Boondocking In Mule Canyon, Utah

Before starting our “summer of water” boondocking tour this year, we spent 2 weeks in Mule Canyon which is about 30 minutes outside of Blanding, Utah.

This spot is part of the large amount of BLM land that can be found in the area. Though generally referred to as Mule Canyon, the road we camped on is actually called Arch Canyon road.

When you first pull in there is a sign stating it is a fee area, but it isn’t. Camping on the road is free. The fees are for hiking the trails into the canyon. There are a couple different trailheads that can be found along the road including the trail to the popular House on Fire ruins.

The cost is $5 per person for a day pass or $10 per person for a 7-day pass. Some trails offer overnight backpacking opportunities. Get more info on trails and permits here.

If you like hiking and have the time I highly recommend taking a couple hours to explore the canyon or at least check out the House on Fire ruins. It’s a very cool spot.

The first 1/2 mile of the road is pretty bumpy so take it slow, but most of the rest of the way you will be driving on a hard packed red dirt road. You will encounter a rough patch or two on the way, but nothing serious.

When you enter the road you will see a large area on the right to pull your rig into. If you just need a spot for the night it’s pretty perfect. You will encounter some road noise, but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of traffic here.

If you are towing anything bigger than a pop-up camper this is where you will want to unhitch and scout ahead for a spot.

There are multiple spots that can handle a larger rig, but after the GPS coordinates above (that was our spot) there is only one larger pull through spot. After that the road gets pretty rough and spots are sparse unless you’re tent camping.

If you are unable to find a spot before this you will have no where to turn around past this point in a large set-up. It’s not a road I would want to get stuck on.

This is true boondocking so there are no amenities and always remember to pack it in and pack it out. No water, trash or restrooms are available. The stay limit is 14 days.

Most sites I saw did have homemade fire pits at them. Always check fire restrictions in the area you are camping in before lighting up your campfire for the night.

We found the perfect little spot off the road tucked into the trees. Frankenstein fit perfect in the available open area so our solar panels could get plenty of sunlight.

Even though we were close to the road Dexter was able to be off-leash, because there was plenty of room behind us to run. The road wasn’t really busy either. There were a couple days we went a day or two without seeing anyone drive by. Most vehicles we saw on a regular basis were either locals or others camping farther down the road.

We did encounter our first rattlesnake at this camping spot (full post here). Dexter found it about 10 feet from our camper resting in the shade of a tree. Jamey saw the dog jump, heard a rattle, then saw Dexter going forward again. Jamey yelled and got the dog in the camper unharmed.

The rattler was only about 2 feet long so we proceeded to gently scoop him up with a shovel and carefully relocated him across the road. We have been traveling full-time for over a year and a half now and this was our first encounter with a venomous snake. I hope it’s the last.

Be prepared to see a lot of little lizards running around as well.

We had one that was missing half it’s tail that hung around our outside rug almost the whole time we were there. Jamey named him Eddie and tried unsuccessfully dozens of times to take his pic. Everest our cat spent hours watching that lizard run around the camper.

So let us now discuss the cell service situation. With Verizon we had nothing. When I mean nothing I mean we had no Verizon for miles and miles and miles. It was like the whole area was a dead zone for us.

With AT&T it was hit or miss as we drove along the road. If we saw a site we liked we would get out and check service. Sometimes we would have some other times nothing. We work from the road so cell service is a must for internet. When we really want to visit a area that has no service we will stay for a couple days, but the next spot we head to we have to work.

I don’t know what it was about the spot we ended up camping in, but we had super fast internet. We were able to download, watch YouTube and got a ton of work done. We must of been in direct line of sight of a tower or magical fairies were spreading extra radio waves around. Either way it worked out perfect.

The cacti were blooming in the area and we got to see so many colorful blooms walking around camp. The sunsets are spectacular here and there seemed to be an endless amount of stars in the sky at night.

The town of Blanding is about 30 minutes away and has everything you need.

There’s a supermarket, restaurants, gas stations, a hardware store and laundromat. For such a small town it hosts more than one museum. If you have the time make sure to check out The Dinosaur Museum, Edge Of The Cedars State Park Museum and Nations of the Four Corners Cultural Center.

The Natural Bridges National Monument can be found 30 minutes away in the opposite direction and should not be missed. Amazing hikes to 3 natural bridges and some ancient ruins can be found there. It also doesn’t seem to be well known so there are no crowds. We encountered maybe a dozen people the whole time we were there.

Speaking of ruins this area is absolutely loaded with them.

Hit up the visitor center in Blanding or the Kane Gulch Ranger Station to get more info on where they can be found. Butler Wash Ruins, Cave Towers and the Mule Interpretive site can all be found within minutes of Mule Canyon off Utah State Route 95. If hiking is your thing that is also plentiful in the area.

We loved this spot and if we were in the area again would stay another two weeks. The proximity to so many activities is incredible and there were hikes and ruins we didn’t get the opportunity to explore.

Our stay was just peaceful and relaxing. We didn’t have any neighbors, there was hardly any passing traffic and it was just quiet. The pets were free to roam and we were able to catch up on a lot of work.

My only gripe is the absurd amount of red sand we had at our site. It got everywhere. Of course our dog and cat love to roll in the dirt so every afternoon before they could go back into the camper they had to get a bath.

You ever give a cat a bath?
It’s not the most pleasant of experiences to say the least!