Campsite Review: Ponderosa Grove Campground near Kanab, Utah

Robert and I traveled apart for awhile. I stayed behind and enjoyed a few days of  solitude (video, Just Me and My She Shed) at Minersville Lake Park while he went on to find better internet and warmer days. After I left there, I had a one night layover in Cedar City, and then went on to my final solo destination before joining Robert again. In that trek, I stayed at the fabulous Ponderosa Grove Campground so that I could spend a few days at Best Friends Animal Society which is near Kanab, Utah.

This campground was delightful. That might be because I was there during the week (October 9-12, 2018), the temperatures were beginning to drop, and there were only two or three other campsites occupied. I was also gone all day touring the area and Best Friends. I’m not normally a “campground” traveler, but I truly enjoyed my mornings and evenings here. The grounds were well kept and the vault toilets clean and maintained. There is absolutely no Verizon signal at this campground, but you only have to go toward town on Highway 43 for a few miles to get a usable signal.

You can see why they call it Ponderosa Grove from this sunset photo.

$5/night was the fee while I was there. It is considered primitive camping because there are no hook-ups, but the trash bins at every site and vault toilets nearby, plus the fences and picnic tables made it feel “improved” and homey. Some restrictions and additional fees might apply to some campers, so please check the BLM website for updates before going.

There is intermittent road noise because Hancock Road (the access road to the campground) goes between Highway 89 (the highway between Zion National Park and Kanab), and Highway 43 (which goes to the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park) and continues south to the UT/AZ border. That is an incredible drive I highly recommend if you are in the area. I took that south bound route, Nevada bound, when I left.

This campground is centrally located to the following:
– the Moquith Mountain Wilderness Study Area (hiking trails)
– Best Friends Animal Sanctuary (11.4 miles away, allow 30 minutes)
– Kanab, Utah (15.3 miles, allow 30 minutes)
– Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park (4.7 miles, allow 15 minutes)
– Zion National Park (27.2 miles, allow an hour)

I offer the time allotments because I drove to each of these places, some several times. Between the wildlife, S curves, traffic and scenery, it takes longer than anticipated – at least it did me.

Side note: With the extended stays each day away from camp, I felt better having a tent to secure my site (in addition to the receipt clipped to the site pole). However, with two of us now living in Fancy Free, there is absolutely no storage room for a tent between uses. I was lucky enough to find the following popup child’s tent at the Walmart in Cedar City. That, along with my chair, did the truck. Hey, whatever works.