Best Tent Camping near Taylorsville, UT

Tent camping near Taylorsville, Utah provides access to several alpine backcountry destinations within the Wasatch Mountains. Red Pine Lake and Silver Lake Backcountry offer highly-rated tent-only camping experiences, both requiring hikes to reach the campsites. Located in Little Cottonwood Canyon, Red Pine Lake features walk-in tent sites approximately 3-4 miles up a moderately difficult trail. Silver Lake Backcountry, situated near American Fork Canyon, requires at least a half-mile hike from the trailhead to reach legal camping areas. Lake Blanche Trail Backcountry Camp provides another tent camping option with free sites but requires permits.

Most backcountry tent sites near Taylorsville require permits and have specific regulations regarding campfires and pets. Red Pine Lake prohibits fires and pets as it's in a watershed area, requiring backpackers to use camp stoves for cooking. Campers must maintain at least 200 feet distance from water sources at Red Pine Lake. Silver Lake Backcountry allows pets but requires them to be leashed. Salamander Flat offers a more accessible tent camping option with drive-in sites, fire pits, and vault toilets, though a park permit is required. Weather conditions can change rapidly at higher elevations, with afternoon thunderstorms common in summer months and cool temperatures even during peak season.

The backcountry tent camping experience near Taylorsville rewards hikers with alpine lakes, mountain views, and relative solitude. According to experienced campers, Red Pine Lake offers "peaceful camping even on a Saturday night" despite being busy with day hikers on weekends. One visitor noted that weekday camping provides the best experience, as "it's likely you'll be the only overnight camper." Silver Lake Backcountry campers report "gorgeous alpine views all around" with vistas of Timpanogos Massif, Box Elder Peak, and the Alpine Ridge. Primitive tent camping in these areas requires proper gear and preparation for changing mountain conditions, including potential strong winds and storms at higher elevations.

Best Tent Sites Near Taylorsville, Utah (25)

    1. Millcreek Canyon Backcountry Camping and Yurts

    8 Reviews
    Mounthaven, UT
    14 miles
    Website

    "You can backpack in and camp anywhere a 1/2 mile from any road like the other nearby canyons. Good trails to approach from are Church fork and Lambs Canyon Trailhead."

    "Millcreek Canyon is home to some wonderful trails that can be accessed by foot or bike. Although the canyon offers many hiking trails, the main use of the trails seems to be for trail running."

    2. Red Pine Lake

    7 Reviews
    Alta, UT
    16 miles
    Website
    +1 (801) 733-2660

    "Red Pine Lake is located up Little Cottonwood Canyon, on the south side of the road."

    "wonderful place to backpack up to during the week. can access 3 different beautiful lakes from this drainage and 2 beautiful peaks!"

    3. Silver Lake Backcountry

    8 Reviews
    Alta, UT
    18 miles

    "An amazing spot to drive to and spend the day or backpack in and spend a night or two.  Be warned you will need a 4wd vehicle if trying to go up the road after a rain storm. "

    "You can’t drive to the coordinates, you have to park at the uppermost parking lot for Silver Flat and hike up to a camping spot. Camping anywhere along that road will give you gorgeous views, though!"

    4. Lake Blanche Trail - Backcountry Camp

    1 Review
    Mounthaven, UT
    14 miles
    Website
    +1 (801) 733-2660

    "great hike to the lake!"

    5. Kimball Campground

    3 Reviews
    Mutual Dell, UT
    18 miles
    Website
    +1 (801) 999-2103

    "It was just off the road and basically no privacy but I was just looking for a safe place to sleep and that’s what I got!"

    "These campground spots are hidden within trees up the dirt road just past Silver Lake flats on the dirt road. The dirt road gets rough and rocky, but is driveable."

    7. Anderson Park

    2 Reviews
    Pleasant Grove, UT
    24 miles

    "Several fire pits, large covered lighted pavillion with three rows of picnic tables.  Large grassy field, two wooded areas, boarders a residential neighborhood, flushing toilets."

    8. Split Rock Bay Backcountry Campsites — Antelope Island State Park

    3 Reviews
    Syracuse, UT
    27 miles
    Website
    +1 (801) 773-2941

    $20 / night

    "Good hiking trails with great views and lots if animals to see."

    9. American Campground

    1 Review
    Saratoga Springs, UT
    26 miles

    10. closed

    1 Review
    Wanship, UT
    26 miles
    +1 (801) 513-1583

    $59 - $64 / night

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Tent Camping Reviews near Taylorsville, UT

1141 Reviews of 25 Taylorsville Campgrounds


  • Tommy C.
    Aug. 29, 2020

    South Fork (UT)

    AWESOME spot

    Absolutely awesome spot. Hosts were really friendly. Stayed in my pop up camper for a night and there was tons of space for pop up and our site (A1) was the best in the campground, I think. It was secluded with tons of trees. Not all sites had a lot of tree cover. It wasn’t right off the river but it was still only a 30 second walk to the river. There were fire bans in Utah but because of the type of fire set up on concrete and built in fire places, we were able to have a fire all night which was awesome. Also my buddy is a professional singer and brought his guitar so I’m impartial. We had such a great time!!

  • Jeremy H.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jun. 9, 2019

    Fivemile Pass OHV

    Good for free camping

    Not much out here but you’ll likely see a hawk or a Golden Eagle. You will have to put up with crazy OHVers and drunk partiers in some spots but there are a lot of places to go with a few pit toilets spread about.

    This is the desert and there is no water so come prepared. Please leave no trace and clean up after yourself.

  • Carrie C.The Dyrt PRO User
    Sep. 23, 2019

    Diamond Fork

    Very clean and super camp host!

    I really loved this campground! And I really love Diamond Fork Hotsprings! I can’t wait to visit again! We camped the Thursday after Labor bad and had the entire campground almost all to ourselves! On Labor Day weekend there wasn’t an empty campsite. Cost is $22 for a single site, $44 for a double. We arrived to camp around 7:30 and pitched our tent then headed up the road a few more miles to the parking area for Diamond Fork (5th water) Hot Springs. I recommend visiting the Hotspring at night in the summer to escape the overwhelming crowds. There were only a handful of people at the springs during our evening visit. The trail to the springs is about 2.4 miles in. We returned to camp around 1 AM and slept soundly in the still, quiet nature. You can hear the stream babble nearby. We slept in and as we were breaking down camp, Marc, the camp host stopped by to se how our visit was and if we needed anything. What a wonderful man! We chatted for quite a while about the area and he offered to give us a tour of the campground in his golf cart. This is a pretty leather campground! 3 separate loops. There are some hike in tent sites but they are set up for dual tents and are priced as such so they are $44 which is quite speedy for a pack in tent site. There is a well maintained nature trail the passes through the campground. There are educational kiosks along the trail. There are multiple restrooms throughout the campground. The 2 I used were very clean considering it was post holiday weekend.
    Each campsite had a fire ring, grill, and a picnic table. Tent sites all offered nice level areas for pitching your tent. You can purchase fire wood from the camp host. This is a great place and I can’t wait to return!

  • K
    Aug. 16, 2021

    Magpie Campground

    Got the job done

    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.

  • Alan B.The Dyrt PRO User
    Oct. 1, 2019

    Lower Narrows Campground

    Beautiful Creek Access w/ Expert Level Climbing Routes a Stones Throw Away

    Let me start off by saying the other review for this CG is about 250 miles off target.  The Narrows CG the other person is talking about is located in Zion National Park near St. George/Springville in southern Utah.  There are no soaring sandstone walls here!  There are however amazing overhanging water sculpted limestone cliffs that contain some of the hardest climbing that the west desert of Utah has to offer!  There are a decent amount of routes on either side of the road with the majority of the routes being near the Upper Narrows CG. 

    This CG is setup in much the same way as the Upper.  There are metal fire rings and picnic tables at each of the campsites with a vault toilet within a couple minutes walk from any of the sites.  There are only 3 sites and there are no water or trash facilities so bring all you need and then pack it all out!  The creek offers a nice respite from the heat in the summer and would probably be decent fishing as well.  I only saw a couple trout while wandering around but I'm sure there are more!

  • Jillian B.The Dyrt PRO User
    Oct. 3, 2022

    Willow Park Campground

    Campground near Provo

    This campground is ok, would expect a little more since you have to pay $25. In a nice little suburban neighborhood. Spots are close together and not much privacy, our site was along the back fence. Each site had fire pit and picnic table. There are two bathrooms, no showers and no electricity. It looks like there are a couple water fill up spigots but not potable.

  • Mary S.
    Jul. 30, 2018

    Tanners Flat

    Good location for exploring Wasatch Mountains and Salt Lake City

    You really need to know this: No dogs are allowed because this campground is in the Salt Lake City watershed.

    And this: As inviting as the water running through the campground may look, you are not allowed to swim, wade or wash in it.

    One more thing: Gate closes at 10 pm although that didn't stop some partiers at the next site in from us. They partied and left around 11 or so. There was no payment tag on the post. The exit is open but has tire shredders if you enter over them.

    A pleasant surprise at a Forest Service campground: 10 lbs of ice for $2! (There was also the usual bundle of firewood for $6.)

    An unpleasant surprise: Old, dirty bathrooms. I've seen cleaner vault toilets elsewhere than these flush toilets.

    There is no water for now (July 2018) in bathroom sinks or at spigots. The host said something about a pipe issue and water needing to be tested. That covers the amenities other than dumpsters.

    What about the sites? We arrived on a Sunday morning when the host was putting up signs indictating which sites were reserved. We had 3 possible sites among 1 through 19 and grabbed #9, a pull through site with a buffer between the road in the parking/small RV area.

    Sites in the other area (higher numbers) were becoming available, but that area's host said many of the sites were only appropriate for tents.

    Our site #9: There are a few steps down to the picnic table, fire ring and grill plus a separate area to the left for a tent. See photos.

    General site info:

    • Some sites have a concrete pad for the picnic table, etc.

    • Many sites have an area for the tent that is away from the picnic table and concealed from the road.

  • Alan B.The Dyrt PRO User
    Oct. 23, 2019

    South Fork (UT)

    Big Campground by the Creek!

    This campground much like the others in this canyon is situated along the banks of the South Fork of the Ogden River.  Before you get to Causey Reservoir and Weber Memorial Park, this is the biggest campground you'll encounter.  There are 35 single sites @23$ and 8 double sites @46$.  Some campsites are reservable and some are walk in sites.  A picnic table and metal fire ring is at each site along with vault toilets and drinking water scattered throughout the campground.  The campsites in the teens seemed to be the closest to the creek

    As for activities to do in the area, there are plenty of options!  Right by most of the campsites you can fly fish or set off on a tubing adventure down the Ogden River!  It is required that you have a life jacket before setting off.  If you're looking for bigger accumulations of water you can either head back down canyon to the huge Pineview Reservoir or head up canyon to the steep walled Causey Reservoir!


Guide to Taylorsville

Taylorsville, Utah, offers a variety of tent camping options that cater to outdoor enthusiasts looking for adventure and natural beauty.

Tent campers should check out stunning mountain views

  • Experience breathtaking scenery at Silver Lake Backcountry, where hiking in rewards you with gorgeous vistas and serene camping spots.
  • The picturesque Red Pine Lake is accessible only by a challenging hike, but the stunning alpine lake makes the effort worthwhile.
  • For a more secluded experience, Dutchman Mine Flats offers beautiful views and a chance to connect with nature, though be prepared for rocky terrain.

Tent campers like these nearby activities

  • Enjoy hiking and fishing at Anderson Park, which features ample space for group camping and access to nearby trails.
  • The Kimball Campground is perfect for those looking to explore trails leading to scenic waterfalls and enjoy a peaceful riverside setting.
  • For a quick escape, Salamander Flat provides a convenient location for car camping and access to local hiking trails.

Tent camping amenities for a comfortable stay

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Taylorsville, UT?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Taylorsville, UT is Millcreek Canyon Backcountry Camping and Yurts with a 3.8-star rating from 8 reviews.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Taylorsville, UT?

TheDyrt.com has all 25 tent camping locations near Taylorsville, UT, with real photos and reviews from campers.