Camping near Moab?

[MAD_POTTER]

Me and a buddy are going to Moab in a couple of weeks. We will be camping out with his pop up camper. What I need to know is if it is possible to just show up and get a space in a campground or do we need reservations? Can we just pull off one of the dirt roads and park wherever or is that not cool with the local law enforcement. ? We want to be far enough away from people to do a little target shooting also. Can someone recommend a good camping spot? I haven't been to Moab since the 1980s when we went to Canyonlands so I'm sure things have changed. Any enlightenment would be much appreciated.

KC

[ColoradoXR]

I'm sure there are plenty of places others can suggest, but here are some places I look when I go to Moab.

Not really sure about where to go to target shoot. The later you wait, the harder it will get to find a camp spot in general near Moab, let alone away from people enough to shoot. I never go to Moab after the end of April due to two factors: flood of people and it's too friggin' hot.

If you go in the next couple weeks, you should be able to roll in and find a camp spot fairly easily. If you were there in the 80's, the then free camping along the Colorado just north and east of town is now pay, but has facilities and is much more comfortable. You should be able to get one of those spots if you don't arrive late in the day. You won't find any space to shoot, but the spots are convenient. Also, there are plenty of spots out towards Kane Creek that are basically just park and camp. Kane Creek is an awesome ride with 25 or so river crossings and some cool sand berms. You could probably find plenty of space to fire a few off though.

You could also pay a cheap fee to stay right at Slickrock east of town. Slickrock is a fun and worth doing every day to warmup both figuratively and literally in the morning. There are few other trails that will be within riding distance of your camp.

Worse comes to worse, my fallback for a place to stay is the KOA just south of town. It's a typical pay campground, but if you can't find any other good spot, there is almost always availability here with showers.

I'm heading to Moab this weekend with my fiance. It won't be as fast and furious as riding with the fellas, but I'll have fun showing her around and seeing her have some fun.

[JADENHYRUM]

Hey give me a call and I can hook you up with some good places, And a loop trail we always do. 801-642-0070 ask for Gary.

[Moab450]

There are some pretty good camping in Moab that is free, but no showers or anything like that. If you head up towards Dead Horse point there are some great places to camp on the left side of the highway that I am pretty sure you could do some shooting in. Most to the land around here is public so it's your land. If you go on top of the Mesa towards Canyonlands National Park there are also some good campsites on the right side of the road that provide for some good riding right out your backdoor (monitor and merimac, Dubinky and Tusher Canyons all are awesome trails out there). Camping out there puts you about 20 miles from Moab. There are also some great cammpgrounds in town like the Slickrock Campground which has a pool and three hot tubs, plus showers. Down Kane Creek they have started charging not much like $5 a night. There is a lot of mtn. bikers and base jumpers who camp down there now so it is pretty crowded. If you need any help finding a site let me know you can stop by the Moab Adventure Center in Moab and ask for Jason and I can line you up with a place fairly easily.

The crowds have left so it's a great time to come down and ride before it starts getting really hot.

[HighPlainsWR]

Just a thought, but the most comprehensive web info spot on Moab is www.moab-utah.com If you don't find what you're looking for I'd be surprised. Some of those remote camp sights at, or near, Ten Mile Wash are far enough away to not scare the tree huggers. Why ? No trees.

[MAD_POTTER]

Hey guys, thanks for the info. The problem I have found with public campgrounds is there's always some morons partying all night when I'm trying to sleep . We would prefer to just pull off the road and camp well away from everyone. We only have a couple of days so I think we will try the Kane Creek area.

Thanks ?,

KC

[JADENHYRUM]

The Behind the Rocks, is a great area for what you are talking about, Lots of great riding in the area. Its south of town about 8 miles. Call me if you need more info, You can do a great loop ride from their, and come back on Kane creek. Total loop is about 50 miles, you can leave a vehicle at the half way point if you need too. Gary 801-367-6961, When are you going down?

[MAD_POTTER]

Gary, I'm not sure when we'll be there, sometime before May 8th. The loop you describe sounds good but I'm running a stock YZ tank and don't think I can go 50 miles. I could always carry extra gas somehow. I did the White Rim trail back in the 80s on my old RM 500. I ran out of gas TWICE on that loop! I simply cannot cruise along to conserve fuel! I'm going to dig out my old topo maps and check it out.

KC

[KRobWR250]

We had great neighbors the first two night up on Sand Flats G cluster but then Sunday afternoon a couple of morons with their jacked up truck and brand new Raptor moved into the camp next to us and proceeded to ride that quad around the camp loop all afternoon with some trashy heavy metal rap music pounding from their monster truck the whole time. I just don't get it. Why bother going to Moab if you're not going to go out and ride the trails? They were twenty something stoners and had their girl friends with them so I guess they were just there to strut and preen.

Ah the great outdoors. Where one can go and get a way from it all. NOT ?. Thankfully the weather turned Monday and they left.