Samantha R.

Salt Lake City , UT

Joined August 2017

RN living in Salt Lake City, solo camper

Classic Campground, Classic Park

I've stayed at Watchman several times while living in southern Utah. My most memorable trip was with my dad in the family's airstream. Plenty of room for the trailer with the tow vehicle. Impeccably clean campgroud. We loved the short walk to the Visitors center or restaurants in Springdale. No showers, but outfitters in Springdale are close by. We also love the shuttle system. Don't have to worry about fighting for parking in the canyon and easy to hop on and off. Observation Point was our favorite hike. Better views and less crowded than Angels Landing. Cant wait to go back in November to tackle the West Rim Trail!

Crowded but Comfortable

The main Capitol Reef campground was our second stop on a weekend getaway. It's first come first served which makes getting a site very difficult on weekends. We were at a walk in site in Loop A and it was beautiful. We had a huge tree to pitch the tent under and we felt far enough from our neighbors. Overall the campground was a little crowded and the sites were kind of on top of each other. The walk in tent sites were a nice alternative to the RV pads. We frequented the orchards and picked apples and bought pie and coffee everyday from the Gifford House. Would definitely go again! Capitol Reef remains my favorite Utah park.

Isolation in the Waterpocket Fold

We spent one night at Cedar Mesa after finding the campground in Fruita to be full. We drove for about an hour on the Notom-Bullfrog road before finding the primitive campsite. We took the site farthest back on the north side of the road and had a gorgeous view of the sagebrush and red rocks. The night sky was unbelievable! Our only complaint, that really can't be improved upon, was we were constantly harassed by bees. There must have been a nest nearby. Our site included a fire pit and picnic table. We had a wonderful time!

An Oasis!

I had a perfect long weekend camping at Upper Lehman Campground on August 11-14. After arriving at Great Basin National Park a little before noon on Friday, I had a handful of nice sites to choose from, a rarity in the national park system these days. I settled on site #21 and I couldn't have asked for a better site. Impeccably clean, far enough off the road to not get flashed with headlights, and the perfect distance from the pit toilets. There was also a water pump close by, and a fire pit on the site.

Every morning, I'd wake up to several mule deer moseying through camp and a family of turkeys. The park itself is gorgeous and a hidden gem. I enjoyed the Cave Tour and my strenuous, but rewarding hike to Wheeler Peak. There was a nice astronomy program about the Perseid Meteor Shower, but it was best viewed from the perfect clearing I had amongst the aspens of my camp site.

I will return to Great Basin many more times in the near future!