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Picnic Site and Campground. Facilities include tables, fire rings, water, restrooms, dirt road access. There is no garbage pickup, please pack out all trash.
The Sanpete South Recreation Area is located on the west side of the Wasatch Plateau, south of Ephraim Canyon to the Forest boundary. It extends from the Skyline Drive on the east to the west Forest boundary. The closest access is from US 89 and nearby communities are Ephraim, Manti and Mayfield. This area features camping, scenic drives, hiking, motorized trails, snowmobiling, fishing and hunting. The Great Basin Environmental Education Center is located in this area.
Upper Six Mile Ponds Campground is just ten miles from Sterling, Utah at an elevation of 8,400 feet. A mixed forest of spruce, pinyon, juniper, fir, and aspen covers the area, offering partial shade. Summer wildflowers and wildlife are abundant. Canoeing and fishing for trout are popular at the ponds. Many people enjoy the solitude and primitive experience of camping away from developed campgrounds and other campers. "Dispersed camping" is the term used for camping anywhere in the National Forest outside of a designated campground, and is generally allowed anywhere unless posted otherwise. Many people drive out on Forest Service roads into the woods and find spots that meet the needs for their camp. Dispersed camping may mean no toilet facilities or treated water are located nearby. Typically, dispersed camping is not allowed near developed recreation areas such as campgrounds, picnic areas or trailheads. Some dispersed sites are provided with fire rings and in those cases please use them as they are designating that area as the spot to safely have a campfire. Finally some dispersed sites have a designated footprint for use. If you see a site with any type of barriers or fencing please respect these areas by not pulling motor vehicles or OHV’s. They are there to preserve the surrounding forest making it enjoyable for all.
Blackhawk Campground sits just off the Nebo Loop Scenic Byway at an elevation of 8,000 feet. Visitors enjoy the campground for its beautiful panoramic views and great trail opportunities.
Numerous hiking, biking and horseback riding trails crisscross the area, including Blackhawk and Loafer Mountain Trails. Trailheads for each are located within the campground.
The campground is studded with groves of fir, pine, aspen and Gambel oak trees, which provide partial shade and nice fall color. Broad grassy meadows cover the areas around the trees. Summer wildflowers and wildlife are abundant.
The Payson Lakes Area is just 5 miles away, with rainbow and brown trout fishing, canoeing, swimming and picnicking. The Mount Nebo Wilderness Area is adjacent, brimming with beautiful mountain scenery, pristine waters, abundant wildlife, vibrant summer wildflowers and numerous trail opportunities. The Nebo Loop Scenic Byway stretches 37 miles through high alpine terrain, dense forests and colorful meadows. Devil's Kitchen Geological Area can be found along the loop. It offers a 1/2-mile round-trip trail to interesting red rock hoodoos.
For facility specific information, please call (385) 273-1100.
Change and Cancellation Policies and Fees Overnight and Day Use Facilities: To ensure fairness, reservation arrival or departure dates may not be changed beyond the booking window until 18 days after booking the reservation. Camping / Day Use: A $10.00 service fee will apply if you change or cancel your reservation (including campsites, cabins, lookouts, group facilities, etc.). The $10.00 service fee will be deducted from the refund amount. You can cancel or change reservations through Recreation.gov or by calling 1-877-444-6777. Late Cancellations Overnight and Day Use Facilities: Late cancellations are those cancelled between 12:01 a.m. (Eastern) on the day before arrival and check out time on the day after arrival. Individual Campsites: If a customer cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival they will be charged a $10.00 service fee and will also forfeit the first night's use fee (not to exceed the total paid for the original reservation). Cancellations for a single night's reservation will forfeit the entire use fee but no cancellation fee will apply. Cabins / Lookouts: Customers will be charged a $10.00 cancellation fee and forfeit the first night's use fee if a cabin or lookout reservation is cancelled within 14 days of the scheduled arrival date. Cancellations for a single night's use will not be assessed a service fee. Group Facility: If a customer cancels a group overnight facility reservation within 14 days of the scheduled arrival date they will be charged the $10.00 service fee and forfeit the first night's use fee. Cancellations for a single night's use will not be assessed a service fee. Group Day Use Area: If a customer cancels a group day use facility reservation within 14 days of the scheduled arrival date, they will forfeit the total day use fee with no service fee charge. No-Shows Camping / Day Use: A camping no-show customer is one who does not arrive at a campground and does not cancel the reservation by check-out time on the day after the scheduled arrival date. Reserved campsites and group overnight facilities will be held until check-out time on the day following your scheduled arrival. Group day-use facilities will be held until check-in time on your scheduled arrival date. If a customer does not arrive at the campground or group facility by check-out time the day after arrival or does not cancel the reservation by the times listed under "Late Cancellations" above, the customer may be assessed a $20.00 service fee and forfeit use fees. Refunds Customers must request refunds no later than 14 days after the scheduled departure date. Recreation.gov will not grant refund requests after 14 days of departure. Reservation Fee: For some facilities, tours or permits an additional reservation fee is charged. For some overnight and day-use facilities, an additional non-refundable reservation fee may apply. The non-refundable reservation fee for tours and tickets is $1.00. The non-refundable reservation fee for permits varies by location. Refunds for Bankcard Purchases: Refunds for bank card payments will be issued as a credit to the original bank card. Refunds for Check or Cash Purchases: Refunds for Recreation.gov payments made by check or money order, and cash payments at selected campgrounds will be issued a check refund. A refund will be processed within 30 days of receipt and approval. Please Note: Refund requests made during or after departure can only be processed when approved by the facility management staff based upon local policy. Refunds for Emergency Closures: In the event of an emergency closure, the Recreation.gov team will attempt to notify users and offer alternate dates (as appropriate). If this is not possible, reservations will be cancelled and all fees paid will be refunded. Reservation fees for free tickets are non-refundable in the event of an emergency closure. Recreation.gov Billing Information Reservation transaction will appear on customer's credit card statements as "Recreation.gov 877-444-6777." Changes to Policies and Procedures Recreation.gov reserves the right, when necessary, to modify reservation policies. These policies were last updated July 2018.
Town Reservoir Fishing & Camping Site is next to a small 6.4 acre reservoir located in Twelve-Mile Canyon. The Department of Wildlife Resources of Utah (DWR) stocks this reservoir with Rainbow Trout.
Ranger
Large campgrounds in area including this one. Camped in September (Doctor Creek CG up road was closed). Quiet, clean. End of tourist season and so couple of nearby stores were selling out their ice cream--Got giant couple of scoops in a bowl. For water/boaters & fishing, mainly, typically sold out during summer. Sites go in rows inching up-slope and some have nice views of lake.
Ranger
Smallish beautiful campground. Site 9 but sites 4, 5, 12 good too. 1 is private but away from toilets. Nice view down the valley to Electric Lake. Decent distance to Scofield. Relatively quiet but sites are fairly close together.
Food aside: Ate Knorr rice with chicken, spiced it up, and Hatch tortillas for dinner. Also Sprouts Hatch M&C with Wal Mart chicken packet and Old El Paso ranch sauce, both good.
Ranger
Stayed 6/1-4 in space 9. Very shady campground and campsite. Creek runs thru but not by this site. Only 1 vault toilet for the family campground, so walked over to Group site toilets which were cleaner. One trail out of camp to Rock Canyon but it was fairly steep and rocky so didn't do much of it. Did walk up and down paved road into camp and then on dirt roads off main road that had a few FCFS dry camp pull out areas along the creek. Campsites well spaced many with good views of valley or the red rock cliffs. No ATVs allowed in campground. Spaces 15 and 20 were also good, 10 is double size but same price with large drive and nice views to red cliffs. Camp host unobtrusive.
Would be great during fall colors. Saw some bear scat on trail closer to I-70
Ranger
Dirt road in, off the hwy, was a bit rutted, but we made it okay in van. Took our chances on a FCFS spot, #8 which looked fairly level but was not. There were 2 bathrooms we saw and the site was mostly equidistant from both, and a bit of distance away. Beautiful canyon with walls rising up both sides but were just passing thru so didn't get to see much and didn't stay but basically overnight. Seems like some interesting pull out boon-docking sites on way in but bathroom in day use parking was locked in the am when we left.
Ranger
Stayed in 33B first night and 23C second night. C loop seems a little more sparse and spaced out. Outer loop seems better. Bathrooms very clean and well stocked. Sites mostly level. Pine and aspen, some spots more shaded than others. Easy walk to lake and there is a nice paved trail around it. Spotty cell service at road, none in campground.
Food aside: Freeze-dried Pad thai with chicken, supplemented chicken (packet from Wal Mart) and it was very good with a bit of heat. Also added garlic powder (always).
Ranger
Stayed in site 8, which has a shallow and uneven driveway. We used several leveling blocks which helped. Site 6 is ideal in terms of proximity to toilets and relatively level site with trees and a water tap just adjacent. There are 9 total sites, 5 are group sites so tend to be LOTS of people around. Group sites are large and are only$20/night and site 9 is roomy, relatively private and has vault toilets adjacent. Walking trails in/around campground.
Lots of families. Safe. Rather enjoyed a sing-along one night with LOTS of kids.
2nd stay (June): Stayed again for 2 nights, this time in spot 6 which is roomier than 8 and one of only a few single family campsites. Renovation installed a new picnic table and fire pit but removed the tent pad. Water tap still adjacent.
Big family gatherings due to large family spots, across were 6 RVs in one spot and trucks parked everywhere including on the grass. Fairly quiet and respectful but dogs were allowed to run loose and while seemingly friendly, they were not supervised for pooping. This also means bathrooms were under serious strain esp re: available toilet paper.
Nearby: On Hwy 31, appear to be a variety of dispersed camping spots, most are not well marked. Some appear to have names, but not sure if they are reservable. Most are for "groups" but are typically only $20/night, some smaller group sites are only$10/night. Seem to be largely FCFS. Several have vault toilets adjacent.
Visited nearby Huntington Lake State Park, which is relatively modest in terms of facilities, basically a lake and a campground (no shade). The sites adjacent to the lake look nice (~sites 1-5) and have partial hookups but the trees are sparse. There is a trail around the lake, but it appears mainly to be a gravel road with some benches here/there.
Food aside (freeze dried packs with our own add-ons): Had Peak beef pasta marinara with italian and garlic seasoning. FQ (fart quotient) is low. Had garlic mashed and Hatch green chile mac (from Sprouts). Added pepper jerky to the mashed before water and the cheese (Mexican blend) and one packet of fajita chicken (Wal Mart, about $1.25) and some Kinder's smoked garlic into the mac when it was ready. Also crumbled some 4 cheese Triscuits on top.
Had Mountain House freeze-dried scrambled eggs in wheat tortillas with cheese, bacon (in at finish), and pepper jerky (in with water). Two servings would have made~4 burritos. Also recommend cutting back on the water to ~2/3-3/4c. Added pepper, garlic powder to eggs.
Had Mountain House pad thai with chicken for dinner. Didn't add sriracha seasoning but put our own smoked garlic, Wal Mart applewood smoked chicken packet and the supplied lime, peanut butter, and nuts (supplemented the nuts with our own).
Traveler
We rented a van in SLC and needed a quick spot to spend the night on the way to Arches/canyon lands. This was easy to find at dusk with a clear road. LOTS of trash around. You could hear the highway a little bit but the noise wasn’t too bad. We only saw one other person who drove in and then left. There is a nice big gas station/truck stop about a mile away open 24 hours so we went there to use the bathroom and get gas. Not sure why this post calls it Canyon Road. It’s off of Consumers Road then Dump road. We did have service with T-Mobile and Verizon.
Traveler
Just needed to find a place for the night and this was perfect! No one around, huge site, beautiful views and free! Cows meander around the campsite..didn't bother us. If you go past where the directions take you, there are 3 or 4 spots that are also nice. Road is easy to travel.
ScoutThere is one campsite with a sign that says 3 day public camping. It is a huge dirt lot with a few shade trees and creek. About 1/4 mile after this location are 5 more Creekside campsites on the left side of the road ( if coming from Goshen ) they are unmarked. All campsites in this area are on BLM or state land. Please do not overstay your welcome. They have discussed blocking them off due to people staying for way to long and leaving trash.
LegendForested campsites in a narrow canyon. Busy on weekends. Got the last first served sit at 3pm Friday. Sites next to the main road. Traffic peering into the campsite. Young fit crowd. Weak cell reception.
ScoutArrived 3Jul24 at dusk. There is standing water marsh with a frac tank, possibly for water for the quarry above. Got out of the car to give dog a break and within one minute was scrambling back in. Drove up hill to the quarry and got out with dog....still very bad mosquitos but some breeze. Hid in the car while dog was out on a long rope for a while, covered with mosquitos. After 10 minutes I had killed most that were in the car and the ones waiting at the doors and windows were gone. I cracked the door and began pulling dog rope to get slack in and then had dog climb over me into back seat.
We drove east one Dyrt to Miller Canyon and it was AWESOME. I remember maybe 3 mosquitos there.
There are only two things I can compare this savagery to (and I am in my late 50s):
Alaska (Last Chance Rd dispersed is WORSE--However, note that when I was in AK I wasn't asking for trouble--I was indoors during mosquito hours--I am sure AK has mosquitos as bad as Last Chance if you go looking)
Canada Boundary Waters Boy Scout Canoe Base (about the same at dusk--only fools wouldn't have camp totally ready to be inside tents before mosquito hours. Mornings were fine.
Traveler
Perfect place to stop for the night. Road is fine. A few ruts. Super quiet.
ScoutWe pulled in after sunset to stop before going all the way north to SLC. The road was pretty doable in our truck, but it think it would be easy in a sedan too. There was a roundabout at the coordinates and another van was there, but there looked to be 3-4 more small spots for tents or vans. Not sure how many could accommodate a bigger rig. Lots of bugs, none biting. About a 7-10 min drive to the freeway. No freeway noise though. Some broken glass and trash, but nothing unexpected.
Guide
This spot was a little hard to locate because it’s on trust land and the spots look like junk piles. Yuck! There was so much ammo casings on the ground it looked like a war zone. Obviously the locals use it as a shooting range and do not clean up after themselves. We went on down dump road a little bit and found a spot tucked in the canyon and out of site of the road for a little wind break and privacy. I added that location because it was not as bad. Still to much trash laying around though. I don’t understand why people can not take care of these free resources so they are not taken away.
GuideThis is trust land so you will see where a lot of people come back here to target practice. Sadly they do not clean up any of their trash. The area is nice, large and very private.
ScoutLarge, open, flat area with easy access. Trailhead for mountain biking and dirt bike trails.
Traveler
This is the place if you like being "off the grid". 18 miles of unpaved (and, for us, muddy) road to get to the campground. It's a 90-minute trek each way from the closest gas/food/retail, so be prepared. It's also a fairly aggressive grade up and down. Brakes and transmissions will need a chance to recover the climb/descent.
Altitude is also a major factor. This is over 10,000 of elevation. Our lungs definitely felt it. While Salt Lake City was hitting 100 degrees, we were sleeping with three blankets at night as temps were in the low 40s/upper 30s.
This campground is definitely not level. Outside of the group sites, most of the spots are sloped, and ours might have been the worst. We needed leveling blocks to lift our pop-up about 8 inches on the dedicated "pad" and there was no flat spot to set up any canopy or EZ Up. Our site did have plenty of shade with direct sun from about 8 am to noon.
We did have a couple of issues that will deter us from coming back. First was the constant flow of ATVs/OHVs/vehicles coming into the campground to use the toilets and unused sites for lunch/dinner. Since there was no camp host on site, this felt a little abusive. There are several open sites along the road to the campground and more as you continue up Skyline Drive. I think everyone using them knows that this is basically a truck stop for them.
The second issue we had was the moths. Having a pop-up, we understand that critters happen. But we must have had over 100 moths that found shelter under our flaps, in the roofline, and inside our camper. It added 45 minutes to our breakdown and pack up.
Those issues, coupled with the long and rough road, make this place a one-and-done campground for us.
Traveler
Beautiful scenery and just right outside of town. Very easy to access for most. I did see an RV camping but it had to be a bit more difficult for them. There are several established places to camp with beautiful views. Very private. Great for mountain biking
TravelerThis wasn't where we planned to camp but got too tired to drive any further. We are in a Toyota Camry and just hammocking. This spot worked out nicely. There was someone in the actual place of the coordinates. But we found a spot near by.
Scout
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!
ScoutWe camped here May, 2024. This is away from the noise of I-70; however, a train runs quite close to the campground, thus the 4 star review instead of 5. It doesn't come by that often. There is lots of green grass, as well as a lot of trees. It seemed to be well taken care of. The campground was full when we were there, but was very quiet at night.
ScoutWe camped here in May, 2024, on our way north, traveling through Utah. What looked like a nice campground from the Utah State Park website was not a nice campground. Firstly, the bathrooms were not clean. Second, this seems to be a hang-out for the locals in Huntington, especially the teens. Third, what few trees there are, are half-dead from not being watered. There is evidence that a lot have been cut down, probably because they died entirely. It is a mystery that a state park, with a reservoir, does not water the grass and trees in the campground! Fourth, and most importantly, there is semi-truck traffic on the highway that borders the campground, about every 5-10 minutes, day and night, no exaggeration! Drive a few hours northeast and camp at Green River State Park in Green River, UT. That is truly a nice, park-like setting, away from the noise of I-70.
TravelerNice quiet stop to park for the night. Close to the highway, far enough to not really hear it.
GuideWe were there only One night and I was glad. It's a nice campground, but everybody's close to each other. And I don't like that.
TravelerOpen area looks like local party spot, not for RVs. Lots of spots to pitch a tent, established fire pits. Not far off the main road. Road goes up past water tower and recommends using 4wd to come up to prevent washboard, but any vehicle with awe would do. No amenities and very private.
GuideBeautiful view! Several fire pits, some with wood left by the rangers. Well maintained and quiet on this chilly night.
Guide
Stopped here for a quick overnight stay. There's a trail out to a petroglyph site which was really neat. We hiked out in the morning and didn't encounter anyone else. The gravel road to the parking area is really smooth. You can camp in the gravel lot but there's also a few different dirt roads that presumably lead to other sites. We stayed at one right off the main parking area and it was quite nice. Pretty level and good cell service with Verizon.
Camping near Manti, Utah, offers a mix of beautiful landscapes and fun activities for everyone. Whether you're looking to pitch a tent or park your RV, there are plenty of options to explore.
Camping near Manti, Utah, has something for everyone, whether you're looking for adventure or a peaceful getaway.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Manti, UT?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Manti, UT is Willow Creek Road - Dispersed Site with a 5-star rating from 3 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Manti, UT?
TheDyrt.com has all 34 tent camping locations near Manti, UT, with real photos and reviews from campers.
