teardrop camper Archives - Miracle Update: Outback Edition

Best Small Campground in East Texas

The beauty of nomad life is the ability to pack up camp and leave. Unexpected weather change can usually be handled with a move on down the road. But the deal is, “unpredictable” is the new weather norm. High winds, flooding, and snow are sweeping across the country much like the fires do in the summer. By the time you travel to forecasted clear weather and set up a camping site the winds shift bringing strong storms.

This month I traveled to the south and central regions of Texas because of historic snowstorms in the traditional winter havens in Arizona and California. When my beach camp on South Padre Island Beach Preserve disappeared under unexpected storm waves and strong winds I instinctively headed to the woods for protection.

Shelter in the Forest

Davy Crockett National Forest in East Texas. Photo by TXDOT.

One of the closest and most beautiful places to shelter in the forest from the starting point of South Texas gulf beaches is in the piney woods of the East Texas Forest Trail region.

Young loblolly pines are maturing in forests of oak and beech surrounding old logging lakes. Hiking trails meander through abandoned homesteads, mills and buildings erected for trail life during the 1900-1920’s lumber boom. Spacious, impeccably maintained and monitored campground facilities meet every need.

Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area in Davy Crockett

I was drawn to Davy Crockett rather than Sam Houston, Angelina, or Sabine National Forests because of a childhood memory of the Davy Crockett TV show. Driving from Southern Texas Hill Country north to Austin then east to Houston that song looped in my mind along with images of the beautiful rolling hills and forests featured in the old black and white TV show of the “King of the Wild Frontier” Davy Crockett.

I settled into the Radcliffe Lake Recreation Area in the national forest just outside of Lufkin and Kennard Texas after a long day of driving interstates across Texas.

The Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) built the camp in 1936 and preserved all the charm and character of that era.

Campground Ammenities

The grounds stretch around the small 45-acre lake with ample room between sites and plenty of electric and plumbing services to pamper campers. There’s also space preserved in gorgeous locations for walk-in, primitive tent camping.

In fact, the fingers of the Lakeside and Loblolly Loops have a tent group campsite on the point of a neck of the lake surrounded by several large primitive camping sites. There are ample potable water outlets on the loop.

It’s a good on-grid experience for us boondockers who camp only during the week, if ever, in an established campground.

Long History As Gathering Place

*Caddo village. Image courtesy of the Texas Historical Commission.*

Imprints from centuries of life in the forest flow from early Native American settlements to a booming logging business at the turn of the century and now, to today’s small, beautiful, and peaceful on-grid campground.

It’s easy to feel the layered generational memories from pow wows and large family camping reunions to intimate couple getaways or friends gathering for fishing and campfire getaways.

Facilities for Groups

An amphitheater and two large sheltered picnic pavilions facing a roped-off swimming area vibrate with the history of weddings, revivals, church services, and easy, simple fun. There’s fishing, swimming, and boating on the quiet lake. Boat motors are not allowed. The icing on the cake? A concession area similar to a church kitchen. Can we say reunion?

Hiking Trails

The camp is enveloped by over 160,000 acres of national forest. The 20-mile Four C Hiking Trail explores lower and upper pine and hardwood forest, boggy sloughs, and upland bluffs with scenic overlooks. The Big Slough Wilderness on the route has abundant wildlife and primitive campsites for backpackers.

There are two shorter interpretive trails and one 20-mile trail maintained in the Ratcliff Recreation Area.

Nearby History

Check out local history at the CCC Camp-888’s reconstruction of the 1690 Mission Tejas chapel north of Ratcliff on State Route 21. A few miles further north showcases Native American history at the Caddoan Mounds State Historical Park.

My Experience in Ratcliff Recreational Area

I arrived at Ratcliff camp in a shroud of mist seeping through the humid forest. Sunset colored the hovering fog over the lake. The site I selected backed up to the woods at the far edge of the campground. During the week there were only three RVs in the entire water and electric hook-up loop and only one tent camper down by the lake.

Shelter from the Storms

I was so grateful to be out of the shifting sands and pummeling winds and waves of the beach storm! The abundant wildlife, rustling pines, and tree frogs in the pines created the perfect soundtrack for the vista of gently rolling forested hills. A soft fog enveloped our teardrop nestled in the pines as Rocky and I settled in for a deep, hard sleep.

We woke to a steady but gentle rain. A couple hours later I gave up waiting for a rain break and geared up to make breakfast and hike in the soft February rain. It is a beautiful natural area reflecting a great deal of pride and skill maintaining the lake campground nestled in the East Texas woods.

My Gut Said ‘Move On’

One of two bathhouses in the Ratcliff Recreation Area

In spite of the beauty, electric and water hook ups, and clean bathrooms with real flushing toilets and hot showers I couldn’t settle. My gut pressed me to move camp after hiking. I would rather snuggle in with a good book on a cold, rainy afternoon nestled in a gorgeous forest than act on nomadic instincts.

Nevertheless, by early evening I was on the road again. I’m learning to trust my gut even if I don’t understand it.

I popped onto Wi-Fi during my first break for gas and received a text alert for severe weather in the Daniel Boone National Forest where I had camped. Unexpected, strong storms hit suddenly. It ended up lasting two days. Roads closed due to flooding.

Searching national forecasts to find my next camp I discovered passengers were trapped in an Amtrak in a snowstorm in sunny California. Kids were building snowmen in Arizona. I’d already escaped two erratic storms and every instinct said burrow in.

Home Sweet Home

I’m grateful to be sharing this particular tale in front of a roaring fire in my home base in Norman, Oklahoma where we have freezing rain and snow in the forecast.

My teardrop is packed; gas tank is full and ready to go. My nomad gut is feeling a tug from southeastern Arizona. Fortunately my overly analytical brain is keeping my gut snoring gently by the fire’s warm glow.

For now…

The BEST FREE Winter Beach Camping

Solitude, warm nights, sea breezes, and a full moon in dark night skies create the backdrop for a Valentine’s Day beach getaway. In my opinion the best free winter beach camping in the country is at South Beach in Padre Island’s National Seashore.

“Bigger in Texas” Padre Island National Seashoreis the world’s longest stretch of undeveloped barrier island. The seashore creates the first break, or barrier, before the sea winds and water slam into the mainland.

Rugged, remote, and prolific ocean wilderness

Coastline, dunes, prairies, and wind tidal flats are home to 380 bird species on 70 undeveloped miles of the preserve. You’ll see far more birds than people at this National Park.

All five species of Gulf sea turtles can be found on the island and surrounding waters. The Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recoveryworks to monitor and protect the turtles and is the only division of its kind in the National Park Service.

Texas is the only state in the U.S. where Kemp’s ridleys are native, with nesting records dating back to the 1940s. Kemp’s ridleys almost disappeared, but intensive conservation efforts increased populations in both Texas and Mexico. (Photo courtesy National Parks Service)

The endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle has safe nesting ground on these beaches and no effort is spared to save these turtles.

This is the setting for the best free winter beach camping in the US.

It Wasn’t Always So Beautiful

The photo on the left shows the extensive damage too dunes. Almost 20 years later the dunes returned to healthier dune ecosystem.

Four different nations have owned the expansive preserve on the Gulf of Mexico and none erected endless rows of condos. But the beaches and dunes had extensive damage from oil drilling and cattle grazing. Restoring the island to pre-European conditions became a goal in 1969. Two years later cattle were removed and Texaco paid for clean up of oil sites.

Healthy dunes are a hallmark of South Beach on Padre Island, Texas.

Today the mended island is a safe permanent and migratory home to Nature. And a perfect way to escape the city and hit the beach for free winter camping,

If you love isolation in Nature this is it. Almost.

The beach is a public road! You can drive up and down much of the national preserve beaches and even primitive camp or boondock free on the beaches.

My favorite area is South Beach because it is less crowded than North Beach located just outside the National Park’s preserve system and the sand is more packed. It also has fewer mosquitoes than Bird Island.

How to Get to The Best Place to Boondock on Padre Island

Take Hwy 358 southeast out of Corpus Christi. It becomes S. Padre Island Drive (SPID) and then Park Rd 22 and goes to park entrance directly. Entry fee is free with a National Parks Annual Pass or $10 per week. Be sure to register to camp at the entrance to South Beach at Padre Island National Seashore.

Malaquite Visitor Center in Padre Island National Seashore

Stop at the Malaquite Visitor Center to get a copy of the tide tables and view exhibits of island history. Sign up for ranger led programs for birding and sea beaning. The center also sells ice and has cold water free showers.

Showers at the Malaquite Visitors Center.

Access to the south beach road starts at the park paved road just past the Visitor Center. The first 5 miles of South Beach are accessible by two-wheel drive. Beyond the first 5 miles South Beach goes on another 60 4WD ONLY miles before ending at the jetties at the Port Mansfield channel.

Tips for South Beach Driving and Free Winter Camping

This free winter beach camping is primitive and remote so come prepared with plenty of water, food, shelter, and mosquito spray. There’s little to no internet past the Visitor’s Center so be sure to make one final check of weather and tides while there.

Set up camp a minimum of 100 feet from the waters up to the edge of the white sand dunes. No camping is allowed in the dunes.

Just remember this is Texas public highway. Obey the standard laws – street legal, licensed, obey all traffic laws, speed zones, and remember to buckle up.

Because you’re gonna need to be strapped down to get to the perfect campsite. The sand road can disappear beneath surging waves forcing drivers closer to the soft, unpacked sand that can trap a car in seconds. Most of the road can disappear in high tide so plan accordingly or you’ll get trapped. Campers tend to set up in the 20-30’ section between the road and dunes.

Small inlets created by eroding high tides can provide some break from the wind, but are also sand traps. Remember to look for a site 100 feet from the water and off of the sand dunes. Look for the high tide water mark and set up at least 10-15 feet above that mark. Factor in the anticipated tide level each day listed in the tide table forecast.

Be Prepared For The Unexpected

High temperatures in winter are usually between 50°-70°. The forecast was for low 50’s with sea fog. But the third night on my Valentine’s excursion a sudden, strong cold front barreled through. Gale winds blew and temperatures dropped quickly to the 30’s.

Rocky and I napped nervously through the irritable, howling night. Winds slammed logs in jams, created dunes around the rv, and forced sand into every possible crack and crevice. Even with the built-in stabilizer jacks deployed my rig swayed and lurched in high winds.

Morning awakened the rage of a winter storm that upended predicted tide levels. By mid-morning unrelenting brown waves thrashed each other in the race to shore. The ocean swallowed the beach road four hours before predicted high tide. My mouth dropped when waves began blowing into my cozy, sheltered cove at the edge of the dunes.

When the road is being covered by incoming waves it’s time to leave, no matter what tide tables and weather forecasts say.

The power of the howling wind and rising waves roared like a tornado. Instinct grabbed control from my analytical mind still pondering how tide tables and weather forecasts could be as wrong as maps and GPS.

It didn’t take this plains gal more than two blinks to break camp, say a quick prayer, and drive nonstop through blowing wind, sand, and waves. Subaru’s all wheel drive combined with the offroad tires of my NuCamp RV made me howl with delight! Every time land slipped in surging water we quickly recovered forward progression.

Malaquite Visitor Center was crowded with campers surprised by the sudden winter storm that brought coastal flooding and wind advisories. I didn’t hang around to contemplate my options. Instinct was still in charge and it drove me far inland before I realized the escape had left a mark. I had no trailer lights and it was dark.

Deal is, the best winter beach camping adventure can end like this and there’s only one thing to do. Check into a hotel, take a long hot bath, catch up on laundry, run camp dishes through the dishwasher and binge watch all the Crocodile Dundee movies!

Candlewood Suites are reasonably priced for a full kitchen, free laundry, and great wifi. What every nomad needs occasionally!

Special Thanks for Your Help!

The fantastic folks at Custom Tinting and Truck Accessoriesfound and replaced the trailer hitch fuse shorted by seawater. They even taught me how to change the fuses myself. Good thing since shorting fuses outside of the standard auto fuse box is becoming a thing with me. Thank you for the great work Johnny Salazar and team in Victoria, Texas!

Fortunately the teams at AAA Premier RV and Subaru’s Extended Warranty programs will cover the unexpected hotel and food expenses while my vehicle was out of commission. These two programs pay for themselves every year that I’ve been on the road.

Go prepared. Stay flexible. Have fun!

Medicine Lodge Archaeological Site in Bighorn Mountains

Can a nomad soul like mine live in one section or region and never feel the pulse quicken when the next place calls? The subtle shift in the wind ignites daydreams of new adventures in the beckoning breeze.

I had to call in all my angels and guides however to uproot my heart from the enchanted Black Hills of South Dakota. National forest boondocking is free but requires a move of at least five miles every 14 days. I wasn’t ready to leave that raspberry meadow on the roaring creek in the shadow of Crystal Peak outside Hill City, South Dakota. But I respect the other wanderers who fill the places I free up, so I sang travel songs and prayers into my pack and headed north to Big Horn country.

Northern Wyoming and Southern Montana in the Bighorn National Forest and Canyon region also made my roots itch to grow deeper, faster, longer. Twenty square acres can offer snow-capped mountains, hills rolling into wide prairie valleys dropping to canyons laced with crystal streams, waterfalls, and roaring rivers. The entire universe can exist in one alluring square inch.

There is also comfort in the northwest summer temperatures. Unlike the South’s wet sweat lodge heat, it’s quite simple to find cooling shade in the northern trees and bluffs. A nearby icy creek, river, or lake can relieve even the worst heat of the day and evening breezes bring the perfect chill for snuggling in.

Those of us who prefer life offgrid are drawn like migrating birds to fish, hike, build camps, share stories, and heal in the mountains of Nature’s backbone where the veil becomes exquisitely thin.

Social and sacred gathering sites like Medicine Lodge outside Hyattville, WY invoke feelings of going to grandma’s – on steroids. The bluff along Medicine Lodge Creek has been a gathering place spanning 10,000 years from Paleoindians to the Crow people. Each left a mark, a lesson, a sharing across the bluff’s 750-foot mural.

Figures have been pecked, incised and painted by artists representing at least 60 different northern plains groups. The diversity and quality of the figures makes this massive mural one of the major rock art locations in the region. Late Prehistoric Period hunter-gatherers created most of the petroglyphs. Local tribes of Crow and Shoshone made the recent art during the 1700-1800’s. The work captures every single known, recorded figure of the northern plains artists.

That is what we know. It’s the unknown that pulls me beyond the Medicine Lodge mural and campground to nearby creeks, wet and dry, sheltered by towering, ancient rock bluffs decorated with clinging evergreens, sage, and sweet grass. Medicine Lodge nurtures solo journeys where protective filters dissolve and the soul opens to sing, dance, pray, and play with the Universe.

True to form by the end of the first day traveling to the area I was fairly aware of my coordinates but road conditions blocked access points recommended by two office-based rangers in two different national forest districts. I was beyond maps, coordinates, and certainty.

Perhaps it is part of my journey to waste energy on futile attempts to map the wilderness because I still do it every time while my gray hair laughs at my folly. Go to town. Recharge all gear. Refill tanks and food stores. Get maps and coordinates. Head out like I’m in charge.

GPS is my only hope in the city. But the more the on-grid networks fade, the more I hear, see, feel, smell the way like I did as a child. It is simple but not easy to remember the way always shows up when I have exhausted all of my skills and let go of my planned outcomes. The way waits for me to ask and wraps me in sweet encouragement and obvious signs leading me to where I’m meant to be.

I won’t try to use words to define the shelter of Medicine Lodge because it seems insulting to try to contain flow. I can assure you it is worth losing yourself to the Bighorn. May you and yours know the peace, grace, and welcome that appears when lost is found.

Boondocking Sedona

Arizona’s Red Rock Country Oak Creek River parallels HW 89A curving through miles of breathtaking canyon vistas and shady oak forests between Flagstaff on the North and Sedona on the South.

But on Sunday Oak Creek Canyon reminds me of ants at a summer picnic. Sedona tourism has tripled in the last decade with over two million annual visitors. On any given weekend thousands pack the roadway, parking lots overflow both sides of the highway, and bumper-to-bumper one-lane traffic inches through the gridlock. The highway flows into downtown Sedona and every artery is an organized bottleneck thanks to abundant roundabouts.

Yet even here you can camp alone for free with spectacular views of colorful cliffs, soaring pinnacles, juniper and pinion forests, and abundant wildlife.

If you’re willing to take the roads less traveled.

It’s 20-30 minute drive from town to campsite. The road is part gravel with some wash boarding, but is very passable. (In a rain the mud becomes goo so plan to settle in and wait for things to dry out rather than bog your rig in headache and heartbreak.)

Take HW 89A west from Sedona to mile marker 365. Turn right on Forest Rd 525 – Red Canyon Road. From entry to Palatki Ruins are many clearly marked pullouts. Some can accommodate numerous rigs while others are perfect for a small tent.

I prefer the area north of the Boynton Pass Road between the Honanki and Palatki Heritage Sites. Nestled in Lincoln Canyon of Red Rock Secret Mountain Wilderness you are encircled by the Mongollon Rim with Secret, Bear, and Lost Mountains on the east and Black, Sugarloaf, and Casner Mountains on the north and west. Like all of Sedona it can get crowded and it’s worth venturing past the first spots. The area has many OHV trails so the biggest drawback is abundant Jeep and ATV traffic during business hours.

But sunrise and sunset offer gorgeous slivers of solitude and silence in stunning natural beauty and fragile desert wilderness. The dark night skies envelop you in a velvet blanket of dazzling stars, planets, and galaxies that seem close enough to touch.

There are other dispersed camping sites closer to town, but like the private RV parks they appear to remain crowded. Veteran boondockers say many of these sites are in the process of being temporarily/permanently closed. Even the dispersed camping sites on forest roads are becoming sparse as forest officials try to balance human access with protection of natural resources.

Motor Vehicle Use maps show dispersed camping options in Coconino National Forest. Be sure to get a new map as many areas have closed. These are available at any of the three visitor centers – Red Rock Visitor Center, the Sedona Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center, and Oak Creek Canyon Visitor Center. Also look for the free recreations guides for area maps, hiking trails, plant and wildlife guides. The Sedona Outdoor Recreation Map by Beartooth Publishing is an excellent waterproof, topo shaded relief map. (Oak Creek Visitor Center has copies for $11.95. Amazon is $17.95)

Other Camping Options

The Forest Service operates Pine Flat, Cave Springs, and Manzanita Campgrounds along Hwy 89A north of Sedona in Oak Creek Canyon. Pine Flat and Cave Springs are open seasonally, and Manzanita is open year round for tent camping only.

South of Sedona are Arizona State Park Dead Horse Ranch and National Forest Service camps Clear Creek and Chavez. These are all open year round.

National Forest campsites are larger than the private RV parks, but remain booked solid. National Forest camps are reservable at (877) 444-6777 or rec.gov. Dead Horse can be reserved at (520) 586-2283 or azstateparks.itinio.com/deadhorseranch. Some sites are walk up reservations. Best time to secure those is early on Sunday through Wednesday.

The best private camping option I’ve found is Camp Avalon. Once an organic farm Camp Avalon is now a nonprofit spiritual retreat center with private, “dry” camping options by Oak Creek. There are fire vaults and portable toilets. It can accommodate small RV’s and tent campers on acres of open pasture and forested shade. Rates range from $20-$35/day. Camp Avalon is located at 91 Loy Lane in West Sedona off of 89A. Reservations available at www.avalon.camp.

Passes

The hiking trails of Sedona are some of the nations best so it’s worth the realities of camping in a heavy tourist area. The Red Rock Pass is required in most trailhead parking lots. A one-day pass is $5.00, a weekly pass is $15.00, and an annual pass is $20.00. The Coconino National Forest Recreation Guide also lists the few areas where the pass is not valid and an additional $9.00 per-vehicle parking fee is required.

The Federal Interagency Recreation Passes are honored. These annual passes are honored at most federal forest fee areas and many other federal fee sites. The annual pass is $80, or $10 for seniors (62 and up), free for any US citizen who is disabled and any active duty military and/or dependents. The “Every Kid in a Park Pass” is free to any us 4^thgrader and accompanying passengers in a private vehicle.

Palo Duro Canyon Texas

100 million years ago an ancient river carved its way through the Southern High Plains, slowly exposing the previous 150 years of geologic stories in vast, panoramic canyon vistas. Today the Palo Duro Canyon near Amarillo, Texas is the second largest canyon in the country at 120 miles long and 600-800 feet deep.

Home to abundant wildlife, wild grasses, hardwoods and evergreen junipers, the canyon also holds the memories and artifacts of 12,000 years of human habitats. A little over 200 years ago the native Southern Plains tribes were decimated and relocated to reservations in Oklahoma. Wild buffalo were slaughtered to make way for a few white barons and their herds of longhorn cattle.

In 1933, private owners deeded 27,173 acres to national parklands. Over the next year companies of young men and military veterans working for the Civilian Conservation Corps created roads, a visitor center, cabins, shelters, bridges, and trails throughout the park. Today visitors to this Texas State Park can camp in tents, RV’s, and cabins. Visitors can explore canyon rim to floor on miles of hiking, horse and dirt bike trails.

This is a great state park in winter, spring, and fall. (Summer heat and humidity can be a bit much.)

The Hackberry Campground offers the perk of electricity, water and showers without the annoyance of massive RV’s stacked on top of each other. This camp has 30 amp hook ups and attracts folks with smaller RV’s and tent campers. There is vegetation for shade and privacy. Abundant wildlife gathers at the creek running along the cliffs at the back of the canyon.

Electric and water hookups are $22/night. Camp sites on outer loops back up to the creek and offer more privacy. Reservations can be made online, as walk up, or by phone (512) 389-8900.

The Texas State Park Annual Pass is accepted in Palo Duro. The $70 pass provides unlimited free entry to 90 state parks and discounts at campsites, park stores, gift shops, and recreational equipment rental.

Camping Around Arches and Canyonlands National Park

The heart and soul of the Colorado Plateau in southern Utah is expressed through canyons, arches, spires, and mesas carved by the Green and Colorado Rivers.

It’s almost impossible to wrap my mind around so much stunning beauty but it is as natural as breathing to allow all of that to become all of me. In my prayers and practices it also flows to each of you.

If you’d like to experience it yourself two national parks help millions access some of the area annually – Arches and Canyonlands. Fortunately most stay on the paved, scenic routes highlighting the parks.

Inside both parks there is no food, gas, or other amenities. Each has one national parks campground.

Most of the roads in this region are unpaved, camps are primitive, and rivers are free-flowing. Native plants and animals still live in much of this remote, rugged, and wild countryside. Lots of folks call it “The American Wild West” but it’s been around much longer than we have and God willing will continue long after we’re gone.

Trying to balance recreational use with protection of these amazing resources requires effort by all of the major stakeholders – the Bureau of Land Management (BLM, often called public land), the National Park Service, charitable associations, and YOU.

Please do your part to protect this ancient, wild land. Follow “Leave No Trace” rules especially in designated and dispersed camping, hiking, biking, and OHV adventures.

Photo courtesy Dr. Eoin Brodie at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and Dr. Ferran Garcia Pichel at Arizona State University.

Here’s the deal. The biological soil crust is extremely fragile in the desert. The cyanobacteria and other materials in the soil are some of the oldest life forms, trapping and storing water, nutrients, and organic matter not otherwise available. It’s suited for harsh, arid conditions but vulnerable to compression.

A thin, fragile veneer of biological soil crushed by your footprints alone (compression) may require five to seven years to recover. Cyanobacterial growth can take 50 years and lichens/mosses even longer.

If you’re going off-road to visit the area, be ready to rough it and take care of your own needs. Pack in what you need. Pack out everything – including human waste where restrooms are not provided. Remember that five to seven year recovery time just for a footprint? Enough said.

Each national park has one developed campground with vault toilets, tables, and fire rings. Maximum length for RVs is 28 feet. There are no hook ups or dump stations in either park. Most are first come, first served except group campsites and a few individual sites. To reserve online go to http://www.recreation.gov or call 877-444-6777 (toll free) and +1 518-885-3639 (international).

Backcountry or Primitive Camps in the national parks require permits. These can be reserved four months in advance. Day use for 4×4 vehicles, motorcycles, and bikes can be reserved up to 24 hours in advance. Permits can be obtained online at http://www.go.nps.gov/canybackcountry

The BLM maintains 26 designated campgrounds with vault toilets, tables and fire rings. Drinking water is available at Lions Park (Hwy 191 and SR 128). The Windwhistle and Hatch Point campgrounds have drinking water on site from mid-April to end of September.

BLM On-line information about camping in Moab area.

BLM Moab Field Office, 82 E Dogwood Moab, UT. Phone is 435-259-2100.

Here’s some of my favorites and soon to be favorites. For a complete list of camping options check out the Discover Moab site.

BLM Camping Outside the National Parks

The Moab BLM Field Office manages over two million visitors annually on 1.8 million acres in the heart of the Colorado Plateau.

Reservations are not accepted except group camps. All are first come first served. All BLM developed campgrounds have vault toilets, picnic tables, and metal fire grills. Fees are $10-$20/night.

Weather can make unpaved roads impassable. Check with rangers for latest conditions.

The Visitor Centers at Arches and Canyonlands have detailed maps for 4×4 routes, hiking and camping. Topo maps are also available.

Developed Campsites

SR 313 Camps Between Arches and Canyonlands Island In the Sky National Parks

Lone Mesa Group Camp

(5 spaces)
Gravel road and camp

Cowboy Camp at junction of Scenic Byway and Island in Sky

(7 spaces)
Dirt road and camp

Horsethief off Mineral Point Road by Deadhorse Mesa.

(56 spaces)
Dirt road and sandy, flat area for camp. This is where larger RV’s park.

HW 128 Camps Closest to Arches

The further you go the prettier and less congested the sites. Fisher Towers and Onion Creek sites are my favorites.

Granstaff 3 miles ( 16 spaces)
Drinks Canyon 6.2 miles (17 spaces)
Hal Canyon 6.6 miles (11 spaces)
Fisher Towers Campground
Oak Grove 6.9 miles (7 spaces)
Upper Big Bend 8.1 miles (8 spaces)
Upper Onion Creek 21 miles then .7 miles SE on gravel road (2 spaces)
Fisher Towers 21.5 – dirt road (5 sites)
Lower Onion Creek – 21.5 miles then 1 mile NW on gravel road (4 spaces)

HW 257 South of Arches

Jaycee Park – 4.2 miles (7 spaces)
Williams Bottom – 6 miles (17 spaces)
Goldbar – 10.2 (5 spaces)

BLM Dispersed Camping – No Services/Facilities

The BLM offers over 30 single or small, primitive camp sites with no services. These are first come-first served and free. Sites are marked with a brown post and a tent symbol.

This is serious “Leave No Trace” camping. You must use portable toilets. All trash must be packed out – including human waste. No wood cutting, creating new camping areas or fire rings. Do not drive, hike, ride off road. Please.

There are 25 sites in the Mill Canyon-Cotter Road/Dubinky Road Area.

Primitive Camping – Island in the Sky Section of Canyonlands National Park

Accessible by 4×4 Taylor Canyon, White Rim, Potash, and Shafer Roads

4 primitive camps along Green River

Labyrinth – Where Taylor Canyon Road meets White Rim Road on the Green River in Upheaval Canyon

Hardscrabble – South of Hardscrabble Bottom

Potato Bottom – along the 14.8 mile Potato Bottom straight stretch of White Rim Road

Candlestick – Southern part of Holesman Spring Basin. South of Wilhite Trail on White Rim Road

4 primitive camps on southern loop of White Rim Road

Murphy Hogback – near Murphy Point trails

White Crack – in the Lower Basins at end of 1.4 mile road

Gooseberry – where trail meets road near Gooseberry Canyon

Airport – By Airport Tower in Lathrop Canyon

1 primitive camp near Visitors Center

Shafer Canyon Overlook by Visitors Center

Shafer Near Visitors Center NE of where Potash Road meets Shafer Trail Road, Shafer Canyon. This gives access to the spectacular Goose Neck area of the Colorado River.

Can you find me and Rocky in this photo?

No matter where you may set up camp you’ll discover tons of ways to wear yourself slick having adventure fun. Remember to take some time to sit and stare for awhile. You’ll be glad you did.

The Canyon

Following trails that beckon is life at it’s best. Free wandering with no schedule or goals has served me well since childhood exploring creeks and prairies. I’ve been trained to watch and wait for the guidance but I’ll admit there’s is a new learning curve with the addition of the off-road teardrop camper. It’s keeping my guardian angels – and me – wide awake.

This day was for exploring the BLM off-roads outside Moab, Utah. No map, no cell service and no worries. It’s a Subaru with ample off-road GPS coverage right? A dropped pin marked the starting point and I was free to breathe in jaw-dropping vistas. It was an easy trail with occasional rough rocks or sinking sand spots.

The road transformed to true 4×4 when I turned a corner and hit the brakes. A gate in the middle of nowhere? Prying it open was easy since it wasn’t locked so I squeezed my rig through. That’s when the reality of The Canyon slapped me.

Narrow, ridiculously steep grade, no safety rails and the most amazing, adrenaline-inducing experience calling my name! The Subaru and teardrop had torn up off roads for days and I was primed for the grand prize dive down The Canyon.

I glanced at Rocky’s wide, trusting smile and immediately saw my four spectacular adult kids expecting me home for the holidays. A raven flew overhead mimicking Daddy’s familiar refrain “pull your head out of your ass Cindy!”

Perhaps a bit of recon was in order. Rapid, shallow breathing and heart-pounding adrenaline with knees bent, eyes straight ahead helped resist the abyss tractor beam pulling me over the edge on the switchback curves. Barely. There was just enough width for the car and RV. No margin for error, changing my mind or turning around. There might be a clearance and mud issue. But I was a hound dog on a scent. Ride The Canyon or bust!

Admittedly I’ve got a few marks from life “or bust” experiences and a bit of a hang up about being the only surviving parent.

Time to pull out the big guns and use a technique honed over eight years in the halls of MD Anderson Cancer Center. Call in my angels when stakes are life OR death high. Employ the hallowed Coin Toss. Best two out of three wins. Heads means I go for it, tails I turn around and find a camp for the night.

First toss – heads. Second – tails. Standing inches from the cliffhanger I breathed in the delicious knowing that the outcome of that third toss would be my best option. No doubts. Pure faith. In that breath all the hooks and attachments of the adventure, adrenaline, and drama vanished. No need to do anything. Just lean in. Be still and know. The final toss and knowing occurred simultaneously. Tails. I’m out.

My best guess is I was in the Sheep Canyon area. GPS noted Mineral and Dead Horse Point Roads. I found an OHV trail map sign post indicating I was somewhere in the Dubinky area. Maybe The Canyon was a piece of Hell Roaring or Chicken Corners Trails. The coin toss occurred at the point requiring gate entry, is pinched between rocks on the right and the abyss on the left and drops over 1,000 feet via narrow, rocky, muddy switchbacks. Chicken Corners is where Moab area guides allow “chicken” passengers to walk, rather than ride. And Hell Roaring Canyon descriptions involve the word “pucker.”

I probably have too much faith in Beverly (my Subaru Outback) but I think she’d make The Canyon. Pulling my Outback teardrop camper affectionally dubbed Hillbilly? Sheer lunacy.

I can count on two things in life. My free spirit is comfortable with blind, ignorant leaps and it can heal more than it hurts if my heart stays open. May this inner knowing, my guardians, and the sacred Coin Toss always have my back!