Best Glamping near Washington, UT

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at this resort. All sorts of different styles of camping, glamping, or staying in a lodge available. Great amenities, although we spent so much time in Zion hiking that we didn't make use of even half of what there is to offer at the resort. We will be back.

We were just looking for a place to sleep, checked out the first camping outside of Zion east entrance and decided to check out the next closest one according to info from the Zion ranger. Info said 2 miles, but more like 7-8. Upon arrival my kids eyes lit up and we booked 3 mid week nights. Free, private hot showers. Dish was station. Free pool and hot tub, ball sports, playground and fitness trail. Pay for stuff like bungie trampoline and rock wall and put put. 2 camp stores recently equipped, even individual beers(4%). Our site was a little small, tent was to close to the fire ring to feel comfortable with a fire. We peaked at the glamping tents and were jealous, maybe next time. Great spot at $30 a night plus taxes etc.

I have stayed here twice in 2020. Once in January and again in July. I haven’t stayed in an rv but they do have glamping tents and tiny houses to rent on Airbnb for reasonable prices.

This place is about 45 minutes from Zion National park and 2 hours from Bryce Canyon.

There’s a laundry room for you to do laundry (bring your own quarters) and the bathrooms are nice and clean. You don’t get as much privacy for the showers as I’d prefer but it’s not that terrible since I think only Airbnb guests uses the restrooms and not the rv guests. WiFi was available for us which helped plan our hikes.

There are tables around the laundry room building to sit at and relax. It’s a very quiet campground too which made sitting out in the evening very peaceful. The owners are so nice and accommodating. Cell service was okay but goes in and out (1-2 bars for Verizon)

The Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort is a large area with cabins, yurts, a lodge and a campground. The campground is located away from the resort features which we appreciated, so that is was a little more of an authentic camping experience. We still had access to the resort features including a pool, restaurant, and activities to sign up for, which could be a nice feature for some people. The campground area had a small store and great bathrooms and showers. Our site was fairly small but large enough for our small tent and car as well as a fire pit and picnic table.

I'd recommend this as an early spring camp outing. The temps climb quickly in Southern Utah in late spring. My kids had a blast in the sand dune area.

2.5 mike hike in, 300 ft elevation gain, easy trail to beautiful overlook of southern Utah. Camp is a sandy open area next to the overlook and cliffs of Snow Canyon State Park. Free to camp. Great for backpackers!

Snow Canyon is a still relatively unknown place near St George, Utah. There is SO much to do around there and there are great hikes that leave from this campground which makes it even better. Padres canyon and three ponds are two of my favorites. There is rocks to climb on right around the site and lots more trails within a 5 minute drive. There are great restrooms, large group areas that include a pavilion which is always helpful when it is pouring rain while you are trying to eat with a large group.

Zion National Park lives up to its rating. This has to be one of the beautiful places in Western United States. The drive in from the Eastern entrance is simply incredible and full of epic photo ops. Zion reminds me of Yosemite Valley in some ways. The park is located near some large population areas in Southwest Utah and Nevada. So it can get very crowded at times, especially give the limited capacity of the roadways and parking. So you will need to plan your visit carefully.

The campground is easily accessible and located along the shuttle routes. The campground views are some of the best we have seen during our travels. The facilities are very good and hiking trails runs through the camp. Like many National Parks, you will not have much privacy at your site but the views and the hikes more than make up for it. The focus here is tent camping but you can park a small van or camper in many of the sites. The visitor center and park staff were outstanding. We also enjoyed the diversity of visitors from around the world. It’s clear Zion and Southern Utah is on a lot of bucket lists. This camp is very popular and full most of the year. So you will need reservations and a plan to beat the traffic coming into the park. We are planning to come back and spend more time in this beautiful place.

We stayed at Zion RV resort in Virgin, Utah just outside Zion National Park and nearby towns in October 2021. This is a very nice full-service RV resort that offers a variety of pull-through and back-in sites, and cabins. The sites are 50amp FHU, fairly long, and have nice spacing between sites. The park is pristine and offers a large inviting pool and hot tub, laundry room, playground, dog runs, propane fill station, and a real lodge with lots of apparel, home goods, ice, beer and other beverage choices. There is access to the Virgin River from the campground. We really enjoyed our stay here just minutes from Zion and other local attractions. The only downside was wifi coverage if you have Verizon. This was spotty and one bar at most. We highly recommend this RV resort. To see videos on this campground and others, visit our YouTube channel: Jeff & Steff’s Excellent Adventure.

The Narrows are gorgeous, and if you are ever in Utah I would highly recommend hiking here. It is a hike like no other. One of my favorite hikes I have ever done, and I have done a lot of hiking. We stayed at the Lower Narrows Camground, got up early in the morning and hiked the Narrows, and then came back to the campground and had some fun making smores and dinner. The campground is great, the spaces are a little small and it was pretty overcrowded. We knew going into it that it was going to be busy because it was next to the hike, so we werent surprised when we got there. We reserved our campsite 6 months in advanced. I would recommend this because when we got there all the spaces were filled. Very clean, and bathrooms on site. Loved being here, and cant wait to come back someday!

There is a road through the American southwest that leads visitors on a “must-see” destination check list. From the Grand Canyon National Park, in AZ to Zion and Bryce in Utah, drivers speed through on their way from one Instagram-able spot to the next. Some of these motorists may notice the small sign just north of Kanab, UT, pointing toward the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, but most just drive on by and head to the bigger parks.

While there is good camping in the SP campground, much of it was dominated (read: packed to the gills!) by visitors with OHV equipment– which is allowed in the State Park in certain areas. We chose to camp outside at a nearby BLM camping area a short 10-mile drive away. 

Ponderosa Grove Campground is the kind you enjoyed as a kid, with sites well-spaced out and offering a modicum of privacy. There is only one small loop for bigger RV’s but lots of room for folks with a van, camper or even a small tent. Remember those? We were joined by many other people who seemed to be making the detour to this incredible location as most folks only stayed one night.  Bring your solar panel as there are no hook-ups.  Very few people were running generators which was awesome to not hear!

There is no water at this camping area, which might explain the ultra-low-cost of one night’s stay. However, the pit toilets were clean and lovely. When we visited, in 2021, this campground looked practically brand new.  And, you can get a shower pass at the state park for a few bucks...totally worth it after rolling in the sand all day.  

The nearest town is Kanab Utah, with all the usual suspects of groceries, laundry and liquor. We highly recommend Escobar’s Mexican Restaurant– excellent! Be sure to swing by Best Friends Animal Sanctuary for a tour of this amazing facility.

First of all, you CAN find RV Parks in Springdale that are closer to the main south entrance to Zion(which is THE Main Entrance). But we had a toad(our little Honda Fit) and we preferred just driving the 16 miles or so from Virgin to the park and being able to camp in one of the nicest parks you'll find. We had read that Zion River Resort was a great place to stay. And it truly is. I have only one significant complaint. But first, the good:

1. The lots are huge. Very wide and with lovely grass and gravel. Everyone gets a grassy area. The concrete pad is very level.

2. The hookups are great. I get so frustrated when parks put the water hookup really low to the ground and you can barely get your hose hooked up. No such issue here. Electric is great, as was sewer. Just want you want.

3. The clubhouse/ gift shop is nice. Basic stuff, but also some nice gift items. And beer!(In Utah!!) Everyone was friendly.

4. When you first pull in there are several clearly marked, LARGE lots for"check in". Although with COVID, there was no check in process, we used this spot to unhitch our toad so that we could get to our spot more easily.

5. Being near the Virgin River is great. What a peaceful place to visit.

And the one downside. There is virtually no cell signal in Virgin. Certainly not enough to even begin to create a hot spot. There is wifi(and we even had a booster on our site)...but there was still terribly connectivity. We could, in the early morning, check our email and such. In the evening, forget it. No streaming, no surfing. Being out of touch with the world is fine, but it's still nice to be able to do some last minute park research, touch base with the kids and post some photos on Facebook. Most of that was impossible during the 3 nights we spent here. We've stayed at many humbler parks and had no issue with connecting and streaming. Not sure what Zion River Resort could do to improve things, but they should do it. Probably need more than one source of wifi. HOWEVER, this was a friendly, peaceful, lovely place. We'd stay again without hesitation.

This is a private campground located a few miles from the Zion National Park entrance in Springdale. This campground is run by the Quality Inn Springdale and located just behind the hotel. I spent two nights here in March 2017 on a Friday and Saturday night. After not successfully reserving a campsite in the park and hoping to avoid the stress of first come first serve, I found this private campground still available. It is $39 per night for tents and each site comes with a picnic table and fire ring. The campground has flush toilets, free showers (one token per night per person and 6 min of shower per token) and drinking water and some sites back up to the Virgin River.

While this campground is conveniently located to the shops and restaurants of Springdale and close to the shuttle stop, it lacked greatly in ambience. Our site backed up to a fence with homes on the other side a mere 5 feet away. The sites themselves were very small and we had to rearrange the camp to fit our small two person Marmot tent on a flat piece of ground. The campground was loud with many uncourteous neighbors who were loud well past midnight. It’s hard to get up early to hike when your camp neighbors (who are only 5 feet away) arrive at 10PM, set up multiple tents and then decide to start partying around midnight. 

I did appreciate the clean hot free showers and the closeness to the park and restaurants. I walked to the park entrance every day instead of using the shuttles. I also highly recommend two close and local restaurants. The Whiptail Grill had an amazing dinner with delicious enchiladas and the Café Soleil had great breakfasts and lunch. I went to the café 3 times on our 3 day trip and purchased some of the local art available in the front of the café.

Zion Park itself is beautiful but overcrowded. Having been to 30+ national parks I don’t quite understand the level of popularity of this park over others besides its close proximity to Southern California and Las Vegas. 

For more information or to make reservations click here.

Last summer, during the pandemic I ventured out to Utah and camped at Zion NP in the South Campground. This is one of the largest and busiest park campgrounds that I've stayed at. Even with this, it felt wild and comfortable. Like all NP's there are bathhouse facilities, but no shower areas. See below for informative on this.

My site was directly on the Pa'rus Bike Trail, which was perfect for my riding through the park. The trail runs along the river and eventually up into the scenic drive into the actual park.

The views are spectacular during the day, and even better at night. I had a fantastic view over the bluffs of the stars and was able to get some great Milky Way shots. There are tons of night hikers that you can watch going along the Watchman Trail on the eastern side of the river...little dots of light dancing along the bluffs and ridges.

It is a 7 mile cycle ride up the drive to the entrance to the Riverside Trailhead and The Narrows. The bike ride has a long steady climb of 500 feet. This sounds daunting, but I made the ride on 3 occasions in 2 days. Early morning is best when it's hot out. You have to follow the posted cycle rules when riding up. Coming down can be exciting as you don't have to pedal for almost the full 7 miles. Stop along the way to see some of the Vistas you will not see if you are on the shuttle.

There is no recreational driving on the drive once you are past the Zion Lodge. You do have to watch for the busses and shuttles. And take plenty water and snacks if you plan on exploring the trails.

The campground is also located very near the town of Springdale. This is the location for Zion Outfitters, which is also where you can do the pay showers and laundry. The showers are located in the basement of the store and are controlled by tokens that can be purchased from the store, or at a kiosk at the entrance to the shower area.

There are several grocery stores as well as gift shops located in town. Bicycles are the main mode of transport for many people camping around the area. Eating out is quite easy as there are dozens of very delicious restaurants. My personal favorite is Sol Foods, a local grocery and deli. Their sandwiches are fantastic and the beer and wine selection is quite large and unique. I purchased several small meals from them to take on rides around town. There is always somewhere to stop and enjoy the view.

Check out the NPS.gov site for information on the shuttles into the park as well as the campground information. The area is very heavily traveled and there are tons of visitors, both camping and staying in the nearby hotels and lodges. Be prepared for slow travel by car through the town itself.

For drawbacks, I would suggest making sure your are prepared for the weather. I was there in mid September and the daytime temps were 95°-102°, with nights not going below 85°. There are few bugs in the majority of the park, however my site was in very close proximity to the Virgin River and did have the occasional small swarm of tiny flies.

Zion is one of the most beautiful parks I've been to. I would definitely recommend camping in the area, with the South Campground as my pick for where to stay. Reservations are required and you will need to book well in advance to make sure of a site as well as shuttle passes.