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)