Hole in the Rock Dispersed Camping

I stayed here as a stop over on my way to Hanksville. Spots are nestled among trees so there’s good distance. The first area is best as the back part gets soft and you may have some issues the farther you go. Nice and quiet. Verizon was 2 bars LTE and TMobile was 3. I have a booster that took them both to 5 bars and Starlink works well here.

Close to the Town of Escalante and just off the Hwy. This is the road to the popular Peekaboo and Spooky slot canyons. Lots of big rigs, but plenty of room to spread out. Dusty, especially when rigs drive too fast. A few generators, but all turned off at night so we could hear the coyotes. We were there for a new moon - the dark skies are incredible.

After after a day at Bryce Canyon heading toward Capitol reef. Great spot and not to far of a drive after a full day at the park. I ended up grabbing one of the first spot available but would suggest driving a bit further down to get away from the road with traffic. Went for a walk after dinner and ending finding so many more private spots. Love the amount off tree/bushes here make it easy to set up a spot in the shade. Fire pits available. Great views good roads. They have a huge dumpster available so when you leave in the am, instead of turning left toward to main road take a right, drive just a little further down and you will see the dumpster on the tight side

Close to the town of Escalante and all that the area has to offer. Easy access with lots of space for any size rig and spread out. Road was good unless you go further down Hole In The Rock Road (BLM200), then it is the worst washboard you can imagine. Folks drive fast on BLM200 and it's dusty. Trash dumpsters are available, but no other services. Cell tower is located west of Escalante.

We stopped at the Escalante Visitor Center to get a free permit for our stay and also got a lot of great information on things to do. We initially thought we would stay 3 days but ended up staying for 10 days. We did go back to the Visitor Center and get a new permit.
There is so much open space here, you will absolutely find a spot. It is quiet and peaceful with some great views. The Hole in the Rock Rd is well worn gravel with some washboards in some areas but in good shape at the beginning. The dirt roads that lead off HITR Rd vary between powder and hard packed with ruts. We have seen every type of vehicle from cars to large Class A’s. I imagine the roads would become an issue if there was a hard rain expected.
Cell service has been excellent. We have AT&T and have been able to stream and upload and FaceTime.
We are about 6 miles from the town of Escalante which has some restaurants and a nice little grocery store that has reasonable prices.
We were here in October 2022 and the weather has been outstanding!
The area is clean, free of trash and signs of waste. It has 2 dumpsters up on the main gravel road. No other services so bring water and propane.
We will be back!!

We pulled of in the main area into a possible then walked to scope out a final spot. We ended up getting a real nice spot off of BLM201 backing up to the canyon/wash area to the west. We had a great view from the spot. There is some wind & dust but it wasn't bad while we were here. Star gazing is great here as well. Overall a good stop that we will visit again if in the area.

As a reminder, you are supposed to have a dispersed camping permit that you can pick up for free at the visitor center in Escalante.

Yes, I’ve even seen Big rigs here … and yes, big rigs are fine on hwy. 12. Numerous camping sites, especially down the first turn off on the right ( blm 201 ). Good cell service. Dump / water at local RV park. Water alone possibly available at local city park or service station. The wind can Blow, but there are trees to tuck in behind so your not quite as exposed. No stay limit posted. Grocery and fuel in Escalante. 5500’ elevation so can get hot in the summer but spring and fall are Wonderful !! Outstanding gravel access road until dispersed area then take it slower and find your spot.