This is our camp of two days in the Uinta, NF.
I’m getting behind in posts so I’ll try to catch up. We’ve been on the move! On Friday, May 16 we left Zion and drove as far as Nephi, UT where we found a very nice little campsite in the Uinta National Forest on the Nebo Scenic Byway that runs from Nephi to Payson UT. http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/regions/intermountain/MtNebo/index.shtml Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to explore the Byway but if we had the time I would loved to have driven it. We only went about a mile into it and we quickly found a great campsite to spend two days at. Neither Judy nor I like to rack up big miles, we prefer to move at a leisurely pace stopping and enjoying ourselves along the way.
Our first night we had a beautiful alpenglow on the mountains.
And a nice sunset.
Everything went exactly according to plan! We found our campsite Friday evening and spent Saturday in Nephi taking a shower at the Flying J and doing our laundry. Then Sunday morning we got up early, hit the road and blasted through Salt Lake and on up to Idaho.
But, I’m getting ahead of myself, in this post I’m going to include pictures of our Nephi camp and tell you a little about how I find campsites.
The road kept going up and had we been here longer I would have loved to explore it.
So here are the steps I take to find a campsite along our travel route.
- Obviously the first thing is to plan a travel route. In our case we wanted to go from Zion NP to Grand Teton NP the fastest and cheapest way possible. Normally we would take back-roads but instead we took the freeway. There were two reasons for that: 1) Our total trip is 7000 miles so we need to keep our gas bill as low as possible by saving whenever possible 2) In late May many of the mountain passes would be cold yet and even subject to snow. Interstate 17 was the fastest, warmest and least expensive route possible for us.
- You need to have a plan for how many miles you travel a day. Of course that will be different for every person but you need to be honest with how much you want to drive and still be comfortable. We like about 200 to 250 miles a day.
- Once we knew our travel route and approximately where we would stop, I got out the Delorme Atlas and searched for the nearest National Forests to the Freeway in the areas we wanted to stay in. All the Rocky Mountain States have an abundance of Forests very near the freeways so it was easy to do.
- Once I found a National Forest close to I 17, I had to find an off-ramp that exited into it. Then I followed the roads near it into the Forest and looked for Forest Service roads off of them. The way you will know it is a Forest Service Road is that it will be within the boundaries of the National Forest and it will begin with the letters FR (for Forest Road) followed by a 3 to 5 digit number. The Delorme doesn’t list every Forest Service road, but it does list the major ones and that’s good enough.
- Once I’m on a Forest Service Road, I can almost always find a smaller road running off of it that has a campsite. I think I’ve always found one, but if for some reason I don’t, I just search the map for another Forest Road and drive down it until I do.
To get to this campsite you get off the interstate at exit 225 in Nephi, UT. You turn to the east and go about 5 miles until you come to the Nebo Scenic Byway and turn north onto it (it’s clearly marked). Very shortly you will see the the sign saying you are entering the Uinta NF and immediately after that you will see a dirt road going off to your left up a hill, turn on it. You’ll come to a horse corral and see the road going up a hill to the right. Go up it. The road was rutted but any van or SUV could make it, I think cars would be fine as well. Keep climbing until you come to the level spot you see in the pictures and you are home! There was another road that went off to the left of our camp and it lead to another very nice campsite, but we liked this one better. The road kept going up into the mountains, but we didn’t take it any further.
I hope you enjoy the pics of our campsite!
I went to high school in Mt. Pleasant, a town to the East. During that time, in early fall my sophomore year, I got to climb Mt. Nebo.(1966, I think.) I have always wanted to get back there.
jonthebru, that must have been a good place to grow up! What’s keeping you from going there now!
Bob
Back in 1973, I went though this area. I found out that you don’t have to know how to swim in the Salt lakes. You’ll float like a cork. Have fun….
Chuck, that’s good to know! But, I probably still won’t be swimming in it.
Bob
Thanks for the nice campsite, for the pictures and for the tip on finding sites. I have not lived mobile in that part of the country, and I appreciate the simple method.
You’re welcome Calvin.
Bob
(You mean I-15, Bob. I-17 is in Arizona.) While you were at one end of the Nebo Scenic Byway, I was at the other. My brother lives in Payson. The upper end of the Byway and other roads up various northern Utah canyons are closed until June because of snow.
Ooops, your right about the freeway. I just wrote my next blog and did the same thing again! Now I gotta go correct it!
Sorry to have missed you! But it’s probably good so you didn’t have a fender-bender with all the traffic up there!
Bob
could a 5th wheel make it there?
Bill, sorry, no way. It has several tight switchbacks. I could take my little cargo trailer but nothing much bigger.
Bob
What a fabulous journey, Bob and you’re just getting started! Please tell Judy I love the photos of her! You two are my heros! Mwwaa! I’ve been thinking that if things get sticky for camping here in CA and Tahoe & Mammoth (with the bear scare), I might like to try Utah camping. RV Sue has given me the idea too. Off the top of your head, where would be a good summer camp in Utah that’s not crazy far north, do you know? If not, I’ll do my research. I’d need to do that anyway regardless of whether you can tell me or not. Mwwwaa, again!
I’ve camped around Moab but it’s too hot in the summer. I’ve camped in the National Forest around St. George, but I have no idea what it would be like to spend the summer. Sorry I can’t be more helpful.
Last summer RVSue spent quite a bit of time in Utah so check her blog archives.
Bob
Oh, I meant to check the notify me of follow up comments. So, I did that with this post. He he!
Bob,
Thanks for sharing your process of finding campsites.
Question: In addition to the DeLorme atlases, have you used the Benchmark atlases, and, if so, do you have any thoughts on their relative strengths and weaknesses when compared with each other…for purposes of vandwelling and boondocking on public lands?
(In my case, I happen to be particularly interested in the states of NM, AZ, CO, and UT.)
Thanks,
GP
GP, that’s a great question! I actually prefer the Benchmark and own both for the states I spend a lot of time in. I think the Benchmark is a far better Atlas and I only bought the Delorme because they were cheaper. As a road map the Benchmark is far superior, much easier to read.
The problem is they both keep changing. I have an older Delorme Ariona Atlas that has all land ownership (BLM NF, State) in different colors so you know instantly who owns it. But now that don’t do that anymore. Most Benchmarks don’t show land ownership, but i do have an edition of the Arizona that does. I can’t keep up with what you will get if you order a new one today.
If they cost the same, I’d buy the Benchmark, but if I can afford it, I’d have both.
Bob
I have all the Benchmarks and they all show land ownership by color-code. It’s not always easy to tell where private ends and state or public land begins, but you can get the general idea.
I’m surprised by that Sue because I have several of the older ones and they do not have color coding. My new Arizona does though. That’s good to hear! They must have added that to stay ahead of Delorme. In every other way they are far superior so that’s all I will recommend now.
Bob
Hi, Bob,
Beautiful boondock! I’m very interested because the crew and I are not very far south of that area at present. One question… It looks like you’re parked in a grassy area. Is that an established campsite with a fire ring? I realize you’re only staying a few nights but if I went there, I’d want to stay longer and I don’t want to get on the wrong side of a ranger. Thanks.
Hi Sue! There is an informal rock-ring there but nothing Forest Service approved, it is dispersed, primitive camping only. Because we were there for such a short time I didn’t bother, but you can download the MVUM for nearly all National Forests as a PDF and confirm it’s a legal road. Some Forests put dispersed camping in the MVUM also, but many don’t. It’s my understanding that if they don’t include dispersed camping in the MVUM, it is allowed on all legal roads. But you can usually poke around on the Forests website and find their rules for dispersed camping or give them a call.
The road up to that site has a couple of pretty tight switchbacks. I could have taken my small cargo trailer up there, but I’m not sure how much longer your Cassita is. My guess is YOU could get it in there!! It really is a beautiful spot. But if I were staying I would go further down the road to the south for more seclusion. We were parked right on the road.On Saturday we probably had 4-5 4x4s go by us.
The Nebo Byway looks worth some time, so you could check the Ranger Office for dispersed camping if this doesn’t work. Nephi is pretty small. The nearest Walmart is probably Payson which is the other end of the Nebo Byway.
I LOVED the family of cowboys in your latest post!!!!! I gotta tell you, I think Mormonism is the weirdest religion ever, but man do their people actually live it! The fruit is good!
Bob
Thanks, Bob, for that very helpful and thorough reply. I do think Utah Forest Service personnel are more forgiving than, say, the FS in Arizona. Park in a meadow or simply on some grass in Arizona and off you go to Alcatraz!
One thing I’ve discovered about the MVUMs is they show all these places you can camp and when you drive there, camping is impossible (deep drainage ditch or pile of rocks to cross) or the ground is too soft or it’s a dump or something else. Makes me wonder if the maps are propaganda to show how camper-friendly the FS is, when (This is only in certain districts, not all)in fact, dispersed camping is discouraged.
Sorry to get all negative on you, Bob. I’m excited about your Alaska trip! Thanks for the positive feedback on my latest post. Enjoy that pretty camp!
That black & white outfit is what all the comfortably dressed van-dwelling ladies are wearing this year.
We start with an extra large down vest over the white mans dress shirt w/ sleeves rolled to three quarter length. Ultra comfy goucho pants showing pink wool socks & hiking boots add a certain granny look that is quite fetching, eh? HaaHaaha!!!
(you can bet I’ll be keeping a sharp eye out for the papparatzi (sp?) in the future!)
You always look good to me Judy!!
Bob
Vicariously enjoying your road trip…now your getting into areas I haven’t been before. Keep up the good work!
*How’s the cohabitation travel experiment working out?
openspaceman, we are getting along remarkably well!! One of these days I will do a blog post about it, but it is a little early yet. We’ve been living together in the van for almost 20 days so I will write a post about it on our 1 month anniversary and then update it periodically.
bob
yes, I echo the thank you for the simplified version on how to find camping on public lands. I will try it out one day.
Glad to hear it Ming.
Bob