Island In The Sky (Willow Flat) Campground — Canyonlands National Park

Staying at this little campground feels like you're on top of the world, which must be why this area of Canyonlands is called Island in the Sky. It made exploring this area of Canyonlands easy, and led to a very peaceful night.

The campground: With only twelve campsites, this campground has a slower and more intimate vibe. While it's not the highest elevation I have camped at, there's a feeling of being really high up, and because the trees in the campground are low shrub-y things, it also feels very wide open. (But still enough privacy to not see the campers on the other side of the loop.) Unless you stay here around a full moon, the stars are incredible.

My campsite had a parking spot I could pull in; the spot for the tent was dirt. It also included a small pavilion that provided a little shade for the picnic table below, and a fire ring with a grate. There was a vault toilet across the road from my site. There's no drinking water at this campground.

The area: There are multiple districts in Canyonlands National Park, and you have to go different ways to get to each of them. This area is called Island in the Sky; it has several hikes to scenic overlooks of the canyons. It's a bit of a drive to get to Island in the Sky if you're coming from Arches National Park, and I would recommend having all your supplies ahead of time; especially water.

Booking: First-come; first-served. I stayed here in November, arrived in the afternoon, and there were only three campsites open.

Cell service: None. Don't expect to have cell service in any part of this district of Canyonlands. I had some at the Visitor's Center right at the entrance to the Park.

This is a great first come first served campground right in Canyonlands NP. There are 12 sites that are $15/night, no host but ranger came by each morning. 

Sites have varying degrees of size and levelness with one pull through site. Each site has a nicely covered picnic table and a fire pit with grill. The parking spots and loop are paved. There is trash only (no recycling), vault toilets and a self pay kiosk.

 The campground is a .1 mile short walk to Green River overlook so there is quite a bit of traffic but it was not loud. This is a great campground to stay at and drive or bike like we did to explore the park. 

This campground does fill up fast so morning is your best bet to get a spot at least during peak season. We’ve stayed here in February and we were the only ones at the campground, but when we stayed in October each site filled up quickly. 

No cell reception in campground but some parts of the park does have limited reception, and the cell booster helped the verizon phone slightly.

NOTE: We witnessed several people pull into the campground and into either an empty site (one instance of someone using a paid for site) and stop to eat at the picnic tables. So if you drive through looking for a spot and it looks like someone is doing this and not setting up camp then ask if they are staying. You might just get lucky and snag a spot!

Note that this review is from June 2019 when we came during a freak accident of mosquitoes basically overtaking the entire national park of Canyonlands and surrounding areas. Due to a cool, wet spring and early summer, mosquitoes would literally start attacking your car when you would park and immediately attack you as you exited the car.

Hopefully now that it's been over a year since I've been to this campground, things have changed. With that being said, it's an honor system - you pay and there is no guard on site. There are bathrooms, but nothing else since you're inside of the national park. Because this national park is so large, I would recommend buying everything and anything at a nearby grocery as you won't find anything aside from the visitor center inside the national park. 

The campground was lovely - lots of space, stargazing, and secluded - away from the crowds, but also conveniently located to the major sites to see. Would recommend (as long as mosquitoes aren't taking over)!

Ready to witness what desert camping is all about? Try your luck at Willow Flat campground.

At Willow Flat, you'll experience the most awe-inspiring milky way views you've ever seen. I'm serious - you won't want to go to sleep. There are insanely clean pit toilets and recycling/trash receptacles that are cleaned daily, though no running water, so bring your own. Each campsite has a fire pit (be sure to check fire regulations - there was a ban when we went) and picnic table under a pergola (perfect for hanging hammocks), along with room for ~3+ tents and a large vehicle. There is some off-trail hiking to the west of the campsites off the road, that I'm sure is not recommended, but allows you for some really cool views of the surrounding areas. The Green River Overlook is an easy 1/2 mile walk, perfect for sunset enjoyment.

Three of us arrived on Friday of Labor Day Weekend around 2pm and all 12 campsites were full - we went back to the Green River dispersed camping in Moab (45 min drive) to camp for the night, then returned Saturday morning at 8am to reserve a campsite here. It was worth the extra driving, and we lucked out as a few spots were open. Sites are $15/night payable by cash or personal check on site.

Truly one of the best camping spots I've ever experienced.

Willow Flat campground is located in the Canyonlands National Park: Island in the sky section. It’s rather small with only 12 spots on a a first come first serve basis. Most spot fill up by noon. Fee is only $15 and is payed to an iron ranger (envelope drop box). Has 2 vault toilets that were serviced daily and the cleanest I have ever seen. Park rangers were very nice and asked us about our stay/ if we needed any additional information about the area. No water is available here though you can fill up at visitors center; use sparingly as this water is trucked up there from Moab. Only thing I could think of being a nuisance is the meat bees than seem to hang out in the mornings and nights. Simple screen room under the shade shelters solves this for cooking and just relaxing with out being bothered. Would definitely stay here again as it’s hard to beat this location near the Moab area! The campground is maybe 100 yards from the Green River Scenic overlook into Canyonlands! Our spot was number 5.

Bring lots of water. And ice. Especially in summer. Town is a long drive. Great spacious spots, sunshade (not rain proof) and picnic tables, fire ring w/grill. Very quiet, but able to hear everyone in camp. Most folks seem to be there to explore or sight see, so up early and to bed early. But be prepared to hear your neighbor. Facilities were cleaned daily. And in excellent condition. Really great spot in Pinion Pines and sagebrush. In such great proximity to trails and viewpoints. We woke up 15 min before sunrise, poured hot water in our French Press, drove to Mesa Arch, pressed, and then hiked watching the sunrise. It was beautiful. One night we took our dinner plates to the overlook for sunset, it was an amazing dinner. Luck of the draw on getting a spot. First come, first serve. I could see it being a mess during peak season and holidays. Although we managed to get a spot and be there for mother's day weekend. Saw many discouraged cars circling and leave on many days, but many sites were available when we left.

Are you feeling lucky? Grabbing one of the few first come- first served sites at Canyonlands National Park is tough because this section of the park is immensely popular and there are only twelve available. But it's worth the gamble.

We arrived at Willow Flat Campground around noon on a Monday to find it nearly full. As other folks mentioned, the campground doesn't have electric or water, so it attracts a more rugged crowd. Larger rigs might find the pads too small, but it was perfect for my 13' foot camper and the vault toilets were clean and accessible. I had brought an extra bottle of wine in hopes that we might be able to share it with some friendly neighbors and trade adventure stories, but the sites were too large and private to be that kind of spontaneously social.

Staying right in the national park let us experience a bit of desert therapy on a deeper level. We walked to the Green River Overlook for the most spectacular sunset and then hopped in the car for a quick 5 minute drive to Mesa Arch at sunrise and saw the rocks glow florescent orange. Those pictures are the stuff social media is made for. But the best memory that I couldn't capture via my iPhone was the magic of seeing the Milky Way at midnight. Sitting under heavy blankets in the inky quiet of a night sky, filled with more stars than could have imagined, made us feel very lucky indeed.

This is the only campground in the Islands of the Sky unit of Canyonlands National Park. I drove down from Salt Lake City on a Sunday in mid-March and snagged the last site at this small campground (it was just about noon). This campground fills quickly and has no reservations so you may want to come prepared with a backup (I recommend the BLM sites on the Colorado River closer to Moab). There are other campgrounds just outside the park as well that seemed available. The campground has large secluded sites, but only has a total of 12. The campground has clean vault toilets and each site has a picnic table under a shade cover and a fire ring. The fee is $15 per night. One important thing to note is that this campground has NO running water, so be sure to stock up at the visitor center and bring a 5-10 gal container. The nights we stayed it was a bit windy, but this is to be expected for a desert mesa top.

This campground is walking distance to Green River Overlook which is a beautiful spot to enjoy the sunset. There is plenty of hiking nearby to keep you busy during the day. I enjoyed hiking to upheaval dome and Aztec butte. I also woke up at sunrise to catch the spectacular views from Mesa arch. My one complaint about the campground is that it was far from Moab which I had wanted to check out and enjoy. It takes about an hour to get there from this campground. However, this is the tradeoff for being very close to the sites and hikes of the park. Overall this was a quiet and clean campground with all of the basic necessities, but I may have preferred to camp closer to Moab for convenience. For more info about the campground, click here.