Hurricane Cliffs Campsites 36-48

We were visiting Zion National and we always like to boondock, this location did not disappoint. Great views, great cell signal, and close to Zion. The road getting in is a little rough and some of the sites are a bit tight but there are so many spots you should find something, perhaps scout it out by car before bringing in huge rigs. Check out our Zion video for some of the views. https://youtu.be/TGLTvTCDQBg

Used to be a slice of heaven:
I have been RV camping here for years. It’s an amazing/wonderful location. There are some detractors; busy road frequented by ATV types, previously unregulated with lots of shooting and broken glass, and a commercial quarry. With that said, it’s was a fantastic location for RV camping.

I say was, because the entire length of Sheep’s Bridge Road/Hurricane Cliffs now has only seven BLM dispersed designated RV spots. The rest are for tent camping.

As with most things government, it makes little sense to penalize RVs in favor tents. As if driving a car and putting up a tent results in less impact to the cryptobiotic environment than the four wheels of an RV.

Granted, the delicate area has been abused and needs refinement, but good luck finding one of the seven designated RVs sites available. Those are generally taken by long term campers.

The magnificent property along the Virgin River is private and the access to the JEM trail has moved. there is a local initiative to buy out the 450 acres. Check the signs and consider sending a contribution. Sadly, things don’t look good for preserving the ground for public use.

I really was disappointed in the reviews of this place. I feel like the pictures didn’t accurately describe what it was actually like. We wanted to like it here so bad and drove around a lot but just didn’t find much of anything that compared to the photos that we could access without getting ourselves into a pickle (even then it was just marginal). We left very frustrated. We tried all the different Hurricane Cliff sites thinking we would run across something that looked like what we saw in reviews but didn’t run across anything. Wish we knew where those places were.

We camped here 17 days from April 7 to April 24, 2019, technically beyond the 14-day limit, but we were dealing with some illnesses, and just needed more time. Otherwise, we saw no BLM officials policing this area, so it seems you can probably stay for as long as your black tank holds out.

Gorgeous views of red rock canyons and mesas here. The red dirt is everywhere here, and that dirt can get all over your rig when the winds pick up. If it happens to rain enough while you're here, that red dirt gets very muddy, and no fun to trod along through.

There are 48 official campsites along Sheep Bridge Road, but we saw many others camping in places where signs clearly said, "no camping", yet because of zero enforcement, everyone gets away with it. About half-way down Sheep Bridge Road, it enters private property, a rock quarry. Within the private property, there are several clearings where people also camp, and yet the property owner doesn't seem to care. So even though there are officially 48 campsites, there's perhaps as many as 70 unofficially.

There's quite a bit of traffic that runs along Sheep Bridge Road. Many dirt bikes, ATVs, bicycles, joggers, and plenty of Jeeps, SUVs, and RVs. Our campsite (#38) lies right next to Sheep Bridge Road. By night, it dies down a lot. There are also many 5K and 10K events, along with bicycling events. The event organizers will go through several of the campsites and post notices that you have to leave before the event. However, I don't believe they obtained any rights to do this from the BLM. They just post the notices and pretend that have some kind of authority. So, be prepared to check with the BLM office if you see a notice posted on your campsite.

Sheep Bridge Road is very washboarded from the Hwy 59 side. From the Hwy 9 side, it starts out rocky, but smoothes out. From both sides, there is a kiosk with map denoting the location of each of the 48 official campsites. The only trash dumpster I found is located at the half-way point of Sheep Bridge Road, next to campsite #40. Each campsite has a metal fire ring, but otherwise no other amenities.

If you come here, make sure to get here between 10:00AM and 12:00PM. This is when campers move out, and other campers move in. By early evening, perhaps 5:00PM, every campsite fills up, doesn't matter if its a weekday or weekend.

Verizon 4G comes in pretty good, about 3/5 bars.

The Maverik Fuel Station in La Verkin has RV lanes for fuel and an RV dump with water. The closest propane tank fill are the two Chevron stations in Hurricane, but those stations often don't have anyone there to man the tank. Otherwise, go into St. George and visit Warren Energy on 600W street. Very nice people there.

I was lucky! I arrived late afternoon and they had just graded the main road (Sheep BridgeRd). Then the next day they started grading the side roads, where the campsites are. You are surrounded by beauty! In fact, my front view was the same view photographed and on the Zion NP info guide. There is a dumpster at the La Verkin entry. Close to a lot of little towns.
If I were to go back, I would go for spot 19. But you may want to check it out before pulling a trailer.

When we were here it was dry, and they had graded most if not all of the roads. It appears they are planning to work on some of the sites later this month (April 2019) as well, based on posted signage. We stayed about a mile south of hwy 9 in site 40. 36ft 5th wheel. Plenty of bigger sites as well as more remote sites up the road. Some are tent only. The actual sheep’s bridge road is well maintained dirt and you can enter from either highway 9 or 59 without worry. There is a dumpster on the north end of sheep bridge road.

For the views and location, can’t be beat. The first mile or so of the road is terrible washboard. The campsite roads (1-15, 20-35, etc) are horribly rutted, some places very deep. I have a 5th wheel - no way would I drag it down most of the roads; however, there were campers there...small rigs such as the mini lite trailers, class C etc. You definitely need to scope this out first. At my spot, I watched vehicle after vehicle turn down my road, attempt to go down a campsite road, and then turn around. If you can grab the first site or two on the campsite roads, you’re good. Unbelievable views and access to trails. Very quiet, respectful campers here! Come early, scope first - enjoy your stay!

So we knew it was going to be muddy around this area due to the more than average rain this spring. We had stayed with family in St George the week prior to heading to sheepsbridge rd, so I got the opportunity to drive to some of the blm spots in the Zion area before bringing our house there. Good thing I did, because all roads in and out of any spot out there were extremely muddy and I wouldn’t attempt to do with our rig. Talking to a local on a hike at Zion lead me to entering sheepsbridge road from route 59, south of route 9. It is much better entering from 59, so we did because I deemed that there were three spots closer to the road that I would be willing to attempt in the muddy conditions. After getting to our spot we were being dusted out for the first five or so days by people flying down the road. Yet we were surrounded by beautiful snow capped mountains, and we were twenty minute drive from Zion, and so greatful. Upon arriving home one day from hiking we noticed a new sign near our house that said no camping. The blm guy actually stopped by that evening and told me that they were aggressively trying to keep people from camping in “undesignated” spots in order to preserve the area because it was becoming more popular. After chatting him up (and showing him a couple bags of trash we picked up) and explaining there were no designated spots that I was willing to attempt due to their poor condition. He said us leaving in a few days was cool with him so we stayed, and boy it got muddy. Everything was a lot harder due to the peanut butter style mud the clay created. Taking the dogs out turned into a coin flipping match every time. We left a week earlier than we were aiming for, and glad we were able to get out of that mess. Ten minutes south on 59 there is a chevron which has free water, free dump, truck lanes for diesel fill up, decent food, free WiFi, and you can spend the night.