Gooseberry Mesa Dispersed Camping

We were really excited to stay here but the roads were nearly impassable for a 31 Class C RV. it was like driving over a road full of speed bumps. Unfortunately if you are in an RV I'd suggest you go to the road across the street down about 1/2 mile to a pull off. Beautiful views and quiet. 😊

(Video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_CeDJtVs0s. While that video focuses on our camp on Sheep Bridge Road nearby, there is also footage shot at this site.)

We were in the area just prior to Thanksgiving 2017, camped at Sheep Bridge Road (https://www.campendium.com/sheep-bridge-road) for convenience. While in the area, however, we took the opportunity to scout around for the future.

Boy was I glad that we did!

The GPS coordinates listed here on Campendium are for Gooseberry Mesa itself, near the mountain biking trailhead. Getting out there has only one steep, somewhat rough stretch, but you'd also have to get through a relatively narrow cattle guard. What I found was actually at 37.123895, -113.110206, which is on a short, easily negotiated double-track off the graded road to Gooseberry Mesa. For that reason, I disagree somewhat with Chris' review -- I'd pull only a smaller trailer up Gooseberry proper, but this spot is a completely different story. There's room for multiple rigs of any size, and the views of Zion National Park across the way are nothing short of breathtaking.

I was picking up solid Verizon 4G LTE at this site, three bars unboosted.

Next time I'm in the area, I'll be camping here. ;)

Followed the directions to bike trail head then followed path to the right and large pullout overlooking Zion was occupied but found nice, quiet camp site to the right nestled in trees. Great views, private, quiet. Previous folks left a lot of broken glass and trash which we cleaned up and packed out.

Road rutted but no problem driving. Used previous reviewers GPS coordinates to find this overlook.

Cell coverage was mixed. I have Google Fi which was hit and miss that evening but was 3 bars LTE in morning.

Arrived Monday 5/14/18, left Wed 5/16/18
GPS 37.1239,-113.1102

It's about a 3-mile drive down Main St. until you get to the Gooseberry Mesa sign that points left turn. We explored some side roads (off the Gooseberry Mesa road), which were narrow & rutted, but camped at the GPS location I listed above (Thank You Grand Adventure!!). It was dry when we were there, but some campsite spots had what looked like thick clay mud, so beware if it's rainy.

Although it's farther to Zion than other boondocking areas, it was not full of campers, very quiet, and the views were incredible. There are juniper trees around, and we were able to collect some wood. Even though the road to the site was rutted, the campsite itself was spacious, level and clean.

Cattle are in the area, and the first evening we were treated to a "round-up" with 3 ranchers on horses, directing a small herd of cows down the dirt road just south of our campsite. Later the cows came back to the field they had been in, and subsequently passed by each morning and evening. Even though a cow or two would stop and check us out, they stayed on that road and didn't come near us. Don't know if this is a regular occurrence, but we
enjoyed it.

Temps were great - nice warm sunny days and cool nights. We did notice gnats that came out after it warmed up in the morning. It was breezy, but not terrible.

There's a gas station in Apple Valley, and we utilized the free water pump at the Maverick in La Verkin (corner of State St. & Hwy 9).

Beautiful boondocking sites overlooking Zion Nation Park and Virgin Utah. Two ways to access. Cross Grafton Bridge and follow Road signs to Smithsonian Butte. This road is very rough and 4 wheel drive recommended. At top of Mesa turn right at sign for Gooseberry Mesa. Alternative access is 2 miles outside of Apple Valley. Well marked sign. First two miles is washboard graded road. Then a turn towards Gooseberry Mesa. 4 wheel not needed and I saw a 31 ft class C boondocking. Numerous turnoffs to isolated camping spots. End of road is gorgeous overlook of Virgin River Valley and Red Bull Mesa. Great hiking and photography, especially dark sky of milky way and Zion. Water available at Chevron station in Apple Valley. Showers available in Springdale the entrance to Zion. I had 3-4 bars of Verizon LTE.

The drive in was stressful - lots of deep ruts from recent mud, and some bigger rocks. That said, people made it in with cars, trailers, fifth wheels, and vans.
Not a lot of shade to be had. Plenty of options for sites, many with fire pits.

It’s hard to tell how many sites are up here with dirt roads leading everywhere but I had no problem finding a spot 100 or so feet off the road with a view of the valley. I believe this location is not that well suited for trailers as turning around can be an issue. Best for tent camping.

There are two pit toilets on the Mesa near the trail heads.

As far as the road goes you can see early on if the left hand turn off the first gravel road is a mess then plan on at least a mile of that before it starts to pitch up an improve. When dry you can drive anything (almost) up there.

We followed the directions of a previous reviewer here saying that it was okay for big rigs. But the road we turned off on had lots of signs posted at all the campsites saying ‘private property no trespassing’. There was no where to turn around and the road kept going up and twisting. There were deep ruts, one spot in particular that was on a hill was quite deep rut. I finally found a small side road to turn around, which was not easy, but we did it. I talked to several people on the trail. (Everyone was driving jeeps and atv’s which should have been my first clue this was a bad idea, haha) I was told the private property signs were new. The views were gorgeous and I had cell signal. If I was tent or van camping I would absolutely love this spot. But with my 36 ft 5th wheel the experience was rather terrifying. ;)

When you turn off the highway onto the dirt road that leads to Gooseberry Mesa BLM right away you will be hit with some crazy dirt roads and some wash board that will give you a back massage to remember. But the views and this BLM land right next to Zion should not be missed. We saw basically everything from tent campers, car campers, Class A's that were 30 ft and under in here. We were able to take our pop up a little further in because of size and it was nice. This is a great place to stay if you plan on going to Zion or you just want a great and beautiful place to camp.

Absolutely loved camping here!! Depending on which camp site you go with, you may want a 4x4 vehicle. With it being dry, we had no problem getting around. The camp site we found was perfect. Flat terrain, no one else around, fire pit, and amazing panoramic views. Also great cell service. We will definitely be back!