Between Las Vegas and St. George

[jrh]

Well, after six months straight of vicarious trip report reading, I'm making it to southern Utah for a week starting this Friday. I do need a bit of advice from anyone who is familiar with the area between Las Vegas and St. George. I'll be flying into Las Vegas late Friday and renting a car. I was planning to get a modest head start by driving out of the city and finding a place wherever possible to stop overnight. Basically, park the car, throw up a tent and crash. Vice versa early in the morning!

I definitely don't want to assume I can show up at, say, the Virgin River Canyon Campground at midnight on a spring weekend and get a spot. Can anyone either tell me otherwise, or, suggest a place that would be convenient from the interstate? Doesn't have to be a campground, just has to be an accessible square of dirt that nobody will mind me using for a few hours.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Yvonne]

weekend could be tricky, last weekend the camp ground was totally filled. I hiked nearby so I passed the campground on my way back
Anyway, you can also camp at Whitney Pockets for free and explore a bit of the area the next day. Lots of Rock Art in the area, Little Finland.
Wonderful place to play a bit around.

 

[pixie1339]

It's only about an hour and a half drive between Las Vegas and St. George. Depending on where you're planning to go the first day, you could easily just make the whole drive that night and camp in the St. George area.

 

[jrh]

weekend could be tricky, last weekend the camp ground was totally filled. I hiked nearby so I passed the campground on my way back
Anyway, you can also camp at Whitney Pockets for free and explore a bit of the area the next day. Lots of Rock Art in the area, Little Finland.
Wonderful place to play a bit around.

It's only about an hour and a half drive between Las Vegas and St. George. Depending on where you're planning to go the first day, you could easily just make the whole drive that night and camp in the St. George area.

Thanks, guys! In either case (on the way from LV or once in the St. George area), it LOOKS on Google Maps like there's about a zillion roads off the interstate in every direction. The trouble is that I still wasn't sure if it would actually be *that easy* to just choose any old one and find a spot in the dark. I did track down directions to find Whitney Pockets as the area sounds like a nice stop. Thanks again!!

 

[Darwin]

I have started many trips off this way, setting up a quick camp on the side of the road the first night. I use Geocaching to find my temporary home in new areas. Caches are usually on public land and most caches down a dirt road a bit have somewhere to camp nearby. If you have a GPSr you might have some luck with this method. Have an awesome trip!

 

[Jammer]

There's a "Nevada Welcome Center" rest stop right off the Hwy at the last exit for Mesquite at the NV/AZ state line. You could just crash there in your car and then get an early start -- I've done this a few times when I didn't want to mess with a late-night camp. If it wasn't a Friday you'd also be able to get a very cheap motel (for future reference.)

Have a good one.

- Jamal

 

[jrh]

Jamal, I'm tempted to take your advice and sleep in the car - it will depend on how awake I'm feeling after four hours on an airplane and some time in a car!

Darwin, I had never considered your point about Geocaches, but I'm definitely going to remember that trick. I'm in the market for a new GPS after this trip, anyway (I'll be sporting a model about a decade old), so that practical advice really helps out.

Thanks again, everyone!

 

[Seldom Seen Anderson]

You could also pull off the freeway on the black rock road exit (just outside of the gorge on the Utah side)