Top 10+ RV Parks near Emery, UT

We drove through all 3 loops of this campground on a Saturday, and every single site was marked as “reserved.” Luckily we checked with the host, just in case, and they had several spots available! Not sure why they mark the free sites as reserved. 

There are flush toilets (as well as vault toilets), no showers, potable water and a dump station. There are trash bins and recycling (aluminum and plastic only, no glass). Generator hours are limited to 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening, which is nice, but boy do all the generators get fired up right on cue when it’s time. 

This campground is within walking distance to several trails, the pie and gift shop, the schoolhouse and petroglyphs along hwy 24, and the visitor center is about a mile away. 

Deer trot right on through the campground, and the surrounding orchards are open for picking at harvest time. There’s no cell service anywhere in this area but the visitor center has free wifi.

First of all staff is amazing, so friendly and consistent maintenance routines (not annoying though).

Sites are all gravel with a little grass patch, pull through sites could fit two side by side. All sites seemed to have a table and fire ring. The views on the north and east were stunning, North was all back in and East had some pull through spots, aim for these if you can. They also have tent and cabin sites available.

Facilities were very clean. Office/general store was nice, all the basics; food, ice, wood and souvenirs. Pool is small but well kept. There is a large park area in the center with a playground and volleyball court. Super kid friendly. Bathroom/shower were very clean, a little reminiscent of my scouting days though having plywood doors and gate hinges, does the job though.

Only bad things I can say is that it’s not walking distance to town and no adult beverages sold. Plan ahead and that should not be a problem.

I will definitely stay here again given the chance.

We stayed here just short of a week in late March to visit the park. There are plenty of larger spots for big rigs, and some smaller spots that would fit camper vans etc. Sites seemed generally level, but there was some broken glass along the sides of some of the roads.

We camped on the edge of the canyon rim and had beautiful views looking down into Capitol Reef and the mountain range on the other side. Cell service with both ATT and Verizon was very good here. I was able to work and stream content without any issues.

There was one day that was VERY windy here. It was windy in the whole area, but especially on the canyon rim. I would definitely stay here again though!

Goblin Valley State park is located on off of Hwy 24 between Hanksville and Green River UT, This is a 24 site campground inside the park. There are 14 Vehicle / RV sites and 10 tent only. There are also two yurts to rent.  The campground is in good condition, Each site has a paved parking spot, four are pull through ADA spots for bigger RV's. There are fire pits, picnic tables, and tent pads at each site. There are also sunshade structures at each site. Note: be careful when you pick a site online, a few structures face into the afternoon sun, we chose poorly, we had to put up a tarp for shade.  There are flush toilets and showers located in the one restroom. There is also a pit toilets up near the yurts The park is super family friendly and there are a lot of areas to explore. So the CG will have a good amount of families and kids. That didn't bother us, we enjoyed seeing all the kids explore the goblins and rock formations near the CG. There is a big group site too which looks to cost $100 on the reservation site. There is a dump staion and trash dumpsters located across from the rest room. There are potable water spigots located throughout the CG.

The CG gives direct access to the Curtis Bench Trail and the Entrada Canyon trail. You can hike and Mt. Bike right from the CG to all areas of the park. Some notable hikes are the Three Sister, Carmel Canyon, and Goblins Lair, which is actually the Mollys Castle overlook trail.

General: This is likely the most popular campground in the park and has three loops. Our friends made reservations exactly 6 months ahead (the earliest date possible) and we were lucky to snag two sites. The campground was completely full on a weekend at the end of April and continued to be full on Monday night. 

Site Quality/Facilities: Each site has a double-wide concrete pad that can easily accommodate a camper and an extra vehicle. The picnic table and fire pit are also on concrete. Some sites have a bbq but not all of them do. The sites do not have a lot of separation, but we did not feel crowded. Generators are allowed so there will be noise but despite it being full with lots of kids and dogs, the campground was quiet (not counting generator use). Several hiking trails are accessible directly from the campground as is the Gifford House, which sells delicious pies and cinnamon rolls.

Bathhouse: Basic National Park bathhouse. No hooks but soap and paper towels provided. No showers. It was clean.

Activities/Amenities: Hiking! We hiked the Cohab Canyon trail, accessed directly across the street from Loops A and B and continued on to the Hickman Bridge Trail for a moderately strenuous 6-mile roundtrip hike. The Fremont River Trail is a one-mile out and back trail accessed directly from Loops A and B. We also hiked the Chimney Rock Trail, but you have to drive to the trailhead from the campground. There is an amphitheater with daily programs led by volunteers which were very informative. The Gifford House is within (too easy) walking distance from Loops A and B – the pies and cinnamon rolls will have you wanting to hike to burn off the calories but get there early– the cinnamon rolls sold out within 10 minutes of opening up at 8 am on the Saturday we were there so we made sure we were waiting in line before it opened on Sunday! 

Capitol Reef completes our tour of Utah’s“rock” national parks and it was stunning– well worth a visit.