Dead Horse Point State Park - #18

We started the camping season early this year with a chilly overnight at the Dead Horse Point Campground.  This is a really nice campground with updated bathrooms (complete with automatic light and fan sensors that come on when you open the door).  Some of the sites are tighter than others.  Pick your site carefully.  We stayed in site #6 which is a great pull-through site with a huge double tent site and covered picnic table for about 20 people!  They have some great hiking trails right from the campground.  We did the West Rim and East Rim trails as a five mile loop that was just gorgeous.  Lots of new mountain biking trails have been developed in the area as well.  Electric hookups, but no water hookup.  Temps ranged from 34-52 degrees on a chilly raining President's Day Weekend.

Location:  Approximately 248 miles southeast of Salt Lake City and 32 miles northwest of Moab on Highway 191 to Highway 313.

Total Sites:  21
Stayed in Site:  #6
Elevation:  5,900 ft
Date Created:  1959
Hook Ups:  Electric (no water hookups)

Four Stars****

Dead Horse Point 

Frontier Homestead Museum - #17

The Frontier Homestead State Park Museum is located in Cedar City, Utah.  The Homestead includes an indoor museum which houses a number of pretty cool horse-drawn wagons, buggies, stagecoaches and early transportation pieces, including a 1941 precursor to the snowmobile and a horse-drawn hearse.  Outside, the Homestead displays a couple old log cabins and farm implements.  The photo above is a picture of the George Wood cabin - the fifth oldest structure still standing in Utah.  The Homestead actually started out as the Iron Mission State Park displaying numerous iron implements from the early pioneers, including binders, mowers, reapers, scrapers and plows.  The collection is pretty impressive.  The name was later changed to the Frontier Homestead to incorporate more displays and history of Iron County.  If you like wagons and old transportation exhibits, you'll like this place.  Admission is $4.  

Location:  Approximately 250 miles south of Salt Lake City.  Take exit 57 off of I-15 in Cedar City.

One Star*

Territorial Statehouse - #16

The Utah Territorial Statehouse and Museum is an old building built from 1852-55 as commissioned by Brigham Young and paid for by the federal government.  The Territorial Statehouse is located in Fillmore and was intended to be the capitol building for the new State of Deseret.  The plans for the new Statehouse showed many more wings and a large dome.  The project was abandoned in 1855 after the federal government refused to provide more money for the project.  The Territorial legislature held one session at the Territorial Statehouse in 1855.  In 1858, the seat of government was returned to Salt Lake City.  The Statehouse is now a museum with lots of old pictures and some artifacts from early pioneers.  I think it is worth a walk through.  Friendly staff and admission is only $2.  No camping facilities.

Location:  Approximately 141 miles south of Salt Lake City in Fillmore, Utah.  Take exit 167 off of I-15 heading south.

Two Stars**

Territorial Statehouse and Museum

Millsite State Park - #15

Millsite State Park sits on the banks of the Millsite Reservoir which was constructed in 1970.   The campground includes 20 camp sites with restroom facilities, showers and sewage disposal station.  The primitive sites near the reservoir were nice with a gorgeous backdrop view of towering cliffs.  We stayed in Site #14.  If we come again, I would stay in Site #12 or #13.  These sites have a little more room and are oriented such that your front door faces the reservoir.  The nice ranger (same one that talked to us at Huntington) told us about a great single track hike around the reservoir.  After floundering around a bit at the golf course, we finally found the trail up beyond the reservoir.  It was a beautiful hike and we had the trail to ourselves.  For future reference, the trailhead is accessed at the end of the dirt parking lot beyond the golf course.  We would definitely come back to this campground for the single track trail and the convenient access to San Rafael Swell area. 

Location:  Approximately 165 miles southeast of Salt Lake City and four miles west of the town of Ferron off of Highway 10.

Total Sites:  20
Stayed in Site:  #14
Elevation:  6,100 ft
Date Created:  1970
Hook Ups:  None in primitive sites near reservoir

Three Stars***

Millsite State Park

Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry - National Natural Landmark

For years, every time we drive to Moab we see the sign for the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry and say "we should go out there sometime."  Well, this weekend we finally made it out to the quarry.  It is a pretty cool place out in the middle of desolate nowhere.  The quarry was named and protected as a national natural landmark as it contains the densest concentration of Jurassic dinosaur fossils ever found.  So far paleontologists have excavated over 12,000 bones from at least 74 individual dinosaurs.  Interestingly, more than 75% of the bones excavated are those of the carnivore Allosaurus.  Paleontologists are still mystified as to why so many bones are located here and why so many of them are juvenile meat-eating Allosauruses.  We hiked the Rock Wall Trail, Raptor Point Trail and the Rim Walk.  It took us about 2 1/2 hours to do all 4 miles of trail.  It is definitely worth checking out the museum and trails, especially if you like dinosaur stuff.

Location:  Cleveland-Lloyd is located about 32 miles south of Price, Utah, and is accessed on well-graveled roads from Highway 10 between Moore and Emery.

Three Stars ***

Huntington State Park - #14

Huntington State Park sits on the banks of the Huntington Reservoir which was constructed in 1966.   It is a quaint little campground with just 25 camp sites and one restroom facility. The campground could use a little more work and better planning for the sites.  Electrical service was recently installed for all the sites, but was not yet functioning for our weekend - which was too bad because it was a cold weekend and we could have used the furnace.  We stayed in the pull-through Site #4 which we called the "Houdini Site" because it was so small it was practically nonexistent.  We were really just camping in the loop road with our step stool in the road.  The brand new electrical and water hook ups were on the wrong side of the site so you had to park the trailer at the front of the site and then park the truck behind the trailer.  And the water hook up was so close to the ground that I couldn't attach the water filter.  The nice ranger said they plan to re-pour most of the concrete pads for the picnic tables and will carve out a little more space for Site #4 in the future.  I hope they consult with someone who camps before they do more work in the park.  We did the 2.7 mile "nature walk" loop around the reservoir which was basically a walk on a gravel road.

Location:  Approximately 140 miles southeast of Salt Lake City and two miles north of the town of Huntington on Highway 10.

Total Sites:  25
Stayed in Site:  #4
Elevation:  5,840 ft
Date Created:  1966
Hook Ups:  Electrical and water hook ups - coming soon

Two Stars**

Huntington State Park

Jordanelle State Park - #13

Jordanelle State Park is another park on the banks of a reservoir.  It is conveniently located just 35 miles east of Salt Lake City.  The reservoir is pretty big and there are two developed campgrounds.  We stayed in the Hailstone Campground which has 103 sites.  Despite the size, it was a pretty nice campground with great views of the backside of Park City and Deer Valley Ski Resort.  Some of the sites have nice views of the reservoir. 

Location:  Approximately 35 miles east of Salt Lake City off of US 40.

Total Sites:  103
Stayed in Site:  #59
Elevation:  6,166 ft
Date Created:  1995
Hook Ups:  Electrical and water hook ups

Two Stars** (nice location but freeway noise)

East Canyon State Park - #12

East Canyon State Park is located less than an hour from Salt Lake City just up and over Big Mountain.  There are two campgrounds.  We stayed at Big Rock Campground which doesn't have any hook ups, but we had the place to ourselves (with all the big rigs opting for the full hook ups at Dixie Creek Campground).  The area contains portions of the Mormon Pioneer Trail where the pioneers trekked through on their way to the Salt Lake Valley.  The Donner-Reed party also passed through East Canyon in 1846 on their fated trip to California.  We had fun hiking the foothills, kayaking on the reservoir, and speculating about pioneer travels.

Location:  Located 28 miles northeast of Salt Lake City and 12 miles south of the town of Morgan along SR 65 and SR 66.

Total Sites: 21
Stayed in Site:  #20
Elevation:  5,700 ft
Date Created:  1962
Hook Ups:  None at Big Rock Campground 

Two Stars** (convenient location and lots to do)

Anasazi State Park Museum - #11

The Anasazi State Park Museum is located in Boulder, Utah at the Coombs Site where excavations over the years have uncovered numerous above-ground structures and pit structures as well as thousands of artifacts from Ancestral Pueblo (or Anasazi) who inhabited the area between 1129 and 1169 A.D.  The artifacts in the museum and the exterior structure replicas are interesting if you happen to be in the area, but do not necessarily warrant a visit in and of themselves.

Location:  Located 250 miles from Salt Lake City in south central Utah along Highway 12 in Boulder.

Total Sites:  No campground or camping facilities
Elevation:  6,700 ft
Date Created:  1970

One Star*

Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument

Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument is an amazing place.  Acres and acres of petrified sand dunes as far as the eye can see.  We only touched the surface of this fantastic wonderland and I can't wait to go back.  This trip we explored Calf Creek.  One day we hiked the Lower Calf Creek Trail from the campground to the fantastic lower falls.  The next day we did the Upper Calf Creek Trail from Highway 12 to the upper falls.  Both hikes were spectacular and offered an amazing variety of terrain.  It takes some time to get to Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument, but the sites and scenery is well worth the effort.

Five Stars*****

Escalante Petrified Forest State Park - #10

Escalante Petrified Forest State Park is a small park located just outside of the town of Escalante along the banks of Wide Hollow Reservoir.  The park is nice for its convenient proximity to the Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument.  However, the sites are pretty small and compact and only certain sites have water and electrical hook-ups.  Next time we will probably stay in one of the campgrounds located in the National Monument.  The park had a few petrified logs on display that were cool and a short mile and a half trail (that we didn't have time to explore).  

Location:  Located west of Escalante, approximately 257 miles south of Salt Lake City, off of Highway 12.

Total Sites:  19
Stayed in Site:  #8
Elevation:  5,900 ft
Date Created:  1976
Hook Ups:  None in our site, but a few sites by the reservoir had hook ups

Three Stars:  ** (due to tight spots and fact that campground is not located in Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument)

Rockport State Park - #9

Rockport State Park is another reservoir park popular with boaters and fishermen.  The park is conveniently located within an hour of Salt Lake City just off of I-80 at Exit 155.  The dam creating the reservoir is an earthen dam and was constructed in 1957.  The park is named after the historic town of Rockport which was colonized in 1860 and submerged by the dam.  There were still 200 people living in the town of Rockport who had to be displaced to make way for the construction of the reservoir.  It was odd paddling along the water in my kayak and thinking of the town that used to be located underneath all the water.  There are five campgrounds and multiple day use areas in the park located mostly along the eastern shore of the reservoir.  We stayed in the Twin Coves Campground which had pit toilets, picnic table, shelter, grill and fire pit.  You can also stay in the Juniper Campground with standard hook-ups for water and electric.  We had fun enjoying the water (albeit choppy and windy in April) and hiking the Lakeview perimeter trail a couple of times.  Overall the sites were roomy with some vegetation and shade trees and nice access to a couple of sandy beaches.  We stayed in Site #18 and liked the water access right out the back of the site.  If we were to stay again #14 looked really nice.

Location:  Approximately 45 miles east of Salt Lake City.  Take Exit 155 off of I-80 and head 5 miles southeast along SR 32 to the park entrance.

Total Sites: 116 (in various campgrounds)

Stayed in Site:  #18 (Twin Cove Campground)

Elevation:  6,000 ft

Date Created:  1966

Hook Ups:  None in Twin Cove Campground (electric and water available in Juniper)

Three Stars *** (nice sites overlooking the water, accessible hiking trail, clean and clear water)

Yuba Lake State Park - #8

Yuba Lake is a man-made reservoir built between 1902 and 1917 by local farmers and ranchers to collect needed water supply.  The reservoir is the largest on the Sevier River and was open to the public as a State Park in 1970.   There are a number of developed campgrounds including Oasis Campground, North Beach Campground, West Beach Campground, Eagle View Campground (boat access only), and Painted Rock Campground.  We stayed at the Painted Rock Campground.  All the sites are paved and each site has a nice picnic table, covered area, and fire pit.  The campground is pretty open though with no trees and the wind whips through the sites.  We had fun exploring some designated trails around the campground as well as some deer trails up behind the painted rock outcropping.  There is easy water access from a nice boat ramp and dock just below the campground.  The pictographs of "painted rock" are pretty cool and can be seen by boat or kayak on the rocks just north of the boat ramp.  We liked Site #29.  If we were to visit again, we would try Site #9, #12 or #15.
Yuba State Park

Location:  Approximately 110 miles south of Salt Lake City.  Painted Rock Campground is located 25 miles south of Levan off of Highway 28.  Oasis Campground is located 25 miles south of Nephi from Exit 202 off of Interstate 15.
Total Sites:  227 (in various campgrounds)

Stayed in Site:  #29 (Painted Rock Campground)
Elevation:  5,100 ft
Date Created:  1970
Hook-Ups:  Water and Electric

Two Stars ** (the campground is more like a one star, but the water access, hiking trails and cool Indian pictographs makes it a two star)

Golden Spike National Historic Site

Golden Spike National Historic Site  marks the location of the historic joining of the Union Pacific Railroad with the Central Pacific Railroad on May 10, 1869, completing the country's first transcontinental railroad.  It was a race to the finish between the two railroad companies who competed for lucrative land grants and bonds from the federal government.  For every mile of track laid by the railroad companies, the government granted 20 square miles of land and issued subsidy bonds worth thousands of dollars.  The Historic Site is fun to visit, especially for train buffs, but there are actually no longer any real tracks or trains serviced in this area.  In 1903, the Lucin Cutoff trestle was completed across the Great Salt Lake, saving the railroad a great deal of time and money in avoiding the elevation gains and twisting routes through Promontory Summit.  The abandoned rails were eventually removed in 1942 to use the steel for the war effort during World War II.  It should also be noted that the actual golden spike isn't located at the Historic Monument, but is housed in Palo Alto, California as part of the Stanford University art museum.  It is best to visit the Historic Site from May to October when they have the locomotives out.  The tracks were empty when we visited in March.
Golden Spike National Historic Site

Location:  Approximately 87 miles northwest of Salt Lake City and 32 miles west of Brigham City via Utah Highway 83; take exit 365 off of I-15.

Total Sites:  No campground or camping allowed
Stayed in Site:  No campground
Elevation:  4,360 - 5,280 ft
Date Created:  1952 

Two Stars ** (the site is worth visiting, but the area is quite desolate and there is no established campground or camping)

Willard Bay State Park - #7

Willard Bay is a man-made reservoir created in 1949 to capture and store fresh water from the Ogden and Weber Rivers.  The Bay is operated by the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District and the park facilities are operated by the Utah State Parks.  Willard Bay State Park consists of two marinas, day use facilities, and three campgrounds: Willow Creek Campground, Cottonwood Campground, and the South Marian Group Campground.  We stayed in the Cottonwood Campground which is named after the many cottonwood trees that shade the area.  This is a nice little campground conveniently located about an hour north of Salt Lake City and is great for a quick overnight or an early season practice run.  Unfortunately the campground is located quite close to the I-15 freeway and the traffic noise is surprisingly loud throughout the night.  Mosquitoes and gnats are prevalent as well.
Willard Bay State Park

Location:  Approximately 50 miles north of Salt Lake City; take exit 357 for the North Marina campgrounds and facilities (or exit 351 for the South Marina Group Campground and facilities).

Total Sites:  58
Stayed in Site:  69
Elevation:  4,200 ft
Park Created:  1966

Two Stars ** (due to proximity to freeway and the bugs)

National Parks

In addition to the 43 State Parks in Utah, there are also a number of National parks, monuments, sites and trails.  While the original intent of this blog was to focus on the Utah State Parks, I have decided to add the national parks and sites to the list.  In total, they add another 19 parks and sites.
National Parks Service

National Parks - 5 
Arches, Bryce, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef and Zion

National Monuments - 7 
Cedar Breaks, Dinosaur, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Hovenweep, Natural Bridges, Timpanogos Cave and Rainbow Bridge

National Historic Trails - 4 
California, Mormon Pioneer, Pony Express and Old Spanish

National Historic Sites - 1 
Golden Spike

National Recreation Area - 2
Glen Canyon and Flaming Gorge

Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park - #6

Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park has some great drifts of fine red sand that are fun to play in and to photograph.  This park is a favorite for ATV riders that love to ride the dunes, but we managed to get out early in the mornings or late in the evening for some quiet time alone in the sand.  The great sand dunes are created by wind that is funneled through a unique notch between the Moquith and Moccasin mountains.  As the wind funnels through the notch, the wind velocity is increased and pulls along with it grains of sand from the eroding Navajo sandstone.  As the wind reaches the open valley below the mountains, the wind velocity decreases, and causes the sand to be deposited. This process is referred to as the Venturi Affect.  Depending upon the changing winds, the sand drifts can move as much as 50 feet per year.  The dunes are estimated to be 10,000 to 15,000 years old.  
Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park

Location:  Approximately 310 miles south of Salt Lake City and 22 miles west of Kanab on Sand Dunes Road.

Total Sites:  22
Stayed in Site:  21
Elevation:  6,000 ft
Date Created:  1963   

Three Stars *** (the dunes are beautiful, but the park is windy and popular with ATV enthusiasts)

Fremont Indian State Park - #5

We have visited Fremont Indian State Park a number of times.  We usually open the camping season with a stay at this park.  It has a great private group campsite away from the main campground. Fremont Indian State Park was created during the construction of the I-70 freeway when excavations revealed significant indian artifacts and petroglyphs.  Further investigation revealed remains of the largest known Fremont Indian village.  The Fremont Indians lived in this area over 1,000 years ago and many remnants remain. There are some great petroglyphs on the matrix of trails above the Vistor's Center.  
Fremont Indian State Park

Location:  Approximately 180 miles south of Salt Lake City and 21 miles southwest of Richfield on I-70.

Total Sites:  31
Stayed in Site:  Group Site
Elevation:  5,900 ft
Date Created:  1987

Three Stars *** (although chilly in the spring, the park has some fun indian ruins, petroglyphs and hiking trails to explore)

Snow Canyon State Park - #4

Snow Canyon is a great little State park conveniently located just outside of St. George, Utah.  The views of the valley and red cliffs as you drive into the park are spectacular.  We have stayed here a few times as a starting point for other adventures.  They have a number of developed trails in the park that twist around the petrified sand dunes and red rock lava flows.  There are about 38 miles of trails in all - plenty to keep you busy for the weekend.  The main road through the park is also a great bike ride with more elevation gain than might be expected.
Snow Canyon State Park

Location:  Approximately 310 miles south of Salt Lake City just outside of St. George; take exit 10 from I-15 southbound for 5 miles to the Bluff Street/SR 18 intersection onto Snow Canyon Parkway and signs to park.

Total Sites:  29
Stayed in Site:  11
Elevation:  3,100 - 4,100 ft

Date Created:  1962

Four Stars **** (the campsites are cramped and paved, but the park is a real beauty with lots of designated hiking trails)

Kodachrome Basin State Park - #3

Kodachrome Basin State Park was named by the National Geographic Society after an expedition visited the area to photograph the colorful rock formations and spires in 1948. The basin is home to a number of odd looking monolithic spires and plenty of well-marked hiking trails.  There are over 60 of these spires (also called sedimentary pipes).

Kodachrome Basin State Park

Location:  Approximately 300 miles south of Salt Lake City and 9 miles south of the town of Cannonville off of Highway 12.

Total Sites:  34

Stayed in Site:  22

Elevation:  5,800 ft

Date Created:  1963

Four Stars **** (for uniqueness and fairly private sites)

Goblin Valley State Park - #2

Goblin Valley is a unique valley of eroded sandstone pillars that look like mushrooms or "goblins" as the name implies.  It is an odd and enchanting place first discovered by modern man in the 1920's by cowboys looking for a cattle route from Green River to Hite's Ferry.  The unique landscape was purchased by the State of Utah and officially designated as a State park in 1964.  A recent incident by the Boy Scouts toppling one of the goblins received national attention and highlights the fragile nature of our parks and geologic treasures.  The actions of a few inconsiderate souls can change the landscape forever.
Goblin Valley State Park

Location:  Approximately 216 miles southeast of Salt Lake City and 24 miles south of I-70 on Highway 24; turn at Temple Mountain Junction and follow signs 12 miles to the Park.

Total Sites:  24
Stayed in Site:  15
Elevation:  5,000 ft
Date Created:  1964

Four Stars **** (hot and exposed in the summer with little privacy between the campsites, but the goblins are super cool and deserve a visit)

Green River State Park - #1

Green River State Park is an oasis of green and a canopy of cottonwoods in an otherwise desolate Green River, Utah.  The State Park is located on the banks of the Green River and is popular with river runners who put in here and run the Green River through Labyrinth and Stillwater Canyons.  The Green River runs another 400 miles before connecting with the Colorado River and eventually flowing into Lake Powell.  The State Park has about 40 sites with hookups or no hookups.  We only stayed here one night as a stopover on our way to Goblin Valley. Things were hopping in town for the annual Melon Days celebration.  
Green River State Park

Location:  Approximately 182 miles southeast of Salt Lake City in Green River just off of I-70.

Total Sites:  40 
Stayed in Site:  38
Elevation:  4,050 ft
Date Created:  1965

Two Stars ** (nice large sites with green lawns and shade trees, but more of a layover than a destination park)

State Park - Annual Chart

2010-2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Green River	Willard Bay	Huntington
Goblin Valley	Yuba Lake	Millsite
Kodachrome Basin	Rockport	Territorial Statehouse
Snow Canyon	Anasazi	Frontier Homestead
Coral Pink Sand Dunes	Escalante Petrified Forest
Fremont Indian	East Canyon
	Jordanelle