Soap Creek Dispersed Camping

We stayed there one night with our 34ft travel trailer. After reading other reviews about a big dip at the entrance, we parked our truck and trailer 1/2 mile down the road and visited the area by foot. The dip is there, but if you cross it slowly and diagonally, any truck and trailer can make it. There are several sites, some close by the road, with enough space to turn around or back in. We took a right turn at the fork after 1/4 mile and camped behind a University research antenna. Due tot he size of our trailer we didn't want to drive further. There were 2 more cars/campers in the distance near the canyon, maybe 1 mile away. Road noise was nonexistent. I recommend this spot to anyone passing through this area.

Because of our low clearance van, we took the right at the fork. We made it about.75 mile past the array and parked at a pretty, level site. We rode our bikes to the end of both roads
from our camp, it was another.5 mile to the end of the road, a turnout and a short hike to the canyon rim.
On the left road, there are 3-4 very rocky sections ranging from 100 to 200 feet long. After those, the road is smooth, though sometimes with deep ruts. The left road is about 4 miles in length from the fork. It reaches the rim and then runs along it with a handful of established sites that are very well spaced.
There was not another soul in the area, though it was late December!
Views in all directions, whether you make it to the rim or not!

Got there after dark and took the road to the right and found a nice spot for our 25’ TT. There is a good place to turn around at the end if you go all the way. Explored more the next day in our truck- if you go left at the fork, the road is more rocky and you just have to take it really slow. Could see why some may not want to risk it if they have a big RV. But definitely some awesome spots/views overlooking the Colorado river along that side!

That first dip when you turn off of the paved road is no joke. We hit our back bumper pulling in and had to take it slow.

We turned right at the first fork in the road and camped at the end of that loop. There were about 3 ok campsites for trailers along that road and I think it's really the only trailer friendly part.

If you go left there are some really cool campsites but the road is so long and rocky I would only recommend it for vans, small trailers, and good clearance vehicles.

Besides the bad road and limited access, the campsite was beautiful with the Vermilion Cliffs on one side and the insane canyon and colorado river on the other.

We were there a few weeks ago, and we only saw a couple people the whole time we were there. We didn't hear any noise from the highway.

Pulled in, opened the gate, and went to the right. Nice turnaround at the end. I think there are 4 total spots to the right. The star gazing was amazing. It was rocky but a two wheel drive suv made it. The dip at the entrance is the hardest part. We didn't go to the left but I did see a car come from there. We did have some road noise from big trucks about every 15 mins or so. Once we were in the camper it went away. Had great, service with AT&T and Verizon.

Stayed: 10/6/2020 - FREE
Site: Canyon Edge - 2nd site
Vehicle: Hyundai Rogue
Equipment: Tent

This was by far one of the coolest places I’ve ever camped. Right on the canyon edge! Beautiful sunset and sunrise!

The turnoff for this camping is situated between a scenic byway sign, from both directions. The coordinates were very accurate and took us right to the gate. Open and close the gate behind you and take the fork to the left.

There were a couple small sites along the road, if you didn’t want to go all the way. Particularly, I remember a nice spot near the sign, past the first rough patch of rocks, if you don’t want to go any further. The road is definitely pretty rough. Take it slow and try to get there during the daylight to make it easier. We did just fine in the Rogue.

Once you get to the canyon edge, there are a couple sites that are across the road from each other. We passed those and took the next one on the canyon-side of the road. See photo It was a little rough for the tent and stakes, but it worked out just fine.

We didn’t go any further, but these were really the only sites that we saw. Another man pulled up later and asked if he could park his car next to us, since there weren’t any more obvious sites.

We were on an 11-day National Park trip and this was by far my favorite site we stayed. 100% worth it and would love to return!

AT&T: Full bars LTE
Sprint: 2 bars LTE

Getting to this location is NOT for the faint-o-heart, but once you are here... amazing!

We pulled our 25’ Airstream all the way to the end-loop. It is a large turn-around area RIGHT at the junction of two canyons and the Colorado River (a canyon of its own).

I rolled our bikes out to this pinnacle area (60 feet from our site) and snapped the photo looking Southeast-ish.

The coordinates for the gate (at the road) are very close to spot-on. There is not all that much driveway space from the highway to the gate, so be careful on your approach.

The road just inside the gate makes a sharp right turn, and is slow going almost all the way. There are places to turn around (if you lose hope), and some 6-8 pull-out places to camp along the roadway.

The roadway is not well maintain, and again... we pulled our 25’ Airstream out here, but don’t pull anything much longer.

It is “dead quiet” here, aside from the dull roar of the river below. It is flat though rocky/gravely.

Stayed here overnight on a recent fly fishing trip to nearby Lee's Ferry. Access is through a gate off highway 89A and along a dirt road with some rocky spots. Site is just a 10-15 min drive to the walk-in/boat ramp at Lee's Ferry.

We arrived after dark so we had to rely on other Campendium reviews to make sure we were in the right spot. There are no signs marking this area that can be seen from Highway 89A - luckily we had just enough of a cell signal (Tmobile) to reference the map marking the spot on the Campendium app. Access is located from a dirt turnout with a large dip immediately after leaving the highway. Dip is the least drastic on the south end, but could be trouble for large RV's in some spots - take your time and look for the best spot for entry. There's a closed gate (no lock) that needs to be opened to allow entry. After the gate, there are a few spots along the dirt road before encountering any rocky terrain. If you have a large rig or are just stopped for a few hours of sleep, one of these spots close to the gate is a great idea. At the fork, we went left to the cliffs. The "left" road has some rocky areas - 4 wheel drive is not necessary, but good clearance will help. Take your time through the rocky areas and the road eventually pays off as it turns left (north) along the cliffs overlooking the Colorado River.

There was NO one else at this location when we stayed there, so we had our pick of spots. We had our pick of spots, but as we arrived after dark, we settled into the 2nd site along the cliffs. We set up our tent about 50ft from the cliff edge. Sites are desert with hard ground, some small rocks, little brush, and some tiny cacti. When we arrived around 8pm, there was a good breeze blowing that made the setup of our tent interesting and we parked the car between the wind and tent to try to block some of the wind. Luckily, the wind died down to a gentle breeze (great for a warm summer night) after an hour or so and never picked back up. We had 3-4 bars of Tmobile service and were able to facetime with family back in Phoenix without trouble. Plenty of cell access to make calls, check email, and browse, but I'm not sure I would plan to get important work done while here. The night was pitch black, absolutely quiet, and the stars were plentiful - we really had a enjoyable and relaxing night of sleep.

We awoke in the morning to a breathtaking view not only of the Vermillion Cliffs to the West, but to an unforgettable view of the Colorado from the cliffs above. This spot is worth the views as this is one of the most beautiful spots in all of AZ in our opinion! After taking some photos and throwing the drone up to take some video of our surroundings, we packed up camp and headed to Lee's Ferry for a day of fishing via a short 10-15 min drive along 89A.

We love this spot and will absolutely camp here again. We're excited to return when temps are cooler and hope to spend more time exploring the cliffs and surroundings nearby.

Critters: We were on the lookout for snakes but didn't see any. Bugs weren't bad, but they are there. We did find a large scorpion under our tent when packing it up, so as this is desert terrain, be sure to make sure shake out your gear that sits on the ground.