Riverside camping designed for tents only. Individual sites are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. The campsites offer spectacular views of the Colorado River and the massive red rock cliffs of Arches National Park. This campground is very popular due to its proximity to Moab, its shade in the summer and the beautiful scenery. Located near the Grandstaff Trailhead (hiking) and Porcupine Rim Trail (mountain biking). Typically fills in the morning, from March-October. (Do not enter the river without the required life jackets; it has dangerous under currents.) Individual Sites: 16 (limited to 10 people &amp; two vehicles per site); Water: No; Toilets: Yes; Hook-ups: No;

Grandstaff Campground

Outside Moab you can find a string of campgrounds along a scenic drive along the Colorado River. I tent camped at Grandstaff which is sandwiched between the river and the road like all campgrounds along the corridor. That fact was diminished by the gorgeous riparian setting with the river winding through fantastic rock formations. Lots of bird life including hummingbirds. 

Colorado River

The Grandstaff campground is in a great location if you plan to ride porcupine rim (ride into Moab and up through the Sand Flats rec area first, finish at camp), or if you plan to hike the Negro Bill canyon trail (it's literally across the street!). This campground is perfect for tents or cab-over-campers. Trailers would not be ideal. Unfortunately, the BLM has had to remove a lot of the bushes and invasive tamarisk, so the campground is sparse, but in a few years, it should be much better as they've replanted with native plants. The new paved biking path that runs along 128 is a positive addition to the area, and you'll be able to enjoy it right from your camp spot! If you've never hiked Negro Bill, find a spot at this campground, and do it. It's shady, protected from some of the winds that Moab sees during Spring and Fall, has plenty of water to splash in, and is beautiful! Read the signs posted at the trailhead, as there IS poison ivy in negro bill canyon area. 

Location is five stars, the road noise and traffic is a deterrent. 

We were lucky to get in to this campground. There are maybe 8-12 sites, very primitive. There is one vault toilet centrally located. This is right on the Colorado river. There were trees but with that, lots of ants. One ended up in my son's shirt and bit him multiple times leaving a huge rash. The ants were everywhere. But the views were nice. They lit up the canyon wall after dark for some sort of tour I think. It was cool. Stars galore, no real light pollution. Ample space and fire ring. It is hot! 100+ the bike path in to Moab is just half a mile up the road. There is an amazing trail across the road that has a freshwater stream with a small swimming hole and slight waterfall. It's perfect. Loved this spot!

Definitly hot

These BLM campgrounds are a great deal! It's $15, or just $7.50 with the NPS senior pass.

After we saw there are about a dozen BLM campgrounds between Moab and I70 along Route 128 on the Colorado River, we knew we wanted to try one. We missed the entrance to Goose Island, the first campground as you leave Moab, but then we saw Grandstaff before we could find a place to turn around. Glad we ended up at Grandstaff. There are 16 sites, and all except #16 and maybe #15, are right on the river. Sites are large; we didn't even see our neighbors on either side of us. There is some road noise, but it didn't bother us.

We arrived around 9 am. "Campground Full" sign was up, but we looked and found 2 empty sites with a couple more groups packing to leave. So....go early! When we left the next day, we told someone waiting to grab it. Someone was already waiting by another site while people packed up. This was around 8 am.

No water, showers or electric but it's still a great place. You can get water at the Lions Park or Gearheads in Moab. The rec center in Moab offers showers for $5 or gym/shower for $7.50 ($5 for over age 55). Great facility!

This campground is just across from Grandstaff Canyon (the ridiculously named former Negro Joe Canyon). The roundtrip that includes Morning Glory Natural Bridge is 4.5 miles. There are several water crossings (rocks, not much water), and the hike is shady in late afternoon.

There is a mountain bike trail across the road. Porcupine Rim starts there and connects with others.

Paved bike path picks up shortly after campground. It is an off road path most of the 5 miles into downtown Moab. You'll be on the road a bit.

Great BLM campground - location on the river, close to Moab, quiet

One of many campgrounds along this stretch of the Colorado east of Moab. If you're looking for beautiful scenery next to a nice cool water front then this place is your desert paradise. All campgrounds had permanent firerings and picnic tables.

The sites fill up very quickly. The first day we tried to get a spot around 1 in the afternoon in May and all spots were filled. We got lucky the next morning and swooped in as another party was leaving around 10, so arrive early!

Nearby are the Big Bend boulders and many side trails into the main canyon. To the east lies the most famous desert tower in the world, Castleton Tower. Driving south through Castle Valley will take you up to the stunning La Sal loop road if you need to escape the heat!

Soaring red walls over the Colorado River

I love this campground especially during rainstorms as the canyon walls explode with waterfalls!

best scenery near Moab!

Grandstaff campground is situated among the backdrop of the canyons massive sandstone cliffs of the Colorado river and is only a short 3 miles from Moab. While the campground sits on the shore of the Colorado river it also sits along the highway, but the slow speed limit in the area does a lot to keep down road noise. We have never experienced any disruption to our sleep from highway noise while staying in any of the campgrounds in the canyon along the highway. Grandstaff is a good jumping of site for Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. The campground has 16 sites and are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Be warned, the site does not have water, it is suggested that campers fill up at Lions Park(intersection of Hwy 191 and UT 128) near the pedestrian bridge dedication plaque. Each campsite has a picnic table, metal fire ring and tent pad. If you're a hiker be sure to hike the nearby picturesque Negro Bill canyon trail to its end at Morning Glory Bridge, a natural arch spanning 243 feet.

View picturesque sandstone cliffs from your tent

Clean pit toilet stocked with tp, a spot right next to the water luckily in the shade (most spots were unlucky) and a good distance from neighboring sites. A wonderful 4.5 mile out and back hike across the highway, totally recommend!!!

Great hike and a river nearby!

This site can get extremely windy and stormy so make sure to have the necessary equipment and stakes depending on how you’re camping. It’s a great location though. 5 minutes from downtown, 10 from arches, and walking distance to the grandstaff arch trail. Sites are clearly marked with parking and fire pits. There’s also a trash can to dump trash and two bathrooms.

Great Location

Very easy to access (even in snow), only about 15 min from town, and like 5 from Arches, has trash and bathrooms. We were the only people there but it was really cold so...

Truly beautiful all around close to the arches and solemne trailheads. Pet friendly and the fire pit was raised and had a grill too!

20 a night was a lot but its easy to self check in and out at the entrance sign and it really is the perfect little place.

New favorite campsite

Stopped and looked but didn’t camp. If you can snag a spot.. look out, fantastic most scenic camp ever!

Tent camping at its best 

An amazing trail....crossed the steam many times...quiet &amp; serene... breathtaking scenery...

Can't wait to go back

Grandstaff was amazing. Will definitely go again. Had decent bathrooms and the rangers would come by to check on the sites and collect payments. So that helped with accountability and maintaining the site. I would recommend leaving something behind at your site ( nothing of true value though) if you are going out to the town or exploring the area. Definitely at there early enough to get a site. I camped there for a couple of days with my dogs. It’s pet friendly and overall safe. The town isn’t too far away if you need something last minute or want to just enjoy. Definitely leave your pay slip on the clip they provide in front of your site. But leave no trace behind and toss your trash in the dumpster at the end of the road. The views are amazing and the river is gorgeous. I will be going back for a longer stay. 14 days max:) 

Moab BLM for the Win

This is not tents only as some of the reviews say. You can have a camper up to 24’. There is no electricity or water but you can run generator from 8 am to 8 pm. Great place to park if you are catching shuttle for mountain biking. Porcupine Ridge actually ends at the campground. I highly recommend. There are tons of tree ants so bring some ant spray to treat your campsite. 

Riverside camping 

It was a well kept campground and still had spots available around 2pm on a Saturday in July! There is road noise at the site but if that doesn't bother you it's a great place to sleep!

A solid choice!

Great campsite right on the Colorado river with views of red rocks! We were in site #12, there wasn’t a lot of shade at our spot, but some of the other sites have more trees. Across the street is the Grandstaff Trailhead, which was a great little hike! 

Amazing!

We arrived around 11am and were able to snag a campsite from someone leaving, it stayed full the two days I was there so I would definitely recommend arriving in the morning. Beautiful views and right across the street from a nice hiking trail. It was close to the road but it wasn’t too busy at night so the cars didn’t keep us up. They seem to take good care of the campground as well:)

Beautiful location and close drive to arches np

This campsite is right off the main road to Moab and has everything you need! Setup around noon and everything around us got taken pretty quickly. A lot of cars driving through after dark to find a spot with no luck. The sites are spaced out, have picnic tables/fire pits. AMAZING stars. Restrooms super clean! Only downside is it’s right next to the main road so a lot of cars throughout the evening 

Camping on the Colorado! 

Nice campground right by the river. Every site has a designated space for a tent, a bench and a fireplace. Clean restrooms. 20$ per site/per night.