Zion Scenic Byway Dispersed Camping

April 15, 2022 - Good Friday-we’re here visiting Zion in our airstream. We always go in to check out highly reviewed dispersed camping areas. To see if there’s enough turnaround space for our vehicle and airstream. This is an amazing site with enough room for a 40 foot RV to turn around easily. The top of the hill has spectacular 360° views. The road in is an old highway asphalt is broken but no large ruts the first right coming in off of the road is extremely rotted out would not suggest an entrance there. But if you go to the next entrance or to 71 A & 71 B You will turn left there is a huge camping spot on the corner better there’s enough room for anyone to make the access into the main area where there are several large areas for RV or trailer. Campfire rock pits in several areas. Only 3 miles down the road is gas station with diesel or regular fuel propane refill. From this location you’re only 35 to 40 minutes from Zion. Area was extremely clean please pack in pack out trash leave it like it found it. Amazing and it’s free!

This was the BEST dispersed camping location we have had to date. Lots of great spots but we were lucky to get one on top of a hill, flat and under a tree! Triple score! Most of the other sites are not shaded but there are several tucked back that are. We took the second turn off once we were off the main road. It was relatively smooth and easy to navigate slowly. The first one had huge ravines so that’s all on your rig. Same with the road forward. There are also lots of great tent sites sprinkled throughout. The other campers there were all nice and it was quiet. Perfect location if you want to go to Zion. Please note this is outside the EAST Zion entrance and if you have a big rig you need to get a pass for the tunnel to get to the other side of Zion.

We would definitely camp here again and give it a great rating.

We arrived a few days after a snowstorm, so the road off 9 had some snow but was old asphalt underneath and we were comfortable pulling our 20 foot trailer in. We stopped at the first spot on the left with a fire pit, dirt was mostly frozen. We chose our spot carefully and rearranged some rocks because sun beating on the frozen dirt was turning into mud we didn't want to get stuck in. Taking the road to the left and up the hill looked a little too muddy for this trip, but lots of spaces and options in better road/weather conditions. Very quiet this time of year and perfect for exploring Zion. Our GPS wanted us to go very off-road, we used 37.25033, -112.76046 off of 9 approaching from Mount Carmel to access the road we camped on.

We arrived here on a Sunday afternoon and it was completely empty. The road in is pretty rough (large potholes etc.) but do able if you go really slow. Lots of different spots. By early evening several other people had arrived, but we were all spaced out and had lots of privacy. Cell/wifi signal is great (we have ATT and Verizon) and I am able to work and do conference calls/webinars without an issue. The East entrance to Zion is only 15 mins away. If you have a large rig like we do, definitely recommend scoping it out first with your toad first.

We were headed to Zion National Park and pulled in after dark. Handful of nearby tent campers and one RV in mid November. Directions are spot on. Main road is a little rough. 1st drive on left had deep ruts and would definitely need 4x4. We took 2nd left as previous reviews stated and it was as described and easy going. Took 1st site on left. Lots of open space, a fire ring was already established. There were dunes all around as wind break for tent and if you walked to top of dunes great views and even got a several bar signal on phone. Down below dunes no signal at all. The sunrise was phenomenal. Would stay again.

The boon docking sites around the East side of Zion are often treacherous due to the amount of sand. I scouted out several listed here in Campendium with my 4WD F150 and would not take out camper down to most of the sites. There is just a LOT of sand everywhere in this area. However, this spot is easy to get to, and has a large flat area for a lot of campers. We did not stay and opted to drive to Bryce instead, but this would have been a good spot for an overnight with no worries about getting stuck.

Loved this area, wish we could've stayed longer. Beautiful and very big rig friendly. Take 2nd turn in off the FR. This main road is paved but many chuncks of missing pavement so take it slow. So worth it! Cell signal/wifi is pretty good. Verizon hotspot got 2-3 bars and we were able to video conference without freezing but maybe a time or two. Higher on the hill is better signal but more windy. And the drive to Zion is about 40 minutes and gorgeous drive. You can take big rigs thru but it's a challenge and you need to purchase a pass so they can block off the end of the tunnel to allow you to pass if over 11'.

Between mile marker 51 & 52, on the South side of the highway, found it at night, coming out of Zion (although the moon was pretty full, I think you could easily find it on a very dark night...

You’ll make just about a 180 degree right hand turn and continue about 1/2 a mile up a decently paved road...
You’re going to be making a left, but the first available left looks like ATV trail with serious ruts, just go ahead and avoid that, continue 100 yards more and take the left onto well maintained dirt road which leads into the “main roundabout” of this dispersed site.

We had great Verizon service that allowed us to send multiple videos via iMessage to friends back home etc.