Planning a dispersed camping trip near Mendon? Here you'll find a diverse selection of places to camp, including remote dispersed camping to boondocking, and everything in-between. You're sure to find the perfect dispersed campgrounds for your Utah camping adventure.
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. Dispersed camping means no toilets, no treated water, and no fire grates are provided.
Camping in dispersed areas on the Forest is allowed for fourteen (14) days in any thirty (30) day consecutive period. Campers must move off Forest after reaching the 14-day limit. The stay limit also applies to all camping equipment (tents, chairs, ATVs, ATV trailers, etc.), even if used by a different person or group. Camping equipment must be removed by the end of the fourteen (14) day stay limit or the equipment may be impounded. Stay limits are implemented to reduce impacts to vegetation and wildlife habitat, as well as provide access to popular campsite areas for other visitors.
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. Dispersed camping means no toilets, no treated water, and no fire grates are provided.
Camping in dispersed areas on the Forest is allowed for fourteen (14) days in any thirty (30) day consecutive period. Campers must move off Forest after reaching the 14-day limit. The stay limit also applies to all camping equipment (tents, chairs, ATVs, ATV trailers, etc.), even if used by a different person or group. Camping equipment must be removed by the end of the fourteen (14) day stay limit or the equipment may be impounded. Stay limits are implemented to reduce impacts to vegetation and wildlife habitat, as well as provide access to popular campsite areas for other visitors.
There are extra responsibilities and skills that are necessary for dispersed camping. It's your responsibility to know these before you try this new experience.
To protect wintering wildlife, the WMA is closed to all activities from Jan. 1 to the second Saturday in April. From the second Saturday in April through Sept. 9, you can still camp on parts of the WMA. Overnight camping is no longer allowed, however, in the parking lot or within a third of a mile of the parking lot. Overnight camping is allowed across the entire WMA — including the parking lot and its surrounding area — from Sept. 10 to Dec. 31.
Scout
Road to dispersed camping is closed Dec 1 - April 15. Permit fee is $10 for 3 days. We had a quiet ( only a couple of other campers further up) and enjoyable overnight visit but road was quite icy. So we did not explore far. Birds in caves in side of valley. Well loved trail starts a short distance up the road. Looks like a beloved student hang out in the area with picnic tables so you may want drive further in if visit in summer.
TravelerMany good spots. Close to the road so you can hear some car which was no problem. Lots of trees. Shaded which is great in the summer.
Guide(October 4th, 2023) Stopped here for a night on a road trip and it was the perfect place for some down time. There were still open spots when we got here late; we snagged a cool site with a small cave and a climbing route a decent way down the road. In the morning we hiked around some of the trails and explored the area. Even though it rained, it was a beautiful place to see some foliage! We only saw a few other people but it was the middle of the week and weather wasn’t great.
Traveler
We stayed here for the night on our rooftop tent. It’s very quiet, barely any people. There’s man made firepits made out of rocks of people who have stayed here. It’s chilly and very pretty around. Nice view of the sunset. There’s no cell service.
Scout
Tons of land, tons of campsites.. but most are "occupied" by empty trailers with no other vehicles or people around. There's empty cars parked on top of fire pits, no tents or any sort of life nearby. Felt strange.
This road is rough and very bumpy. Didn't feel comfortable "taking over" a campsite with things already parked there. Wouldn't recommend coming here.
Guide
We could not have asked for a more perfect spot. The views were immaculate, the sites were very spread out, it was the end of September and all the leaves were changing.
No notes. Can’t recommend this spot enough.
GuideEnded up driving this road up to Idaho to find a bigger spot and some solitude. Took the dirt road for about 30 minutes and got the most perfect spot. Nobody was near us and the view was amazing. We went at the beginning of June, it was a bit chilly some mornings and at night, so come prepared.
Guide
The site is over an hour from I15 on dirt and washboarded roads. Was a beautiful location for one night, but not much more than that. The Golden Spike park is on the way which is nice to stop by at. Was windy on the night we stayed, no fires.
ScoutThere are tons of free site all up and down the main road. The only problem is it is busy if you leave on Friday plan to get there by 3 at the latest. Spots fill quick.
GuidePerhaps a little too close to the university in Logan Utah it was busy that Friday night. I think all the spots filled by 7pm some 50 people there that night. There is close spots for small couples and large groups and also more private spacious spots for people with pets like me
ScoutThere are no camping signs saying you can camp ⅓ mile from parking area but the only way to get ⅓ mile is to hike
ScoutVery loud, with folks driving around until the AM. Definitely a local party spot.
TravelerWe tried this place as a quick weekend Overlanding Trip to get the kids out of the house.
Took close to two hours from Salt Lake City, once you turn off I 15 you’ve still got close to an hour. The road wasn’t too bad, pretty Wash boarded but fairly certain most cars could do it if they are careful around a couple of spots.
There is a train museum along the way that looked pretty interesting.
Once you get there, there’s a parking lot right above the spiral jetty, you could park there and camp if you wanted.
If you have a bit more of an off-road vehicle there is a couple of camping areas down just above the Lakeshore that we camped in. You will need a 4 x 4 with decent clearance. We did it with a stock suburban just fine.
We couldn’t even see the water line, dry Lake bed is pretty much all you can see.
It was rather fascinating to look at and we did enjoy the time there. But I don’t feel like it would be a place I would want to camp more than one night because I think the kids would get restless.
TravelerTwo 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. Very popular for hunters in September, so you'll have lots of people walking right by your camp. The views are beautiful, but it can get quite blustery. We weren't able to have a fire when we stayed there.
TravelerLots of spaces here. Big pull-in spots for camper rigs. And some small side pull outs for sedans who don’t mind walk-in tent spots.
ScoutThis area is more like a shooting range and hiking area. There is no camping allowed of any kind.
Scout
Stayed here for two nights, at the end of a dead end road, close to the creek. Real easy place to be.
ScoutWe didn’t have a problem finding a spot but it was very busy with lots of road traffic even until late. We woke up to our car being drive-by paintballed. It cleaned off easy, but not fabulous. Another camper left their fire ring with smoldering coals and didn’t extinguish it. Good for a quick place to sleep on your way through town, but not a super relaxing experience.
GuideAbsolutely beautiful location off highway 89. A popular place especially for ohv-ers. Lots of places to park but most of them seemed to be “claimed” (tents or trailers with no vehicles) for the upcoming weekend. That is the only reason for the loss of one star. We were there on a Thursday night just for and one night stop-and-go, so any of those claimed spots we could have used had they not been there.
There is a creek that flows back and forth around the area, we had that for our soundtrack as we slept.
At about mile 2 from the turn-off, there is a cattle guard and clear signs that the road is public but the land is not. It is possible that there is another cattle guard further up and more dispersed passed it as we saw more rvs head up and not turn around and come back, but we did not investigate that.
Well worth the trip in the search for a spot though. It was an amazing stay.
ScoutI have grown up camping in the Franklin Basin area. It is the perfect location for anyone looking for places to hike or ride. There are many different places to visit throughout the area such as the "Plane Crash" site, Beaver Creek, old logging trails, and more. If your looking for a place to just get out in the dirt and relax, this is the place.
Legend
This was a very amazing experience. The hot springs were absolutely amazing.
There were a few visitors but only us and one other stayed. Our stay was a couple of nights.
It’s worth the drive if you have 4WD or very good shocks and suspension
RangerThere are some pretty good spots with shade for dispersed camping up green canyon
ScoutEasy to find by putting the coordinates provided in Google Maps. Came in after dark and easily found a site about 1/4 mile or so up the road. Road is a bit bumpy but nothing major. Our truck handled it with ease, but even a sedan would probably be fine.
The site we chose had a fire pit and plenty of flat ground to set up. A tent, van/truck, or small trailer would work well. There are some larger more open areas that could accommodate an RV.
Great views of the canyon! It was raining most is the the time we were there, so I can only imagine what it is like on a nice summer day.
There are a couple outhouses. Did not see any sinks.
Overall highly recommend.
ScoutEasy to access, and very beautiful. There are tons of great sites secluded from others
TravelerGood place nice area to camping
TravelerSites were perfect for our overnight needs, but there were a ton of vehicles, dirt bikes, runners and we were woken up at midnight by explosions. I'm assuming they were kids down the road drinking and having fun, but they were setting off mortars at midnight on a Wednesday. Great location, but the locals use the heck out of it.
TravelerAbout 15 mins outside of Logan up a beautiful canyon. Headed up around 4pm on a Saturday during Memorial Day weekend so didn’t have high hopes but found a spot with a fire ring almost immediately! There was also another spot open down the road. Lots of people camping, hiking, mountain biking, and ATVs, so some traffic on the road, even after dark. Road ends a few miles in with a closed gate. There was a huge campsite back there with about 3 RVs parked.
Pit toilets and the entrance and a little bit up the road, very clean!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dispersed campsite near Mendon, UT?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dispersed campground near Mendon, UT is Green Canyon Dispersed Campground with a 4-star rating from 14 reviews.
What is the best site to find dispersed camping near Mendon, UT?
TheDyrt.com has all 15 dispersed camping locations near Mendon, UT, with real photos and reviews from campers.
