April Camping in Utah?

[sunny16]

Anyone planning a camping trip in Utah in April? I uncovered the trailer over the weekend and was thinking of somewhere to go in the next few weeks. Any ideas? I know the Hanksville trip is coming up in May but that seems a ways off. Just asking.....

[Yogi Bear]

Hi Sunny16,

I'll bite!

Bryce Canyon April 4,5,6, less people out of school around Bryce then I think? But, a little colder in the Canyon.

BLM land sounds even better! Warmer in low lands...

I don't have any plans on where to camp yet...

Who knows anywhere is find. Just want to take out the trailer and camp.

Anywhere Southern, Utah is good this time of year.

So many places to camp. So, little time.

Yogi

[sunny16]

Yogi,

I thought about "Spring Break" but I have been to State/National parks before on break and they get pretty crowded. And up north is still a bit on the cool/cold side. I just thought I would see if anyone would be out camping sometime in April and where. I really would like to make it to Hanksville but that is a busy time for me that month so I don't know if I will make it. Anyway, thanks for answering. We, Utah teardrop builders, will get together sometime or somewhere in the near future. We just have to meet and see the builds!

Sunny16

[Yogi Bear]

Hi Sunny16,

Yep! Moab and St George are hot spots for "Spring Break" After that things are pretty normal for the most part.

I just get excited. When I hear "going camping"... I guess.

A small case of cabin fever in Yogi land...

Anyway, I wonder what others are doing in April too.

Have Fun!
Yogi

[emiller]

Well for us in Arizona we are having our gathering April 27th-29th. Also going camping on Monday.

[MOKI SEAKER]

Well here I am in Phoenix, (job, the things I do for money) oh well left the mansion up in SLC, have to run up over a week end and get it still have to put the doors on and finish the hatch, and the cabinets. If I were in Utah looking for a place to camp I think Lonesome Beaver North of the Henrys is a neat campground, just head south out of Hanksville on the dirt road..Jim

[sdtripper2]

Well here I am in Phoenix, (job, the things I do for money) oh well left the mansion up in SLC, have to run up over a week end and get it still have to put the doors on and finish the hatch, and the cabinets. If I were in Utah looking for a place to camp I think Lonesome Beaver North of the Henry's is a neat campground, just head south out of Hanksville on the dirt road..Jim

Jim & all wanting camping & backroading information in the Hanksville area:

In doing some study of the Henry Mt. area and the Lonesome Beaver North
Campground, I have found out some data that might be of help.

I just got off the phone with the ranger in Hanksville BLM field office.

Henry Mountain Field Station
Sue is the ranger there:
P.O. Box 99
406 South 100 West
Hanksville, Utah 84734
(435) 542-3461

She says the clearance for a trailer going uP to Lonesome Beaver may be
an issue for a trailer. Rocky roads, tight turns and a couple of water
crossings will be your experience. So a low clearance of tow & trailer
or maybe issues with wheel bearings might be considered.

Sue, says to stop by her BLM field office for uPdated information when you
get to town. They have maps and brochures of the area. As well as a
good knowledge of day trips to take centered on Hanksville. Sue, was very
helpful over the phone and I for one would take her uP on her advice to
stop by and get the latest information, especially if your an off road / 4 wheel enthusiast

Further on Jun. 6, 2003 there was a forest fire that took the woods all
around the Lonesome Beaver campgrounds, however as the campgrounds
are situated in a hole of sorts when one is in the campgrounds they don't
see the burnt areas. Going and coming to the campgrounds you will see
the burnt areas.
First Big Wildfire of Season Burning Near Hanksville
Jun. 6, 2003
http://tv.ksl.com/index.php?nid=5&sid=32071

Some parting thoughts:
bring your binoculars for sure ~

In my reading of the area on the Internet the following article was found.

4WD GUIDE TO THE HENRY MOUNTAINS
Brought to you by Off-Road.com ©
May, 1993
Written by Clayton Yancey
http://www.off-road.com/4x4web/travels/henry_mts.html * Good read for an 4WD enthusiast:
***

Clayton, recommends two maps for looking into the back country of Hanksville & Hite crossing areas.
http://plicmapcenter.org/UT/

Map: Hanksville - Surface Management
Agency: BLM
Official Bureau of Land Management metric topographic map @1:100,000
scale (roughly 3/4"`1 mile), color-coded to show Surface Management/ownership. 1998
Item No. HANKSVILL-SM

BLM Maps
Map: Hite Crossing - Surface Management
Agency: BLM
Official Bureau of Land Management metric topographic map @1:100,000
scale (roughly 3/4"`1 mile), color-coded to show Surface Management/ownership. 1982 & 1997
Item No. HITE

****
Why I spent some time on this information gathering:
Cause I would like to see the animals near Lonesome Beaver Campgrounds.
My interest peaked with this information of the possibility of seeing the only
hunt-able herd of American bison in the lower 48 states.


The Henry Mountains are the home of the only free-roaming and hunt-able
herd of American bison in the 48 contiguous United States. In 1941, 18
head were transplanted from Yellowstone National Park to the Henry
Mountain area. Today over 200 buffalo roam the lower benches of the
Henry Mountains in the winter and the higher areas during the summer.
Approximately 44 permits to hunt the bison are issued annually by the Utah
Division of Wildlife

[jmtk]

Hi Sunny! We just got back from a 10-day spring break trip. We went as far as the Grand Canyon, but spent more time in Utah. Here's my new galley in use on our first night out down by Kanab. Woohoo! I'm loving it!



And here's what our campsite looked like for the last few days of the trip near Canyonlands:



Sigh, I have to go back to work tomorrow.

Jeanette

[Joanne]

Jeanette!

It sounds like you had a great time! Your tear came out sooo nice. Now that you have taken an extended trip in it, what are your thoughts about teardrop camping? As you know I'm getting ready to head out on my first trip with my trailer in May so I'm interested to hear your thoughts.

I just love that second picture! I always think that the "woody" trailers look so at home out in nature like the picture shows. It's like they were just meant to be there. The antithesis of the RV land yacht.

Joanne

Hi Sunny! We just got back from a 10-day spring break trip. We went as far as the Grand Canyon, but spent more time in Utah. Here's my new galley in use on our first night out down by Kanab. Woohoo! I'm loving it!



And here's what our campsite looked like for the last few days of the trip near Canyonlands:



Sigh, I have to go back to work tomorrow.

Jeanette

[sdtripper2]

I agree...

Your trailer looks so good in desert settings.
Looks like it was made to ride the vista's of the Southwest for sure.

[emiller]

Nice pics, I like Kanab. Joanne if your going camping in May a bunch of us are doing the Route 66 Fun Run http://www.azrt66.com/funrun.htm You don't have to pay some don't you just don't get a goody bag and can't be in the car show in kingman. We don't do the car show. We start by camping either at a camp ground just east of Seligman, AZ or at the KOA in Seligman. Start of the cruise everyone is in Seligman. Your welcome to join us if you like.

[MOKI SEAKER]

Steve,
I was on the road out of Hanksville; to the Henrys one spring morning a few years back, and I swear I saw three elk in the foothills of the Henrys. I have been told there are no elk in the henrys, I am sure I saw them, I was sober and it was in the morning. Lamont (Sues husband, say it isn't possible) but I know what an elk looks like. I don't remember the road being that bad going up to the campground, but that should keep out the rabble. Jim G

[sunny16]

Jeanette,

Your camping trip looks real nice as does the trailer. I love that area of Utah although I have not camped in southern Utah. I have traveled thru there on many trips. I wish I could have gone camping during spring break but I ended up doing yard work instead. (I guess that's being outside!) It looks like you had fun. Nice galley setup, too.

[Joanne]

Hi Ed,

Thanks so much for the invitation. My roommate and her boyfriend have participated in the Fun Run for the last few years. She says that it's a nice event. I was seriously considering joining you all when I realized that it's the same weekend as the final tests in my cooking class. I don't want to fail the class by not attending.

I'm going to be keeping my eyes open for future Arizona gatherings. I grew up in Tucson and went to college in Flagstaff so Arizona will always be "home" to me.

Joanne

Nice pics, I like Kanab. Joanne if your going camping in May a bunch of us are doing the Route 66 Fun Run http://www.azrt66.com/funrun.htm You don't have to pay some don't you just don't get a goody bag and can't be in the car show in kingman. We don't do the car show. We start by camping either at a camp ground just east of Seligman, AZ or at the KOA in Seligman. Start of the cruise everyone is in Seligman. Your welcome to join us if you like.

[Joanne]

Jim,

Ignore the naysayers! A couple of years ago a friend and I were riding motorcycles in the mountains just outside of Vegas . We were riding up a paved road that leads to some cabins when out of the corner of my eye I saw some animals on the side of the road. We have a lot of wild burros up there but these were wayyy to big for burros! Once I looked directly at them I realized they were elk! There was a heard of 25 or 30 all together.

Like you, I know the difference between white-tail deer, mule deer and elk...and these were elk. I would have never guessed there were elk in that mountain range. The other thing that really surprised me was that we were in the foothills at around 3500 feet, well below the tree line . I might understand seeing them at a higher altitude, but not down that low. It was quite a sight to see them running through yucca and creosote bushes.

Joanne

Steve,
I was on the road out of Hanksville; to the Henrys one spring morning a few years back, and I swear I saw three elk in the foothills of the Henrys. I have been told there are no elk in the henrys, I am sure I saw them, I was sober and it was in the morning. Lamont (Sues husband, say it isn't possible) but I know what an elk looks like. I don't remember the road being that bad going up to the campground, but that should keep out the rabble. Jim G