Happy Valley Road Dispersed Camping

Drove in about a mile on single lane dirt road with steep drop offs on both sides. We were pulling an ATV trailer and was lucky we didn’t encounter another rig coming opposite direction. A lot of open areas, but not very level. Most of the few good sites were occupied. Turned around and stayed in grassy field about 150yds off of Hwy 12. It was late in the evening so we just parked as level as we could for the night. Based on deep tire ruts, I’d hate to be there when it rains. Had come through Singletree Campground just above it, and it would have been very nice, ($20) but they were full.

This spot was so pretty, a little walk offers amazing views and there is a road/path to a waterfall!

We camped at the coordinates from the previous campers, passed a few other sites that are nice, but this one is my favorite!

Our 26’ camper fit easily.

Quiet, you can’t see any other campsites.

About 1/2 hr to Capitol Reef National Park visitor center.

This dirt Forest Service Road is off Scenic Byway 12 on Boulder Mountain, and is the next road north of Singletree Campground. Going north on 12, it is to the right. There’s a green road sign readable from Byway 12 that says Happy Valley Road FS4040S. But you won’t find that designation on the Dixie National Forest map. On the map, it is Forest Service Road 172. At the end of the long road is a Happy Valley “subdivision” of cabins so perhaps the sign is their doing. Regardless, the sign is easy to spot coming from either direction.

We went in 1.3 miles on a dirt road with some wash boarding, Our coordinates are the ones listed above. It very doable for any size rig in dry weather. We did pass several sites on our way in, mostly by meadows, that looked fine for any size rig. Our large spot was near the edge of the mountain and within a few yards of amazing views across the valley, with dramatic cliffs. Only room for one rig and not near any other site. Some sun for solar, we never had to run the generator. Easy to level.

We got water at Singletree Campground, where they have a threaded RV water fill, as well as spigots for jugs. When we were leaving, we spent a night at Thousand Lakes RV Park in nearby Torrey to use their sewer hookup and laundry. And they have an amazing gift shop, with lower prices on Native American jewelry than elsewhere.

On Boulder Mountain, the weather in mid to late August was warmer than we expected, in the mid-80’s with lows in the 50’s-60’s. But it was about 10 degrees cooler than down in Torrey and nearby Capitol Reef National Park. We have been to Capitol Reef before, and with the heat (and our advanced age), we didn’t even try a hike. We do recommend, however, that you get pie and/or sourdough bread at the Gifford House in Fruita, inside the Park. We did enjoy some hikes right from Happy Valley Road. There’s a forest service trail about .7 miles further down,Happy Valley Road from our camp.

Our big outing was to drive to Boulder town on Byway 12 (about an hour), then drive the Burr Trail Road. SO amazing, we found it more stunning than Capitol Reef, The seven-mile stretch through Long Canyon is Unbelievable. The paved road changes to dirt as it enters the southern end of Capitol Reef National Park, and then crosses over Waterford Pocket. We continued on the Burr Trail Road down to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Lake Powell. Then took the Notom-Bullfrog Road back north to Highway 24 and the main road through Capitol Reef National Park, and back to camp.

This is a driving spot, in our 10 days we drove 500 miles sightseeing around the area. That included a couple attempts to fish in some of the 70 or so high country lakes on Boulder Mountain. The dirt roads were too rough and slow for us, and the lakes were all over 10,000’ in elevation, too high for us for medical reasons. We did enjoy fishing in Lower Bowns reservoir, about an hour from camp.

No cell coverage (We have AT&T). We had to drive down almost to Hwy 24 intersection to get coverage. We needed to get a couple packages, and the small post office in Teasdale was the closest for general delivery and were very pleasant and efficient.

If we were to return, we would use Happy Valley Road again, especially in the summer.