Best Dispersed Camping near Vernon, UT

As beautiful as the view was, I felt it was ruined with all of the trash that people have left behind in the dispersed camping area as well as along the lakeshore. Tents, pillows, sleeping bags, glass, etc. There also seems to be majority long term campers who have a lot of stuff everywhere around their campsites, as well as 2-3 permanent residents living on the private property that backs up against the public lands. While there are 10-12 spots that are easily accessible, they’re being utilized by the long-term campers. Our first night here we arrived around 8 pm, right before sunset so we didn’t have a lot of time to explore so we just parked in the larger area near the public access area to the lake by 3 other campers. Luckily the next morning a camper van left so we were able to move without being on top of so many people since the people we were around all had dogs barking almost every time we let ours out to go to the bathroom. Overall, I felt like this campsite left more to be desired and took away from the beauty of the area.

Good dispersed campsite, especially if you’re on a road trip along I-80 (which we were, evacuating from a wildfire in CA). There are no hookups or services. This is really just a spot of BLM land that has some fairly level sites cleared. Some sites probably required 4WD. Looks like it would be really fun for OHV’s. We were car camping, so didn’t have to worry to much about space. From what we could tell there were probably only a couple good spots for an RV or tow-behind. There are no reservations, just find a place where your car fits and park it.

Rumor has it there’s a neat stream nearby, but we didn’t get a chance to check it out.

After a long day of travel we just wanted to get to any site and camp. This is a national forest so there is technically a park permit required. However, we have an annual park pass and they accept that as well. It is an honor system kind of park permit. They ask you to scan the QR code or pay at the self pay station. $10 for a 3day pass, $20 for a 7 day pass.

The drive up to this site is winding and the cars seem to be used to driving it because they come around the corners pretty fast. Drive carefully and stay on your side of the road. It site is just after mile marker 17.

The site is huge! Lots of space for people, cars, RVs and trailers. The road is paved until you turn in and then it’s a regular dirt road.

The major con in this park in general is the bathrooms are yucky especially at this site.

This seems to be a local hangout for the youngsters as well. They were not a bother to us however, they were letting loose, having a good time at their site. They left around 11 or so.

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This was a great place to stay for one night on my journey traveling I-80. The coordinates have been updated (originally wrong when I tried to find it)- the map is correct now.

I arrived after dark on Jan 10th. Once I found the entrance (easy now that the location is correct) I couldn’t obviously see flat areas for parking. With some help from my mom who I was on the phone with, she was able to see from daytime satellite photos the easiest spots.

When you enter the camping area, stay to the left on the main road, continue staying left - you will pass 3-4 little ‘roads’. The first site- where I parked- is the first opening to the left. If you venture up to the right, you will end up some extremely steep drives. My Subaru Outback made it up and down one of those but it was a little scary for me.

It was COLD- when I woke up, temp was 19, felt like 12. But in my car I was cozy. There isn’t any privacy from the main road, but very few cars driving by.

Horseshoe Springs is across the street (turn left out of camping area, first turn off on the right- you can see the little pavilion from the road). Was nice to see even in the cold!

Solo woman traveling- it was a little freaky at first but I got used to the solitude there, and felt safe! Beautiful landscape upon waking up!