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Thread: Needles Outpost Campground near entrance of Needles District

  1. #21
    SLTrib had an article a year or so back about the state increasing their lease 300 percent or so in the near future. They're located on SITLA land. In the article, the owners claimed they wouldn't be able to afford being there much longer. So maybe "enjoy" it while you can???

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  3. #22
    Yes video!!!

    I have wanted to go out that way and after reading Kurt's review a couple years ago on a different site I have wondered about taking extra gas just in case.
    I need a Canyoneering partner! I have a open schedule, all my own gear and am looking to go as much as possible..PM me!

  4. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by canyonphile View Post
    How is it that a batshit crazy drunk gets to run a campground and store in such an amazing place?


  5. #24
    I can't believe I missed this thread before..... too funny... I think I'll speed down her road and back out just to get her going.... and then the next dumb sucker that stops will end up paying for my transgretion...


  6. #25
    Here is the Trib article:

    [March 19, 2009]

    Proprietor: Compromise not enough to save Needles Outpost: Canyonlands ? Store's owner says business will "die."

    Mar 19, 2009 (The Salt Lake Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The Needles Outpost near Canyonlands National Park got some breathing room from its landlord Thursday, but the couple who operate the remote convenience store and gas station say it won't be enough to keep the business going for long.

    For the past 12 years, Tracey Napoleone and Gary Knecht have leased land just east of the park's Needles District from the Utah School & Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA).

    The Needles Outpost is an oasis for travelers in Utah's outback, 70 miles southwest of Moab, and offers food, soda pop and gasoline and camp sites.
    Recently, SITLA sought a lease increase from $5,300 per year to $19,200 -- 360 percent.

    The couple appealed to the agency's board of directors, saying the out-of-the-way business doesn't earn enough from its sparse clientele to afford the new rent.

    In a tentative agreement reached Thursday morning, SITLA officials agreed to leave the Outpost's rent at $5,300 for now. But the agency would increase the lease to $6,300 in 2010; to $8,300 in 2011; and to $19,200 in 2012.

    Napoleone praised Salt Lake City-based attorney Brenda Flanders, who represents the Outpost on a pro-bono basis. But she added the deal spells the end of their business.

    "They are just giving us an extended eviction notice," Napoleone said in a telephone interview Thursday. "I don't know why they want this place to die. I'm just crushed." The sharp increase in rent was due to a recent appraisal of the 640-acre parcel, according to SITLA officials.

    Agency counsel Stephanie Barber-Renteria called the $19,200 lease figure "fair market value" for the land. Under Utah law, the agency must maximize its resources for the state's Permanent Education Fund.

    "The agency negotiated in good faith," Barber-Renteria said. "Based on the negotiations, SITLA understood this would give the lessee the opportunity to grow their business" in order to meet the increased lease payment.

    Although Napoleone and Knecht are thankful for the three-year reprieve, they say come 2012, they will be gone.

    The couple doesn't believe the Outpost can further hike its prices, even though it provides essential services for park visitors.

    "They are going to put a viable and necessary operation out of business," Napoleone said. "It doesn't make a lot of sense, but you can't get that across to them." csmart@sltrib.com

  7. #26
    Quote Originally Posted by Iceaxe View Post
    I can't believe I missed this thread before..... too funny... I think I'll speed down her road and back out just to get her going.... and then the next dumb sucker that stops will end up paying for my transgretion...

    Just make sure you have glass insurance, she probably has a shotgun behind the counter.

  8. #27
    Quote Originally Posted by Iceaxe View Post
    I can't believe I missed this thread before..... too funny... I think I'll speed down her road and back out just to get her going.... and then the next dumb sucker that stops will end up paying for my transgretion...


    Did you drop in and visit the friendly campground host?

  9. #28
    Aspiring Trail Bum Bad Karma's Avatar
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    I've seen both sides of her too. First time down there she was super nice, friendly and my experience there was good. The few other times I've been down there she's been a total bitch. Nothing like others experiences because I never actually stayed there just stopped in to purchase stuff. The first time I wrote it off as her having a bad day but it happened WAY too often and everyday cannot be a bad day in that area (I'm always in a good mood when I'm there). I refuse to go there now simply because of her attitude and they way she runs the place.

  10. #29

  11. #30
    Loving the Trip Adviser reviews
    I've been through the area a handful of times since our dreaded 'I can't reward bad behavior' trip. I think I have stopped just once as our group was meeting there. I was detailing our previous experience with this group when another party in our group piped up and told us how Tracey verbally assaulted his 8 year old child over a naive comment he made. Par for the course :D

    I'd like to think that a store purveyor with some tact could earn plenty of money to make up that SITLA lease increase. She maliciously turned down our money, and we've proven my experience was not unique. They are not the only outback gas station in remote places, never have I had a similar reaction. In fact during my time spent in Aussie we stopped at some really remote gas stations... I've never seen people more excited to chat and make you feel at home and sell you a cold beer :D

  12. #31
    I stayed there on April 4th and yes the lady who runs the place is eccentric. She asked me not to take a shower token because she did not have many left. I initially took it anyway but gave it back in an hour. At that point I could do no wrong! The point is to be nice. These folks have to truck in all their water, food, gas. All electricity is solar based and those panels are damned expensive. Be friendly and show some empathy and you will have a great experience. I much prefer to camp here than in the park with ranger patrols every 5 minutes. By the way last week there was NO WATER except at the visitor center. Next trip I camp at the outpost and bike into the park.

  13. #32
    Stopped in after a several day backpack in Upper Salt Creek area. I walked in and was looking around, no one was there. A woman came in from the back looked at me and without a word turned around and walked back out. The shelves were bare so no big thing to not spend money there! A big WHATEVER to them!

  14. #33
    Thought I'd post this response that came through the "Contact Us" form regarding this thread.
    Here is the response:

    Tracey Napoleone
    needlesoutpost@aol.com

    people are so selfish & clueless
    They have no idea about the desert life, just demanding city people...
    So sad~

  15. #34
    Quote Originally Posted by Sombeech View Post
    Thought I'd post this response that came through the "Contact Us" form regarding this thread.
    Here is the response:

    Tracey Napoleone
    needlesoutpost@aol.com

    people are so selfish & clueless
    They have no idea about the desert life, just demanding city people...
    So sad~
    That was the whole message? At least she lives up to her reputation I guess.

  16. #35
    Does anybody know of another campground nearby other than inside theNneedles? Was planning on staying at the outpost in about 3 weeks and after reading this thread will pass on staying there I think. I am planning on day-hiking in the Needles for 2-3 days but wanted to camp outside the park.
    ‎"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid
    in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!"

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  17. #36
    Quote Originally Posted by Sombeech View Post
    Thought I'd post this response that came through the "Contact Us" form regarding this thread.
    Here is the response:

    Tracey Napoleone
    needlesoutpost@aol.com

    people are so selfish & clueless
    They have no idea about the desert life, just demanding city people...
    So sad~


    Looks like the desert people are watching their reputation on the internet. Good, I'm not asking for radical changes, just some grip. Given the sporadiac and often emotional behavior shown by Tracey cannot be written off as the emotions of 'demanding city people'.

  18. #37
    I have stayed there a couple of times and have had a good stay. I would like the outpost to be available since it is problematic to get into the Needles campground. I know Tracy can have erratic behavior but I also feel the campground and store is an asset.

  19. #38
    Under new & greatly improved management. We had a FANTASTIC experience staying at Needles Outpost over Labor Day weekend 2015. Clean tent sites, clean campground, clean restrooms with flush toilets and hot showers, clean office/store/gas station, and very friendly staff. Cost exactly the same for two nights camping as it would inside the park after factoring in the $10 park entrance fee. Sites for car/tent camping inside the park - less than 5 miles away - were mostly primitive, with only one compost toilet per campground. Needles Outpost had two restrooms - one for men and one for women. Two toilets, two showers, and two sinks in each. Even though they truck in the water, with our fee for a 2 night stay we got tokens for 1 shower per person in our group. Since it's the middle of the desert, the showers operate on 5 minute timers to conserve water - which has to be brought in by truck. The best part is that instead of trying to rush to get done in 5 minutes from start to finish (impossible if you're helping small children get clean at the same time as yourself), the timer only counts down while the water is running. Think Navy ship shower - turn the water on, get wet, turn the water off, lather up from head to toe, turn water on again, rinse completely, turn water off). HUGE red rock in the campground bordering all the campsites on the east side of the grounds. We took two hikes, each lasting more than an hour, up on the rock and still didn't get to explore it all. High on the rock we saw petroglyphs and were treated to fantastic 360 degree views. It was only about 3 miles from our camp site to Canyonlands N.P. Visitor Center. Thank you, new management, for a great desert camping experience. We'll be back again next year.

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  21. #39
    Wow, hellova first post Sam P. Sound like a little self promotion though. Any chance you know the "new management" personally? Either way it sounds like new management was way over due.

  22. #40
    Zions the "s" is silent trackrunner's Avatar
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    Bump
    Update about the couple. Outpost is under new management. The couple was evicted after several convictions for assaulting "city people" and selling alcohol to minors. The SITLA is for sell. Opening bid is $1million.
    http://www.sltrib.com/home/4884954-1...and?fullpage=1


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