Franklin Basin Road Dispersed Camping

Took a weekend trip up to Bear lake in the CX-5 and wanted to stay away from the city itself. Found this place and it was amazing. It is in Bear Country so be sure to be smart with your food and leaving things out. Found a camp stop that was down a tiny hill so it was hard to see but found a gem. Nice area right next to a stream.

No nearby neighbors, it was a great camping spot.

The road is loose gravel so be careful if you're on two wheels.

This is a popular spot so if you plan to camp for awhile, come early to get a good spot. LOTS of turnouts available but the good ones go fast. We arrived late on a Saturday, just wanting a place to rest for the night that wasn't a parking lot. The road is long and dusty; I should have checked mileage, but we drove up for about a half hour looking for the perfect spot that wasn't occupied. Only a couple sites left. This place is beautiful enough to stay for an extended period, and many do (according to our neighbors who were staying for a week and said they'd been trying to get that particular spot for 6 years).

We originally were going to stay at the beaver mountain ski resort. But after arriving there and feeling like a hot sardine we left and found this place just 5 miles down the road. Yep no service no WiFi but wow! What a view. First time here and we should have driven up the road further. Better sites to be found.

Only issue was very dusty on the road. I mean dry powder dust. And people kept arriving all night long. And I mean all night long. If we had picked a better, further up site I’m sure we would have enjoyed it even better.

We pulled in at night time and had no idea what this placed looked like. Y’all it felt like heaven when we woke up and saw the views!!!! We ended up scoping out the perfect spot. I would say about 2 min down the road to the right was our huge space!! We had so much fun we didn’t want to leave for next place.

Saw so much wild life and enjoyed driving all the way into Idaho for a scenic cruise.

We enjoyed finding the area and with the plan to unplug having zero cell service was fine with us.
Our visit was at the beginning of Memorial weekend and it was busy. Many locals with trailers already parked and no one actually there. We found no viable dispersed site along the FR006 until we took the jeep up a section marked "steep canyon" and found a pickup truck packing up. It was supposed to be raining that night.

Lots of dust and ATVs
Lots of space and spread out large site
Was clean where we ended up but not sure how the rest of the area is treated.

I'd return again just not on a weekend and especially a holiday weekend and hope to find space next to the river.

https://workingonexploring.com/2022/06/05/franklin-basin-road-usfs-dispersed/

We arrived on Father’s Day in the evening to many available spots. We drove through a few and found one next to the River that was simply stunning. We got out to size up our parking and backup strategy with a 25’ Airstream and my husband was so excited he nearly crashed into me trying to run back to the truck to get started.

As it had rained recently, there were a few ruts to be cautious about, but the site was still quite level. We got set up quickly and had a short hike along the River bank. We were near a beaver dam and saw lots to chewed down trees and beaver-construction, but no actual beavers 🦫.

We only had time for one night, but would happily spend many more. I could see it getting dusty when the roads dried out more and the ATVs and OHVs are out to play or even during busier times of camp season.

No cell service on either Version or ATT, but the down time is worth it.

What a great place. Easy access off the highway the gravel road was in very good shape.
Plenty of flat spaces up and down the road. We stayed about 1 mile in,right beside the river.
The pit toilets were very clean. We walked up the road for some exercise and it was absolutely beautiful.
Many large flat spots all the way up to 3 miles up the road.
No cell service for Verizon and AT&T.