Spruces Campground

The Spuces Campground is a very popular campground in Big Cottonwood Canyon. It is a mix of reservable and non-reservable sites that are tucked in amoung many Spruce trees. There are many sites in a fairly small area and some are quite close together. The site that we were in had reasonable separation from the neighbors. This is not a big rig campground with 30ft being a stretch in my opinion. You could probably get it into some of the sites but the issue is the road through the campground and some of the corners.

The sites were reasonably level on asphault with a concrete fire rings. The camphost here took great care to clean the sites after a departure. I observed him cleaning the site next to us and he was way more detailed than I have seen at other campgrounds. We stayed in site 33 on the North side of the campground and there was some road noise but traffic was minimal so this was not really an issue for us. There were some water spigots scattered around the campground. Just up the road from the campground is Solitude and Brighton which both have many good options for hiking and mountain biking. There are also many trails in the canyon that allow you to get out and explore.

I suspect this campground is much less populated during the week as it is an easy weekend warrior overnight location for those in the Salt Lake valley. I would rate this 5 stars but I feel the price is high for a no hookup site.

Date of Stay: May/June 2015

Looking for a non-commercial RV park in the Salt Lake City area, and being familiar with the Big Cottonwood Canyon area, we chose to stay a few nights at Spruces Campground. The campground is a bit pricey for dry camping, but the location is great for a few days of down time.

The roads through the campground can be a bit tight, so you might want to avoid this place with larger rigs. And there are only a few spots that can accommodate bigger RVs, so your choices would be limited (though the west loop might have better options for big rigs).

We stayed in site 60, which is right on the nice mountain stream that runs along the side of the campground. It is also closest to the road through the canyon, which can contribute to the noise level. But it is a tradeoff to have the great sounds of a rushing mountain stream right outside your door.

Cell service was very usable for both AT&T and Verizon. Even though the campground is buried in a mountain canyon, there are small cell towers all along the road, giving you service the entire drive. Makes one think someone with clout frequents this area! :)

There is a lot of tremendous hiking opportunity in the area. And if you are a road cyclist, the climb to the summit is extremely popular with local riders.

No dump station on site, but there is potable water spread throughout the campground.

If you want to be near the city, yet surrounded by trees, trails, and creeks, this is the perfect campground. We loved the thick forest and private sites here. Some are close to the road and will have noise, but others are farther back and very peaceful.

The hiking in this area is superb with many trails to choose from. Be sure to visit nearby Brighton Ski area where you can do a 5-mile loop trail up and around several lakes.

Very nice campground off of 190, relatively near Sandy, UT. Close to Wasatch mountain hiking trails. Lots of trees and greenery make the Campground feel more park-like. The camp hosts we had (Jenny and another woman whose name I can’t accurately recall) were fantastic and really made the experience. We arrived Friday evening of Memorial Day weekend to find the campground full (not surprising). The hosts suggested we return the next day at noon as they had some folks slated to leave and we could potentially nab their spot. We did just this and the hosts were incredibly helpful, making sure we felt comfortable getting our travel trailer into the available site.

This campground would be five stars except: over $20 is kinda pricey for no hookups, there are no areas for kids to ride bikes/ play other than on the very narrow, one-way road (made it hard to get in and out with our car) and the gate closes at 10pm... meaning you need to park at the main road and walk to your site if returning late. We experienced this last challenge and had a lengthy, chilly walk in dark wishing we’d brought our head lamps!

The drive from Park City or Heber is up the mountain (climbing) and then it drops back down into the canyon. The drive from Salt Lake is thru the canyon (not climbing much). Next to the creeks, picnic bench, fire pit, and the closest we could get to Park City with cell service and not an RV park.

Easy access via paved road. This also means you can hear the road noise from anywhere on the campground, but not enough to keep you awake. Heavily wooded with a strong creek running through. Site was secluded and lots of downed trees cut up for firewood all over.
Got here on a Wednesday evening around 6 PM with two campsites left.

We stayed 4 nights at Spruces Big Cottonwood Campground. At an elevation of 7,500 feet, it’s easy to find relief from the SLC summer heat. The campground has flush toilets and 17 non threaded water spigots spread throughout. If you want to fill your travel trailer or RV tank you may get water once inside the main gate and before entering campground (see camp host for details). Roads and parking spurs are paved. No dogs allowed at this campground. Campground gates are locked at 10 pm and reopen at 7 am. Our campsite was nicely shaded. There is not a dump station onsite however see my dump station location tip below.

We saw a mother Moose and her baby grazing in the area behind our travel trailer. That was a nice surprise. We used our Golden Age pass to get our site half price which made our stay very affordable.

A trail to Donut Falls begins right in Spruces Campground, and other hikes starting across from campground on Big Cottonwood Canyon Road.

Tip: The Cottonwood Improvement District located at 8620 South Highland Drive in Sandy UT offer free dump station service 24/7. Note, when heading west from Highland Drive, please respect the signs and take the second driveway on the south side of Viscounti, and not the first driveway which the District prefers to limit to automobiles. The entrance is on Viscounti Drive and located on east side of the multi building complex. This is one of the cleanest dump station and most accessible facilities I’ve encountered during my travels.

I came here to try and work while enjoying the wilderness in this strange summer of 2020. AT&T actually gave me two/three bars of 5GE. Verizon on the other hand was one to two bars sometimes LTE, sometimes 1G..and I could not use the phone, internet or hot spot. If you are on Verizon only and need internet or phone this is not the campground for you ( and Campendium should state that )

However, if you are like most campers and trying not to work, it is beautiful at 7000 feet; majestic and mean canyon walls, hikes up and down the canyon, cycling, and fly fishing (many people fishing but not sure how good it is).
Water is good, toilets are fairly clean, no electrical and many sites that have plenty of privacy.

My first time here in the summer and would do it again, especially on a real vacation.

As soon as I pulled in, this was one of my favorite campgrounds. The aspen's, the trees, and the surrounding nature is amazing. The campground has plenty of amenities as in bathrooms and water, however the campground does not offer any hookups. However there is a campsite right next to campsite number one that has a faucet and a threaded valve so you can fill up your tanks.

My only complaint about this campground is the gates are locked and closed from 10:00 to 6:00. So if I wanted to go into town I had to make sure I was back in by 10:00 p.m. Not a huge deal and I understand why they do it.

This campground is very family friendly. There is even a trail that leads to donut falls, an easy 3 mile hike to a waterfall.

Pulled up thinking we’d get an awesome spot for a few nights to find out there are no dogs allowed and that goes for pretty much this entire area.