Dalton Wash Road Dispersed Camping

Dalton Wash Road leads to a spot known locally as Guacamole Mesa, which is also a trailhead for a mountain bike route.

We arrived in Virgin just as darkness overtook the area, so we left our rig on the side of Route 9 and scouted up Dalton Wash Road in our second vehicle. What I had heard about the road is indeed true -- the last half mile to get up onto Guacamole Mesa is quite steep and narrow, although not terribly rough. I'd recommend that only smallish rigs try. Also, be aware that there's some soft silt where Dalton Wash Road makes a couple of 90-degree bends around a fruit orchard about halfway up that would turn into peanut butter when it rains.

What we found atop the mesa was a collection of pretty sites tucked amongst the junipers, but no cell service. Wanting cell service, we couldn't justify the tough access and headed for Sheep Bridge Road (https://www.campendium.com/sheep-bridge-road) instead.

We had heard from a fellow hiker in Zion that Dalton Wash was a great spot for camping and we were not disappointed! The drive up was easy enough though the road had some ruts in it from spring weather (we had a Nissan Rogue - AWD, decent clearance) as well as a few small washouts near the very top. It seems like the road is fairly well cared for as it’s the access route for mountain bike trails. Parts of the road were red dirt while most of it has been layered with crushed gravel that was in great shape.

Once at the top we drove beyond all the trees/other campsites and ended up on the edge of a clear space that went all the way to the back side of Zion NP. Beautiful, quiet, perfect. We set up our tent, made a campfire and had a wonderful evening. If it had been windy we probably would have chosen a spot more protected by trees, which is an option up there so that’s nice too.

This spot was off the beaten trail for camping. Clearly very well known for mountain bikers, but had plenty of campsites. The view of Zion made the drive up there worth it. Bring firewood, it’s pretty slim pickings.

We loved this site. It was incredibly secluded and had an amazing view. The road wasn’t too bad getting up, but fairly narrow and steep towards the last quarter mile. There’s existing spots off to the right, though there’s bigger ruts in the road that way.

A few other downsides; having been there in the summer we were CONSTANTLY swarmed with knats. Even with bug spray it was unbearable at times. It cleared up as the sun went down.
Next, there’s no shade coverage in certain areas. So during the day it’s incredibly hot. The ground is also difficult for getting pegs into if you’re tent camping. (That being said, there were a few trees off the road when you first pull up where you could camp if you wanted more shade, or possibly easier grounds to get some pegs in, but the block a lot of the views that make this site so nice)

The second night we were planning to stay again but a big lightning and thunderstorm was rolling in from the distance and immediately the wind picked up and turned our stuff inside out. A ranger had come by earlier and told us about the dead trees having been struck by lightening, and we worried about our lack of coverage and roads being difficult after rains, so we packed up and got out of there.

Otherwise, it was a great campsite!

Long dirt road in not great for a long rig. Sprinter 170 4x4 is fine. You end up on top of a lookout with amazing views and very few people. Not a lot of shade but well worth the effort.

The roads heading in are gravel in places and dirt in other places. There are some ruts that you'll want to navigate carefully. It is pretty steep towards the end of the drive in, but once you get up on top the views are worth it. :)

I'd recommend heading towards the backside of the camping area.

The main negatives are the long gravel/dirt road in that isn't the nicest and the steep part right at the end, probably something to be extra careful about if its wet or snowing.

There were probably a dozen campers at this site, mostly cars / tenters. The area is large, room for more. Beautiful evening views. The road.

The road going up and back down was extremely washboard in some areas. I passed a Cruise America rental pounding away at some of the worst washboard and I never did see that vehicle at the top. The road is bad.

I did pass a couple locations on my way down that I didn’t see going up. This would be a good option if available just to avoid much of the road.

This was perfect and we were able to access it in my gf’s low profile vehicle. The views are amazing and the coyotes sing you to sleep. We will for sure be back.

This site is easily accessible during dry stretches. It is a popular mountain biking locale accessed by many daytrippers, some in low clearance 2WD. The areas available for camping vary from slickrock to enclaves nestled between evergreens - see photo of campsite with our friends right as you alight to the top of the mesa. Nestled between the two Zion NP rectangles, this site is a true gem with tons of petrified wood and despite the pervasive broken glass. Our location gave us super spotty ATT service, which varied between SOS and 1 bar. It was just enough to get texts but not enough to access/search websites reliably. Oh, and the stars? I haven’t seen the Milky Way in that much detail, EVER.

Drove my van with a group of guys out to dalton wash road for a trip to Zion. It was about a 20min drive to the main entrance. Pulled up and there were a few other folks with small campers and truck campers. Beautiful spot! There was a little creek running through the site and firepits as well. The ground was red sand/dust. We had enough room to park the van and set up 5 tents around the fire. Downside: some of the campsites are too close to each other, and some had massive ant nests. We were able to find one that wasn't too close to anyone and had no ants.

I'll come back here on my next trip to zion.

No big rigs. Vans, truck campers, and small travel trailers only.