Soap Creek Dispersed Camping

This is dispersed camping on BLM land within the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. The surroundings and the sunsets were beautiful. We were there in mid May for 5 days. It was chilly at night but light jacket weather during the day even though it was snowing at the Grand Canyon North Rim just 40 miles from us “as the crow flies.”

As you turn off of highway 89A the road drops off at the edge so be careful if you have clearance issues like we do in our 30 ft class C. We dragged our motorcycle carrier a bit going both in and out. You'll go through a gate to the BLM road - be sure you close it behind you. We only drove about 150 yards inside the gate and parked in a dry wash that was fairly large and level. Even though we were close to the road, it was quiet and we were partially hidden from passing traffic. We had a decent phone signal with ATT.

About 150 yards further in there is a fork in the road. If you go right, there is another spot next to a fenced-off environmental site operated by Northern Arizona University. That spot was also large enough to accommodate us and had enough space to turn around. If you got off the highway with no problem then the road to that spot is a breeze. If you go left at the fork the road has some rough, rocky spots that would be best suited to a vehicle with good clearance. We saw a few 2-wheel drive vehicles inch their way through. We explored on our small motorcycle and had to walk the bike over a couple of rough spots. If you do drive further in you can camp right on the canyon's edge and the road seems to continue for quite a ways.

There are some really cool large balanced rocks in the area. Some are right across the highway but the most impressive ones are 2 miles west on Hwy 89A. Just past that is a restaurant and camp store.

The closest dump station and water is at Lee's Ferry about 12 miles to the east. Lee's Ferry is operated by the National Park Service so the dump is free if you have a National Park Pass. The dump is about a half mile past the Lee's Ferry Campground. There are lots of hikes to do in the park. There is a store, restaurant, laundromat and gas just outside the Lee's Ferry on Hwy 89A.

There is quite a lip when coming on/off the highway, favor the right side as you face the entrance.

There is plenty of room if you want to just park outside the fenced and gated area. As the previous reviewer said, there is a spot just inside the gated area on your left, a site by the college experimental site as you take the right at the y (this is where we parked) and then there was a site just beyond that point. There was a big 5th wheel parked there.

Road to the left was a bit rough in the beginning, but there was a nice site not too far down, a 1/2 mile or so. If you follow the road for 2 miles you will be at the edge of the Grand Canyon, that would be a great place to camp with the right vehicle!

Great views all around!

If you aren’t living on the edge you are taking up to much space...

Road...I went left, not right. The first mile is bad. Like really horrible. I won't make the journey to the cliff again without raising my camper a few inches. I have never had an issue til now. It's like rock climbing.

Sites....left at the Y, there are like 4 before you get too far into the shit access road. After that there are three right on the cliff and some further back. The road goes for miles so you'll find something.

Internet...I camped at this location and worked remotely using webcam 36.7533896, -111.6814468. I tested the internet at all sites leading up to that. Surprisingly I got better reception the further I went except for around the third site in.

Att is about 16 upload and 3 download. Verizon is 1 upload if I was lucky and 3 download. I tested with a basic booster and the weboost drive reach. Att wins and all I used was my $20 booster. The weboost couldn't help Verizon here....those numbers were with it!

I literally don't think I'll ever have a more epic view than this. The other blm camping up the way by the Dam is more like a daytime hangout spot for the local kids.

Stayed 5 nights in the spot next to the SW Experimental Garden Array. Be careful when you’re exiting the highway onto the dirt road because there is a steep drop off. I didn’t scrape the bottom of my trailer but my axles are “flipped.” Be careful...

The first spot is about a hundred yards from the road in an arroyo. Next is the spot where I stayed. Both are easily accessible for big trailers. There are more spots to the east, towards the river, but the road gets REALLY ROCKY.

Verizon was two bars.

Either the person who paid $5/night is mistaken or they were robbed. This camping spot is FREE. It's a wonderful area. There is a near constant cool breeze even when it's very hot so I stay pretty cool inside.

There are several spots out here but you do have to drive beyond the student experimental area. There is one in a wash right when you come in the gate, one across from the experimental area, one on the hill up from the experimental area, on way down the road on the side of the experimental area. That's all if you go right when you come in the gate and see the experimental area.

If you got left instead, there is a large spot just before the Marble Canyon sign. I would imagine there may be more spots beyond this. The road to the left is a rocky mess (large rocks and slabs) so it's a challenge to get down but not too bad. It's almost as if there was a sidewalk there and it got torn up in a quake or something.

Other than folks leaving their dog waste behind, this place is pretty clean.

Verizon is 2-3 bars and pretty fast.

I also saw some people camped on the other side of the road across from here where all those rocks and boulders are. I have no idea how they got over there but it looked like an OK spot.

This camp is close to gas, activities, food, etc. and it's beautiful and it's free.

It's cold at night but not that cold. For the first time in a while, I didn't wake up freezing.

Can’t say enough about this place. It was beautiful and secluded. Only two other campers in the area that I could see and there was enough room to spread out so that we couldn’t even see them by the time we found our spot. Rough road coming in. You don’t need four wheel drive, but high clearance is a must. Dirt road forks and I took the road to the right. Went all the way to the end and took the last campsite as far away from the road as I could get. Road traffic was barely noticeable most of the time.

Stayed here overnight on a recent fly fishing trip to nearby Lee's Ferry. Access is through a gate off highway 89A and along a dirt road with some rocky spots. Site is just a 10-15 min drive to the walk-in/boat ramp at Lee's Ferry.

We arrived after dark so we had to rely on other Campendium reviews to make sure we were in the right spot. There are no signs marking this area that can be seen from Highway 89A - luckily we had just enough of a cell signal (Tmobile) to reference the map marking the spot on the Campendium app. Access is located from a dirt turnout with a large dip immediately after leaving the highway. Dip is the least drastic on the south end, but could be trouble for large RV's in some spots - take your time and look for the best spot for entry. There's a closed gate (no lock) that needs to be opened to allow entry. After the gate, there are a few spots along the dirt road before encountering any rocky terrain. If you have a large rig or are just stopped for a few hours of sleep, one of these spots close to the gate is a great idea. At the fork, we went left to the cliffs. The "left" road has some rocky areas - 4 wheel drive is not necessary, but good clearance will help. Take your time through the rocky areas and the road eventually pays off as it turns left (north) along the cliffs overlooking the Colorado River.

There was NO one else at this location when we stayed there, so we had our pick of spots. We had our pick of spots, but as we arrived after dark, we settled into the 2nd site along the cliffs. We set up our tent about 50ft from the cliff edge. Sites are desert with hard ground, some small rocks, little brush, and some tiny cacti. When we arrived around 8pm, there was a good breeze blowing that made the setup of our tent interesting and we parked the car between the wind and tent to try to block some of the wind. Luckily, the wind died down to a gentle breeze (great for a warm summer night) after an hour or so and never picked back up. We had 3-4 bars of Tmobile service and were able to facetime with family back in Phoenix without trouble. Plenty of cell access to make calls, check email, and browse, but I'm not sure I would plan to get important work done while here. The night was pitch black, absolutely quiet, and the stars were plentiful - we really had a enjoyable and relaxing night of sleep.

We awoke in the morning to a breathtaking view not only of the Vermillion Cliffs to the West, but to an unforgettable view of the Colorado from the cliffs above. This spot is worth the views as this is one of the most beautiful spots in all of AZ in our opinion! After taking some photos and throwing the drone up to take some video of our surroundings, we packed up camp and headed to Lee's Ferry for a day of fishing via a short 10-15 min drive along 89A.

We love this spot and will absolutely camp here again. We're excited to return when temps are cooler and hope to spend more time exploring the cliffs and surroundings nearby.

Critters: We were on the lookout for snakes but didn't see any. Bugs weren't bad, but they are there. We did find a large scorpion under our tent when packing it up, so as this is desert terrain, be sure to make sure shake out your gear that sits on the ground.

Getting to this location is NOT for the faint-o-heart, but once you are here... amazing!

We pulled our 25’ Airstream all the way to the end-loop. It is a large turn-around area RIGHT at the junction of two canyons and the Colorado River (a canyon of its own).

I rolled our bikes out to this pinnacle area (60 feet from our site) and snapped the photo looking Southeast-ish.

The coordinates for the gate (at the road) are very close to spot-on. There is not all that much driveway space from the highway to the gate, so be careful on your approach.

The road just inside the gate makes a sharp right turn, and is slow going almost all the way. There are places to turn around (if you lose hope), and some 6-8 pull-out places to camp along the roadway.

The roadway is not well maintain, and again... we pulled our 25’ Airstream out here, but don’t pull anything much longer.

It is “dead quiet” here, aside from the dull roar of the river below. It is flat though rocky/gravely.

Stayed: 10/6/2020 - FREE
Site: Canyon Edge - 2nd site
Vehicle: Hyundai Rogue
Equipment: Tent

This was by far one of the coolest places I’ve ever camped. Right on the canyon edge! Beautiful sunset and sunrise!

The turnoff for this camping is situated between a scenic byway sign, from both directions. The coordinates were very accurate and took us right to the gate. Open and close the gate behind you and take the fork to the left.

There were a couple small sites along the road, if you didn’t want to go all the way. Particularly, I remember a nice spot near the sign, past the first rough patch of rocks, if you don’t want to go any further. The road is definitely pretty rough. Take it slow and try to get there during the daylight to make it easier. We did just fine in the Rogue.

Once you get to the canyon edge, there are a couple sites that are across the road from each other. We passed those and took the next one on the canyon-side of the road. *See photo* It was a little rough for the tent and stakes, but it worked out just fine.

We didn’t go any further, but these were really the only sites that we saw. Another man pulled up later and asked if he could park his car next to us, since there weren’t any more obvious sites.

We were on an 11-day National Park trip and this was by far my favorite site we stayed. 100% worth it and would love to return!

AT&T: Full bars LTE
Sprint: 2 bars LTE