Top 10+ Dispersed Free Camping near Manti-La Sal National Forest

This is down a little dirt road near the Ghost town remnants of Tucker, Utah. There is a cute little creek, plenty of places to pull into to camp, and lots of neat rock formations to observe. We stayed 2 nights, and after dusk, the noise was minimal. You can hear some traffic noise from the highway, but it's faint. Be sure to mind the signs posted for private property. It seems as though some people have left their trash behind, and it's very unfortunate because this is by far the best spot we found on this HWY near Spanish Fork. Pack in and pack out is a must as there are no amenities other than nature's amenities. I found a few fossils in my wandering of our site. Some spots by the creek have been washed out, and the ground seems to have given way, so be mindful of where you park. The spot we stayed in was the 3rd spot after the private property signs on the left-hand side. Be sure to scout the turn-off roads before attempting to drive down them. This is a sandy spot, and the ground is not the most sound due to water damage. Cool little spot to unwind and enjoy nature's surroundings.

    This BLM campground now has designated campsites, a picnic table, large deep fire rings, pit toilets and no trash service. Also no water.  The actual site now in October is 

somewhat overgrown with tumble weeds. Ground is very rocky but there are quite a few tents pitched.  

     Views are 7 on a 10 scale.

     Camp fee is now $15 per night. We used a senior pass and paid $7.50

      There also appears to be true dispersed camping on BLM land just to the NE of this organized camp and more about a quarter mile south on a dirt road.  There don’t appear to be any picnic tables, fire rings or toilets.

San Rafael Swell is a large area full of dirt roads, trails, and camping and Lone Warrior Canyon Camp is one of many great locations. This specific location has more space than it seems at first. There are campsites and pull offs in the trees and in the alcoves of the rock. Given that there weren’t any reviews for this spot yet, I expected to be the only one there. It is 12 miles down a dirt road that intersects many other dirt roads. However, there must have been an event of some sort because it was packed. Even so, I still had my own space and wasn’t crowded.

Camping There are a ton of pull offs. Most are side roads like driveways to areas that have a lot of space. One area had 3 campers over 30’ each and several trucks and ATVs - a lot of the areas are like that. So you can come out and set up a city, basically, which would be admittedly awesome. It is a bit crowded (I stayed mid-April on a Wed-Thu) but there is enough space to spread out. I would have stopped earlier but I wanted to come to the exact point listed here to give a good idea of what you’d find if you followed those coordinates. It’s deceptively remote. There are sections of the road/trail that are maybe 400m from I-70 but there is “no access” from the dirt roads to the interstate. Not legal ones anyway. So it’s about 12 miles to this campsite on the dirt road then when you get to I-70, it’s about 45 miles to the next town and it isn’t a big one. Thus it may feel like you’re right there in site of civilization, but you aren’t. Civilization may come to you, though. I chose to just pull off on the side of an unused loop of trail because all the alcoves and treed areas around this location were packed with tents, trailers, and vehicles. Those big adventure tents - one even had a 20’ flag pole. I think it was a waypoint for a trip, I don’t know if this is the norm.

The Approach and Ace Test I used exit 131 Temple Rock/Sinbad Rd which go well together, it would seem. Pavement gives way to gravel gives way to sand at the very end. It is mostly dirt/gravel road and definitely passes the Ace test (for those who don’t know, Ace was my VW Jetta (2wd sedan) that I often took overland). There are some blind hills and a lot of cattle so don’t be mislead by the easy road and fly down it. Speed limit is posted 25 and I’d stick to that. If you follow the coordinates on here, the last probably 400m is deep sand and I would not attempt that unless you have clearance. You may not need 4x4, but definitely clearance. NOT Ace friendly. There is a good parking space at the turn before the final approach, so you could park there and walk the last bit and set up camp in the trees. That would be better for the wind and sand anyway. If it’s raining, then I’d stay away from this area - at least this last 400m stretch - without 4x4 and a friend to pull you out with their vehicle or get covered in mud helping push and dig. Makes for a good story either way.

Activities Hiking is great around this iconic rock. Not hard to get to, as I’ve mentioned, but it’s a process. The people you meet on the rock and have earned the right to share with you so no huffing that it’s crowded or that you’re “in their space.” Y’all know who I’m talking about. So, there must have been a convention because in the space under the rock and the alcove next to it were more than 20 4x4 vehicles. I saw some markers on the way in so it might be this was a waypoint for over landing. Which is awesome. Just caught me off guard as there weren’t any reviews for this spot and it’s pretty full today. Other than hiking, it’s great for photography. Spires and rock formations everywhere.

Weather Mid-April the weather was good. 75 during the day and about 55 at night. It was pretty gusty when I was there which would have been great except that the sand all around the camp is what we call “moon dust” which puffs out and up to your knees just walking through it let alone gusts of wind throwing it around. If you don’t have dust in your car/gear yet, you will - and there’s nothing you can do about. So embrace it and enjoy the extra texture in your food and exfoliating effect on your skin.

Cell service Said I had 1 bar Verizon LTE but could not send iMessages. Can’t access anything so make sure you do your research before you come because you can’t do it out here. I have a Garmin I use to text - mainly for updates on campsite coordinates to my safety people as well as emergency stuff. Water No water, creek dry

The sites closest to the little creek have the most shade. There’s only 4 though that are right on the creek and along the first mile or so of skyline. Good shade and soft ground. The creek was low flow when we were there but still had the great sound of a bigger creek. Not sure creekside would be a wise choice during heavy rains as the bank is not very high along the camp spots. Further up the road gets away from the creek and the banks are much higher. Not much shade and more open. Nobody was camped there in a Thursday in late Afternoon August, Fire scars are still pretty obvious but there’s still enough vegetation to be enjoyed. albeit with the constant reminder of why it’s necessary to maybe opt out of a campfire or at least be overly conscious when dry and windy, as well as making sure your fire is completely doused and cold. Leaving just one hot cinder behind can wreck havoc. There is a tempting spot that encroaches on private property. Best to stay away from that. Beyond the open shade less spots there are a few more spots with trees about 5 miles down on skyline drive. We were just scouting after camping the night with our pull behind trailer.