Very hot here. But it's a dry heat. The lake sounds kind of underwhelming from the BLM page, but there is a boat ramp and picnic area which looks like it has the best morning shade in this whole godforsaken acreage. The actual campground is a few hundred yards up the road before the boat launch. Once the sun got low it was really very pleasant there. Hawks and owls hanging out in the tree at my campsite!
on a little creek near the busy road = occasionally sketchy neighbors
Saturday of Labor Day Weekend, there were a few sites available at 3pm. I got what I hope is the least nasty. Bless my van for being tall enough to generate its own shade.
Very hot here, tried to choose a site for morning shade. There is a nice trail up the river. Sunset against the mountains across the river is beautiful.
Ten miles of washboard-y gravel road off of Utah 121. Not worth it as it turns out. A very full open-top trash barrel in the middle of the camping area and not even a porta-potty. Some cool big boulders at the edge of the camping area, but otherwise nothing interesting. Update: The signs were (IMO) misleading. I am not at the official camping area. In the morning I chose not to subject the van to 10 more miles of this bumpy, dusty road, so I will probably never know what it's really like. :)
Tidy little place near the center of a tidy little Mormon town.
Not at all interesting on this visit. I hope I caught them at a bad time of day in a bad time of year, because there was neither wildlife nor good infrastructure. Four or so miles into the auto tour loop the road was blockaded - no loop. They could have given some warning at the start of the tour that it was blocked. No wildlife of any kind visible to me. There is camping nearby at Pelican Lake
Right on the beautiful and swift-flowing Green River. Migratory birds. Winter grazing for big game (elk, mule deer), the occasional moose they say. Biggest thing I saw was a dragonfly, but the place is beautiful and remote. Getting here entails about 20 miles of gravel road, most of it pretty nice. The rest is rough and washboardy.
The other campground at Bryce, open longer into the fall. I like this one better, more convenient to the Lodge and Visitor's Center (wifi) and right next to the Rim Trail, which is what Bryce is all about.
On a hill, some sites have a great sunset view. New and very well laid out
Heading north out of Moab, take a left before the Colorado River and head upstream. There are a string of BLM campgrounds along the river. This is the third one, about six miles out. It is three sections, the pay station is in the middle. A campsite consists of a picnic table and a fire pit close to a busy road, that's it. But you are on the Colorado River!
Camping is expensive and the pools are extra, so not my thing. However just the pools is $5 for an old person, which IS my thing. There are: - three small pools ranging from very hot to way too hot. - one unheated pool for them kiddies - the biggest pool varies in temperature, see below. The big pool has three little waterfalls set up. The middle one is very hot, the left medium and the right cold. The left is always crowded, the right empty, and the middle always has an old dude or two planted under it.
A few short miles up the canyon from lovely Logan UT. The next campground up, Spring Hollow sounded nicer, but was FULL on Labor Day Friday. My modest little campground is NOT reservable, so there were still two of the ten sites available. I feel lucky.
Elevation 8,800'. Small, very handy campground in the high mountains Route 12 traverses between Boulder and Torrey. All the other campgrounds up here are closed for the season.
Coming north on Utah 95 from Blanding you drive through a deep cleft in the rock, and when you emerge is a breathtaking panorama. That is Comb Wash. It is BLM land, there is a dusty road down it's length, and it is ok to camp there.
Pleasant, well laid out, reasonably priced campground.
Heading north out of Moab, take a left before the Colorado River and head upstream. There are a string of BLM campgrounds along the river. This is the sixth one, about eight miles out. It is more deluxe than Drinks Canyon, it actually has a bathroom and a dumpster! Campsites here are bigger, RV sized, but equally Spartan -- a picnic table and a fire pit, that's it. But you are on the Colorado River!
There is one big pool with a little waterfall, then up the hill are some bathtubs for your own private soak overlooking the wide valley. Really cool setup. Camping area is 200 yards down the hill. The pools are spectacular and the actual camping area is pleasant but rest of the property is extremely derelict. Walking up the crappy trail to the bathtubs in flip flops is hard for a 70-year old. It's pretty dangerous coming back down in wet flip-flops! Electric hookups and tent/van sleeping seem to be the same price.
The campground itself is kinda noisy, but it's a better camping experience than Yellowstone, because you can walk to the lodge and the canyon rim.
Quite a nice semi-dispersed camping area. One mile off US 6 on paved Sheep Creek Road. A big field on a bluff overlooking the valley. It would be nice if they had a portapotty, but they don't.