Henrieville Creek Dispersed Camping

We stayed here on a Saturday night in April and had the place to ourselves. We drove all the way in and parked in a spot down by the creek. It was tight fit with some eroded parts but we fit well and that is the advantage of having a small vehicle with a roof top tent. One forest service vehicle drove by during the evening when we were exploring but that was the only other person we saw. The only downside was that it rained and the rain brought out a ton of spiders from the creek.

We had the place to ourselves at the end of March and it was beautiful and quiet. There are more sites along the sand cliffs, but we didn't dare bring the bus there since it is a bit eroded under the cliffs (beware!). There are a few different areas to explore for smaller rigs (don't stop at the first open space that you see with some metal parts... it's nicer down below). No cell service.

I stayed here in November 2016. The directions on the BLM site (included below) at least for the West to East I found to be very accurate and easy to follow.

The site itself is very very close (about one minute drive) to US-12 East and is a flat, well maintained dirt road. If I remember correctly it's about 45 minutes out of Bryce Canyon Nat'l Park and about 2 hours from Capitol Reef Nat'l Park. Henrieville Creek is perfect for getting in a full day adventure at Bryce and catching some shut eye before adventuring Capitol Reef.

Obviously it's primitive camping so no potable water, toilets, etc. It is on a small creek if you were willing to purify/boil. The site is composed of a series of small loops within the trees. When I was there there was one place where someone had a small fire ring and had obviously stayed. It had absolutely no service for cell phones.

Directions directly from BLM Site:

"*Henrieville Creek (Smith Ranch) Located on the north side of Highway 12, among scattered pinyon pine, juniper and Ponderosa pine. This site has the Gray Cliffs of the Grand Staircase as a backdrop and sits alongside Henrieville Creek.

W->E: Just beyond mile marker 37, watch for the Henrieville Creek bridge. (Henrieville Creek is the watercourse which has been on your right for several miles, and may be a dry wash). As you cross the Henrieville Creek bridge, turn left on the dirt road on the left side of the highway immediately after the bridge.

E->W: Descending "The Blues" from the Powell Point Overlook, watch the mile markers. As you pass mile marker 38, slow down in anticipation of a right turn. As you come around a sweeping left-hand bend, Henrieville Creek bridge will appear ahead. Take the last dirt road to the right just prior to the bridge (you will pass two other dirt roads to the right in this same general area).

To site: Follow the left forks of this dirt road for approximately 300 yards. There are several open areas to camp, along with several sites located on a tight loop road among the trees."