Camping near Utah county

[chabidiah]

We want to go camping with some family that is coming in from out of town. We live in Utah county and are willing to travel a few hours but we would like to avoid the snow... we usually hit the mirror lake highway but I have heard there is quite a bit of snow up there still. Also we would have a travel trailer in the group and would need to have access for it. Any ideas of suggestions would be great. Thanks

Also.. if there were some climbing or hiking near by that would be a bonus..

[sillyman]

You could try tibble fork up American Fork canyon. Or Payson lakes down south.

[DOSS]

Honestly while AF canyon is pretty it is also way way way too crowded compared to most of the other areas nearby. I would vote for Diamond Fork Canyon, somewhere out in the 10,12 or 15 mile pass area (all are south of 5 mile pass). that is all that is coming to mind right now though :)

[uintahiker]

I'd still consider the Mirror Lake Highway. I was up there on Friday and the road was closed just after the Slate Gorge overlook. Some of the lower campgrounds were open. Actually with the highway still closed, a lot of people are staying away so it's relatively uncrowded for mid-June. I think also with the highway closed, most people are looking somewhere else to go, making the other areas more crowded.

[Don]

Honestly while AF canyon is pretty it is also way way way too crowded compared to most of the other areas nearby. I would vote for Diamond Fork Canyon, somewhere out in the 10,12 or 15 mile pass area (all are south of 5 mile pass). that is all that is coming to mind right now though :)

+1 I love American Fork Canyon, feels like I grew up there, but it's always crowded. Even in winter there are always people around. (It's one redeeming spot is the front side of Timp; up by the Timpooneke campground there's a dirt road that wraps around the north end to the high valleys on the west side. This road is off-limits to ORVs. Only street-legal vehicles are allowed. Unlike the canyon road going east from Tibble Fork where ORVs are rampant, the west side of Timp often has only a few people around.)

Still, Diamond Fork is a better bet. Payson Lakes is nice, but crowded too. There's also some good stuff down by Mt Nebo (Bear Canyon Campground is nice).