Best Tent Camping near Joseph, UT

Tent camping at site 23. $20 for a tent site ($40 for a double site). Cool area to explore. Fire pit and a faucet with a bucket. Bathrooms close by. $5 for a bundle of wood. Nice little spot!

Sand Creek is 15 miles from Capitol Reef and 1,500’ higher - much cooler. Good wi-fi, showers, bathrooms and laundry. Firewood and ice are available for purchase. The grounds have not been maintained like they were two years ago in 2019, but that may be due to the drought. Sand Creek has simple reasonable cabins along with 6 tent sites and maybe 8 or 9 RV sites.

Capitol Reef has a great campground but it often fills up. This is a great alternative for $22 a night for a tent site.

Got to stay in a rad tipi site for only $30! They had firewood available by the bundle for $5/armload. Tent sites are $15 and extra cars are $10. It's about a mile from the Fremont Indian State Park and the surrounding area is pure magic.

Stayed here while social distancing during the initial phase of the pandemic sometime in May 2020. Campsites have a decent amount of space between them. Very close to Capitol Reef National Park, this is a popular site for many park goers.

Facilities are very well kept and pleasantly clean. Nice, hot showers included with the campsite price and bathrooms are close to sites. One downside to this RV park is that the designated tent sites are right across from the designated RV sites. Any tent camper knows how annoying this can be, and although it did get fairly loud during the day and lunchtime, after dinner time it was fairly quietly and we slept soundly.

This RV park is very family-friendly, so keep in mind there are kids EVERYWHERE - kids riding their bikes in the roads, kids crying, kids yelling. All in all, a decent campsite that is pleasant enough and made worth it for the very clean facilities. Stay here when visiting Capitol Reef if this sort of place is your speed or you’re in need of a good shower. Tons of awesome hikes nearby (pictured).

We just finished another stay at the Mackinaw Campground and it was the best one yet, even though our vehicle broke down on the last day of our stay. 

Thanks to the amazing camp host, Karen, we were able to contact local mechanics and get it quickly towed and fixed. She was so helpful, understanding, and flexible with assisting us. We couldn't have done it without her. 

The campsites have great picnic tables and firepits.  There are multiple small tent sites at each campsite and room for our longer travel trailer as well.

This is dry camping, but the bathrooms are clean and have flushing toilets. There are many drinking water stations around the camp.  

The park service has recently improved a dump station as the south end of the lake. It is a great place to fill your fresh water tank before pulling into camp and to empty black and grey tanks on the way home.

The lake shore trail is just across the street making it an easy walk to the marina.

Aspen trees cover the campground making it a great place to hang hammocks and relax.

We will be back again and again!

I camped here during Labor Day week on a Friday night. We were a walk up  reservation. The campsites themselves are small and some of the tent sites have the tent pad staggered down or up the hill from the main camp area. They all had a nice large picnic table and a FirePit with grate plus a separate BBQ. It was clean and well maintained. We were site 12 or something and had a great view of the lake in the mornings and a rough open sky for star gazing. Most of the other campers were respectful and quiet at night and in the morning. The bathrooms were easy to access and very basic. To access showers you need to go over to a different campground nearby or pay to use some at the holiday park nearby. Lots of water spigots everywhere for filling your containers. There was a tiny babbling brook next to my site which was nice to listen to at night. There was a trailhead to go up the mountain right in the campground or you could walk down to the lake and hike along the lakeside trail. Cattle seem to have free roaming access to the north of the holiday park but I didn’t smell them at all that day. It does get cold there at night since it’s at high elevation. I stumbled upon this campground by chance when our plans changed due to fires so I’d like to go back and spend some more time there on a properly planned vacation.

We spent a single night in one of the tent sites, which are immediately behind the office/owner's residence. Sites have a parking space, fire ring with grill attachment, a picnic table and a gravel tent pad. They are small, and not separated from one another, so if you're looking for any level of privacy you won't find it here. On the other hand, if you like sharing space with other campers you may enjoy it. You also may experience those staying in the RV section walking through your site in order to get to the restrooms/showers.

The campground has both firewood and ice available for purchase. The remainder of the campground store is currently closed due to Covid regulations.

If you have any concerns about Covid (this is being written in September 2020), SC is not a site I would recommend. While the owners have placed signs suggesting social distancing guidelines, including masks while in the restrooms/shower area, compliance among the campers in a nearly full campground was minimal. One unmasked female camper was loudly discussing all the airports she had passed through on her way to the area, including Chicago and Denver. 

Even little details were missed, like the soap in the restrooms being organic and not antibacterial.

Sand Creek is located on Hwy 24, and the road noise didn't quiet down until around 11 PM. Probably not a good choice any time for a light sleeper.

If you have a self-contained RV and are just looking for a place to park for the night, Sand Creek is likely to fit your needs. For a tent camper, its main recommendation is the ability to reserve a site in advance, as most of the other campgrounds in the area are first come, first serve.

This is one of the nicest camp spots around. Close to town but close to the boulder mountains. Full hook ups for trailers. Cabins you can rent, and tent spots. Best views in Utah. If you like red dirt this is the place to be. Close to Capital Reef or the Boulder Mountains. The owners are on site and are very friendly. Lots of stuff to do in Torrey. They have a store on site plus it is close to gas station if you forgot anything.

Make sure you reserve a spot of Apple Days in July it is a fun time to be in Torrey. Lots of stuff going on. This place is busy all summer long so it is best to call ahead. Spring and Fall is amazing in Torrey and is not as hot as the summer months.

Castle Rock campground in Fishlake National forest is one of two campgrounds that serve Utah's Fremont Indian State Park, with both administration and reservations handled through the Utah State Park system. When I visited it was both very clean and very well maintained. Despite being close to the interstate, it is far enough up a side canyon that you do not hear the traffic on the road. It feels like being much further from civilization.

There are 44 camp sites available, many alongside the creek that flows through the campground. About 2/3 are reservable, the rest are available daily as FCFS. Two have teepees for those lacking a tent. Several are double sites for larger groups, and there are a variety of pull through vs in/out options.

There is available potable water at several locations around the campground, and two restroom facilities - a full flush unit near the center of the grounds, and a double pit at the south end of the loop.

Every site has a fire pit, an elevated grill, and a picnic table.

There is an access road from the campground to the Paiute ATV trail. For hikers, the south end of the campground is the north origin of the Joe Lott Trail that heads into the Fishlake National Forest. The facilities of Fremont Indian State Park are about 1/2 mile away, on the opposite side of I-70, and include a small museum of Fremont life, and a variety of improved and unimproved trails leading to many rock art sites.