Searching for a dispersed campsite near Sunnyside? The Dyrt provides you with a diverse selection of places to camp, from dispersed backcountry camping to boondocking, and everything in-between. Find dispersed campsites you've visited before, or discover new spots from other campers.
The Wedge Overlook offers expansive views of the San Rafael River below and the Sids Mountain Wilderness Area beyond. It's wild and undeveloped landscape offers premier backcountry recreation.
Little Grand Canyon trailhead serves as the starting or ending point for those hiking through the Little Grand Canyon. The trailhead is located past the Swinging Bridge and .8 miles west of the Buckhorn Draw Rd. This hike explores the San Rafael river as it cuts through the Little Grand Canyon. This area is a popular 2-3 day backpacking trip with primitive campsites where user are required to practice leave no trace ethics. The San Rafael River should only be floated in small crafts above 200 CFS and large crafts above 500 CFS. Hikers should only attempt to hike this section when the river is below 50 CFS. The hike is approximately 18 miles with numerous river crossings required. The side canyons along the hike offer endless miles of exploring. The trailhead is located past the Swinging Bridge Campground and .8 miles west of the Buckhorn Draw Rd.
May camp here (unless otherwise posted) up to 15 consecutive days. This is dispersed without amenities - please LNT.
Buckhorn Draw is a stunning canyon cut into the Navajo, Kayenta, and Wingate Sandstones. Carsonite posts mark where there are primitive campsites where lucky campers might spot bighorn sheep running across the ledges. Camping in Buckhorn Wash is limited to designated sites that are marked with camping signs. Creating new campsites is not allowed. Reservations not available. If there are no marked and designated sites available when you arrive, find another place to camp outside Buckhorn Draw (Check out the Swinging Bridge Campgrounds).
$8 - $15 / night
"A mysterious red pictograph (painted) panel accompanied by petroglyphs (pecked images) lies within Black Dragon Wash in the San Rafael Swell. Within a fenced area visitors may view several elongated human and animal like pictograph images attributed to the ancient Barrier Canyon culture. Stylistically different Fremont petroglyphs are located adjacent to the Barrier Canyon pictographs. In the past someone chalked the outlines of the pictograph images, a practice now know to irreparably damage fragile rock art resources. The person chalking the images combined several figures into what appears as a Dragon-like image. This “dragon” gives the canyon its name. Visitors to the site enjoy a short hike to the panel up through the wash and into the San Rafael reef. Nearby canyons and the wash itself provide additional hiking and photography opportunities. The road to the panel is sandy in spots and requires a high clearance vehicle. Do not travel into the area unless you are familiar with desert travel and are aware of the weather conditions. "
Scout
All the slabs are torn up as of 11/2024, would not risk getting a flat tire for this spot
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.
ScoutWe got there after dark and we couldn’t find any slabs. They had all been torn up. It’s a dirt field with slab piles and rebar in the dirt. Be careful driving in the field. We still found a nice flat spot to camp.
Ranger
We needed a place for the night after leaving the crazy busy area of Moab and this was the perfect spot. We will absolutely return again but with the ATVs.
There were several people camping and riding their ATVs and SXSs but when the sun went down it was quiet and so dark. The night sky is beautiful.
Pack it in and out but a perfect place for us. It had rained the day we arrived and it was not muddy and no problem getting in and out.
The road getting in has a bit of wash board so just take it slow.
Traveler
Stayed behind the rest area fairly close to the road. No one else here. Nice scenery quiet. Signs of past partying. Little bit of trash I picked up. Other than that I will stay here again.Gorgeous sunset
ScoutAbout a two minute drive off I-70, so very convenient stop if you’re passing through. Had the place to myself on a Wednesday night, apart from a couple herds of deer. If you’re following directions from the coordinates it’s okay to find in the dark. Can hear the highway. Wouldn’t stay here if I wanted to go “camping”, but it was fine to sleep for the night.
Traveler
Only one site I felt comfortable pulling a 27 foot trailer but it was beautiful and I wished I could have stayed longer. Watch out for rain. The dry wash beds will flood and I’m lucky I left when I did.
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.
GuideLots of spots. Visited after a rain storm and dirt was dirt and not clay like others spots in the area. Trees in area will hide other campers.
GuideEasy gravel road after crossing I70. Would be hard to find the slabs at dusk. WIDE open no cover. Lights and noise from freeway. Good cell coverage. Great if just pulling off for a sleep.
TravelerFirst of all, the site is very big. It is quiet and ckean. Very little firewood, if You can- bridge your own.
GuideSpent just one night while in transit to Colorado. Lots of spots for selection. Quiet. Some good views. Spectacular sunsets. Even a double rainbow with some rain.
Guide
An easy pull off from I-70. Plenty of space. A group of RVers were there when I showed up. There was a small elevated plateau to the left that I went up (4x4) to set up camp. No bathrooms or water but an easy stop off the highway for the night. Nice views. Stars.
TravelerThis picturesque site has great views and spacious sites. This is way more than an overnight sleep, you could stay here 3-4 days for hiking and excellent views at different time of the day. Only caution is road is a bit rough to get to spots but not real bad and well worth It! BTW…AT&T Services was 5G!
Traveler
This camping spot is a good place to stay if passing through to Salt Lake or to Moab. There is not much out here; however, the gas station before Wellington, is nice! The gas station has amazing coffee, and we discovered it has showers and laundry. The gas station also had firewood for sale out front.
The camp spot has a couple of fire rings. You can still hear the traffic, although not terribly bad. There is broken glass in the surrounding area so be aware. Avoid this spot if it is raining at all as it will give your tires a nice coat of slick mud; even an off road tire can get stuck with this kind of sticky mud!! On the upside it’s a remote camping spot, and the shrubbery offers a good wind break.
RangerFound this area on the way through and decided to stop. There are plenty of trees around for firewood, the top 2 to 4 inches of topsoil are soft, which is nice for leveling out your camping in. There’s some ready stuff on the bottom but nothing I had to put, my rig into four-wheel-drive for. Make sure you get far enough away from the highway or you will hear the road noise that never stops. There are places to camp all over throughout the area. I left early the next morning and saw four other people out and about.
TravelerLarge flat area with quite a few short trees scattered around. Great jumping off point to visit San Rafael swell.
TravelerIt great if you are gonna just spend the night and not really camp. We have dogs with us and there is a lot of junk to watch out for. Some of it from the area's former life and some of it from mis use by users. Not really site numbers but at least 20 slabs to park on. Mtn bike trail in sight of camp kinda of makes up for the mess.
ScoutDispersed BLM good for boondocking one night while traveling. Small Class C, just watch your approach.
ScoutLarge campsite/pullout on the side if the road, the road in was a oittle rough but any adventure van or RV with a confident driver should be fine. Good stop between Moab and SLC.
ScoutLots of flat ground, highway noise wasn’t too loud but also wasn’t too far away from the road.
GuideWe pulled in middle of the night for some quick shuteye. Level ground, mostly quiet with some highway noise.
Scout
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.
GuideWe have used this dispersed camp area several times off of I-70 on several occasions. Easy access whither you're traveling east or west bound. If east bound you'll have to cross over the medium which is allowed and enter the area through a BLM gate. It's always closed to keep cows off the freeway so please close it. The area has several places to disperse camp. If you follow the road it will take you to the east entrance of the Black Dragon. I once got a cell call in the canyon that surprised us as there's little cell coverage. In the Black Dragon you'll find a lot of Indian Petroglyphs. It's pretty easy hike to them or a high clearance vehicle. The San Rafael is quite interesting. The rest areas just west of the dispersed camping has a lot info about the area.
Guide
We loved jumping in the reservoir and the fishing is great. Downside, lots of bugs… spiders were an issue still plaguing us a week later in all of our gear. The flies are an issue. Also, people that come here treat this site like trash and trash it. Spent a solid couple hours just cleaning up glass around our site for our dogs. Other than that it was great
Scout
This is a great spot and a great find! You have to open a gate and close it behind you as you go down the road. You will need 4x4 as there is a bunch of really sandy spots and some pretty gnarly dips so high clearance would be nice. At the time there was no cell service or it was very sparse. Also take plenty of water. The early views of the desert were amazing and the night time was beautiful. Would recommend if your well equipped.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dispersed campsite near Sunnyside, UT?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dispersed campground near Sunnyside, UT is Horse Canyon Road - Dispersed Open Area with a 4.3-star rating from 15 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 30 dispersed camping locations near Sunnyside, UT, with real photos and reviews from campers.
