Best Equestrian Camping near Duchesne, UT

This is one of the first campgrounds one comes across while heading north along Mirror Lake Hwy. Like some of the other campgrounds along the Hwy it is fairly close to the road and therefore traffic noise is an issue. There is a creek that runs between the campground and the road but it was such a slow flow it doesn't really do much to drown out the noise. The only positive to this slow moving stream is that beavers have taken up residence here and have created a pretty little beaver dam and pond! To get away from the noise of the Hwy one can take the nearby Shingle Creek TH to East Shingle Creek Lake or Big Elk Lake for some fishing. As with other campgrounds, water is not available due to the dry winter so bring all that you will need. To stay here you'll need to pay $18 a night for the campground and for the Mirror Lake Rec. Pass for $6 for 3 days and $12 for the week

Mirror lake is the most popular campground in all of the Uintas so the spots go super fast as soon as registration is opened! If you want solitude this is not the spot for you. I usually like to camp in the middle of nowhere, but this was a fun change. You have the lake right next to the campground where you can fish, canoe, or just chill lakeside. Then return to your tent for an afternoon nap. The nice thing about the Uintas is that it is always pleasant and cool. The views of bald Mountain from this lake is also awesome! Throw up a hammock on the shore and just chill all day long. The Uintas are also full of awesome hikes and millions of other lakes.

Camparea review:This area is located a little over 8 miles from the parking area. It is walk or horse ride in only. The hike is not to taxing and there are small streams that cross the trail a couple times if you need to stop and filter water. A few hundred yards from where the camp areas that have been cleared and set up there is ponds or a stream to filter water from. The sites are pretty established with fire pits already made. Finding wood is a lil bit harder so plan on hiking a bit to find some after you've established your camp. The sites are approxamately 12 miles from the summit of kings peak. There are no bathrooms and you must pack everything out so plan for that.

Product review:As a dyrt ranger I periodically receive gear to review. Here is a review of the Primus ETA Light. https://primus.us/products/eta-lite-black?variant=17262644741 Having to pack everything in and out this stove was an essential for cooking. It boiled water a lil over 1 minute after lighting. This was easy to light and easy to attach to the fuel bottle. As you can see in the picture my fellow hikers had a jet boil. So doing a side by side comparison my Primus boiled water faster with the same amount in it. The primus lid just sets in the cup but has straining option as the jet boil did not. Mine was a little smaler in size but never did I need to even fill it 3/4s of the way for my meals. So being smaller was an advantage as it cut out weight from my pack.My primus also had the ability to be hung up. The base of the "mug" can stay connected to the fuel and you can easily just untwist the mug if you wish to use it. The whole set up was so light weight though most of the time I just tipped the whole thing over into my dehydrated food bag and didnt have to disconnect anything. The mug keeps things hot but cools quickly once the contents are dumped out. Easy non stick cleaning.

We went for our first family vacation and we had a great time. My 3 year old son had such a blast exploring, bug hunting, star gazing and of course marshmallow toasting and just sitting around a big campfire. We went up over Labor Day weekend so it was chilly and we did get some rain but nothing that dampened our spirits. The fishing was good even though I only went one day due to crowds and considering how many people were near the lake it was actually quiet and we didn't get a lot of traffic through our campground. We camped in an ADA camp spot for my husband and even though it was close to the bathrooms, we never got that nasty pit toilet aroma that you tend to smell with pit toilets and the hosts kept it very clean! Our camp site was on the edge and we had a small cliff at the back of it so that was nice for added privacy, deterring bigger animals and my son loved exploring it. We can't wait to go back and visit again. Great area!

Campground Review:

This is our favorite drive-up campsite in the Uintas just because of the amount there is to do in the area! Nearby by is the namesake lake for not only the campground but the Highway as well. It is a gorgeous lake with views of both Bald Mountain to the west and Hayden peak to the northeast. Each year at least a thousand rainbow trout are stocked with numerous other trout including tiger and brook. We've had good luck fishing there with a classic bubble and fly and other lures like a Jake lure or a spinner.

As for the actual campground there are over 60 sites of which all of them will fill on a summer weekend so get there early!. If you are camping during the week, however, you can still find some solitude as the parties will be a little more spaced out but again no solitude like you can find backpacking only 1/2 mile from most trail heads. Each campground has a picnic table and fire ring, while some also have corrals for livestock. Vault toilets are interspersed throughout the campsites.

Some specifics about things to do in the area include hiking for a little bit on the Highline Trail at the east end of the campground. This trail spans the entire spine of the Uintas from west to east or vice versa. Which is uinique in itself because the Uintas are the tallest east west mountain range in the Lower 48. Most people that take the trail take the ridge line through to Kings Peak and out Painters Basin by Atwood Lake. Very close by is also a great climbing area known as the Cobrazone. It contains easy to intermediate trad and sport routes with an approach sport route that lands you on top of a large ledge, "The Cobrazone", which gets you access to the rest of the routes!

Product Review:

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, we occasionally to get products to test! While at Mirror Lake Campground we tested the Chicken Fried Rice freeze-dried meal by Mountain House from their 5-day emergency meal kit. We ate the meal off a point on the east side of the lake while fishing during one of our days there.

Chicken Fried Rice:

Pros:

• The chicken was very tender and surprisingly juicy in the meal and the amount and variety of vegetables was nice including: mushrooms, carrots, red peppers, and green peas.
• The convenience of being able to cook and eat from the same pouch makes cleaning up easy and enables you to bring just a stove and pot plus some fuel. In that regard it's great for backpacking trips at lower elevations.

Cons:

• We think this meal is best suited as a side dish to a heartier main entree. While it did taste very good, it was the repetitive texture that made us desire a little change up. If you're car camping this can easily be remedied by adding some fresh veggies or making it a easy to prepare side dish to a main entree.
• The only other complaints we had was that while the simplicity of the design cuts down on extra dishes we wish the packaging itself was also recyclable. Also if you plan on going on very high elevation trips eating beyond 12k' then we would recommend the pro-paks as they are vacuum sealed. You can also vacuum seal them yourself if you plan on serving in bowls on your backpacking trip. Just keep in mind that the pro-paks are smaller than the pouches.

As they have been in business since 1969 Mountain House definitely delivers a quality product and even if Fried Rice isn't your flavor, we're pretty sure you'll be able to find something you like, as long as you're a meat eater. Unfortunately there's not many vegetarian options

Chicken Fried Rice: 4/5 Tastes great, more of a side than entree

The camp sites are stacked on top of one another so if you're looking to get away from people, don't go to currant creek. Every other family around us cut through our camps day and night with no regard for our gear. We reserved two spots in loop A and they were TINY and not at all spaced out like the website made it appear. Multiple websites labeled this place as off-leash dog friendly, it's not. The camp hosts are very rude if you do have them off-leash so just be aware (even if they're well-behaved and laying at your feet). The only up-side is the bathrooms are decent. It's a long drive out for an over crowded campground. The fishing at currant creek reservoir was decent though.