Top 10+ Dispersed Free Camping near Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Free dispersed camping on BLM land. If you don't want to back track and are continuing south, the only road down is very steep and winding and you'll want to take it slow. Well maintained dirt road is the only way to get there. To get your vehicle closer to the edge for a better view may require 4WD vehicles.

So first of all it was difficult for me to accurately locate this campsite on the map. This campsite is actually located in Glen Canyon National recreation area but it is the southernmost campsite that is permitted from the Maze district of Canyonlands National Park. I drove into it from the south side roughly from the location of Hite Marina. The road was not too bad and fairly easy to drive. There is no water there is no cell phone service there is no trash pickup and there are no pit toilets.

Maybe we’re scardy cats. But there was no one else around us, and after the sun went down a spooky vibe took me and my 2 friends over. We ended up sleeping in the car and leaving first thing in the morning. Is 9 miles down a road, away from civilization. Definitely back country camping, and not for the faint of heart. Camp at your own risk. crazy beautiful views tho!!

Not a lot of campers this far down the road. There were quite a few near hole in the rock road right outside of Escalante. Perfect for astrophotography! Sporadic cell service with sprint/t-mobile. Dirt road to this area is not the best. Very much like a washboard and rough. BLM lands so camping is free.

Bumpy dirt road going in. Large area with plenty of private dispersed camping spots.

So this is the dispersed camping area in a beautiful location. It is only about a quarter of a mile off Utah 24 on hole in the rock road. There's no water there no pit toilets there are no fire rings there are no picnic tables. But it's free. And there's a cell phone signal.

Cool dispersed camping right off the road. It's beautiful the only thing is you can here cars on the highway from your campsite and there's only like 4 campsites. Not busy at all though I was the only one there. easy to get to with 4 wheel drive car

Decent dispersed camping with room for any sized camping rig.  Okay area for star gazing except toward Escalante to the northwest.

Awesome dispersed camping with stellar cell service, close enough to Escalante that you can drive in quickly for groceries or water. Just mind the cows!

Beautiful isolated dispersed campsite small distance off Burr Road. Weak cell service. Interesting rock formations. Panoramic views 360° little bit of evergreens. Weak cell service

The campground is nice and clean. Very nice tent pads. Each site has a fire pit and picnic table and potable water available with most sites.. There are nice bathrooms available along with showers. Nice bonus after three days of dispersed camping. The are no trees, so the wind can get whipping through pretty good. Great views of Glen Canyon. Not a lot of privacy, but if you are just stopping over for a night it’s fine.

Views: Incredible. Some of the best I’ve seen for a boondocking location.

Cell Service: Verizon LTE with booster. Enough for consistent web browsing/working, not enough for consistent video calling (I.e. Zoom).

Accessibility: We easily accessed in a 28 ft Class C motorhome. I HIGHLY recommend coming from the north part of 261 and not the south. We’re pretty “eh, let’s try it, why not” kind of people, but it was 10% grade, gravel, hair pin switchbacks. So glad we didn’t try that one. Coming from the north was super easy though.

Privacy: Not much, but views were worth it! We got a spot off to the side that was more secluded than others.

Super convenient with easy access off Route 12. Lots of level, open spaces short distance from entrance. Great basic dispersed camping in a 34 ft Class A motorhome with towed vehicle. Had decent cell service with AT&T. There are, of course no amenities or even pit toilets, although there are two dumpsters for trash and the town of Escalante is nearby with groceries and other necessities. Would absolutely stay here again. Also- if you have a smaller vehicle that you can take down the main dirt road (washboarded, but otherwise not bad) you can get to several good hikes. We really enjoyed the Zebra slot canyon (gets VERY narrow) and also the tunnel. Amazing lighting near midday as the sun is directly overhead. Both are moderately strenuous hikes. Bring plenty of water.

Very nice dispersed campsites with lovely views on this geologically interesting area in Utah!  (Driving a subaru hatchback with 5.1 inches ground clearance.)

Beautiful dispersed campsites adjacent to the road but hidden by the small old Cypress trees. Lots of fire rings built with rocks. Vista views

easy, right off the road campsite overlooking grand staircase. amazing. spots were full but keep driving and you’ll find a great view, no problem. dispersed so take your trash out! quiet, lovely, stars were amazing.

You really need a jeep to explore this area. It’s incredibly beautiful here: the Utah you picture when your wanderlust kicks up. The campground is a primitive dispersed site along the lake with amazing views all around. This is Bureau of Land Management camping so it’s free and extremely basic, but they do provide drinking water in one place. There are a few little stone pits for fires but I don’t know if they restrict fire making (we used our gas stove to be safe). I hope to return someday.

The spot is on BLM and a perfect base camp for those heading out on the burr trail/ notom bullfrog. Much better than the overcrowded NPS campground.

Hole in the rock road start sites. Lots of dispersed sites with valley views. Good cell service.

Keep driving until you find the most epic spot on the ridge. There are dozens of them, so plenty to choose from. Perfectly dispersed and quiet, as we prefer! Very close to the slot canyons!

Spent a night here, plenty of dispersed spots to allow for plenty of space between campers (at least in fall time), scatter trees around for some privacy as well. Convenient to escalante, would stay here again.

Our campsite had an epic fire ring and an even more epic view. We were right next to the road, but it was still pretty quiet and we couldn’t see any other campsites from our spot. Great stargazing, sunset, and sunrise.