September 3, 2025

Moab at Sunset from Sunset Point

We recently spend a couple of nights in Moab, UT after coming from Bryce Canyon NP. It is the week after Labor Day, but frankly, I was surprised by the availably of campsites in several parks and wanted to pass on some information.

When we left the Sunset Campground at Bryce the Tuesday after Labor Day, 25% of the sites appeared to be available.  The camp hosts were commenting on availability and how the place emptied out after Labor Day.

Generally, there are a number of dry camping locations available around Moab.  Our plan was to get a site the first night and the following morning, stay where we were or look for a better site.  The weather was unusually warm and we wanted some air conditioning.  There are a number of full-service campgrounds in Moab. I had little interest to be crammed in and pay $100 when we would be spending only a little time there.

Fossil Flats Primitive Campground

We discovered a new Utah State Park called Utahraptor State Park. The park was opened in May 2025. They have two campgrounds, the Gastonia campground, $50 a night with fire ring, table water, electricity and shower houses. The second campground is Fossil Flats Improved Primitive camping. Dry camping with a fire ring and table. Generator hours at Fossil Flats are from 6AM to 10PM. They charge for showers in Moab, so Gastonia is not as expensive as it sounds.  The staff was excellent, and the facility made Bryce look shabby.

We chose Fossil Flats for $15. There was another camper about 500 feet away. We carry an auxiliary gasoline generator to power the new Houghton AC (no soft start) for extended durations. It’s easier and quicker to locate gasoline than propane.  The temperature was in the 90’s, and the compressor was really working hard to cool, but with some selective energy management, we got the coach down to 73 degrees.  It was cool enough at 11 PM to open the coach up, so we slept very comfortably. Apparently, the neighbor also ran his generator. I barely heard it when we were outside. You had to listen really hard to hear anything.  In the coach, with the 12V fan we run all night for circulation and white noise, you couldn’t hear anything.

The following morning, we went to Goose Island Park on the Colorado River, located between Arches NP and Moab, to get a FCFS site.  No hookups, pit toilets a table and a fire ring. There was a fire ban, so another campfire was out. The cost was $10 with the senior discount.  We selected a site and were off.  The Goose Island campground has a great view.

Goose Island Campground with Mary Ellen

We fortunately discovered Arches NP is on timed entry while at Fossil Flats.  We had a great tour of Arches and were surprised at the end of the day that the Devil’s Garden Campground had at least five open available sites.

After touring Arches, we headed off to Canyonlands.  Unfortunately, the Grand View Point Overlook is closed for the foreseeable future, but it’s still great park. We discovered a surprising number and percentage of empty campsites at the Green River Overlook Campground (no water).

I think the lesson is to start either early in the day.  Don’t assume that everything is booked.  No one gave any indication at either park that there was any availability . Overall we were very pleased at the availability and ease in finding a place to stay in Moab.