roadtripper6780802

HORSESHOE KNOLL ATV AREA
This camping area is on the east side of Utah Highway 196 (Skull Valley Road) between mile-marker 28 and 29. It is across the road from "Horseshoe Springs". I remember coming to this area 25 years ago, when I was an assistant scoutmaster. As we pulled in, we discovered a wheel wobbling on the Scoutmaster's trailer. I spent the day replacing the wheel bearings, while the scouts did other activities.
If you own some dirt bikes, or an A.T.V, this is a WONDERFUL PLAYGROUND for you. You can climb hills, or zig-zag up among the trees. One place I drove my Tahoe into, I found myself in a continuous banked circle bowl that might leave you dizzy.

My wife and I are looking for good camping spots for Campendium. We arrived around 3pm on a Monday in May. We found 2 other big rigs pulling toy trailers parked along the main dirt road.

The 6 or 7 camping spots are along the main road (see my map). Each camp spot is large enough for two or three big rigs to park together. Unfortunately, this is open land, with no shade. I tried to drive my Tahoe up among the trees, looking for a shady camp spot, but the roads up the hills are too steep and too narrow for my 25' trailer. If you have a small camper-van or pickup with camper, you could probably find a shady spot. However, being up among the trees may subject you to a lot of noise and dust as other people enjoy this playground.

On the west side of the highway is "HORSESHOE SPRINGS", so named because the springs are in the shape of a horseshoe. There is a circular parking area, and a path to walk along the shore of the springs. Unfortunately, I use an electric cart, and the walk-way crossed over a log, making it impossible for me to follow the trail.
Would I camp here again? probably not, because I am too old to drive a motorcycle. As a younger family, we had 3 dirt bikes.

Very shady with tall trees. Unfortunately, we are right next to a road which is very busy with heavy diesel trucks, running up and down the road which was only 50 feet behind our camper.

On the other side of the campground is the county airport, and airplanes were taking off and landing all day long. After sunset, the airplane traffic became mostly quiet.
After 5 PM, the truck traffic stopped, although we still had the noise of regular cars going up and down the road.
My wife reported that the restrooms were clean. Our campsite number 4 was deep enough that we could back in and remain connected with our trailer. these sites are easily long enough for motorhomes.
I would say that this campground is OK for an overnight stop over, however, it is certainly not a place to stay, if you are looking for peace and quiet.

The main SOLDIERS PASS road is a well-maintained graded dirt road. The roads in this area are quite rocky, so there is no fear of getting stuck in the mud. However, keep your speed down on this road! A sharp rock can punch a hole in your tire!
If you use your GPS to this area, you will drive 1.7 miles from the paved highway, and find the “MAIN ENTRANCE” to the area . If you have a high-clearance vehicle, like a truck-camper, you will have no trouble getting into this area. When you get to the first cross-road, turn left, and you will find a big open area that could park 4 to 6 campers. Beyond that are many trees you can circle around, and find a fire ring.
However, the entrance to this area has a problem: The highway department has cut a deep drainage ditch along the side of the main road. If I try to enter this area, I fear that I will drag the rear end of my 24 foot camping trailer and get stuck.
Do not lose hope! Please look at my “satellite view map” picture. 1/5 of a mile BEFORE this rough entry is a similar entry on the left side, and it does not have a deep drainage dip. I pulled my camping trailer into the “lower area” and had no trouble with the entrance. The lower area also has a big open area where you could park 4 to 6 campers, and beyond that is an area where you could circle your camper around a tree.
These camp areas may be a little noisy. You are only a mile away from a popular shooting range, and you will frequently hear the sound of gunfire. This camp area is posted “NO TARGET SHOOTING”, so you should be relatively safe.
We arrived here on a Tuesday in June, and were alone. The area has Juniper trees that grow about 10 to 15 feet tall. You get some shade, but the area is hot and dusty. One advantage of this area is that we found about two bars of service for my Verizon, and one bar for my wife’s T-Mobile.
If you drive ½ mile up the main highway, you will find a small ATV playground on the left. If you go another mile, after a switch-back, on the right side, you will see a deep gully with more camping spots, and an ATV playground on the far uphill side of the gully.

To find this place, drive south on UT-68 to MM 19 where there is a sign "Welcome To Your Public Land". We arrived around noon on Tuesday expecting the area to be mostly deserted.
However, last month in the state of Utah, the governor and the mayor of Salt Lake City issued a "STAY HOME, STAY SAFE" order because of the CoronaVirus. In Salt Lake City, the STAY HOME order had the force of law, with the possibility of getting a misdemeanor citation. However, the order allowed "necessary trips to buy food, medicine, and OUTDOOR RECREATION (YES!).
Maybe because it is May, and a lot of people were just now getting brave enough to leave their homes, we found this area almost filled up with campers on Tuesday. On the weekend, you probably will not find an open spot. Along the main roads, there were 12 campers, and 4 brave souls who drove their rigs up a semi-steep road to park 1/2 way up the hill. If you like to camp in groups, most of the campsites are large enough to easily fit two or three campers. We did see 3 open camp spots in the level area on Tuesday.
Like other reports, we caution you NOT to take a long unit down the hill to the lakeside. You will not be able to turn around. However, if you have a small camper-van, or a pickup camper, there are 3 good spots on the lower road right against the lake shore. There are no sandy beaches, but you can easily launch a canoe or kayak. Fishermen were catching catfish and carp.
Along the main road straight in, the road surface is good. However, one of the side roads has a severe dip that would drag the back end of a long camper. If you get into a back road and it rains, you may be stuck for a week, in soft muddy clay.
Final comments: If you like a lake view with mountains in the background, this is a beautiful dispersed camp area. However, there is NO SHADE, no trees, the highest growing thing around is 2-foot sagebrush. My wife likes to hang her hammock between two trees, but not around here.

Nebo Loop Road Dispersed Camping is a very nice dispersed camping area, if you can find a spot. In late April, We drove through it on a Friday afternoon in in late April, and almost all the good spots were occupied. We counted 9 good campsites along the west side, against the trees. You would have very good afternoon shade. The Salt Creek runs through these trees.
Against the highway, there is a huge gravel lot, big enough for at least 10 semi-trucks. Don't know what it is for, but you could treat it as overflow parking. (see satellite view picture)
There is a pit toilet on the east side of the gravel lot.
As has been reported before, there are an amazing number of good campsites along the lower highway, seems like one every 1/4 mile or so. However, just above this campsite, on the left FR048 road, (toward Cottonwood Campground), there is a "NO CAMPING" sign that prohibits camping just off the road. Don't know why?? The main highway (Nebo Loop Road) might continue to allow side-of-the-road camping, but I could not drive up it, the gate was shut, still closed for the winter. Being closed further up might account for crowded conditions here at "Nebo Loop Road Dispersed Camping".
We will definitely come here again, in the middle of the week to find a good spot.

The Virgin River Casino has a huge dirt parking lot behind the hotel. We have been staying here 2 or 3 times a year on our way to Tucson for the last 5 years. Another review said it cost $4, but we have never seen a request for payment. This casino is right off the freeway. Plenty of room.
We like to visit the cafe inside, where they have an ongoing cheap Prime Rib special from 5 to 9 pm every day. They have what they call a "Deuce" breakfast special which is 2 bacon, 2 sausage, 2 eggs, 2 pancakes, and hash browns. My wife and I ask for another plate, and split it. The casino is open 24 hours, and you can use the rest rooms inside, if needed.
While you are there, you might as well try the gaming machines. My wife has had great success with the "penny" machines near the cafe.
If you have a family, you don't need to gamble. You can use the Arcade room, or the Bowling Alley. Near the bowling alley, they sell cheap hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, etc.
The north end of the lot is against a busy road, it can be noisy. The south end is quiet, other than generators.
We will continue to stop here on our way to visit our relatives in Tucson. (My wife LOVES prime rib!)

To get here, take exit 225 off of I-15, turn east up Utah Highway 132. Drive about 6 miles up this road to mile marker 39, look for "Mt. Nebo Loop Road", turn left. Along this road, you will see many good pull-outs which would make a good camp site. After mile marker 34, watch the right side for "Pole Canyon Road". Turn right, and almost immediately after 500 feet, you will find this area on the right side of the road. It is more-or-less a round meadow with Salt Creek running around the outside. If campers spaced themselves around the circle, you could fit at least 10 units.
The southwest part of the meadow was green grass in early May. there is a huge fire pit in the center of the grass area. If you could manage to get here first, you could "reserve" the area, and have a large group campout. When we got there, there was a camper in the southwest part of the circle. For two days, we did not see any cars or people. We think it was placed there to hold the spot for the weekend.
We camped in the southeast area, away from the other vacant camper, with our back facing the creek. If your kids like adventure, there is a rope swing hung high over the creek, in the southeast end. Can't jump into the water, the creek was only running about 3 or 4 inches deep. (Sorry, kids!)
If we could get here first, we would leave our camper, then drive down the highway to where we could get phone service, call all of our relatives, and have a wonderful family reunion! Yes, we would come here again.

Clover Springs Campground BLM is a nice, quiet campground. If you have horses, go to the right where there are two sites that are set up for horses, with stalls and troughs. It is especially nice if you go to the left and get a shady spot by the creek, with juniper and cottonwood trees. The regular price for a camping spot is $12, and this allows 8 persons and 2 vehicles. They have a group site for $45 that allows 50 persons and 10 cars. We had no phone service.
We arrived on a Monday afternoon in May, and found 4 campers in the campground. They already had the shady spots, so we continued on, looking for a shady campground where Holly could hang her hammock.

Horsemen Camps: If you own horses, this is a wonderful campground. It is just after mile marker 11 on the right side of Mirror Lake Highway. It is a cool shaded area with a mixture of Quaking Aspen and Pine trees. Each campsite is quite well secluded from other sites. There is no water, and no restrooms.
It is a developed camp without paying for a campground. However, please remember that the entire canyon is in the local Forest Service Fee Area. As you enter the National Forest just after mile marker 6, on the right side, you will find a Fee Area Kiosk where you will be asked to pay $6 for a three day pass, $12 for a seven day pass, or $45 for an annual pass. It also states that if you have a Golden Age Pass, or America the Beautiful pass, you can place it on your dashboard for free admission.
I have included a map of this area. My map has campsite numbers for reference, but there area no numbers on the sites.
Sites # 1,2,4,5 have picnic tables (kinda rusty, bring a tablecloth).
If you bring your horses, sites # 2, 3, and 5 have horse stalls with feed troughs.
There are metal fire pits with a flip-over grill in all except #6.
Site #1, 4, and 6 are big enough to bring a friend and set up a double site.
This is area is posted "NO ATVs" (Let's not spook the horses). At the south end of the loop is a horses only gate that a horse can step over, but stops motor-driven vehicles.
I like site #1, because it is large enough for my 24' camper and two more pop-up trailers for the rest of my extended family. It is a little noisy, 200 feet from the highway. We have used this site 4 times now, and will come again.

This dispersed camping area is on the left side of the Mirror Lake Highway, just as you pass mile marker 6. Turn left onto a well-maintained dirt road. (note: to the right 1/5 of a mile, there is a vault restroom at the Yellow Pine Trailhead parking lot). You will turn left again at the dirt intersection. (see my map of the area)
You will see a long loop road into the first campsite on the left. Be careful! This loop road is deeply rutted, so much that other users have put boards and rocks in the deep ruts to try to avoid high-centering. If you have a low car, or if it is wet, DO NOT attempt this road. If you can get into this first site on the left, there is room for at least 3 campers among the trees.
The second campsite on the left can fit 3 campers down in the trees, but you will have to do some very careful maneuvering to get backed into the trees.
The third campsite has a very tight pull-through around a tree.
The fourth campsite has a very long road into the site. It would be good for tenting, or a camper-van, but watch out! It would be impossible to turn a long camper around at the end of this one-way road.
All sites are very nicely secluded in quaking aspen trees. They each have a concrete fire-pit. There are no picnic tables. We arrived on a Wednesday in late May, and all the sites were already occupied. (This is the closest dispersed campsite to Kamas, probably the first to fill up). All sites are within about 300 feet of the main highway. Therefore, it is a little noisy, with all the traffic going up toward Mirror Lake.
Note: although the cost of this camping area is free, you must purchase a "RECREATION PASS" to camp along the Mirror Lake Highway. The pass is available at a kiosk on the right side of the highway, about 1/2 mile further up the road. Cost is $6 for 3 days, or $12 for 7 days. If you have a GOLDEN AGE pass, or "America the Beautiful" pass, you can put it on your dash-board for free admittance.