Baker Dam Campground
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 30 of the next 30 nights read 15:22 UTC
- Sites
- 18All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 1 notices
In the agency’s own words
In the early 1980s, the Baker Dam Recreation Area was developed to take advantage of the recreational opportunities provided by the reservoir. Increased public demand led to an expansion of the recreation area in 1994 that included enlarging the campground and adding a day use section. Today, the recreation area serves as a base camp to enjoy not only the reservoir, but adjacent public lands as well. Please protect your resources by acting responsibly and following the rules. Keep reading
Recreation
Baker Dam Reservoir is known for its cold water game fish. It is annually stocked by the UDWR with rainbow and brown trout. Migratory and year-round birds enjoy the reservoir’s open water and the Santa Clara River’s riparian habitat. View birds at the reservoir as well as along the Overlook Trails. Look for Eagles, Gray Flycatchers, Herons, and other waterfowl. Hunting is permitted on public lands in accordance with Utah state laws and regulations outside of recreation area. There are opportunities to hunt for deer, quail, and rabbit. Keep off highway vehicles on existing roads and trails. OHVs may travel on BLM managed lands and the Dixie National Forest on existing roads and trails; however, OHV use is not permitted within the recreation area. Please be informed of all laws and regulations relating to OHVs.
Facilities
Access roads within the campground and day use area are graded gravel. Both the campground and day use area have accessible vault toilets, picnic tables, and fire pits with grills. Each campsite has RV or vehicle parking and a tent pad. Trash collection is provided. Water and electrical hookups are not available. Campsites are reservation only at recreation.gov or by calling 1-877-444-6777. Fees Interagency Annual, Access, and Senior Passes are honored for day use fees only. All fees collected at this site are used to fund operations, improvements, and repairs at the recreation area. Camping Restrictions Stays are limited to 14 days. To protect the area’s natural resources and to minimize impacts to private property, camping is prohibited on BLM managed lands within one mile of the recreation area. Private Property Much of the reservoir’s shoreline is private, but is open for public access. Tread Lightly! and Leave No Trace Natural Features Pine Valley Ranger District abuts BLM managed lands to the north and east. The Forest provides fishing, hiking, camping, and hunting. Cooler temps prevail with elevations reaching over 6,500 feet in the Pine Valley Mountains.
Nearby Attractions
Snow Canyon State Park. Pine Valley Recreation Area.
Charges & Cancellations
Cancellations: When reservation is cancelled a $10.00 cancelation fee is charged. This cancellation fee is in addition to the non-refundable reservation service fee. Late Cancellations: When a reservation is cancelled on the day before or the day of arrival the $10.00 cancellation fee will be charged and the first night use fee will be forfeited (not to exceed the total paid for the orginal reservation). No Shows: If a customer does not arrive and/or does not cancel reservation by check out time (11 :00am) the day after the scheduled arrival date a $20.00 service fee charged and will forfeit the first night's user fee.
What the agency tells you
· Reservations are required and can be made at www.recreation.gov, or by calling 1-877-444-6777. First come first serve camping is not permitted and camping payment cannot be made on site. · No potable water avaialble, bring all water. · Camp only in designated campsites within the the campsite boundaries. Each permit allows only two vehicles per campsite. Occupancy limit is 14 days. Check out time is 11:00 am. · Quiet Hours—Quiet hours are 9 pm to 7 am. Generator hours are 9 am to 9 pm. Voices, audio devices, motorized equipment, or other noise producing devices shall not make unreasonable noise that disturbs others. · Campfires—Firewood Collectiing is Prohibited. Campfires are permitted in designated fire rings only. Do not leave fire unattended. Extinguish fire completely before leaving. · Vehicles including OHVs— Park only in designated parking areas with four wheels on pavement or gravel but not on any vegeatation.. Any vehicle that impedes traffic is subject to citation or towing. Parking in campsites for day use is prohibited. OHV use is not permited in the Baker Dam Recreation Area (including campground) · Day Use—The picnic areas close at sunset. · Weapons—Discharge or use of firearms or other weapons is prohibited. · Pets—Pets must be on leash no longer than six feet and secured to a fixed object or under the control of a person, or is otherwise physically restrained at all times. Do not leave pets unattended.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 18 · 18 cabin
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…and day use area have accessible vault toilets, picnic tables, and fire pits with grills. Each…”
Around the campground
- On the water
- Reservoir, River, Beach
- Birding
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Picnicking
1 of 36 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 15:22 UTC
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
OpenBooked
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 16
What you actually pay
“Cancellations: When reservation is cancelled a $10.00 cancelation fee is charged. Late Cancellations: When a reservation is cancelled on the day before or the day of arrival the $10.00 cancellation fee will be charged and the first night use fee will be forfeited (not to exceed the total paid for the orginal reserva…” · this campground’s own no-show terms
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 6
recreation.gov availability, read 15:22 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
18 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 18 mapped sitesAll 18 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 18 of the 18 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 18 of the 18 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| Campground | 1 | overnight shelter nonelectric | 94 ft | 638 ft | 84 ft | $12–$24 |
| Campground | 10 | overnight shelter nonelectric | 90 ft | 722 ftSanta Clara River | 419 ft | $12–$24 |
| Campground | 11 | overnight shelter nonelectric | 75 ft | 807 ftSanta Clara River | 462 ft | $12–$24 |
| Campground | 12 | overnight shelter nonelectric | 98 ft | 673 ftSanta Clara River | 473 ft | $12–$24 |
| Campground | 13 | overnight shelter nonelectric | 104 ft | 553 ftSanta Clara River | 341 ft | $12–$24 |
| Campground | 14 | overnight shelter nonelectric | 104 ft | 614 ftSanta Clara River | 299 ft | $12–$24 |
| Campground | 15 | overnight shelter nonelectric | 110 ft | 524 ftSanta Clara River | 198 ft | $12–$24 |
| Campground | 16 | overnight shelter nonelectric | 74 ft | 670 ftSanta Clara River | 204 ft | $12–$24 |
| Campground | 17 | overnight shelter nonelectric | 74 ft | 685 ft | 130 ft | $12–$24 |
| Campground | 18 | overnight shelter nonelectric | 98 ft | 609 ft | 172 ft | $12–$24 |
| Campground | 2 | overnight shelter nonelectric | 234 ft | 287 ft | 330 ft | $12–$24 |
| Campground | 3 | overnight shelter nonelectric | 125 ft | 517 ft | 145 ft | $12–$24 |
| Campground | 4 | overnight shelter nonelectric | 68 ft | 644 ft | 220 ft | $12–$24 |
| Campground | 5 | overnight shelter nonelectric | 68 ft | 711 ft | 256 ft | $12–$24 |
| Campground | 6 | overnight shelter nonelectric | 33 ft | 760 ftSanta Clara River | 278 ft | $12–$24 |
| Campground | 7 | overnight shelter nonelectric | 62 ft | 809 ft | 334 ft | $12–$24 |
| Campground | 8 | overnight shelter nonelectric | 33 ft | 745 ftSanta Clara River | 307 ft | $12–$24 |
| Campground | 9 | overnight shelter nonelectric | 62 ft | 825 ftSanta Clara River | 396 ft | $12–$24 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Baker Dam Recreation AreaSt. George Field Office · 0.0 miDean Gardner CampgroundDixie National Forest · 9.2 mi
Pine Valley Guard StationDixie National Forest · 9.6 mi
Pine Valley Recreation AreaDixie National Forest · 9.7 miEffie Beckstrom West Group CampgroundDixie National Forest · 9.8 miEffie Beckstrom East Group CampgroundDixie National Forest · 9.8 miFrom Interstate 15 Exit 6, head north on Bluff Street (State Route 18). Travel 24 miles and turn right onto the Baker Dam Reservoir Road. Continue .6 miles and turn right into the recreation area.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Central, UT
Typical weather
Typical October night 45°F, day 71°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical December night 28°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
Roadless country, and what’s coming for it
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Baker Dam Campground is in Utah’s 2nd congressional district. Its representative, Celeste Maloy (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →