Top 10+ Dog-Friendly Campgrounds near Vernal, UT

A bit of a trashy area, glass, cans, shot shells, likely a weekend party spot for teen parties. No cell signal either.

This site is long ways from Vernal, so the McCoy flats BLM dispersed area is a much better option... Excellent cell signal, only a few miles into Vernal and a Walmart.. and it has new vault toilets and is free dispersed hanging with the MTB crowd

This 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.

This is a free dispersed area and I was there in August and the site had about 6 trailers that seemed to allow be pre- staged for the hunting season. No tow vehicles or people around. Same situation at any other free dispersed site on the Ashley NF above the town of Vernal Utah. This site did have a vault toilet, but no water, fire rings, tables or trash cans. However, cell signal was good so maybe that'll is why this site seems popular. Three stars due to the vacant TTs hogging sites.

Campground 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.

This is a very nice get away spot about an 75 minutes outside of Vernal Utah. I have camped at this campground several times and it is always an enjoyable experience. The sites cannot be reserved. It is first come first serve. The road to the campsite is well maintained. The campsite itself is nestled in the pines with craggy mountains all around it. The best part about this campground is the fishing. If you get one of the sites towards the back of the campground the creek runs right by it and fishing for pan size trout is a blast. The sites themselves are well maintained with a lot of open space between the sites.

This campground is right in the middle of town...a lot of people that live in their rv's for work stay here...lots of trees, and within walking distance to just about anything in Vernal...right next to a Maverick convenience store...

One of the best spots I have found for full time RV/Van life. Extremely quite with amazing sunsets. Full service on AT&T and Verizon. The town of Vernal is close by with a Walmart less tan 10-15 minutes.

Highly recommended!

We enjoyed this little RV park. 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. This RV park is a good launching pad for day trips!

   This campground is only a few blocks from downtown Vernal, but out of town enough for a rural feel. 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. I requested a spot by the bathroom/shower building & we got a patio site. Very nice site with a propane grill provided. 

   There are 3 bathroom/showers in the campground. One in the office building, one by the pool & one by the tent section. Bathrooms were clean. I used the laundry room without issues. 

   They had a couple of tipis, a woody tent (don't know what that is). 15 tent sites & cabins. The RV sites were basic KOA.- in a row & kind of close. We had no issues with WIFI. Staff was courteous& they had a lot of area information. I especially liked the day trips that were numbered. We camped at Vernal/ Dinosaurland KOA Holiday in a Travel Trailer.

We stayed here during the summer of 2020 due to its proximity to Vernal. It’s a decent enough campground, it’s very well maintained by BLM rangers which is probably the best part about it. Communal picnic tables at a couple of sites and clean pit toilets.

Due to its proximity to Pelican Lake, the sites are VERY buggy, at least they were during the summertime. It was bearable but I would definitely suggest bringing netting of some kind or one of those cheap bug jackets. There isn’t a lot of cover in the slightest, so site privacy is minimal and one can see very easily between each site. Fortunately, during our visit on a weekday, the campground wasn’t at all crowded, so it felt a lot more private than it probably would on a weekend. One upside of our stay was that we got to see some Pronghorns, photo included.

If you’re in the Vernal area, this is a nice, cheap campsite that will definitely suit your needs for primitive camping. I can’t remember the price exactly, but it was between $10-$15 a night and you pay in a BLM dropbox through an honor system.

Vernal Dinosoar Koa seems like it has a TON of spots crammed into a small are but all of them have green grass, picnic tables, and grills. Some sites have covered awnings some have large shade trees. What I liked about this campground were all the activity options they gave you, unlike some other KOA's I've stayed at. There was a small but functional K-9 park, a kids park, a swimming pool, a jump pad, and they had bike/3 wheeler rentals, and a mini golf coarse. They had a covered patio off of the pool building with picnic tables for use and just on the other side of the jump pad and kids playground they had a HUGE grassy field that you could go throw frisbees on or even fly a kite. They had spots for small RV, Very Large RVs, One special site that came with cable tv, and numerous cabins for rent. If your looking for something just off of the town in Vernal, So you can visit all the great dinosaur attractions, this would be the place. They did have a small store with firewood, some sundries, and tourist gifts. They also have 2 dump stations for $10 a use out front.

We stayed here a couple of nights in our 35' motorhome towing a Jeep. The park is in the middle of Vernal and convenient to shopping and restaurants. 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. They are both very helpful and pleasant. The park is very clean and well kept. The bathrooms are very clean, but you have to pay extra for showers. The park also has a laundry with three washers and the dryers. Dennis has plenty of quarters for change.