McCoy Flats MTB Trailhead provides free dispersed camping with pets allowed throughout its extensive area. Located about 15 minutes from Vernal, this Bureau of Land Management site features three vault toilets spread along the main access road with ample spaces for both tent and RV camping. Campers can set up anywhere along the three-mile stretch of road, with particularly good spots about 1.5 miles in where newer toilet facilities were recently installed. The area offers excellent privacy between campsites and typically remains uncrowded, especially during weekdays. No designated pet areas exist, but the wide-open terrain provides plenty of space for dogs to exercise. The campground has no water or trash facilities, so campers must pack in all necessary supplies and pack out all waste. The stargazing is unreal and many visitors enjoy having the place entirely to themselves for days.
Ashley National Forest Riverview Campground welcomes pets while offering more developed facilities alongside the Yellowstone River. This seasonal campground operates from May through September with picnic tables, vault toilets, trash collection, and established fire rings at each site. The riverside location provides excellent opportunities for dogs to cool off during summer months, though owners should supervise pets near the water. Many sites position directly along the river where fly fishers regularly catch trout. Even during holiday weekends like Memorial Day, the campground remains relatively uncrowded with excellent separation between sites. Clean, well-maintained toilet facilities enhance the camping experience, and the night sky visibility is exceptional - visitors report seeing the entire Milky Way galaxy clearly. Temperatures can vary significantly between day and night, so pet owners should prepare accordingly with both cooling options and warmth for evenings.
$20 - $150 / night
"This is a great recreation area close to the town of Vernal, about 5 miles out. There is a lake for fishing, swimming and water sports. There is a nice beach with pavilions and picnic sites."
"Access to the park was easy as was check in. The camp hosts were super nice and very accommodating during our three night’s stay."
"If you want to get to paradise, use the paradise guard Station location, then continue down paradise park road."
"It’s $5 a night for a good camping spot and nice bathrooms for how far you drive into the mountains."
"Vast and accessible to all vehicles. Thanks Utah !!!"
"McCoy Flats is located about 6 miles southwest of Vernal, UT and you stay here for the proximity to amazing mountain bike trails. This trail system boasts 46 miles and 15 trials for all skill levels. "
$10 / night
"Almost every spot along the river was taken, but once you were in your camp you could hardly tell neighbors were around."
$5 / night
"Pros: Quiet
Balance of privacy with proximity to other sites
**Inexpensive**
Unique location
Fire pits
COWS!"
"We did see several other campers near Chepeta Lake. Clean toilets, bear-proof trash, and an easy stroll down to the lake. Coming in on 117 from the west side was a little rough. "
"It was quiet and well maintained and just off the main road making it easy to walk about parts of town. Vernal is a nice town with several interesting drives and sites nearby."
"A good bit of road noise and located next to a tire store. The sites are level, gravel and shaded, but close together (maybe 8'). Park is run by a man named Dennis and his son."
$29 - $72 / night
"Only downside pool closed to early at 8 pm."
"Some highway noise, but quiets down by nightfall. This campground had a good feel to it IMO. Not super large, but almost all the sites were pull through."
$24 / night
"Green River Campground is located inside Dinosaur National Monument - on the ‘Quarry side’ of the park, in Utah."
"You are steps away from the river. They are huge campsites that can fit a large group. Great spot to enjoy the beauty of Dinosaur National Monument"
"From here we set off on the Swift Creek trail that ascends quickly. the Yellowstone trail however goes through a dense tunnel of forest for quite a few miles."
$40 - $200 / night
"Sandy beach and hiking trails. Large parking lot for cars/boats. Dumpster, bathrooms, water hookups, and very fast WiFi (available for $3/day). $25/night for hookup spots, $15/night for regular spot."
"Very scenic lake camping. Beautiful formations, lake is clean, and not too busy, especially since we were there during July 4th weekend."
LegendThis it the KOA near Dinosaur Np on the Utah/Colorado border. They had a tough winter and were still recovering in June when we stayed.. the area with the dog park was flooded from snow melt, so it had not been mowed in some time. Mosquitoes were bad. Dog park was unusable. They have a pool. Also rent 3-wheel cycles for kids to ride up and down terrorizing everyone. I is a short drive to Dinosaur Np.
ScoutRed Fleet is a very accessible campground. There are several large RV spots with full hookups (30amp, one handicapped spot with 50amp) in addition to tent camping. Boat ramp down to reservoir. Sandy beach and hiking trails. Large parking lot for cars/boats. Dumpster, bathrooms, water hookups, and very fast WiFi (available for $3/day). $25/night for hookup spots, $15/night for regular spot. Pets allowed but must be on leash.
LegendCampground Review:
We came up here to stay for one night. Its $25 a night so for me a lil pricey but then when I walked my dog around the park I can see why it cost that much. There were like 6 bathroom facilities a boat dock and even shower facilities. There are pull through sites, tent sites, and back in camper sites. It was one of the biggest campgrounds I've been in with excellent views. They had a pavilion where we seen tons of wild turkeys. Ken came and let us know he'd seen a mtn lion in the morning and be careful with out dog he didnt want to see it harmed. He went around the entire campground to let everyone with pets know. So good customer service there. The facilities were clean when I was there and I dont know the curcumstances with the last review but I was able to stay in an "R" site just fine. The campground only had like 4 other guests though that night. I would love to go back to this campground next summer when their open again it was really great and you could walk to Flaming gorge!
Product Review:
As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time While I was here I am tesed the Ledlenser MT10 flashlight.
https://www.ledlenser.com/en/products/flashlights/outdoor/mt10/
When I first received this flashlight looking at it only being 5" long I though great another silly wannabe flashlight. Except it had a warning label on it to not shine it into peoples eyes. Hmmm Maybe this lil guy might pack a punch I thought. I turned it on during the day and though wow it is kinda bright. . . but the real test came when dark fell! I was astonished at how BRIGHT this light was; it blew any other flashlight or headlamp I've ever owned outta the water! If you pull the head of it u can focus it or make it wide beam its a simple press button on and off. If you press the botton twice or three in succession it gives you a dimmer light each time you push it. It claims to be 1000 lumens and I believe it! It is charged with a plug in charger and is pretty speedy at being charged; the power button turns green when it is fully charged. My only complain is the carrying case that comes with it has to be used without the belt clip you can put on the back of the flashlight. Otherwise its to tight of fit and if your hiking with it in the case it pushes the power button because of the tightness and you'll run your battery dead, without even knowing it. I'd like to see the case fit along with the clip so that you can protect the flashlight without having to remove the belt clip. Please see pictures for brightness inside my tent and outside. FYI we had friends about 200 yards away from us that could see the beam through the trees where they were camped.
GuideThis park is so amazing . Right next to starvation lake, plenty of mature trees , great view , super nice staffs , right next to Utah 40 but hardly hear any noise . 5 min away from town.
Only reason for 3 stars are internet connection was not usable , and dog&deer poops were everywhere . Kim
GuideThe campsite was a pull through, fairly large with a picnic table and fire ring. There is a nice dog walk/path with a great view of the reservoir at the end of the path. When we were there it was very windy and cold so our time outside was limited.
LegendGreen River Campground is located inside Dinosaur National Monument - on the ‘Quarry side’ of the park, in Utah. It is a short drive from the vistitors center and quarry, and is next to the Green River.
BEWARE: We trusted Siri's directions, and she steered us in the wrong direction - she sent us across the Colorado border and to the ‘Canyon side’ of the park. We saw a sign reading DNM, and passed a visitors center, so we figured we were in the right place - we should have stopped at the visitors center, we may have saved ourselves from getting a little lost. After driving 15 miles or so we came to a stopping point - you needed a 4 wheel drive vehicle to continue down a couple of the roads. There was a sign post with a map, but the Green River Campground was nowhere to be seen. Since we didn’t have 4WD we figured the campground was not accessible through the roads within the park, so we had to backtrack back to highway 40 towards Utah to the Quarry side. Lesson learned - follow the directions on the park's website, NOT SIRI!
If you have an easy-up or some sort of shade canopy, I highly suggest bringing it with you when you are camping in this part of Utah! As stadard for the area, most of the campsites do not have much in the way of shade. We camped this past July, and it was extremely hot for most of the day and well into the evening. There were a couple sparse trees in our site, but they did not provide any shade. We tried to rig up a shade canopy with an extra tarp, but there wasn't much to tie it to, nor did we have much rope.
Warning: The area does have black bears, but there were no bear bins in the campground, so you have to lock all of your food and toiletries in the car at night. There are bear-proof dumpsters for trash and recycling though. I was once told by a ranger in Yosemite NP that bears can recognize coolers when peering into car windows - he suggested putting put a towel and gear over your coolers when keeping them in the car overnight in bear territory.
The bathrooms were clean - no showers are available, though.
There were not any water spigets around by the sites, but there was a faucet outside the rest rooms for dish washing and water bottles.
The fire pit had a very nice cooking grate - we always bring a small collapsable grate in case the fire ring doesn’t have one, but no need to use it this time!
It got very windy during the day, and after coming back from a hike we found our tent blown over, despite having staked it down. Stake your tents down well!
We only saw one scorpion in our site for the two nights we stayed - one crawled up by the fire ring and hung out with us next to the camp fire. He was small. I would still suggest always zipping up your tent completely every time you open and close it, and to check your shoes if you leave them outside!
Some sites in Green River are "riverside," but are not directly next to the river - perhaps 30 yards away. We walked down to the river - we did not see any true trails to the river, but we didn't take the time to look around. The river and surrounding moutainous region was beautiful, and the cold water was a great way to cool off after a hike in the heat.
I was able to get some cell service down in the campground, but it was definitely better up near the visitors center.
Green River Campground is a great basecamp for those wishing to explore Dinosaur National Monument! Bring lots of water - it is HOT in the summer! We chose to get up early to hike and beat the heat - afterwards we packed up lunch and drove over to Josie Morris cabin. The Josie Morris cabin is an interesting historical site - what one women accomplished out in the middle of nowhere was impressive! Josie planted a lot of trees on her land, so there is a nice shady lawn with picnic benches and a view - it was the perfect lunch spot! The petroglyphs around the park are a must see, as is the quarry exhibit hall!
CAMPSITE SPECS
Fees: $18/night
Plumbed Toilets: Yes
Drinking Water: Yes
Showers: NO
Picnic Table: Yes
Firepit: Yes
Cooking Grates: Yes
Shade: Limited!
Cell Service: Limited
Animals Bins/Food Lockers: NO
Trash: Yes
LegendWe recently had our family reunion at the group site a little farther up the road. It easily accomadated 30 trailers, 8 large tents, about 70 of us, and 10 dogs. It had 2 toilet buildings that were cleaned and stocked daily by DNR, 4 horseshoe pits, the giant fire pit, a dumpster, and was in walking distance to the ponds and river. From camp it was close to a mile walk up to the old u bar ranch if you drive up to the dead end its only .4 of a mile. Beautiful wooded area with views of deer and moose.
LegendCampground Review: Dispersed Camping at Pyramid Lake, UT
Pyramid Lake is another gem of a mountain lake found in the Uinta Mountains of Utah. It is a small-medium sized lake you can drive to (with a small walk in) and has lots of National Forest dispersed camping. This area, while on National Forest, does require a recreation pass. A three-day pass is $6 which you can get at the various self-serve stations found along the main Mirror Lake Highway or it is free if you have a National Parks pass. It is on the honor system. So before I go into the camp area a few notes on getting there. Once you turn off highway 150 towards Murdock Basin, you have 6 miles of dirt/rock road ahead of you. A car can make it the first four miles, but a vehicle with at least 18” of clearance (and recommended AWD/4WD) is required as the road turns into sections of just really large rocks. You can stop and camp anywhere along that forest service road, but to get to either Pyramid or Echo Lake, you need the higher clearance.
The camping area and lake: it is dispersed camping so it is very primitive. No running water (either bring your own or a way to filter lake water), no pit toilets (bring a spade to dig a cat hole and bury or pack out your TP), tent or hammock camping (a pull behind trailer won’t make it the last few miles), scattered fire pits (practice extreme fire safety and make sure you fully put out any fire you start), and no garbage service (pack out whatever you pack in), aka typical backcountry camping. I loved it! The lake is beautiful and there is a trail you can walk around it. I did bring my inflatable paddleboard but didn’t end up breaking it out because it was too windy. But I will definitely return to paddle the lake another day. Multiple people were fishing and I could see the fish jumping as well. There is also a large boulder field on the South side of the lake which is fun to scramble around. I have decided my dog is part mountain goat. I chose a small spot about 50 meters from the water—halfway between the lake and where I parked the car. It was small and perfect for just one person and dog.
Downsides to the lake: While visiting a small mountain lake is always fun, there was a few things that didn’t meet my expectations (which are relatively low). The biggest thing which surprised me was how busy it was considering how rough the road was. It is really fun to see lots of people enjoying the outdoors but there were two larger groups of twenty-somethings that were really loud the whole night. I think one group played music and stayed up all night long and randomly walked down to the lake loudly with flashlights (which was really not necessary considering it was a cloudless, full moon night). They had dogs barking and generally seemed to not take the other people camping at the lake into consideration. Granted it was a killer spot for a group campout but it definitely affected by enjoyment of the evening. Overall, I really enjoyed the area and will return to camp again.
Gear Review: Matador Transit30 Duffle
As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get the opportunity to test out gear for our awesome partners from time to time. I was given the privilege of testing out the Matador Transit30 packable duffle bag in grey. This bag, when stuffed is shorter but thicker than my phone but when unpacked is a full 30 liter duffle bag. For those who don’t speak liter size it is about the size of a typical medium Adidas duffle bag. It is made up of water resistant ripstop material, has one seam sealed zippered pocket, and the main pocket is accessed by a two-way seam sealed zipper.
Pros:
Cons:
Overall, I am very excited to use this bag for quick overnight camping trips and overall general duffle bag usage. I can see myself including this bag when I travel in case I need extra storage space. If you have a slight love obsession with gear bags (as I do), this is a must addition to your packing arsenal. Its versatility and weight are unmatched and time will tell on the durability (but I have a feeling it will hold up just fine!).
TravelerWe spent one night at Antelope Flats and it was not good. The wind gusted at around 50 miles an hour for about three hours, making it impossible to stay outside. If your tent was not staked down well, it would have blown away (which we witnessed). Thankfully, the wind subsided for us to be able to sleep. The whole campground is also full of fox tails and stickers so if you are camping with dogs I would definitely stay away from this site unless you want to constantly be pulling them out of your dog. Also, at the time of our arrival they did not have any water available and the flush toilets were not working. They did issue a 50% refund for the water not working, so that was very nice. Overall, I would not stay there again.
Dispersed camping near Neola, Utah offers flexible accommodations for pets and owners against a backdrop of high desert terrain at 6,500 feet elevation. Located between the Uinta Mountains and Strawberry River Valley, this region experiences significant temperature fluctuations—daytime summer temperatures often reach the mid-90s while dropping into the 40s at night. Most camping sites maintain cell service coverage with full bars on major carriers, making remote work possible while enjoying outdoor recreation.
Hike to dinosaur tracks: At Red Fleet State Park Campground, visitors can kayak to see preserved dinosaur footprints. "Our absolute favorite part of this campground is the ability to rent kayaks and kayak over to see the dinosaur footprints. This was our first time seeing anything of the like, and it absolutely blew our minds," notes Angela G.
Try fly fishing: The Yellowstone River provides excellent fishing opportunities. "Many sites position directly along the river where fly fishers regularly catch trout," according to visitor reports from multiple campgrounds in the area.
Explore mountain biking trails: McCoy Flats MTB Trailhead offers extensive mountain biking options. "This trail system boasts 46 miles and 15 trials for all skill levels. If you are a mountain biker, this area is not to be missed," writes Jenny R.
Visit Dinosaur National Monument: Within a short drive of most area campgrounds, the monument provides educational exhibits and hiking. "Make Steinaker your basecamp for the many mountain biking trails just up the highway, hiking (check out Moonshine Arch), fishing, and more," suggests Amanda B.
Dark sky viewing: The minimal light pollution creates exceptional stargazing conditions at Steinaker State Park Campground. "The night sky was amazing, could see the whole milky way galaxy," reports Bharath K. who camped in the area.
Water recreation: Red Fleet State Park offers water activities beyond swimming. "They had a waterslide down the boat ramp and water trampoline. This year they have added a hammock rack to the campground that holds 9 hammocks. They've also added on-site kayak/paddle board rentals," notes Cortney M.
Quiet camping spots: Many campgrounds offer secluded sites despite seasonal popularity. "We showed up Labor Day weekend. Almost every spot along the river was taken, but once you were in your camp you could hardly tell neighbors were around," writes Cody W. about Ashley National Forest.
Scenic diversity: The combination of red rock formations and water features creates unique landscape views. "Surrounded by beautiful red rock and pinion pines, the beauty of the desert will take your breath away," says Amanda B. about the Red Fleet area.
Temperature fluctuations: Pack for both hot days and cold nights when camping near Neola. "It did die down overnight but then it picked up again the next afternoon," notes Jenny R. about winds at McCoy Flats. Another camper mentions, "Temperatures can vary significantly between day and night."
Limited shade in many areas: Paradise Campground and other sites have minimal tree coverage. "My suggestions are to take some kind of extra shade. There are not a lot of trees for shade," advises Arnel O. who camped in the region.
Vault toilet availability: Most dispersed camping areas provide basic facilities. "It's $5 a night for a good camping spot and nice bathrooms for how far you drive into the mountains," explains Kaity M. about Paradise Campground.
Wildlife awareness: The high desert environment hosts various wildlife. "You are also in the high desert plain, so watch for snakes," warns one reviewer about the dispersed camping areas.
Water access varies: Bring all needed water for dispersed sites. For established campgrounds, one visitor notes, "There were not any water spigots around by the sites, but there was a faucet outside the restrooms for dish washing and water bottles."
Tepee rentals: Green River Campground in Dinosaur National Monument offers unique sleeping accommodations. "We rented a TeePee site. It was fun for the kids to sleep in a TeePee. There was a small table with a roof over it," reports Arnel O.
Kid-friendly water activities: Red Fleet State Park provides safe swimming areas with amenities. "There is a beach area with a floating dock to swim out to. They rent kayaks, paddle boards and canoes," explains Tammy H.
Junior Ranger programs: Dinosaur National Monument offers educational activities. "The rangers are top notch and super friendly, we love the petroglyphs and the kids love the Jr. Ranger Program," writes Christopher C.
Pack for weather changes: Prepare for both hot days and cool nights with appropriate clothing. "This park is not for anyone that doesn't like to be seen," notes one reviewer about more crowded holiday weekends.
Cell service for remote work: For pet-friendly camping near Neola, Utah with connectivity needs, Fossil Valley RV Park provides reliable internet. "Full hookups with max 50 amp service and good Wi-Fi," reports Tom M.
Dump station locations: Plan waste management stops accordingly. "They do have 2 dump stations for $10 a use out front," mentions Cortney M. about an area campground.
Pull-through availability: Many RV sites offer easy access. "This campground is not for anyone that doesn't like to be seen cause most likely you'll have a neighbor right next to you, above you, or below you," advises one camper about spacing at popular sites.
Supply runs proximity: Most camping areas maintain reasonable distance to towns. "This is a great location 25 minutes or so to the Dinosaur National Monument. There are so many other things to do in Vernal," explains Preston G.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dog-friendly campsite near Neola, UT?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dog-friendly campground near Neola, UT is Steinaker State Park Campground with a 4.5-star rating from 21 reviews.
What is the best site to find dog-friendly camping near Neola, UT?
TheDyrt.com has all 127 dog-friendly camping locations near Neola, UT, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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