Utah: Looking for balance of satefy and solitude

[OpaqueNinja]

I wanted to find a place in Utah to camp that won't have people nearby, will have a few trails, and preferably won't be that dangerous (mainly in regards to large dangerous animals). Also I'm driving a V6 4 door Sedan so I can take a decent variety of dirt roads. I'm looking for a spot not far off a road (I lack hiking equipment). I feel like I'm asking for the perfect site that just about everyone would like to find but I figured asking never hurts

I'm getting the impression that north eastern Utah has PLENTY of solitude, but is often littered with bears and moose. While southern Utah seems to be less dangerous (in regards to animals) but much more packed full of people.

I'm leaning towards the beauty of southern Utah, but a nice dispersed campsite with plenty of solitude seems difficult without an off-roading vehicle and/or hiking equipment. All suggestions are appreciated :D

[renodesertfox]

Re: Utah: Looking for balance of satefy and solitude

Camping in Utah, except in the western deserts, it's hard to find a completely remote spot! It's what a lot of Utahans do! There are back roads but during major holidays, just about available backcountry spot is spoken for! Northern has black bear & moose. A sedan will get you on many dirt roads and in a national forest dispersed camping just might be your ticket. It's mine, but then I travel by a 4x4 jeep & the trailer I tow to carry gear is designed for that kind of environment.

In northern UT, there's hwy 39 that has plenty of dirt roads and a couple of campgrounds near the top of Monte Cristo Peak, but it's ATV friendly and is very crowded. Southern Utah is very, used too! Campers from Las Vegas & southern Nevada & Arizona use it regularly. With 5 National Parks within the confines of state boundaries, camping is big business in Utah! The edge of the Mohave desert west of St. George is great but a high clearance vehicle is required or I should say needed. Plus one needs to carry sufficient water. Pack it in, pack it out! Good luck, but that's how it is!

Along hwy 150 that runs in the Unitas there are many good places just off the road anywhere from 4500' to 9500' but again you'll need at least a high clearance vehicle. Rocks don't forgive, but religion do! Best to hit the roads at the beginning of any week and look. If one waits till the weekend, pickins are slim to none!

I hail from Weber County & if I really wanna get away, it's central to northern Idaho or the Bitteroot mtns of central Wyoming!

[OpaqueNinja]

Re: Utah: Looking for balance of satefy and solitude

"except in the wester deserts"? Know of any good spots out there? I'm only familiar with topaz mountain so any areas out there to start looking are appreciated.

I've never traveled down hwy 39 but I've taken hwy 150 all the way to evanston, WY, it's a beautiful drive. My only concern is that on memorial day weekend half of the mountain's lakes and sites were still snowed in, as well as the bears and moose (we're planning on doing some long hiking but lack protection so it'll be hard to feel at ease), there were quite a few dirt roads that my vehicle could handle on that route though.

Southern Utah seems nice but as you said it's frequently visited. We're going to go scope out goblin valley today after work. There's so much to see I'm having a hard time finding out where to start.

The biggest question I have is WHERE can I go and just set up camp. Is there a dispersed camping map to look at? I have a detailed recreation atlas of Utah that shows the different land zones, but I'm not extremely familiar with the different zones. I've heard that BLM land is open access with certain stipulations. However there's almost too much to look through. I recently went up nine mile canyon to give that a look and I quickly found out there's only one spot people are allowed to camp (as far as I know).

Thanks for the reply, I was mainly looking for areas and roads to a good hiking and camping area so that was perfect. Specific spots are nice but you can't count on one particular spot, I like to count on a large area of campsites (such as all the sites down hwy 150). I have basically NO knowledge of spots in the western desert and southern utah though (other than topaz mountain and arches nation park) so all suggestions are appreciated.

[renodesertfox]

Re: Utah: Looking for balance of satefy and solitude

I was up to Moosehorn Lake on Hwy 150, for the last two days. The lake still has some ice. The campground isn't taking reservations until July 1. I like Evanston WY for the normal laws concerning purchasing alcohol. Hwy 39 goes from Ogden through Pineview Valley, there are 9 different campgrounds that follow the middle fork of the Ogden River. Then Hwy 39 goes up over Monte Cristo Peak and into the town of Woodruff! Plenty of places to pull off the road & camp. Just north of Evanston there is Woodruff Narrows Reservoir Recreation area; big lake with hundreds of spots for dispersed camping!

West of St. George in Washington county is a great area to get away from it all. Harder through because of the western desert. There is Barker Dam around Veyo and lots of dirt roads everywhere. Another area that is good is Hwy 23 and plenty of spots for dispersed camping east of Cedar City. I'll give some specifics tomorrow.

[renodesertfox]

Re: Utah: Looking for balance of satefy and solitude

From Cedar City go west on Hwy 56 to Newcastle, then take a left turn at the "Bench Rd" & drive to the town of Enterprise. Enterprise is just a burg, so the main road west is main street. Just past the "Hebron Historical Site" take National forest Road 006 and head south. In a couple of miles you'll come to the Enterprise Reservoir with plenty of camping both dispersed & organized. It's in the extreme western portion of the Dixie National Forest.

Along Hwy 23 east out of Cedar City there are plenty of organized campgrounds at Navajo Lake & Duck Creek Lake, There are numerous dirt roads south around these points of interests that allow dispersed camping. I would suggest you might purchase an Utah Road & Recreation Atlas from Benchmark Maps either on-line or at a Barnes & Noble in your area. Find a road and explore by driving there.

All along the Fremont River hwy 25 entitled Gooseberry Fremont Scenic Byway there are numerous pull-outs that have vault toilet, no water but are very close to the Fremont River. This is all dispersed camping w/no fees.

Following hwy 72 from Loa all the way north to I-80 there are dirt roads and so many places to disperse camp at some with excellent views that only you will know what suits you the best! Sure hope you stick around this forum and tell us where you went, take a few pics and share them here! Good luck!

[F5Moab]

Re: Utah: Looking for balance of satefy and solitude

Old thread, but if you are still looking, let me know. I know of many places in the Moab area you could go with a sedan, so long as you have decent ground clearance and you can pretty much get away from the crowds. However, on occasion you will see an off-road vehicle or two go by on their way to a more serious trail. And being lands overseen by the BLM, dispersed camping is almost always allowed (there are some WSAs in this area where you cannot camp).
I even know an actually BLM campground southwest of Moab where seldom is there more than two camp sites being used and miles of easy hiking trails and some great views looking down on the Colorado River or into Lockhart basin.