Best Tent Camping near Smithfield, UT

We have stayed there for three years and love the place. Very clean all over. The staff goes out of their way to accommodate us. The sites are easy to back in to. Great tent sites also.

This was the first time that we stayed in a yurt, and it is a game changer.  It is honestly so nice once in a while to not have to put up camp or break camp.  For a nice, glamping getaway this is the place to be.  The grounds are beautiful, the host is kind, it is so quiet, and there was a lot of wildlife.  I recommend it for those who don't want to miss the comforts that they have at home, or just for those of us who tent camp and want to make is even more special once in a while.

Everyone here was so nice and the staff was absolutely fantastic and so accommodating. Good spacing between tent sites, and they were spacious. It’s set up in a loop with all the amenities right in the middle so no matter where your spot is you’re just a tiny stroll away. Heated pool when it’s in season, and they seem to host a lot of fun events! I missed the ice cream social sadly. They also have air hockey and a ping pong table in the office building. This was my favourite KOA so far!

Note: Bring bug spray! I got bit a fair amount by mosquitoes.

Deluxe RV sites offer more space and privacy while standard ones are in a loop next to tent sites. Wifi is OK, T-Mobile cell service is 1 bar even with booster. ATT is 3 bars. The park is across the main road from the lake with no direct access so you’ll need to pack up the car and drive to the marina, state park or one of the smaller beaches down the road. The speed limit on main road is 50 and there isn’t a sidewalk so it’s not great for running or biking. There is however a nice bike path about 2 miles down the road. The water at Bear Lake is absolutely stunning! Clear and turquoise blue - we recommend driving up the road to the North beach in Idaho!

I stayed one night in this campground. There are about 10 sites and it was almost full capacity on a Friday. There were 2 available site. I chose the site near the Paris spring Trailhead. The trail to the spring is about 1/4 mile in and is very beautiful. There were hummingbirds everywhere! And dragon flies too! The wild flowers were still pretty vibrant but starting to fade.

They are replacing the picnic tables so each site has two, a very nice coated metal table and the old cement and wood ones. The have metal fire rings and a area large enough for a camper and a level tent site. The offer two central pit toilets that were tidy and well stocked.

Nearby, about six miles from the campground, is the Paris Ice Cave. This is very interesting and I recommend visiting!

Really loved staying here. We spent 4 days—between Thursday to Sunday—with full hookups at site 38. We were greeted pretty promptly by one of the camp hosts who maintains the campground. The camp hosts were super nice and helpful and it was evident that they really cared for the campground.

This campground sits right in the south bank of Weber river and there are a few short trails you could take to walk around the river, fish, or swim.

To get to this campground, we used Apple Maps and it was listed under “Riverbridge RV Park.” You’ll drive over a narrow bridge and there are three rows of RV sites with full hookups. Beyond the RV sites are a grassy area with a bunch of giant trees for tent camping, although a few people used this area for dry camping in their RVs.

We stayed here in a 29ft pull behind and there were several rigs larger than us. Would definitely stay here again for a weekend in Morgan.

It occured to me that since I visited this property a second time that I should get perspective on my earlier spring visit. We had a wet spring so it was a bit muddy in places, gravel on these roads would go a long way in keeping the mud down and the hole smaller. Next the grass had not been cut down and was very high, walking around in the morning ment wet shoes plus it made it more difficult to set up and tear down. I only mention these inconveniences because of the high price to stay at the resort. Firewood has to be bought there, but it is a fair price and is delivered directly to your site. If you are tent camping in the far sites the bathroom is a bit of a walk but not terrible, and in my other review they are kept very clean. Even with the minor annoyances, this is a great place to get away and relax and enjoy. And BTW...it's bring your own alcohol, so if you indulge be forewarned. Enjoy!

We got the last site which was for a RV but was given to us for our tent camping. It had both water and electric hook ups on site, and plenty of space for our tent. I gave this KOA 5 Stars all due to the site #26! We were directly next to a river stream which we were able to take our camp chairs and sit in the water. Like our own private oasis. Our site had a section that was concrete and that’s where my boyfriend had set up our kitchen area. #26 didn’t have anyone right directly next to us just a wooden rail and a river stream. The bathrooms were super clean and the showers were a good size also. Loved how they had a tv in the bathrooms. Shower while listening to the news or a tv show. They had a cute little store that sold a variety of camping items and food and drinks, candy, chips, medicines, toiletries and much more. Even though we didn’t hit the pool there was one and a nice size play area for the kids, and horseshoes for bigger kids. Also it’s about a 25min drive to the beautiful Bear Lake! Gorgeous! I will most definitely stay here again and again and will ask for #26! Thanks KOA for making our trip a great one! See you soon!

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.

Conestoga Ranch is a destination that gives luxury a down home feel.

 Located in Garden City, Utah on the beautiful Bear Lake Conestoga Ranch offers luxury tents and a chance to stay in a covered wagon.

I stayed in a larger, more luxurious site because my wife and I were on our Anniversary weekend.

The tent had a king bed, shower, and deep claw foot tub. The decor is charmingly rustic with log furnishings and tin and raw pipe for plumbing and accessories, this is all intentional and makes the experience even better.

Onsite, there are clean shower rooms and rest rooms, laundry facilities, an arcade, and a very fine restaurant and lounge.

Upon check in, you park by the office and a attendant takes you and your gear up to your site, later on a fire concierge will come and start your fire as you relax and take in all the beauty around you.

Bear Lake offers so much opportunity for recreation, from boating, to side x side rentals to beaches, mountain biking and some shopping.

This luxury comes at a price...a pretty steep price for camping, rates vary, but staying before memorial day gave us the better rate. 

I do think that the price is worth the wonderful experiences that we had at this fun little place.

Have a great time.