Goblin Valley Dispersed Camping

This has been a staple for me. It's free and close to Goblin Valley. It used to be completely undeveloped, but sort of recently it was organized into marked campsites with tables and fire rings, and the last time I went there was a newly constructed pit toilet. Not as primitive as it once was, but still a cool place to camp. 

 

 

Basically what you're gonna get here is a spot somewhere near the face of this cliff that runs along Wild Horse road. See the tent behind the rocks on the right. Turn off to the left from Goblin Valley road before you reach the fee station. You will find the camping area only a minute away, south of the road beyond the bend.

 

There are tons of slot canyons along the length of the cliff. I'm convinced that there must be one that climbs high enough that you can reach the top of the mesa, but I haven't found that one yet.

Starr Springs

There's a neat BLM campground at the foot of the Henry Mountains called Starr Springs campground. It's named after a rancher who lived in the area a long time ago. You can go see the ruins of his home near the campground, but unfortunately I don't have a picture of that, so you will just have to go see it yourself. Pretty cool.

Successive ridges south of Hanksville heading towards the Henry Mountains.

Our campsite. It was late winter/early spring when we went, so there were no leaves, but I'm sure this place is more beautiful in the summer. As you can see, there were lots of places for hammocks. All of the sites looked more or less like this picture. Not pictured are the driveway and picnic table. Also, this campground had the best-smelling pit toilet I've ever seen, so bonus points for that.

There were some cool views from this campground of the mountains and the surrounding desert. A very remote but very beautiful place. The campground had a nature trail that we didn't explore, but that would probably make for a good evening activity some other time.

This campground has a $20 fee. Bring cash. We were the only ones in the campground, although it was early March and I imagine it is a bit more busy in the warmer months. Probably still very quiet and peaceful though.

San Rafael Swell

The San Rafael Swell is full of opportunities for camping and hiking. This post is just about an area north of I-70 where we camped, and also the Little Grand Canyon, where we hiked.

Where state highway 24 meets I-70, you can continue straight north off of the highway and onto a dirt road that goes up into a rocky area east of the San Rafael Reef. There were plenty of places to pull out and set up. 

In these pictures, you can see where we initially parked the car. We eventually moved to a spot behind the camera in the first photo, which is the angle from which the second photo was taken. The big rock that looks like it's about to slide down the hill is visible on the right side of the first photo.

 

 

The precariously placed rock is visible again here in the center left, with the campsite in the center of the photo. The reef is in the background. This picture was taken from the top of a plateau with incredible wide views of the desert in all directions. This was a fun place to camp among the boulders that felt very far away despite its proximity to the interstate. This is a remote region.

To get to Little Grand Canyon, after passing through the reef on I-70, take the second exit onto Buckhorn Draw road and follow it to the San Rafael Swinging Bridge, which is a cool little historic spot with a campground. There's a turn off just before the campground for the Little Grand Canyon trailhead.

 

 

 

 

Here is a video of some of the views from the Little Grand Canyon hike. We didn't make it to the end because we ran out of time and turned around. But here is a picture from Google of where we were:

 

 

Lone Rock

Lone Rock is located in Skull Valley in western Utah. It's a big cliff in the middle of a flat expanse, which is sort of neat, but there is nothing there besides the rock and cows. People come here to shoot targets, and they leave a lot of trash, so watch out for broken glass, live ammo, etc. 

It was February in this picture, and very cold. I don't recommend doing what we did here, this trip was miserable and I don't know why we did it.

In the warmer months though, it's a cool place to go hang out. There is no hiking (unless you want to traverse the wide open ground and go nowhere), but you can climb to the top of the rock and look out over the vast desert, or look for one of the small caves. The west side of the rock has some nice flat places to camp.

To get to Lone Rock, head west on I-80 and take exit 77 for Dugway. Keep going south on Skull Valley Road past the solar panels and turn right onto the dirt road with a bulletin board. It's pretty clear which road this is because lone rock is the only thing to your west. You will come across muddy spots and massive ruts. Drive skillfully.
 

Pretty Valley

Pretty Valley lies in the mountains just above Farmington. The land once belonged to a local landowner who donated it to the US Forest Service. From the car, it's a mile and a half hike away.

To get there, start at the Davis Creek trailhead. Parking is next to a square reservoir at the end of Woodland Drive. Heading south on 200 E in Farmington, turn left just before the cemetery, and continue until you reach the gravel parking lot. Then walk up the road until you come to the trail entrance on the left. It can be easy to miss but there is a small sign that says Davis Creek Trail.

 

The hike is very steep, and there are sections with no shade which can be tough with the summer sun beating down. Bring a lot of water. Keep right at all of the trail junctions until you reach Pretty Valley. You will know that you've arrived when you pass a cement box as well as a campsite to your left. There are a handful of sites with fire rings scattered throughout the area, some with trees, some without but with a very nice view of Davis County and the Great Salt Lake below. Remember to leave no trace and use established campsites.

 There are several cool waterfalls along Davis Creek above Pretty Valley that you can hike to. Follow the sign for Hell Hole Camp on the trail on the way down, or take the other trail from pretty valley upwards.

 My friends and I have hiked to Pretty Valley a few times when we wanted a close place to go backpacking. Like I mentioned above, the hike is not easy, but the destination is wonderful. The abundant wildflowers and green leaves in the early summer add to the prettiness of it, although it's a bit more barren by the time July comes around. I also really enjoy the view of the actual valley and the sunset from the edge of the hill.