Wide Hollow Campground

This was the first campground that I have reserved online that I couldn't fit in. We had WI-11, a wide spot in the first loop, but it proved too small for our TT, when considering a slide out and a crew cab truck.

I was just about to abandon the idea of staying at the campground to go down the road to a commercial RV property in Escalante, when my wife suggested that we go ask the camp host if there were any larger sites available. I was about to dismiss the idea as it was a Friday night and I knew the campground was probably booked up, but I'm learning in my old age to listen to her more, and am glad I did. She knocked on the host's door, and told him our situation while I and our yellow lab, Moki, waited in the truck tucked under a juniper tree, cursing my own planning error.

The camp host/ranger, Doug, immediately went into action, jumped in his golf-cart and proceeded to drive around to look for an open spot, even though he had to know that it would be a futile effort. He came over to us in about 5 minutes to tell us the bad news, but then suggested an alternative location in the park that worked out even better than the site I had reserved!

Doug was the nicest and most accommodating campground host that I have ever met!. Most often, I never even see a host, much less meet one. He also came by later and delivered us some fire-wood. Doug is nothing short of being a 'Rock Star' in my view, and a real asset and ambassador for the State of Utah!

The park bifurcates the campground into 2 campgrounds, the larger Wide Hollow Campground has 22 sites, with 3 of them having both water and electricity. The Lake View Campground has 4 sites, including a Lake View Group Area, and all of them have water and electricity. There are also several frost-free water spigots throughout the Wide Hollow Campground. Other facilities include restrooms, showers (not very clean), a boat ramp for the small reservoir, a day-use picnic area with a shelter, and a group pavilion.

A dump station is located just before you enter the park. However, most rigs with any size will need to swing wide into the ranger's residence drive-way to turn-around to effectively use the station when leaving, as the outside lane of the station does not have enough room to pull through in the same direction as you're leaving. It's just too tight. If you are using the station upon entering, it won't be too hard to line-up. There are 2 frost-free water spigots there along with a $13 fee station.

According to Doug, there are plans in place to expand the campground to the south by ~30 sites, all with power and electricity. There is a brand-new visitor center and gift-shop and the staff there is friendly as well. They have T-shirts, patches, stickers and water-bottles for sale, along with various information brochures.

The Petrified Forest Trail and the joining Trail of Sleeping Rainbows is certainly worth the ~2 hour effort. The trail is dog friendly, unlike NPS trails, but it will require a moderate amount of effort. We saw some beautiful vistas and interesting pieces of petrified wood once on top of the mesa.

We found the campground quiet. We did hear a few generators, although there were none operating close to us.

We booked a campsite here intending to stay for one night-although, the lake and surrounding views were spectacular, our spot consisted of a a pull out along the road. There were a few other spots in the park which were more tucked away-if you intend on staying here, especially in a motor home or fifth wheel, be sure to choose one of these sites.

Although, our space was described as wide, we were still partially on the road in our pop up tent setup. We also were not level-this was a concern and we considered staying near the lake (this is offered as overflow parking), however, there was strong wind at these spots.

Overall, if you can get the right spot, this can be a great camping experience given the lake access and various amenities the park has to offer.

I wish all campgrounds were this nice! Most sites are level and, with a few exceptions, can accommodate small to medium sized RVs. The campground is located just off Scenic Byway 12, about an hour east/northeast of Bryce Canyon National Park. If Capitol Reef is your next stop, this is a great option for a night's stay.

I stayed in late September and found the campground very clean and quiet, although every site was occupied. There are five individual shower rooms (free, 9 minutes each shower, spacious) and an industrial dishwashing station. Each site has at least one picnic table (mine had two), the bathrooms were well maintained, and fresh water is available near the shower facility. Yes, the new visitor's center was under construction during my stay, but it didn't affect my experience. There's a large reservoir just next door which attracts birds and can provide a lovely reflection during sunrise/sunset.

The park has several short hiking trails and of course, plenty of specimens of colorful petrified wood. The trailhead is located just a short walk from the campground, by the day use parking lot. You may even see a jackrabbit or deer along your hike! I had a decent cell signal and was able to use internet/text/phone services.

Would definitely stay here again!

We stayed here at the end of September, 2020.

It was just what we needed, after boondocking on a (shade-less) parking lot in Kanab for a few days. We arrived at this park to find that our site was wonderfully SHADED!

We arrived to find the dump station on a hill, as we entered the park. Plenty of room, though, to dump and fill our fresh tanks.

The entrance to the camping area is undergoing some work, as they are building a new visitor center, at the foundation stage while we were there. Some construction noise during the day, but not bothersome.

The campground has two loops - the Wide Hollow campground, and the smaller Lake View campground. We stayed at site #6, which is in the Wide Hollow loop. There are a few Water/Electric sites in the campground, but #6 is without services.

We found our site to be big enough for our trailer and truck, and we were pleasantly surprised that it was nicely shaded. I think it was my favorite spot in the park. Oh, and if you choose to stay in #6, you should know that there is a freshwater spigot for all to use near the site, so you can fill up your tank there, if you have nothing to dump on the way in. (it's not your personal water supply, of course; don't leave your hose hooked up.)

I agree that the layout of the park is a bit odd - there are a number of sites which are just wide areas in the campground road, to pull your vehicle over. And, the campground is a little hilly; some sites are quite unlevel. Might be good to review some campsite photos before reserving a site.

The lake was a bit low, and the water was more brown/green than we are used to here in the Pacific Northwest. I'm not sure that I'd want to swim in it. We did see some deer along the waterfront one evening.

The hikes from the campground are wonderful, with amazing petrified trees. You don't have to go far to see specimens, though, as there is one serving as a parking barrier in front of the bathhouse, and an area near the day use parking which has a nice display as well.

The campsite had a covered picnic table, as most, if not all, did.

The bathhouse was modern and had nice showers. I will say, though, that we didn't see it cleaned while we were there - the women's bathroom had no hand soap, although the men's did. (Does that say something about the habits of my fellow males?)

We also saw that there was some clearing of brush, it appeared, along the lake front. We were confused by seeing a few people who appeared to be camping outside of established campsites, either along the lake front, or at what are picnic sites near the boat ramp and exit.

The campground is a great "jumping off point" for exploring nearby Escalante National Monument, including Highway 12. Don't miss a hike to Lower Calf Creek Falls (https://www.visitutah.com/places-to-go/parks-outdoors/grand-staircase-escalante/escalante-canyons-section/family/lower-calf-creek-falls/), but get to the parking area early, or you'll have trouble finding a spot.

Made for a lovely respite from the sun for a few days.

This is a very small CG with spaces close together and little to no visual buffers for privacy from neighbors. Also, all sites hug the shoulder of the CG road and traffic is constant...motorized and pedestrian. At the risk of sounding like a curmudgeon (to which I do exhibit many signs), this is the type of CG which I strive to avoid: mobile neighborhoods with all of the associated negatives. Noisy. Heavy traffic. Difficult to socially distance. With all that said, it was the only public RV camping which I was able to secure on short notice. Boon-docking was not an option as most dispersed camping was also crowded. However, the negatives did not out weigh the experience of viewing nature at its finest: the Aspen showing fall colors of bright yellow, burnt orange and fiery red. Of course, that accounted for all the fall peepers, including us.

Pulled into Escalante Petrified Forest State Park mid afternoon, set up the trailer and headed for Calf Creek Lower Falls for a hike. The hike was awesome with a beautiful swimming hole and waterfall. We headed back to the campsite to find someone had messed around with our jacks. We suspect it was one of the children staying nearby. After leveling the trailer again, we did the Petrified Forest Hike at sunset. The view was stunning.

As for the actual campsite, it is a pull through of sorts. More like parking on a curb. There was water, a fire ring and covered table. The vegetation was a bit over grown.

We went down the road and checked out the dispersed camping area at Hole in the Rock. We wish we would have stayed there.