Best Tent Camping near Duchesne, UT

Beautiful higher altitude camping. RV's and tent camping. No electricity or water hookups. No showers and pit toilets. Allow horses in the horse section of the campground. Lake you can canoe, kayak no motorized crafts allwed. Fishing and swimming in the lake. Nice hiking around the lake.

This campground, specifically, the tent only part is awe inspiring. You have the ability to camp super close to the lake and the pictures you can take are amazing. The bathrooms are quite spartan at the tent camping only site, but showers and flush toilets are available at the other side of the campground. Watch out for rocks going in, we got a flat.

We reserved site#2 for tent camping. There is not place to put a tent on that site that isn't on rocks. Also, we were swarmed by mosquitos the second we got out of the car. In the 2 minutes we were trying to figure out where to put a tent, we got bitten at least a dozen times. Site#2 wouldn't fit an RV either- terrible site. There are other huge sites and some really tiny sites. This is not a good campsite to pick a site without having been there. The photos do not tell the whole story. We drove back to Kamas to get cell coverage, called Recreation.gov and explained the issue with the site and they refunded our entire amount. There is no camp host in that campground to help. The bathrooms were ok at best.

This is a great place for a campsite. There is a really nice pavilion and really nice bathrooms with running water and showers. Close to the boat ramp and the views are incredible.  Really nice paths to get you to the beach and the boat ramp.

Lots of fish in the lake and craw fish. The water is refreshing to swim, water ski, paddle board or any water sport.

Lots of tent camping spots with great views, Group sites and lots of trailer camping with hook ups and water.

Lots of bathrooms with running water and also a few pit style outhouses. This campground can get busy in the summer months. They take reservations so that is your best option.

While camping lakeside to get away from the crowds of the developed campground may be a good idea in spring, the dry winter has left this beautiful area as more of a puddle than a lake/reservoir. I wandered around the lake and found quite a few good tent sites tucked among the trees, the only problem was that the water was 100-300' away in spots and some 50' in elevation lower. Maybe after this winter if it's heavy this will be a nice place to camp again, but until then I would head to Mirror Lake or Moosehorn if you want pristine mountain lake camping. Unlike the campground, if you really want to camp here it'll only cost you $6 for 3 days and $12 for the week with a Mirror Lake Hwy rec pass.

Nice basic campground just coming out of Heber City, UT on your way to Strawberry Reservoir. This is a fairly large campground with numerous sites. The group site parking was shallow. We could barely fit our 19 ft travel trailer and our truck. Outside of the group site it appears there are deeper sites that could accommodate a long fifth wheel. Parking space is wide enough to park another car next to trailer. There are a few tent sites as around the group site pavilion.

No hookups for RV’s. Dump station on site for $10 fee. RV spots are back in only. There is running water and flushable toilets on site; however, the water line was under repair and not turned on during our stay. It sounds like the repairs have been going on for a long time.

There is cellular service, but it’s a little slow. I have sprint carrier and had service.

Negatives: The campground is close a highway incline/decline which is frequented by Semi’s which bring lots of noise to the campground throughout the day and into the night.

Stinging Nettle: lots of stinging nettle located around group site B, so stay on the paths as much as possible.

Campground Review: Price Canyon Campground

I stayed at the Price Canyon campground on my way for a mountain biking weekend in Moab. This campground was at the top of Price Canyon but the access road was right off the highway. It is a single lane switchback road with the last quarter mile being easy dirt road so longer trailers may have a few challenges. It is a mixture of single and group sites all for the same price. There is a nature trail from the campsite (that is also accessible from the day use area) that takes you higher up the canyon. The hike was nice and I would recommend close toed shoes as the second half/ has a section that is pretty steep around large rocks/boulders, and loose dirt. I didn’t do the whole hike made it to the top of the ridge. There is also a picnic/overlook area not far from the campground that had great views of Price Canyon.

Pros:

• This campground was $8. Which is the cheapest campground I found (unless it was free dispersed).
• Tent sites were tucked back off the road and short walks from the parking spots which made them feel more private. You didn’t have to watch your neighbor the whole time. They are pretty standard with a metal fire ring and picnic table. My spot had a few options for tents but I used the larger (or more designated) one. There were sites for trailers/campers where the tables were closer to the parking spots.
• Typical Forest Service pit toilets that were clean and stocked.

Overall it was very peaceful and I will definitely be staying here again.

Cons:

• No water (or at least there was none when I visited). I visited in May and they hadn’t turned the pipes back on from being shut off for the winter freeze. So be prepared with your own water just in case.

*Lots of buzzing insects around. The bugs weren’t bad but you could hear the buzzing which was quite annoying.

• Tent sites are down short trails and not the flattest so if you have mobility issues it could be a challenge (but there were handicapped designated sites available).

Gear Review: Leatherman Signal Multi-tool

As a ranger for the Dyrt, I get the opportunity to test out gear from our partners once in a while. I have had the privilege of testing out the Leatherman Signal Multi-tool. First off, this tool is the bomb! It has 19 different functions and will pretty much be the go-to tool for camping or outdoor adventure. It is quite large so not ideal for light weight backpacking but great for car camping or any activity where you are not super concerned about weight. For the most part, it lives in the glove compartment of my car so I will always have it for quick use.

Pros:

• Super versatile tool. With 19 different functions/abilities the odds of you being able to complete your task with just this one tool is super high. It has all your basics: knife, saw, pliers, bottle opener and some not so basic: flit/Firestarter, sharpening file, whistle, screwdriver heads, hammer (as well as a boat load of other things)
• The blades are really easy to access and also lock into place so you don’t have to destroy your fingertips getting the out or putting them away. I can flip out and in the knife with one hand.
• It comes with a belt carry case. I probably won’t wear it on my belt but the case does protect it (and the other stuff) in my glove compartment from banging around too much.
• It has become my go to tool for camping and general use because it lives in my car and is easily accessible.

Cons:

• It is a multi-tool so it may not work for all situations. Sometimes it may be a little too big or awkward to use where a more specific tool is what is needed. It is good at a lot of things but not amazing at one or two.
• It is a little bit and heavy so may not be the best backpacking tool but that is a very limited negative.

Summary: The Signal is one of the best multi-tools I have ever had and just having it with me whenever I am exploring outdoors makes me feel more secure in case something happens.

Just a little further past Wolf Creek Campground, you can reach Duchesne Ridge where there are beautiful views, and free camping. There aren't formal camp sites here but there is plenty of space and excellent scenery. I went camping here for two weeks during the elk bow hunt and it was a fantastic time. It's a great place for hunting grouse too!

We stayed at the Mountain View campground. I was glad I had a back-in site around the edge of the loop. I loved the view. The pull through sites in the middle were super close together that left little room for slide outs and entry/exit from the trailers unless you were in the end. Each site has a pavilion and fire ring. They don’t allow tents on the grass, but a handful had a tent pad so make sure you check the site listing to determine if it will allow a tent. We had water hookups and access to 20/30/50 electricity. No sewer available in the site, but they do have a dump station. The campsite had a shower building and vault toilet locations around the loop. There were even 3-4 cabins that you could rent (they looked similar to those at a KOA I have seen before). We enjoyed our stay and the temperature was great. Could use more trees. The back in drive way was 60 ft in length.

Camped here with our tent while passing through on the way to TX. Peaceful and nice star views!

this campground has a lot to offer. I don’t think there is any bad spots, but the spots on the road side didn’t seam very flat, but most had at least a spot for a tent. no water, bathrooms and trash. there is a great hiking trail across the street and along camp site to pull off the side of the road and camp of you don’t want to camp in actually campground. spot 19 (I think) was my favorite but would only be good for tent, no trailer.

Very peaceful and far enough away from neighbors to feel privacy! Plenty of spaces to tent down.