Watchman Campground

Everything about this campground is great. From the location to the cleanliness to the views. I think A-7, A-9, and A-11 are the best in the campground. They are on the river and have a ton of privacy. Oh, and they also have electric on the A and B loops.

We walked from the campground to Zion NP and I WOULD NOT advise you to do the same. Take the shuttle bus. The path that leads from the campground to the main area of Zion NP ends and you are forced to walk on the road, which are used by the shuttle buses. Or, we could have gotten lost once the path pavement ended, LOL.

Be sure to get soft serve ice cream at the Zion Lodge. It was quite good.

It’s in the heart of the action and the best choice within the park. The South Campground caters more to tent campers, and in both campgrounds the tree cover could make solar power generation challenging, so electric hookups in Watchman loops A and B are a real benefit.

We were in Loop B and found the sites to be quite close together compared to other national parks we’ve camped at. Our site was also extremely unlevel and a little tricky to get into from the narrow loop road; the camper in the site across from us kindly moved their truck so we had enough swing room to back into our space. Definitely read the site descriptions carefully when making a reservation because some of them are quite small, and even the larger sites may have access challenges.

All that being said, we did like having electricity and internet service at our site, a rarity in national park campgrounds. The views of the surrounding cliffs from camp were just beautiful. It was an easy walk up to the visitor center to catch the shuttle bus, which is a necessity in this busy and parking-challenged park. The town of Springdale literally abuts the campground (across the river) and it was a nice treat to have several restaurants within walking distance of the campground. The grocery store in Springdale is like a miniature Whole Foods, with an excellent selection of organic products and not-too-outrageous prices for the quality offered.

We would stay here again in a second, but to us it felt much more urbanized and less tranquil than most of the national park campgrounds we have visited.

Stayed in March 2019. This year Zion got about 5x the amount of its average rainfall. The rain caused rock slides under Hwy 9 thus closing the park btw Canyon Junction and the East entrance. Despite half the park being inaccessible, my camping (near the West entrance) was wonderful. Mule deer strolled thru the camp, and we got both gentle rain and light snow at night. Watchman CG is walking distance to the Visitor Center and the town of Springdale. Camp Bathrooms are clean and it felt like they were actually heated. $4 5-min showers could be had in Springdale, though I can’t speak to that experience.

Loved this campground. We stayed here on a final leg of a 10 day road trip to all of the Utah national parks. If you're looking for a rugged backcountry experience to get off the grid, this isn't it. You're just steps away from the park visitors center and the entrance to the park from Springdale. That said, after a long trip this made for a comfortable camping experience with restrooms just steps away, and a brewery just a short walk across the entry bridge. We stopped by the brewery after a full day of hiking for drinks and dinner, then went back to our campsite to relax by a fire while the sun set on the Watchman.

Make sure to book a long time in advance. We managed to grab our spot as the last available one for our date, and this was a few months in advance. Check in was quick and easy, and the campground staff are helpful.

We didn't have any luck securing a spot with our Escape campervan on the next door first come first served campground so we were rather desperate when we pulled into the Watchman which also displayed that it was full. However, luck was in our favor and the ranger gave us a small spot without any hookups and we were over the moon! Beautiful campsite, clean bathrooms, it couldn't have been any better. Next time I come to Zion, I'll definitely reserve a few days to stay here again.

Top tip: while the lane to get on the shuttle gets very long, just walk along the paved path to the next shuttle stop at the Museum, you're on your way in no time and you had a nice little walk as well!

When you stay in the campground you are only a short walk to the free shuttle, park store and information center, river and the town of Springdale. Not very many NP campground has electricity but this one does. Loop A has paved sites but Loop B does not. The only reason I mention this is the wind kicks up in the afternoon and blows the dust. Most campsites are shaded making it seem cooler during our stay from June 14 thru June 19.

I booked our spot quite a bit in advance, so we would be close to the facilities. When we got there the closest bathroom was closed. The ranger explained that they had to close some of them because they couldn't get any of the rangers to volunteer to clean them. I'm not sure I would jump at the chance to "volunteer" to clean public restrooms either. Although a sign on the door said they would open again in May, the ranger said he wasn't sure if that would happen. One thing that would have made the trek to the bathroom more bearable was if they would have turned on the water at the dishwashing sink outside the restroom. The facilities we were able to use were clean. No showers. Watchman is very conveniently located near the Visitors' Center and Shuttles.