nothing you can do about. So embrace it and enjoy the extra texture in your food and exfoliating effect on your skin.

Cell service Said I had 1 bar Verizon LTE but could not send iMessages. Can’t access anything so make sure you do your research before you come because you can’t do it out here. I have a Garmin I use to text - mainly for updates on campsite coordinates to my safety people as well as emergency stuff. Water No water, creek dry

The sites closest to the little creek have the most shade. There’s only 4 though that are right on the creek and along the first mile or so of skyline. Good shade and soft ground. The creek was low flow when we were there but still had the great sound of a bigger creek. Not sure creekside would be a wise choice during heavy rains as the bank is not very high along the camp spots. Further up the road gets away from the creek and the banks are much higher. Not much shade and more open. Nobody was camped there in a Thursday in late Afternoon August, Fire scars are still pretty obvious but there’s still enough vegetation to be enjoyed. albeit with the constant reminder of why it’s necessary to maybe opt out of a campfire or at least be overly conscious when dry and windy, as well as making sure your fire is completely doused and cold. Leaving just one hot cinder behind can wreck havoc. There is a tempting spot that encroaches on private property. Best to stay away from that. Beyond the open shade less spots there are a few more spots with trees about 5 miles down on skyline drive. We were just scouting after camping the night with our pull behind trailer.