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Established Camping

Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument

Sand Island Recreation Area, near Monticello, Utah, is a fantastic spot for those looking to immerse themselves in nature while enjoying the beauty of the San Juan River. This campground offers a mix of tent and RV sites, with each site featuring a fire pit for cozy evenings under the stars.

Visitors rave about the stunning petroglyphs nearby, which add a unique cultural touch to your stay. The campground is also a popular launch point for kayaking and rafting adventures, making it a hit with water lovers. One camper shared, “I put my kayak in the water in Bluff and paddled to the campground,” highlighting the easy access to water activities.

Amenities include vault toilets and seasonal water spigots, but keep in mind that there are no electric hookups or showers. The sites are spacious, tucked among cottonwood trees, providing some shade from the sun. While the campground is close to the highway, many campers found it surprisingly quiet at night, allowing for a peaceful retreat after a day of exploration.

If you’re up for a little adventure, there’s a six-mile trail leading to the town of Bluff, where you can grab a bite or explore local attractions. Whether you're here for a quick stop or a longer stay, Sand Island Recreation Area offers a blend of relaxation and outdoor fun that’s hard to beat.

Description

Bureau of Land Management

Bears Ears National Monument

Overview

Sand Island Recreation Area is a good camping option for visitors launching San Juan River float trips, or wishing to camp close to the town of Bluff or the Cedar Mesa area of Bears Ears National Monument. The campground provides 23 campsites that each feature a tent/trailer space, a picnic table, a fire ring, and vault toilets. Drinking water is available seasonally (typically March through October). Each campsite can hold 8 people and 2 vehicles. Reservations are not available for camping at this location. Individual campsites are available on a first come, first served basis upon arrival at the self-register kiosk at the site. The Sand Island Group Sites are available for larger groups, and may be reserved here.__

Recreation

Sand Island is the primary launch point for multi-day San Juan River float trips. San Juan River trips provide boaters with access to spectacular canyons rich in scenery, geology, archeology, history and wildlife. A river permit is required in advance. The Sand Island Petroglyph Panel site is located on the sandstone walls on the north side of the recreation area. There are many nearby hiking and scenic driving opportuites in the Cedar Mesa area of Bears Ears National Monument.

Facilities

Sand Island is the primary launch point for multi-day San Juan River float trips. San Juan River trips provide boaters with access to spectacular canyons rich in scenery, geology, archeology, history and wildlife. A river permit is required in advance. The Sand Island Petroglyph Panel site is located on the sandstone walls on the north side of the recreation area. There are many nearby hiking and scenic driving opportuites in the Cedar Mesa area of Bears Ears National Monument.

Natural Features

Sand Island is located along the San Juan River. Cottonwood trees line the banks of the river and are scattered throughout the campground, providing shade at many of the sites. The north side of the campground is lined with red sandstone walls.

Nearby Attractions

Bears Ears National Monument__ San Juan River Cedar Mesa Valley of the Gods Goosenecks State Park

contact_info

For facility specific information, please call (435) 587-1500.

Charges & Cancellations

No refunds are available.

Fee Info

The campground at Sand Island Recreation Area is first come, first served and payment must be made upon arrival at the self-register kiosk at the campground using cash, check, or the Scan & Pay feature on the Recreation.gov mobile app. You must have the Recreation.gov app installed on your mobile device to use the Scan & Pay payment method. There is no fee for day use.

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Location

Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument is located in Utah

Detail location of campground

Directions

The recreation area is located off U.S. Route 191 approximately three miles west of Bluff, UT and approximately one mile east of the junction of U.S. Routes 163 and 191. It is accessible by all passenger vehicles.

Address

BLM Monticello Field Office 365 N Main St
Monticello, UT 84535

Coordinates

37.262559 N
109.610336 W

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Access

  • Drive-In
    Park next to your site

Stay Connected

  • WiFi
    Good
  • Verizon
    Good
  • AT&T
    Good
  • T-Mobile
    Unknown

Site Types

  • Tent Sites
  • RV Sites
  • Standard (Tent/RV)

Features

For Campers

  • Pets
  • Fires

For Vehicles

  • Water Hookups

Contact

General Info


Reviews

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4.5

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18 Reviews

Reviewed May. 17, 2024

What a Gem

Sites are nice. Is right on the San Juan. Great for Kayaking. Put my Kayak in the water in Bluff and paddled to the campground.

SiteB18
Month of VisitMay
  • Review photo of Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument by Francois T., May 17, 2024
  • Review photo of Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument by Francois T., May 17, 2024
Reviewed Mar. 25, 2024

Great BLM cg

Tucked along the San Juan river, this CG is also the rafter boat launch for river trips. Loop B is the larger loop for the larger TTs and RVs. Loop A is for the small tenters and has a length restriction for RVs. $15/$7.50 senior, water spigots available, vault toilets, dumpsters. Cell signal is fair on T-Mobile.

Site23
Month of VisitMarch
Reviewed Jun. 20, 2023

An oasis

Was late and quickly running out of options when we found this treat. We pitched in the A loop along a natural large stone wall. A perfect setting for the night

SiteA1
Month of VisitJune
  • Review photo of Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument by Gary G., June 20, 2023
  • Review photo of Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument by Gary G., June 20, 2023
  • Review photo of Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument by Gary G., June 20, 2023
  • (8) View All
Reviewed Jun. 3, 2022

Petroglyphs!

Came here to see petroglyphs which are next to the campground along the San Juan River. 

The campground is $15/night, first come first served and can accommodate big rigs. 

The sites are dirt and gravel and each has a fire pit and picnic table. Area was dusty and very sunny though some sites offer some shade. 

The campground is not far off of the highway so there is some road noise. There is a boat ramp for river access. There were quite a few fishers so must be good fishing area though I don’t really know. 

There is no garbage and water is available seasonally, but pit toilets are available so pack in and pack out and bring lots of water. 

The campground was clean and the petroglyphs were cool, it's just too bad that people vandalized them. Good place to stay for a day or two.

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  • Review photo of Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument by Laura M., June 3, 2022
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Reviewed Jun. 3, 2022

Petroglyphs!

Came here to see petroglyphs which are next to the campground along the San Juan River. 

The campground is $15/night first come first served and can accommodate big rigs. The sites are dirt and gravel and each has a fire pit and picnic table. Area was dusty and very sunny though some sites offer some shade. 

The campground is not far off of the highway so there is some road noise. There is a boat ramp for river access. There were quite a few fishers so must be good fishing area though I don’t really know. There is no garbage and water is available seasonally, but pit toilets are available so pack in and pack out and bring lots of water. The campground was clean and the petroglyphs were cool, it's just too bad that people vandalized them. 

Good place to stay for a day or two.

  • Review photo of Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument by Laura M., June 3, 2022
  • Review photo of Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument by Laura M., June 3, 2022
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  • (8) View All
Reviewed May. 18, 2022

Nice suprise

We were planning to stay elsewhere but saw this shady place from the road and decided to take a look. Road noise ceases at night until early morning. Hot spot but plenty of shady cottonwoods. Fast flowing river with camping near shoreline. Gorgeous rock art panel in campground. Nice 6 mile trail to town of Bluff. Sites are spacious with long flat gravel pads.

Site11
Month of VisitMay
Reviewed May. 1, 2022

Sand Island Campground

This is a clean, very quiet campground right off of the highway, very easy to find. Lots of people here but you would never know it, everyone has been very quiet thus far! There are petroglyphs a short 5 min walk from B loop that are absolutely fantastic! There is also river access from the boat launch, but I didn’t find any other access places that were easy to get to. There is no power available, but there are outhouse type restrooms and water taps in each loop. Very little noise from the highway, the Verizon phone service is very spotty.

SiteB20
Month of VisitApril
  • Review photo of Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument by Aubrey S., May 1, 2022
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Reviewed Mar. 12, 2022

The site you didn't know you wanted

I'm writing this review from my camp chair. This is one of those sites you don't want to tell people about. I stopped on a road trip from Denver to Phoenix- I showed up on a Friday night around 5:30pm (March 11th, so still a little early in the season) and there were quite a few people parked at the boat ramp, but loop A was basically empty. You could spit into the river from sites 7 and 8 and there's gorgeous red rock views basically 360⁰. The vault toilet is right across from my site and it's as clean as you'd hope for. No one working on-site, so just paid at the little box in the middle of the loop. I have 2-3 bars of service (Google Fi, so not sure which tower I'm pinging). Can't complain, 10/10 will stop here on my next road trip to Phoenix.

Site8
Month of VisitMarch
Reviewed Oct. 23, 2021

Petroglyphs and wild horses

Easy access and right on the San Juan River. water and Vault toilets. Two camp areas A &B. B is larger as are the sites. A is for no lthing longer than 22 ft and no trailers. The campground has hundreds of petroglyphs, you can hear the wild donkeys and we saw wild hordes on the river bank. $15 per night Poor cell service -Verizon Butler wash down the road an mile or two has Boondocking and some amazing ruins that are just a mile or so off the road.

Site6
Month of VisitOctober
  • Review photo of Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument by David N., October 23, 2021
  • Review photo of Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument by David N., October 23, 2021
  • Review photo of Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument by David N., October 23, 2021
Reviewed Sep. 25, 2021

Nice camp but hwy noisy

This review is for the campground. Total of 23 campsites in two loops. The 8 sites in loop A are for tenters and van campers...there is a vehicle length restriction posted. Loop B has 15 sites that are designed for larger campers, trailers and RVs. Scattered water spigots, vault toilets at both loops and a trash dumpster at entrance by the boat ramp area. 15$ nite for camping. 14 day limit. Sites are tucked into cottonwood trees and the San Juan River is close adjacent. In addition there are two group camping sites close to the boat ramp area. This seems to be the put in for floating the San Juan River down to??. Only issue and reason for only 4 stars was the constant truck traffic noise heard in Loop B due to the hwy 191 bridge close by.

Month of VisitSeptember
  • Review photo of Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument by Greg L., September 25, 2021
  • Review photo of Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument by Greg L., September 25, 2021
  • Review photo of Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument by Greg L., September 25, 2021
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Reviewed Aug. 1, 2021

Convenient spot on the Utah loop

We stopped here on our loop of the Utah big 5. Weren't expecting much but it surprised us! There was a nice river and some petroglyphs a short walk away. Water fill and some picnic tables. Spots were of a reasonable size.

There was a boat put in, and it seemed like many people were canoe camping.

Close to Mexican Hat, Valley of the Gods and Goosenecks state park

Month of VisitMay
  • Play button icon
  • Review photo of Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument by Danielle , August 1, 2021
  • Review photo of Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument by Danielle , August 1, 2021
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Reviewed Oct. 19, 2020

October oasis

We camped here in mid October as a stopover between Sedona, AZ and Telluride, CO. The place was very full and several people who arrived after us (5:00pm) did not get a spot. Loop A is quieter as it’s farthest from the bridge/highway above Loop B. Loop A was 100% tents when we were there. Loop B was mostly RV, but we did see a couple of tents there too. Vault toilet was clean. Coming from the red rocks of the Sedona area....arrived to peak fall colors with the golden trees ablaze. It was fantastic. 80 degrees day/40 degrees night. It’s a cool location that really does feel like an oasis with the trees and water.

  • Review photo of Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument by Leesa , October 19, 2020
  • Review photo of Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument by Leesa , October 19, 2020
  • Review photo of Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument by Leesa , October 19, 2020
  • (4) View All
Reviewed Dec. 1, 2019

River View

We stayed in site 8 and literally could have gone for a swim from our site. The sites are too close together for my liking, but we were the only ones at the campground. The pit toilets were clean (and not smelly)..The sites all had fire pit/grate, picnic table and flat spot for a tent or RV parking. The highway noise was a bit annoying, but not unbearable.

The sunrise over the river was incredible!

  • Review photo of Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument by Charlie B., December 1, 2019
Reviewed Aug. 12, 2018

Perfect jump off

We arrived early on a Friday and met the cheerful helpful rangers at arrival. They were very helpful and gave us directions to campsites as well as info about our checkout for our river trip on the San Juan River the next day. Campsites were clean and close to the boat ramp but also allowed for seclusion. We set up our hammocks n site #1. A short walk away was the Sand Island Petroglyph Panel. Very cool and well maintained. Our kids met us for the night and enjoyed a night camping with our darling grandbaby. Loved the area and will return.

Site#1
Month of VisitJune
Reviewed Sep. 23, 2016

Great primitive sites

Nice first come first serve sites. Pit toilets, but potable water, and the standard fire ring and picnic table. Not too busy.

  • Review photo of Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument by Elliott B., September 23, 2016
  • Review photo of Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument by Elliott B., September 23, 2016
  • Review photo of Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument by Elliott B., September 23, 2016
  • (6) View All
Reviewed Aug. 31, 2016

Utah primitive camping

A simple campground (there’s water and a vault toilet) with lovely views. It was almost empty when we were there in June. It makes a good stopover since it’s not far from Hovenweep, Four Corners (which isn’t worth the visit, IMHO), Monument Valley, and a small town for basic supplies. No reservations, no caretakers, so get ready to feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere (in a good way).

Reviewed Jul. 4, 2016

Camp under the cottonwoods riverside - Will take you back in time!

You will find this lovely campground just outside of the town of Bluff, UT. Sand Island Campground is located on the north bank of the San Juan River about 3 miles west of Bluff, Utah, on the south side of Highway 191. The hotels in town fill up fast - but this hidden spot is where you want to be if you love being off on your own! At $15 per campsite per night (2 car maximum) price is right and they offer 25 campsites. Keep in mind that the campsites are "first come, first served" and self-register. There are some amenities like drinking water, Picnic tables,Fire grates, &Pit toilets. There is a boat launch that did get regular traffic. What I loved best was the petroglyphs! There are 2 full walls of them and lots to explore down a trail that runs along the river. The sites are fairly small but ours was private and the camping area was near empty when we were there in Sept. You do have to treat yourself to dinner at the Cottonwood Steakhouse while you are there and take time the visit the nearby Bluff Fort. Their home-made rootbeer is the best I have ever had!

  • Review photo of Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument by Jeanene A., July 4, 2016
  • Review photo of Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument by Jeanene A., July 4, 2016
  • Review photo of Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument by Jeanene A., July 4, 2016
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Frequently Asked Questions

  • Does Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument have RV hookups?

    According to TheDyrt.com, Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument has water hookups.

  • Are fires allowed at Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument?

    Yes, according to campers on TheDyrt.com, fires are allowed at Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument, although make sure to check current fire restrictions in the area.

  • How hard is it to get a campsite at Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument?

    Some campers book as far as 6 months in advance, so on high-demand weekends it can be very difficult to get a campsite at Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument. If you want to get a last-minute campsite at Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument, try setting up a text message Alert atTheDyrt.com/alerts

  • Why is it so hard to get a campsite at Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument?

    There are 23 campsites at Sand Island Recreation Area — Bears Ears National Monument and over 80 million Americans who camp! Try snagging a cancellation by setting up a text message Alert atTheDyrt.com/alerts