Best Tent Camping near Kaysville, UT

Tent camping near Kaysville, Utah provides access to diverse mountain and lakeside settings within the Wasatch Mountains. Cook Campsite offers walk-in tent sites just minutes from town, making it ideal for beginners wanting a taste of backcountry camping without venturing far. Split Rock Bay Backcountry Campsites at Antelope Island State Park provides tent-only areas with picnic tables and fire pits along the shores of the Great Salt Lake. Dispersed camping near Monte Cristo in the Wasatch-Cache National Forest offers more primitive tent camping options for those seeking solitude.

Most tent campgrounds in the Kaysville area require preparation for variable conditions. Cook Campsite features hike-in access requiring a short walk to reach tent sites. At Split Rock Bay, campers must hike approximately a quarter mile from parking areas to reach designated tent camping zones. Basic amenities like vault toilets are available at established sites, but potable water is limited. Fire restrictions are common during summer months, particularly in dispersed camping areas. Weather conditions can change rapidly in the Wasatch Mountains, with cool nights even during summer months, requiring appropriate gear for tent campers.

Backcountry tent camping in this region offers unique experiences with alpine views and wildlife viewing opportunities. The tent-only sites at Split Rock Bay provide excellent stargazing due to minimal light pollution. According to reviews, Cook Campsite serves as "a great place to give my 5-year-old a taste of backpacking" despite some areas having excessive litter. Dispersed camping near Monte Cristo provides more isolation but can experience strong winds, with one camper noting it "can get quite blustery" with limited fire opportunities during certain conditions. For tent campers seeking established sites with some amenities, Port Ramp Marina near Eden offers tent camping with excellent winter views when the lake freezes over, making it popular among winter outdoor enthusiasts.

Best Tent Sites Near Kaysville, Utah (22)

    1. Cook Campsite

    1 Review
    Fruit Heights, UT
    3 miles
    Website
    +1 (801) 544-1788

    "Aside from the excessive litter in a few places, This was a great place to give my 5 year old a taste of backpacking."

    2. Split Rock Bay Backcountry Campsites — Antelope Island State Park

    3 Reviews
    Syracuse, UT
    16 miles
    Website
    +1 (801) 773-2941

    $20 / night

    "Good hiking trails with great views and lots if animals to see."

    3. Port Ramp Marina

    2 Reviews
    Huntsville, UT
    18 miles
    Website
    +1 (801) 625-5112

    $650 / night

    "Not only is it more beautiful (IMO) in the winter, but it gets loads of snow for snow sports, and it is right next to Powder Mountain and Snow Basin!"

    "Beautiful lake, nice beaches, but only if you go in the late summer or fall."

    4. Millcreek Canyon Backcountry Camping and Yurts

    8 Reviews
    Mounthaven, UT
    27 miles
    Website

    "You can backpack in and camp anywhere a 1/2 mile from any road like the other nearby canyons. Good trails to approach from are Church fork and Lambs Canyon Trailhead."

    "Millcreek Canyon is home to some wonderful trails that can be accessed by foot or bike. Although the canyon offers many hiking trails, the main use of the trails seems to be for trail running."

    5. Hobble

    1 Review
    Huntsville, UT
    23 miles

    6. Dispersed camping near Monte Cristo

    8 Reviews
    Eden, UT
    36 miles

    "Two nice boondocking spots just a short drive on a tight dirt road off the highway. The campsite on the right is bigger, the one on the left is very small."

    7. closed

    1 Review
    Wanship, UT
    28 miles
    +1 (801) 513-1583

    $59 - $64 / night

    8. Red Pine Lake

    7 Reviews
    Alta, UT
    36 miles
    Website
    +1 (801) 733-2660

    "Red Pine Lake is located up Little Cottonwood Canyon, on the south side of the road."

    "wonderful place to backpack up to during the week. can access 3 different beautiful lakes from this drainage and 2 beautiful peaks!"

    9. Silver Lake Backcountry

    8 Reviews
    Alta, UT
    38 miles

    "An amazing spot to drive to and spend the day or backpack in and spend a night or two.  Be warned you will need a 4wd vehicle if trying to go up the road after a rain storm. "

    "You can’t drive to the coordinates, you have to park at the uppermost parking lot for Silver Flat and hike up to a camping spot. Camping anywhere along that road will give you gorgeous views, though!"

    10. Lake Blanche Trail - Backcountry Camp

    1 Review
    Mounthaven, UT
    32 miles
    Website
    +1 (801) 733-2660

    "great hike to the lake!"

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Tent Camping Reviews near Kaysville, UT

939 Reviews of 22 Kaysville Campgrounds


  • Tommy C.
    Aug. 29, 2020

    South Fork (UT)

    AWESOME spot

    Absolutely awesome spot. Hosts were really friendly. Stayed in my pop up camper for a night and there was tons of space for pop up and our site (A1) was the best in the campground, I think. It was secluded with tons of trees. Not all sites had a lot of tree cover. It wasn’t right off the river but it was still only a 30 second walk to the river. There were fire bans in Utah but because of the type of fire set up on concrete and built in fire places, we were able to have a fire all night which was awesome. Also my buddy is a professional singer and brought his guitar so I’m impartial. We had such a great time!!

  • K
    Aug. 16, 2021

    Magpie Campground

    Got the job done

    We were road tripping through with no reservations. The whole South Fork area has many campgrounds. Magpie is the first and one of the smaller of the campgrounds as you drive up the canyon. We drove through all the campgrounds and didn’t find any hosts to talk with to find out if we could occupy a spot. We thought it would be ok but weren’t sure if we could stay in a spot that had a weekend reservation posted. Plus there was simultaneously not very much shade and lots of overgrown vegetation that made tent camping not very feasible. All the sites with actual river frontage were occupied and most folks had campers. This was especially true at South Fork, Lower Meadows, Upper Meadows & Perception Park campgrounds. We finally found a host at Willows campground who explained the process but we didn’t see any sites we liked there. Magpie actually had some shaded sites so we headed back down there. We grabbed a spot that had no obvious river access but good shade right next to the host site. It was pretty overgrown but had enough of a flat spot to set up our tent and a big concrete pad for the picnic table and huge fire ring. Midweek it was only half full. Campground is literally mere feet from the road. Lots of road noise. Bathrooms were good enough. The host when he finally came around was very nice. The adjacent site was vacant (a double site that cost more $$) and we were able to get to the river there. We stayed two nights mid week and it never filled up but all the sites had weekend reservations. There isn’t a lot of hiking but if you like river recreation or we saw lots of paddle boarders headed up to the reservoir. We drove up Monte Cristo which was still closed for the season but probably would have been more our style. Birding was good around the campground probably due to the river. Again, road noise was annoying but expected. Also note that the forest service’s website was out of date as far as all the campgrounds in this area being open.

  • Alan B.The Dyrt PRO User
    Oct. 1, 2019

    Lower Narrows Campground

    Beautiful Creek Access w/ Expert Level Climbing Routes a Stones Throw Away

    Let me start off by saying the other review for this CG is about 250 miles off target.  The Narrows CG the other person is talking about is located in Zion National Park near St. George/Springville in southern Utah.  There are no soaring sandstone walls here!  There are however amazing overhanging water sculpted limestone cliffs that contain some of the hardest climbing that the west desert of Utah has to offer!  There are a decent amount of routes on either side of the road with the majority of the routes being near the Upper Narrows CG. 

    This CG is setup in much the same way as the Upper.  There are metal fire rings and picnic tables at each of the campsites with a vault toilet within a couple minutes walk from any of the sites.  There are only 3 sites and there are no water or trash facilities so bring all you need and then pack it all out!  The creek offers a nice respite from the heat in the summer and would probably be decent fishing as well.  I only saw a couple trout while wandering around but I'm sure there are more!

  • Jillian B.The Dyrt PRO User
    Oct. 3, 2022

    Willow Park Campground

    Campground near Provo

    This campground is ok, would expect a little more since you have to pay $25. In a nice little suburban neighborhood. Spots are close together and not much privacy, our site was along the back fence. Each site had fire pit and picnic table. There are two bathrooms, no showers and no electricity. It looks like there are a couple water fill up spigots but not potable.

  • Alan B.The Dyrt PRO User
    Oct. 23, 2019

    South Fork (UT)

    Big Campground by the Creek!

    This campground much like the others in this canyon is situated along the banks of the South Fork of the Ogden River.  Before you get to Causey Reservoir and Weber Memorial Park, this is the biggest campground you'll encounter.  There are 35 single sites @23$ and 8 double sites @46$.  Some campsites are reservable and some are walk in sites.  A picnic table and metal fire ring is at each site along with vault toilets and drinking water scattered throughout the campground.  The campsites in the teens seemed to be the closest to the creek

    As for activities to do in the area, there are plenty of options!  Right by most of the campsites you can fly fish or set off on a tubing adventure down the Ogden River!  It is required that you have a life jacket before setting off.  If you're looking for bigger accumulations of water you can either head back down canyon to the huge Pineview Reservoir or head up canyon to the steep walled Causey Reservoir!

  • Mary S.
    Jul. 30, 2018

    Tanners Flat

    Good location for exploring Wasatch Mountains and Salt Lake City

    You really need to know this: No dogs are allowed because this campground is in the Salt Lake City watershed.

    And this: As inviting as the water running through the campground may look, you are not allowed to swim, wade or wash in it.

    One more thing: Gate closes at 10 pm although that didn't stop some partiers at the next site in from us. They partied and left around 11 or so. There was no payment tag on the post. The exit is open but has tire shredders if you enter over them.

    A pleasant surprise at a Forest Service campground: 10 lbs of ice for $2! (There was also the usual bundle of firewood for $6.)

    An unpleasant surprise: Old, dirty bathrooms. I've seen cleaner vault toilets elsewhere than these flush toilets.

    There is no water for now (July 2018) in bathroom sinks or at spigots. The host said something about a pipe issue and water needing to be tested. That covers the amenities other than dumpsters.

    What about the sites? We arrived on a Sunday morning when the host was putting up signs indictating which sites were reserved. We had 3 possible sites among 1 through 19 and grabbed #9, a pull through site with a buffer between the road in the parking/small RV area.

    Sites in the other area (higher numbers) were becoming available, but that area's host said many of the sites were only appropriate for tents.

    Our site #9: There are a few steps down to the picnic table, fire ring and grill plus a separate area to the left for a tent. See photos.

    General site info:

    • Some sites have a concrete pad for the picnic table, etc.

    • Many sites have an area for the tent that is away from the picnic table and concealed from the road.

  • A
    Aug. 17, 2020

    Echo Island RV Resort

    Perfect for an overnight stay

    Nicely managed campground, good website, efficient reservation process. Management very helpful and friendly. The campsites are nicely spaced, good tree cover, green well kept lawn at all sites. Gravel slots, picnic tables and fire pits at each site. Good park design for the back up sites to get a large trailer situated no problem. Seems like a large and very nice pool, although I did not us those facilities. Bath and restrooms clean and plenty of them for the size of the campground.

  • Myrna G.
    May. 19, 2020

    Little Mill

    Beautiful Campground

    Just returned from an overnight stay at Little Mill with amazing American Fork Creek right beside my sites The campground is clean, no water, trash or electric and vault toilets. The camp host were so friendly gave us suggestions on where to hike in the area. My only reason this campground didn’t get 5 stars is due to the horrible road noise. I seriously thought I was at a truck stop off the interstate. Honking and racing cars until 3am just ruined it. If noise doesn’t bother you head on over.

  • Gracie W.
    Jun. 13, 2023

    Twin Coves — Rockport State Park

    Nice Campground

    Campground was clean and had vault toilets. Water spicket was available but no showers (I believe there were only showers at the entrance of the park). Be aware that there are tons of bugs here, an overwhelming amount. Pack your bug spray if you’re tent camping!! Amazing views of the lake, beautiful birds, and the weather was phenomenal. Happy trails!


Guide to Kaysville

Tent camping near Kaysville, Utah, offers a variety of scenic locations and outdoor activities for nature enthusiasts. With stunning landscapes and unique wildlife, these campgrounds provide an excellent escape from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Tips for tent camping near Kaysville

  • Ladyfinger Campground is a great choice for those looking to enjoy breathtaking views and access to hiking trails, though be prepared for some pesky bugs during certain seasons.
  • Big Rock Campground offers a picturesque setting overlooking the reservoir, making it perfect for sunrise views and wildlife spotting, including deer and various bird species.
  • Split Rock Bay Backcountry Campsites provides a more secluded experience with good hiking trails and opportunities to see local wildlife, ideal for campers seeking tranquility.

Tent campers should check out Ladyfinger Campground

  • At Ladyfinger Campground, you can enjoy spacious sites with vault toilets and picnic tables, perfect for a comfortable camping experience.
  • This campground is pet-friendly, allowing you to bring your furry friends along for the adventure.
  • The area is known for its stunning dark skies, making it an excellent spot for stargazing and meteor shower viewing.

Explore local activities around Kaysville

  • Big Rock Campground features well-maintained hiking paths and opportunities for fishing, making it a great spot for outdoor activities.
  • Red Pine Lake is accessible via a challenging hike, rewarding campers with stunning lake views and a peaceful atmosphere, perfect for those who enjoy a good trek.
  • Hobble offers a beautiful setting with picnic tables and toilets, making it a convenient base for exploring the surrounding natural beauty.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Kaysville, UT?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Kaysville, UT is Cook Campsite with a 4-star rating from 1 review.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Kaysville, UT?

TheDyrt.com has all 22 tent camping locations near Kaysville, UT, with real photos and reviews from campers.