Every year, March emerges like a butterfly from a chrysalis, and everyone (from Utah and beyond) starts dreaming of heading to southern Utah. And for good reason!
Southern Utah is like the sweet taste of summer in March-May. Bluebird days in the mid-70s, a unique and wild landscape, and endless opportunity for adventure. Below are our favorite places to camp in southern UT. Click on the photo or heading for a link to more detailed information.
If you are looking for classic hikes to famous arches, amazing overlooks, or into the belly of a slot canyon, visit: The Best Family Hikes in Southern Utah
Camping in Southern Utah
SandFlats Recreation Area, Moab UT
Located minutes outside of Moab, Sandflats is open to camping year round and has roughly 9 camping loops with numerous sites within each loop [roughly 124 sites total]. Most sites, except the group sites, are on a first-come-first-serve basis. Each site has a fire ring and picnic table, with a vault outhouse nearby.
Goblin Valley State Park, BLM Land
Goblin Valley, a secluded valley in central Utah, is filled with hundreds of unique sandstone formations known as Hoodoos. These Hoodoos take many forms, most looking like overgrown mushrooms, nobs and spires.There is awesome (but hard to get) camping in the park, so we chose to go the free route and hit up the immense amount of BLM land just minutes outside the park. You can snatch some amazing sites along the road to Little Wild Horse Canyon Trailhead.
Sand Hollow State Park, outside Zion National Park
Camping at Sand Hollow Reservoir, Utah is a perfect place to set up basecamp about 30 minutes from Zion National Park. The lake alone leaves ample opportunity for adventure and water fun, but the area holds much more! You can choose between State two campgrounds or camping right by the water in the dispersed camping area on the east side of the lake.
Snow Canyon State Park, near St. George, UT
“We find our way a mile or two up Snow Canyon, to a cute campground settled cozily on the east side of the road. While some sites are packed together, our friends have reserved the huge group site. We have heated bathrooms and even warm showers just minutes from climbing and hiking.”
Dead Horse Point State Park
It has been a long time since I’ve been so impressed by a campground. We arrived early Saturday morning. Our site was a short distance to clean flushing toilets and had its own picnic shelter, fire pit, tent pad and access to the trail systems directly from camp. What more could we want?!
Camping Near Capitol Reef National Park (BLM Land)
Our site sat on a bluff, making for amazing views but was windy at times.
“Capitol Reef is one of the least visited National Parks in Utah, making (IMO) it more user-friendly and family friendly than some of the larger parks. It is located in south-central Utah, right in the middle of red-rock country and plays host to a mix of arches, natural bridges, large cliffs, rivers, and beautiful overlooks. There are great campgrounds and BLM camping nearby.”