Seeking free, 2WD-friendly campsites just north of Moab

lostlandscapes

rope mule
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Jan 17, 2012
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Heading down late-night Friday to the Moab area for some weekend festivities and was hoping someone could shed some light on any free, easy access campsites just off 191. I've camped down in the area numerous times, but always as a fortunate passenger of a 4wd vehicle. Problem with this visit is I'll be driving my own rear-wheel Ford Ranger.

From what I understand and remember, a lot of the area just west of 191 has decent roads but is technically illegal to camp in (unless you go pretty deep) and requires portable toilets, no? And I've camped along the Salt Valley Rd before it enters Arches several times, but it's quite sandy and pretty much devoid of fire rings, yeah?

With all that said, can anyone suggest any decent quick access 2WD sites in this area that I might be missing or forgetting? Or am I SOL? I'd prefer not to pay for a noisy site along the Colorado if at all possible.

Thanks in advance.
 
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Pretty much all primitive sites around Moab require a toilet. I pack a 5 gallon bucket (clean) just in case the fuzz roll up but that's never happened. Consiering there's some sort of port-a-potty every few miles I never need to use my bucket and my ass is covered. There's plenty of car-car camping sites along the Dubinky Well road just outside of Island in the Sky. Its no secret spot but if you want to sleep on some slick rock go here http://goo.gl/maps/6rqJ8
 
Tim - not sure if you realized from looking at the map, but the spot Bill suggested is the one we stayed at the night before we shot Mesa Arch last January when it went sub-zero on us.
 
...Willow Springs, a couple of miles north of Moab.

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Hey instead of starting a new thread I thought I'd just post here. So next weekend I'll be leaving salt lake about 7pm and going to moab. I need a place that won't be hard to find in the dark and that I can get to in my car which is a hyundai elantra. I'd obviously prefer somewhere free if possible as I'll just be needing to get some sleep before I have to meet at the Dewey Bridge campground off highway 128. Any other suggestions or would places already mentioned here be good.
 
Just pull off any dirt road a ways, most everything from Green River to Moab is BLM and open. Its just how comfortable you are in doing that.
 
Bartlett Wash has a nice campsite with big trees. Pretty much car accessable unless there is lots of rain.
 
I'm not a fan of car camping outside of Moab. Lots of people and rules (you're supposed to have a portable toilet for much of it). If I were in your shoes, I'd head down and camp off of Highway 6 just before Green River and then just drive a little bit further in the morning. Lots of spots out that way.

This road is pretty close to Green River and has plenty of good opportunities not far down it.
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=39.0...10.300052&spn=0.00986,0.014784&num=1&t=m&z=17
 
I'm not a fan of car camping outside of Moab. Lots of people and rules (you're supposed to have a portable toilet for much of it). If I were in your shoes, I'd head down and camp off of Highway 6 just before Green River and then just drive a little bit further in the morning. Lots of spots out that way.

This road is pretty close to Green River and has plenty of good opportunities not far down it.
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=39.0...10.300052&spn=0.00986,0.014784&num=1&t=m&z=17

That area of the swell got hammered with yesterdays storm, almost 2" of rain in 24 hours.
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?site_no=09328500
 
Like @nonameiwant, I didn't think making a new thread for this would be necessary. Does anyone know if I should expect the Willow Springs area to be busy this Friday? I'm doing some last-minute planning, and I don't feel like driving down to Island in the Sky and back in one day.

I've also looked at the area near the Klondike Bluffs TH. Not as sure about our sedan in there.
 
Like @nonameiwant, I didn't think making a new thread for this would be necessary. Does anyone know if I should expect the Willow Springs area to be busy this Friday? I'm doing some last-minute planning, and I don't feel like driving down to Island in the Sky and back in one day.

I've also looked at the area near the Klondike Bluffs TH. Not as sure about our sedan in there.

I was just down there this past weekend, and it was crowded. I think as long as you get there by 9 though you should be okay. I grabbed a pretty good spot right at 9pm on Friday and it seemed like at least 5 other caravans came through within the next half hour seeking out sites. If you had high clearance then you'd be okay coming in at pretty much any time, but low clearance sites are a little more limited.
 
I was just down there this past weekend, and it was crowded. I think as long as you get there by 9 though you should be okay. I grabbed a pretty good spot right at 9pm on Friday and it seemed like at least 5 other caravans came through within the next half hour seeking out sites. If you had high clearance then you'd be okay coming in at pretty much any time, but low clearance sites are a little more limited.
Thanks! Looks like I'll be rushing to beat the crowds. I haven't done much of the desert car camping, so all of this stuff is new to me. Seems like the Moab area is trickier than most.
 
Thanks! Looks like I'll be rushing to beat the crowds. I haven't done much of the desert car camping, so all of this stuff is new to me. Seems like the Moab area is trickier than most.

I think you'll be good. Depending on how much space you need, there are also lots of little pullouts that you could just slide into and snooze in if you don't need a fire and/or large space for a tent. Also, depending on how shy you are, I quite often notice there being one tiny vehicle taking up a gigantic lot on the side of the road with plenty of space for someone to cozy up into. There a couple south-trending spur roads that you'll approach within a half mile of turning off 191 that have the best spots IMO. I've been able to get my Impreza back there a couple of times, but its a tad rougher than the main road and depends on current conditions (and it did just rain quite a bit last Sunday down there). Have fun!
 
I think you'll be good. Depending on how much space you need, there are also lots of little pullouts that you could just slide into and snooze in if you don't need a fire and/or large space for a tent. Also, depending on how shy you are, I quite often notice there being one tiny vehicle taking up a gigantic lot on the side of the road with plenty of space for someone to cozy up into. There a couple south-trending spur roads that you'll approach within a half mile of turning off 191 that have the best spots IMO. I've been able to get my Impreza back there a couple of times, but its a tad rougher than the main road and depends on current conditions (and it did just rain quite a bit last Sunday down there). Have fun!
Yeah, we don't take much space. Just need a decent spot to sleep! Thanks a bunch for your help!
 
I'm not a fan of car camping outside of Moab. Lots of people and rules (you're supposed to have a portable toilet for much of it). If I were in your shoes, I'd head down and camp off of Highway 6 just before Green River and then just drive a little bit further in the morning. Lots of spots out that way.

This road is pretty close to Green River and has plenty of good opportunities not far down it.
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=39.0...10.300052&spn=0.00986,0.014784&num=1&t=m&z=17

Not sure if it's the same road but turning west at the electrical substation works out great for a quick exit in the morning.
 
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