Best RV Boondocking Spot in Utah
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ก.ย. 2024
- Best RV Boondocking Spot in Utah
Amazing RV Boondocking Spot
We searched all over the internet and finally found what we believe to be the best boondocking (dry camping) spot in Utah. Nestled among the amazing painted desert, our RV boondocking spot had the best view we have ever slept at with no other people within miles.
How We Found It
Before we even left our home, I usually plan our RV/Hiking trips the following way.
Using the AllTrails app (or website), I seek out the best hikes in the area, in this case, Southern Utah, and narrow down what hikes we would like to do. Once I narrow down a handful of hikes, I go to step two.
I then use Google Maps to get a large overview of what hikes are in what destinations. I group my hikes into categories, like how difficult, how long it will take to do the hike, and then the distance from where I want to camp.
Then comes the Campendium app (or website). I search this to find out the nearest free sites (usually Bureau of Land Management - BLM lands).
Once I find a site I like, I then go back to Google Maps and zoom in on the road, conditions, how rugged it looks, how far away from the main road it is, if there are numerous turn around spots, etc.
Print Maps and Hikes Before You Leave
If it looks like a good fit, I'll print out the information and map it. Knowing that Utah (and a lot of other boondocking spots around the USA) have little to no internet, a hard map in hand is always a great backup. I always print topo maps of hikes we will be on as well since cell signals are often non-existent and if my mobile phone dies for some reason, I have a hard copy backup. Since I'm a sailboat captain, this is always my mantra. Have backups and sometimes, backups to backups.
Location, Location, Location
The actual spot is located about eight miles off of Highway 89. There are lots of hikes around this area. Where we parked, it is about fifteen minutes to the highway and about ten to twenty minutes to the turnoffs to The Wave, The Nautilus, Wire Pass, Toadstools, and many other hikes in the area. (See our other videos on our TH-cam channel).
What You Will Find Here
This spot is incredible. We hiked right out of our RV and had a blast. Lots of little washes, painted desert hills, goblin looking rock formations, wind caves, and much more. The now decimated original town of Paria has been burned down by an arsonist so there is not much "town" left anymore. This was a movie set for the Clint Eastwood movie, The Outlaw Josey Wales back when the town was a town. You will also see the small cemetery.
All To Ourselves
We stayed at this location for three nights and didn't have one neighbor the entire time. Sure, we had some people drive by to check out the little burned down township but no one stayed longer than an hour.
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Thanks for the video. Good tip with large jug of water in the tow. Also smart towing a smaller car. We tow a Honda Fit. I drive a Prius at home. Both cars very dependable. Fit only weighs 2400+ lbs. don’t know why people thinks that they need to tow big Jeeps ( one of the least dependable vehicles on the market).
Thanks, Fred! We love our little Prius. Great gas mileage and that little car goes almost anywhere! We've been on some pretty gnarly roads with it, in snow, mud, and crazy conditions. Another video is coming soon with some of those exploits :-).
Amazing place!!! Love your videos! Big Nose rock was cool!! 😆
So funny! Yeah, that is a good name for that rock. I would love to be there when there was a good hard rain. I bet the washes go off.
Wow! Such amazing place to boondock! Thanks for sharing.
Danny and Lynn
Yes, It's such a great place. You will love it. So many great hikes nearby too!
Cool video, thanks for sharing. Car doilies are bad for your cars front end.
Unless I put the car on a trailer, there is really no other way, since it's a Prius. Thanks for watching!
You should watch "Sergeant 3" the movie. The tree in your video matches up.
Yeah, I'll definitely have to. I'm sure I've seen that movie before but it looks pretty funny. Quick side note, I got to hang out with Dean Martin when I was a kid. Cool dude. Thanks for the recommendation!
Nice, thank for sharing
Enjoy! Lots to see and do around there.
Nice adventure!
Thanks, Gimpy Camper. It was. Lots to see and do around there.
Running a 34 foot Class "A" all by my lonesome... I have a specific length rope I carry in my Jimmy TOAD. When checking out spots in the Jimmy (always check first), I can clip it on the front bumper bracket and, with it pulled tight, walk it around a spot to see if I have swing clearance to turn the motorhome around. Has saved my butt many a time. "Looks good enough", resulted in way too many back and forth twenty times to get out of somewhere!!!
That's a great hack! Thanks for sharing. Safe, happy, and healthy travels!
I saw someone doing some measurements and they came up with 55 feet as the distance required to turn most RV's around. I think that is the number that the NPS is using for new National Park campgrounds.
@@AmericanWanderers Sounds close... I think my rope is more like 65 feet. It all depends on the length of the RV, if it has a TOAD and how long it is... and the dreaded tail swing. My 34 ft motorhome has an over eleven foot overhang past the differential. I can't simply cut the wheel hard and turn, or the tail will cut a wide swatch across the landscape! Watched a guy in a rented class A cut the wheel for a left turn, hit the gas, and rip a stop sign out of the ground with the side/rear of the beast when it swung out. Of course... he kept right on going not realizing what he had done, but I'm sure the damage to the side of the rig was substantial (hope he paid for the extra insurance). The biggest thing is... know your equipment... and know its and your limitations. I decided to rebuild my old 1991 Southwind when I saw the complete and total lack of quality and $150,000 price tags of new units. She's a 1991, but the engine and suspension... well everything outside an in... has been gone over. I had the differential's 4:11 standard pig replaced with a 3:91 posi. That, and commercial truck tires with traction lugs in the rear with 29/32" of deep tread. What a difference!!! She really bites into gravel and sand now with all four tires. It has a Chevy P-30 chassis, which is the same as the one ton pick-up of the same year. So, I added 2" lift spring and shocks front and rear, and super duty aftermarket brakes. The used to be plugged up 454 has a RV roller cam and roller rocker for more power and reduced wear, a low-rise aluminum intake, Holley aftermarket fuel injection, headers, and 3" dual exhaust. She's a tiger now!!! No more kicking all the way back to third on overpasses (or usually tapping the brake to disengage the cruise and pedaling it over to keep it from doing that). She just unlocks the torque converter and roars across. And the mileage has went from 6, if I was lucky with no wind on the flat lands, to 8.5 there, and 6 in the hills.
This is an amazing spot for sure!!! When we finally get on the road, we will only be doing boondocking which brings me to something we have been trying to figure out. We have a nissan cube which is a small car but we had plans to sell it and buy something that would be able to go to all those boondocking sites...but. I see you have a prius so my question is...how does that work out for you guys? I'm afraid my car will be to low to the ground.
We LOVE our Prius. When we get 10 to 12 mpg in the RV, getting 50 mpg in the Prius offsets all the gas we burned. Our car gets us to almost all the "out of the way" places we need to get to. Check out our recent video about the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, where we talk more in-depth about our car and how valuable of an asset is to drive. Keep your Cube, unless you want a tow-behind 4X4, like a Jeep with a standard transmission.
@@TheAdventureTravelers I'll check it out thanks so much. I love how you named it. I've named my cube too!!
Thanks for sharing! We are heading to Utah next month. Do you have the GPS coordinates for this spot?
Amy, this will get you there... www.campendium.com/paria-road
We have been here before, Great spot! I though the sand was bad there though, did you have any problem with sand?
No sand drifts when we were there. The wind picked up some at night but didn’t seem like our RV was getting pelted. The was deep sand at the bottom of the hill but we didn’t take our RV down there. We scouted first with our car.
Off season for the win. We love the off season in Utah. We actually just got back from boondocking at Lone Rock Beach at Lake Powell. If you ever get down that way, check it out. There is a video on our channel of the trip. 👍
Checked out your trip to Lone Rock Beach. Beautiful place in the winter. We had some people rent our RV and took it there in the middle of summer without our knowledge. It was like 111 degrees and they wondered why our Fridge wouldn't stay cold. We'll have to check it out in the Spring or Fall. Looks like a great place to take our inflatable SUPs. Thanks for taking us on your trip! Michael & Melissa
@@TheAdventureTravelers Yes! Do check it out...seriously awesome.
Nice video, but i would never in s million years take my motor home down such a road. Even for free it’s gonna cost you, down the road, in front end repairs and such. Be safe and enjoy.
Yes, I’m sure there are some things that can go wrong down such a road, however we like to live on the edge and that is how we get to stay in such beautiful locations. Thanks for watching.
What’s considered the off season???
Typically, anything before or after summer. Just think of when school is out for the kiddos. That is the busy season. Everyone is trying to entertain their children while they’re out of school (which is awesome, all kids should be outdoors). But, it makes for a very crowded situations. We love the off-season because it is typically cooler, which makes for better hiking and much less crowds.
Hear any weird noises at night?
Hey Jay, yes! It gets a little trippy out there and usually super safe but I did get awakened by some weird noises, and thought someone was trying to get in my outside hatches. It turned out to be a big windstorm that passed by quickly. It definitely hot my blood flowing. 😂
@@TheAdventureTravelers lol funny. My brothers and I camped out there once, back when it had a movie set. We could've swore we heard a lady talking in the dark out in the field, scared my dog and made us feel nervous too. Pretty weird at night out there.
Cardboard, it's a guy thing. We all have it when we get on the ground.
Yep. It's the best! I usually have a piece that has graphics on one side and put that side down on wet pavement, which reduces it from getting soggy.
NO BOONDOCKING SPOT is worth the rough roads.
To each their own. You’ll never get a spot as good as this without a little effort. It wasn’t that bad. My RV is still going great.
Thanks! Josey Wales, from Josey Wales’ Truck Pulls. Logan Utah … aka “Karenville” Utah 😘 👑🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈
Glad you like the video. It’s an awesome place.