Capitol Reef East Dispersed Camping

In early November with dry ground, this area was accessible to my sedan/Prius. There are two levels and I stayed up on top, there was already a fire ring. Another group was down below with a campfire, but I didn't look at the road to go down there. There aren't many sites but it seems like the place where you can pack in and folks won't mind much.
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Close to the road so you could get some headlights in your eyes, but the river drowns out any of the road noise (minimal traffic).
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Nice for a quick stop, but probably not the place you want to set up camp for a few days. Not a ton of turnaround room for larger rigs.
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Super convenient to Capitol Reef National Park as well as scenic drives in the area.

Best camping spot EVER! Free. 1 minute from Capitol Reef national park. By the Fremont River, you hear the river flow and fall asleep in minutes. There is an upper and lower level by the river, i’d say about 10-15 sites total. We stayed on the lower level, the last site at the end of the dirt road and it was perfect. Fire pit. Leveled. No cell service with AT&T.

The prime site is in the lower level all the way to the left. In a van, down by the river, you’ll have a peaceful, albeit not completely private, night.

Our 4x4 Sprinter had no issues getting up the hill. It’s not very steep, but a big rock at the top forces you into a tight path. Also wouldn’t want to test it after rain, due sand.

The NP outhouse is 3 minutes away, as is cell reception. The best restroom, though, is 19 miles west in Torrey. The Phillips 66 Taft Travel Plaza has 5 individual stalls/ rooms with sinks.

We arrived late evening and set up on the upper loop. The road down to the lower loop is steep and requires a vehicle with decently high clearance. Very nice spot, river is soothing and road traffic is minimal. There was no one else there on a Friday night.
Definitely a good option right outside the national park boundary. No cell service.

This is literally right outside the park—I almost missed it, it was so close! Like other reviews said, the hill to the bottom looked SKETCHY and I didn’t want to risk it in my 2WD sedan, so I opted for the higher parking. I was somehow the only person there. Gorgeous views of the rocks & river. The water was so cool if felt amazing in the summer heat. So much so that I came back the next day after a long, sweaty hike! Minor noise from the highway, but I slept soundly. Would absolutely stay here again.

**some previous campers left trash in the fire pit. We can do better, y’all!

Picked the site based on other reviews saying it was less windy than the west side- arrived at 5pm it was completely empty, by 11pm there was only one other camper. The top of the site seems dry and barren but don’t be turned away! The lower part of the site is river front (probably about 3-4 feet deep, perfect for a dip!), by rainbow colored cliffs and has lush vegetation. The road to get down to the lower site is super rough- don’t recommend taking it. Instead park at the top site and walk down to the bottom site. AMAZING sky at night- we ended up seeing the milky way! One of our favorite sites by far as experienced dispersed campers. In the park, great location- made it easy to take part in the ranger programs in the evening!