Best Tent Camping near Thompson, UT

Dead Horse Point has a new section called Wingate. The older section is Kayenta.

Wingate has wide asphalt spaces, electricity, fire rings, tent pads and picnic tables with wind blocks on 2 sides. There are very few trees...so no shade. (Kayenta has greater shade possibilities.) There may also be some sewer hookups.

Another feature - walk-in tent sites and yurts. There are 4 great looking yurts in Wingate and 5 others near the park's Visitor Center.

Bathrooms - they are private and include an automatic flush toilet, soap dispenser, automatic faucet and hand dryer. No showers but the bathrooms are very nice.

There is a dishwashing sink outside the bathroom. It appears the water is potable but they ask you to arrive with water and help conserve water. Their water is trucked in from Moab....per reserveamerica.com.

General & Site Quality: 56 electric sites, walk-in tent sites, and nine yurts in two loops: Kayenta and Wingate. Paved driveways, mostly level, a tent pad, fire ring, and a sheltered picnic table (from sun and wind) complete the electric sites. Back-in sites are on the inside of the loops while pull-thru sites are on the outside. There were three camp hosts in the Wingate loop, more than I usually see. 

Bathhouse: Eight individual units in each loop with toilet, sink, soap, and hand dryer. Although the toilets were automatic flush, they didn’t always do the job and often took multiple tries. One toilet was clogged. There are also some vault toilets. No showers. 

Activities: Nice and easy hiking trails. You can hike the west rim and east rim trails to make a loop for approximately five miles (depending on how many overlooks you include). Some trails are better marked than others, but we enjoyed a west-to-east rim hike from and returning to our campsite in Wingate. Designated mountain biking trails. 

Unfortunately, we could only snag one night here but would have liked to have stayed longer.

On Utah 313, 12 miles from Hwy 191 Elevation 5800 and offering 56 sites and can accommodate RV's (no hookups). Great views for sunrise and sunset! All BLM campgrounds and camping areas have vault toilets, fire rings, are open year round, and a fee is charged / collected at self pay station at entrance. No firewood gathering (available at convenience stores in Moab). Camping at all sites is limited to 14 days within a 30 day period. Be prepared for wind. Ground is pretty hard and tough to get tent stakes in - we tied down to rocks on site. About a 15 min ride from Arches and about 30 min from Moab. A great place to get away form the crowds!

This was our second night boondocking near Moab, and it was peaceful. We were the only ones out in this area camping with not a single car driving by while we were here. On the way up we passed several campers right near the entrance of Yellow Circle Road. The campsite provides views of the mountains. The sunset was amazing even through the shrubbery. It does get windy out here in May; however, the shrubbery provides a solid wind break and the wind usually dies down in the evening. There was already a fire ring when we got here. Broken glass was found in some areas, be sure to watch where you step. If one doesn’t have firewood, there are plenty of dead branches laying around to use as firewood. There is potential room for other campers if one decided to come in a group with a similar set up to our camping set up. To get to this campsite, one doesn’t need high clearance; however, parts of the road aren’t crushed gravel (good tires are a must). Enjoy this beautifully, remote campsite!

Campground Review: All walk in campground near the Colorado river next to the Wall Street climbing area. I really liked this spot despite its location to the road. There are 7 spots in total, they slightly vary in size. This is an all walk in campground, some spots are steps from the parking lot and others are about 100 feet or so. First com everest served, no reservations possible. Fee was $20 a night but can be reduced with a parks pass. One vault toilet and a large dumpster for trash. 

The spots themselves are typical. Fire ring and a picnic table. We stayed din spot two, it was a little more secluded from the rest but on had room for one tent. Other spots are able to accommodate up to 3 tents. For our few nights there the campground was quiet and once night fell the cars all but stopped. It ended up being a great spot. 

The campground is near climbing, river access, hiking (Corona Arch is just a few minute drive) and only a 10 minute drive into Moab. Overall it was a great spot, the only draw backs being so close to the road (unavoidable in that area) and the campsites being right on top of each other. 

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Product Review:

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get to test products from time to time. Today i tested the Gregory Zulu 40 Backpack. I decided on this pack for long day trips or over nights. It advertises as good fro short backpacking trips. I think this bag excels as a day trip bag, i think it would work for overnights as long as you pack light. The bag itself is really nice, i love the design and colors. The pockets are all well placed and its very spacious. In the interest of testing the bag, i decided to carry every thing for 2 people just to see how well this holds up. It did not disappoint. 

I had way more than enough room to carry extra clothes, water, snacks, camera and anything else we needed for two people. The bag opens via the top or can be opened by a front zipper. The zipper on the front is great for grabbing gear near the bottom of the bag. My favorite part about the bag, the included rain fly its own pocket. We didn't need to use it but we did get rained on and its great always having one just in case. 

Overall, great bag. I cant wait to give it a try on a backpacking trip!!

The sign on the highway reads Drinks Canyon campground, but once you enter the campground the information sign reads Middle Drinks Canyon Campground. This nice campground situated between the highway and the Colorado river was full when we stopped. How ever while we didn't get to stay here this is a nice little campground. Nice views of the red rock walls of the Colorado are just out side your tent in all 9 campsites which all sit along the river. Like all the campgrounds in the canyon you are right next to the highway, but the low speed limit and the curvy road keep traffic noise to a minimum. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring. This is a first come first served campground. Be prepared campground has no water or trash service. Campground has one vault toilet.

This place was great. We had initially planned to boondock elsewhere but found this location close to both Arches and Canyonlands and some online reviews that mentioned being good for bigger RVs. When we first rolled in, we saw a lot of toy haulers and other rigs with ORV’s- I thought it was going to be loud and and dusty. I was wrong. We drove further to find a site- our map showed a large loop we could turn around on if we didn’t see anything. The further in we got the better the road became and we found many well auto camp spots with tables and metal fire rings. It’s posted to only camp in spots where there are rings- we found that several people ignored this ¯_(ツ)_/¯ We ended up grabbing. A spot that was essentially a pull through and gave us a stunning view and at least 100 yards from our nearest neighbor. Initially I was irritated by the 15$ fee but thought better of it given the well cared for road, many portable toilets as well as vault toilets throughout the park. I saw a ranger patrol which made us feel safer. We were able to let our dog off lead although as with most desert locations- there were stickers and cactus galore. There is definitely wildlife roaming around. Great place to stay a few days or longer if you’re set up well. We only heard one person running a generator and it wasn’t loud enough to disturb our stay.

Pack Creek Campground is located in south Moab, in an area that is a mix of new construction infill and old Moab funkiness. 

I stayed in one of the creekside tent spots, which are very nice and also very adaptable. There is an area in each one large enough for a tent, with a picnic table and a grill, However, many people choose to go down the rock steps to the creekside area, which is more private and little more separated from the RV park. The lower areas do not have a grill or fire ring due to the low tree canopy, but each has a picnic table where you can set up and use a camp stove. Being here really made it seem like I was not in an urban RV park.

The upper level tent sites are are separated by wooden fencing which allows for separation from neighbors.

At this time (September 2020) there are a number of Covid-related measures in place. Grand County remains under a mask mandate, and wearing of masks is being strongly encouraged when using common areas of the campground, especially the restrooms/shower areas. The tent area is being utilized at half capacity, and those in RVs using the park as a long-term base are required to be self-contained, without access to the restrooms. 

The park is very clean, and the manager is on site and available whenever needed. Restrooms and showers are immaculate and well stocked.

Despite being somewhat off the main highway, there is still a certain amount of highway noise at night, something which is pretty unavoidable anywhere in Moab due to the whole place being in a canyon. Light sleepers may want earplugs.

Pack Creek Campground is not within walking distance of downtown Moab, so if you are planning to spend time downtown understand that you will need to drive.