Badger Creek Dispersed Campsite

As is usually the case, the harder a place is to find, the sweeter it is. The coordinates of the campsite are very accurate and will get you to the dirt road entrance - off 89A just south of Vermillion Cliffs and the Lees Ferry Lodge. The dirt road is unmarked, located on the south side of 89A between Badger Creek Road and Vermillion Cliffs Drive. There will be a gate to open and close behind you as you enter the BLM property.

The dirt road...was rough, but if you can take your time it is definitely worth it. Erosion has left the narrow road very uneven with pot holes and exposed rock in places that require close attention and partner navigation at times to monitor the underside of the vehicles. (For reference, our trailer is single axle, almost 21'-0" long and 8'-0" wide, towed with a diesel Jeep Grand Cherokee, but no 4-wheel drive.) There were a few sandy spots that were challenging, but we never worried about getting stuck. Wet weather would be a different story and I wouldn't want to brave the road after dark or with anything much longer or wider.

There are several places to pull off and camp along the road, but I recommend going all the way to the end. There's a loop with a fire pit in the center that can accommodate several vehicles. The views are breathtaking, the cliff edge and Colorado river on one side and the Vermillion Cliffs behind. With care, we climbed down the cliffs quite a ways to get a better view of the river, just be careful if you have excited pets or little ones as the drop-offs are very steep and unstable.

You can hear the sound of the river, but not much else and the night sky was outstanding!

Yep, Full disclosure. I did get stuck in a rut on my way out of this spot! Thank god there was someone with me who could pull me out and very thankful it worked. A pain in the butt for sure. (Photos included. I'm the Toyota Tundra with the wheels IN THE RUT!) I never would have navigated that road on my own, I only went there because I was with another rig and I trusted their judgement/they could help me if I got stuck, which I did, quite unexpectedly.

The error was my fault, and a first 'stuck' for me but I am letting everyone know that the potential for getting stuck is obviously there. Not going to sugar coat it. However, It's one of the most scenic spots I have ever stayed at. We saw California Condors more than once. Rafters down in the river below spending their first night on the river. The Vermillion Cliffs were stunning. Rainbows. There are rare cacti growing (VERY TINY) on the edge of the river rim (The only place in the world that these particular cacti grow) and there's a sign mentioning not to tread in that area but it's bent over and I don't think many people notice it.

The road is not marked. There's a gate that you must open and close behind you. There is a pretty good drop-off from the asphalt to the road so if you have very low clearance, this may be a bit of a test. If you have a very long rig like a 30' travel trailer, you are going to have a hard time getting into and out of the gate area. There were two particular spots about the dirt road that were of concern, and with our two 24' travel trailers and no 4x4, we did ok. (Until I fell into the crevasse of course.) However, just BE AWARE that once you get in, there is nowhere to turn around really until you pass the two iffy areas. Best to park across the street somewhere, unhitch and explore the road first as it will change with time and weather.

The road is quite rough and it's 'roughly' 2 miles so it took about 45-50 minutes to reach the very end (the best campsite there bar none) with the rigs because we really take care not to jostle the Rv's up. Driving in and out with just a car- maybe 8-10 min.

Hiking in Lee's Ferry area was neat as well. You can get water and dump at the Lees Ferry campground. Is that legal? Don't know- maybe now we're 'wanted' in that county. Check out Horseshoe Bend in Page if you stay here.

Verizon was good. No problems. We both needed internet access to work and it was fine. Despite getting stuck, I would go back again for sure! I will be more careful navigating next time.

This gated entrance is easy to miss yet impossible to navigate into. It's a tight corner paired with a drop off and fence poles on either side. Our F350 and 27-foot rig would not fit no matter what we tried. To avoid the highway drop off we had to drive it off the highway before the entrance and could not make the turn between the fence posts. We went to the lodge across the road for advice on alternate locations. She said she is sick of people trying to head down there and was wondering what website sent people down there for camping. She asked that we pass along the info that people should NOT try to get down there if they have a travel trailer that they don't want dinged up. We ended up at Lee's Ferry and loved the area.

We took a tour of the road unhitched and took some picture's for others to see.

If you have a 4x4 with and off road tent trailer or camper then it might just be fair game for you, but for everyone else, just be aware it might cost more than a $20 night at Lees Ferry Campground.

The previous reviews were correct about ingress. You have to go past the gate on the highway, come back from the south, get off the road 300 feet before the gate and stay on the dirt. My 24' B+ got in the gate ok. The road to the sites has some difficult places, but if you are careful it is not too difficult. If there is rain, don't go. There are some areas of the road that are soft sand (about 1/4 mile of it) and if there has been rain, your stuck. No question. Very soft as my front wheels were sinking in and it was completely dry when I was there.
If you want the best views, go all the way to the end. You will be 30 yards from the cliffs overlooking the Colorado River and Badger Creek (mostly dry).
Amazing views but you would not know if you do not go in. Great Spot.. would stay again.

Drive by review.

We tried to get the airstream in here and were unsuccessful. The way the shoulder of the road drops off, and the angle of the road beyond the gate prevented us from making the turn with trailer in tow. We gave up and resorted to Lee's Ferry campground as a sad but cheap alternative.

Later we came back without the trailer, the road in is rough, even if you can make the entrance, so be aware that there's more to come. However, the site at the end of the road is AMAZING. If you can fit, you should stay here. This would have easily been a 5 star site if I could have actually gotten in.

We pulled in around 11:30pm. The 2 mile drive on the dirt road from the 89 was a little bit sketchy. Trailers and low sitting cars might have difficulty but it is definitely doable especially with a truck or van. Our van does not have four wheel drive and we made it just fine. Beautiful spot though! Beautiful views of the Colorado River and the Vermilion Clifs. Here in early September and the weather is just perfect, a little overcast but still warm. Would be a great place for a group of 4 or 5 vehicles. Has a fire pit in the center of the parking area.

We stayed here one night at the end of April and had it to ourselves. The only other person we saw was a researcher for the California Condors in the area who was very nice and taught me a lot about the birds.

The access is a little tough and it would be very tough with any large vehicle or trailer, but we made it just fine in our Crosstrek. There are only a couple of spots to camp and the one at the very end is by far the biggest, levelest, and has the best views.

I could see this spot filling up quickly once it is known more.

This place was absolutely phenomenal, was there during a near full moon and the whole place was glowing at night, plenty of rocks that would blow your mind, spent hours digging around for fossils and geodes. The ONLY down fall was the group of “painters” that invaded my camp site and privacy at 6:30 in the morning, I’m talking walking between my tent and camp fire, talking loudly and 2 feet outside my tent, literally. If those folk read this, I hope you had a great time in building the massive rock wall I built across the road, you’re the rudest people I have ever incountered in my 30 years of life. However, I highly suggest this place, I loved it so much I won’t tell my friends about it because I don’t want to turn the place into a zoo. Can’t wait to go back and work on more night photography. I drove down in a 2014 Camry with front wheel drive, it was rough but I know how to drive lines well, I would absolutely not have takin the road had there been any rain.

We read all the warnings and decided to try anyways. It was an incredibly tight turn getting through the gate, but we were able to make it with much expert maneuvering. Pro tips: open the gate outward to the road to give you extra turning space. Like others have said, approach from the south. Road is a bit washed out in 2 places, and our 4x4 truck was helpful. Exiting is much easier than entering, we did it with no problems.

Once you’re there, the location is spectacular. It can get windy, and it was starting to get pretty warm (mid- to upper-90s) during the day, so I’d say this is more of a spring and fall site. We went all the way to the end with the turn around loop and had majestic views and nice neighbors.

Had great WiFi coverage and was able to work and do video conferences on the edge of the canyon.

We decided to last minute take a family camping trip. We decided to come here as we had searched and found everyone to enjoy this spot. It looked really beautiful but sounded like it may be difficult to get back to camping spots with out 4x4/AWD/4wd..

Without camper I’d say most 2wd vehicles are capable to get back there but the higher the ground clearance the better as there is spots where you would need ground clearance. Then again there was a civic back in there.

The entrance is tight left turn in so opening gate towards road would help with getting travel trailer/motorhome around bend.

This a perfect tent or smaller trailer/motorhome spot.
I do believe a good experienced driver could get back there with medium/larger motorhome/trailer.

There is a spot with quite soft sand that turns sharp left that I’d be careful with. Other then this very easy to get back there in my 2500 Ram diesel.

Campsites all looked quite clean especially for BLM land.
Most sites have rock formed fire pits

It is super quiet out here and ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!

The moon is super bright back there and the stars can all be seen very clearly.

The Colorado river can be heard ever so softly in the background which is also very cool.

Beautiful sunsets and sunrises!

We will be back to camp here so we can snag the last campsite at end of road which looked like the absolute best spot!