Moab Dispersed Camping 101?

[Jeep4Life0112]

Hello Jeep Community,

Our family is headed over to Moab at the end of the month for our first ever off-roading/dispersed camping experience. Planning to try fins and things while we are there to finally begin to appreciate what our Rubicon is capable of. Cannot wait.

Any tips on making this a great experience for my wife and 2 sons (12 and 9)? My biggest concern right now is crowds and locating a dispersed campsite to use May 26th-30th. Really hoping to find something off-grid with amazing views and relative privacy, and am not planning on booking a camping reservation in the area (they are all full anyway).

I recently downloaded Gaia and have begun playing around with the different maps. If I am correct, I am looking for BLM-marked land near and around Moab (hopefully towards fins and things). For anyone who has done this before, what advice do you have for a first timer? The videos I have seen say to get there earlier in the day on Thursday to have a better chance of securing a prime dispersed campsite. I'm just hoping someone can direct me to the general area I should be looking in relative to Moab.

Thanks in advance!

Sponsored

 

[Reinen]

The best app I've found for this is Backcountry Navigator. You can buy state wide BLM Land Use map overlays for a reasonable price. With that you'll always know exactly where the BLM/SITLA, NP, NF, State Park and Private Land boundaries are.

For good scenic spots look at the topo map and established campsites can be scouted out using satellite imagery. Look for short spurs off forest roads that end in a cul-de-sac, you can just barely identify fire rings. I'd suggest looking for a backup to the scenic spots though. In UT, scenic often equals windy locations on solid rock that you can't stake anything down on.

 

[IntrepidXJ]

The BLM lands surrounding Moab have more restrictions on dispersed camping than your typical BLM lands because of the larger crowds and overuse.

All the info you need is found on this PDF map from the BLM: https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/BLMUtahMoabCamping.pdf

Some areas only allow camping in designated sites, and require a portable toilet and some areas are closed completely to dispersed camping.

 

[jjvincent]

Another handy one to use is "Freeroam". I have and have found some interesting places. For example, I towed my Jeep with this RV down to the Flaming Gorge in WY. The last 5 miles was what I'd call "singletrack". Found this spot and camped for the night. Down from me was a big group of Jeeps that cheered me on and were shocked I had the gonads to get where I was. Honestly, the BLM land I used in Nebraska was way more of a leap of faith.

 

[IntrepidXJ]

Also, starting on May 23rd there are new camping restrictions in the Klondike Bluffs area that are not shown on that map: https://moabsunnews.com/2022/04/28/klondike-bluffs-campground/

 

[REDCOMETJLUXR]

We camped on "long Canyon" trail during EJS this past month, towards the west side of the trail before actually entering the canyon is a lot of area to camp freely. There's plenty of trees for setting up privacy areas, only concern would be some areas has very small cactus hiding under the sand and wasn't the most convenient for us because we did have two dogs. Oher than that no noise, good enough room between the sites where we stood, beautiful views just down the way in the canyon (pics in my profile), you're on top of the canyon so you get to see the entire night sky as well.
Coordinates for where we set up camp: 38.54197, -109.72306

 

[RubiBlueJLU]

The BLM lands surrounding Moab have more restrictions on dispersed camping than your typical BLM lands because of the larger crowds and overuse.

All the info you need is found on this PDF map from the BLM: https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/BLMUtahMoabCamping.pdf

Some areas only allow camping in designated sites, and require a portable toilet and some areas are closed completely to dispersed camping.

thanks for the link! Just pulled into Moab. Wow, big changes since I was here in 2019.Camping is crazy and prices have shot up!
This map will really be handy!

Sponsored