Carter Military Trail Yurt
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 15 of the next 15 nights read 15:17 UTC
- Sites
- 1All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 5 notices
In the agency’s own words
Carter Military Trail Yurt provides primitive lodging during summer and fall months, and during the winter, it is open to the public as a warming station for snowmobilers. It is located in the Ashley National Forest, at roughly 9,800 feet in elevation. It is approximately 25 air miles northwest of Vernal, Utah, and is situated near the historic Carter Military Trail and the Highline Trail. The yurt can be accessed by vehicle, from Vernal, Utah. Guests are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety and must bring their own amenities. Keep reading
Recreation
The yurt provides access to numerous hiking, biking and off-road vehicle trails, including the Carter Military Trail and the Highline Trail. The Carter Military Trail served as a military supply road from the legendary Oregon Trail in southwestern Wyoming, over the Uinta Mountains and to the Uinta Basin. The route winds up and down hills, through marshes and disappears in some spots, but it remains a significant trail due to its historic and archaeological culture. Many lakes and reservoirs in the area are open to canoeing and fishing.
Facilities
The yurt is approximately 224 square-feet (less than 16 feet in diameter) and has limited amenities. Indoor plumbing, running water and electricity are not available. It can accommodate up to six people for overnight visits. Parking is available for a maximum of one RV/camp trailer and two vehicles. Tent camping is allowed outside the yurt. The yurt has one bunk bed with full size mattresses that will sleep two-four people. No linens, bedding or pillows are provided. The yurt is equipped with a heavy-duty propane case stove for cooking, a wood burning stove for heat and a folding table and chairs. A vault toilet is located outside. DUE TO COVID-19, COOKWARE AND SILVERWARE WILL NOT BE PROVIDED AT FACILITIES. GUESTS MUST BRING THEIR OWN SUPPLIES AND ARE ASKED TO NOT LEAVE ANY SUPPLIES AFTER STAY FOR PUBLIC HEALTH REASONS. The yurt remains locked; call the Vernal Ranger District office, at (435) 789-1181, three business days prior to arrival, to confirm the combination lock code. COMBINATION CODE REQUIRED to enter yurt. (Some combination locks used have off-set entry lines. If code is not working, try off-setting entry line). One portable propane Coleman lantern is provided but guests must bring extra propane canisters and their own mantles. The Forest Service provides propane for the stove. The tanks are located outside, beneath the deck and guests must activate the tanks upon arrival and deactivate them upon departure.
Natural Features
The yurt is situated on a scenic plateau, high in the Uinta Moutains of northeastern Utah. A mixed pine forest covers the area, offering limited shade. Wildlife and summer wildflowers are abundant. The Ashley-Karst National Geologic Recreation Area offers dramatic canyons, densely forested backcountry areas, and vast networks of caves. The Red Cloud Loop Scenic Backway is nearby, meandering through miles of aspen groves, open meadows and lodgepole pine forests. Petroglyphs and historic sites dot the area. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (435) 789-1181.
Nearby Attractions
Numerous scenic driving routes on maintained dirt roads crisscross the area, providing miles of trails for off-road vehicles enthusiasts, hikers and mountain bikers. Trails lead to Long Park, Oaks Park and East Park reservoirs, Hacking Lake, Red Lake and Lily Pad Lake, as well as overlooks, forests, meadows and historic sites. Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area is known not only for its beautiful red cliffs, but also for world-class fishing for lake, brown and rainbow trout. Boating, water skiing, jet skiing, canoeing, kayaking, swimming and scuba diving are popular activities on the reservoir.
What the agency tells you
The yurt remains locked; call the Vernal Ranger District office, at (435) 789-1181, three business days prior to arrival, to confirm the combination lock code. COMBINATION CODE REQUIRED to enter yurt. (Some combination locks used have off-set entry lines. If code is not working, try off-setting entry line).
Wheeled vehicle traffic is allowed access to the yurt from approximately June 1 to Oct. 31 - though inclement weather can delay access to site opening.
Water for drinking, cooking and cleaning is not available at the yurt; guests must bring their own supply.
Everything else this campground posts · 2
Off-road vehicles are only allowed on authorized roads, trails and routes as identified on the Ashley National Forest Vernal Ranger District Travel Map.
Click here for more information on the Ashley National Forest, or call (435) 789-1181
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 cabin
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- 1
- Pets
- Allowed
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…heat and a folding table and chairs. A vault toilet is located outside. DUE TO COVID-19, COOKWARE AND…”
Around the campground
- On the water
- Reservoir, Lake, Meadow
- Backpacking
- Biking
- Boating
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Historic site
- Horseback riding
- Mountain biking
- Picnicking
- Wildlife viewing
1 of 1 sites open on Sat, Oct 17read 15:17 UTC
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
OpenBooked
Watch for a cancellation
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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.
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Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
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 · 12
What you actually pay
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 · 5
recreation.gov availability, read 15:17 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
1 sites · the site map
All 1 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 1 of the 1 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. 1 of the 1 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| CARTER MILITARY TRAIL YURT | 001 | cabin nonelectric | yes | 2,195 ft | 318 ft | $50 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions
Where it is
Deep Creek CampgroundAshley National Forest · 4.7 mi
Trout Creek Guard StationAshley Karst National Recreation And Geologic Area National Recreation Area · 5.1 miNorth Fork Camping AreaAshley Karst National Recreation And Geologic Area National Recreation Area · 5.4 mi
Browne Lake Group SitesAshley National Forest · 5.6 mi
Browne Lake CampgroundAshley National Forest · 5.7 miFollow the mileage indications below and look for signs on the ground when traveling to the yurt. Leave with plenty of time to arrive at the yurt before dark.
From Vernal, travel north on U.S. Highway 191 (Vernal Avenue) for approximately 20 miles. Turn west (left) on Forest Road 018. A paved parking lot with a restroom is located at this intersection, but follow Forest Road 018 for approximately 3.3 miles. Turn west (left) at Forest Road 018/Red Cloud Loop Scenic Backway and continue for approximately 12 miles. At the four way intersection continue straight toward Hacking Lake and Leidy Peak. Continue on Forest Road 043 approximately 4.7 miles. Turn north (right) at Forest Road 026 and follow it approximately 1.7 miles to the Carter Military Trail Yurt.
The weather
the next four days
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Manila, UT
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
Carter Military Trail Yurt is in Utah’s 3rd congressional district. Its representative, Mike Kennedy (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →