Camping:
Yellowstone Canyon
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Reservations Now Available!
Yellowstone Canyon is located on the South slope of the Uinta Mountains; it
is located about 30 miles North of Duchesne. Although popular with
fishermen, hikers, and campers, it sees a lot less traffic than nearby Moon
Lake.
To reach Yellowstone Canyon drive North from Duchesne on highway 87. Make a
left on 21000 West, follow this through Mountain Home and pick up anything
you forgot at the small store there. Just past Mountain Home you will make
a sharp right and then a sharp left, soon after that you enter the Uinta and
Ouray Indian Reservation. While on Tribal roads you aren’t allowed to stop
and many roads on the reservation are closed to non-members. About 8 miles
from Mountain Home you will see a sign pointing towards Yellowstone Canyon
on the right. Make a right here and follow the heavily washboarded road to
the canyon.
Once you leave the tribal lands and enter forest service lands the road gets
much better. The road soon enters the bottom of the canyon and follows the
Yellowstone River up to its confluence with Swift Creek.
There are five campgrounds located in the canyon, all of these are first
come first served except for a group site in the Yellowstone campground.
The group site is reserveable at a cost of $30.00 per night 
and a $9.00
reservation fee. The group site can accommodate up to 80 people and 8 vehicles. Although,
personally I think 80 people would be extremely cramped.
The Yellowstone campground is the first campground encountered. This
campground has 11 sites and the group area. The campground is situated in a
stand of lodgepole pines, there is plenty of shade and each site has a
picnic table and fire ring. Each site costs $8.00 per night.
Just past the Yellowstone campground is the Bridge campground. This
campground is a bit less crowded and only has five sites. The sites are
very well spaced and neighbors aren’t even noticed. Sites 2 and 3 are
located right on the river, site 3 is located over a small bridge, isolating
the site even further.
The Reservoir campground is located about 2.5 miles past the Bridge
campground. 
This campground is located on a small hillside next to a
beautiful reservoir. The reservoir is popular with fly fishermen, and also
has a fishing dock making it easier for children to fish. There are five
sites at the campground, each site is $5.00 per night. Be aware this is
open rangeland and you are liable to have bovine visitors to your site at this
campground.
A little more than a mile after the Reservoir 
campground you will come
across the Riverside campground. This campground has 11 sites and is
located on the edge of the Yellowstone River. Sites 10, 11, 13, and 14 are
located right on the banks of the river. Each site has a picnic table and
fire ring; the sites are $8.00 per night.
The Swift Creek campground is located at the end of the road, close to the border of the High Uinta Wilderness Area. This campground has 10 sites and is $8.00 per 
night. This campground is popular with hikers as it allows
access into the higher Yellowstone drainage. This trailhead offers a much less crowded way to hike to Kings Peak, hike up the Yellowstone drainage to Anderson Pass and over into Painter Basin.
I’d highly recommend Yellowstone Canyon as an alternative to the more
popular areas in the Uintas. Here you can find a little bit of peace and
quiet that is often hard to get in areas like the Mirror Lake Highway.
Enjoy your time in Yellowstone Canyon.
Resources
Maps
Campground
Reservations
Yellowstone Group Campground
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