Fruita Campground
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We don’t think it should be. Every campground should hold some sites for whoever drives up.Tell your representative →
- Right now
- OpenThe agency lists it open
- A night
- $25From, per site
- Sites
- 7265 on recreation.gov
- Season
- Year-roundOpen year-round
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 15 notices
In the agency’s own words
Located in south-central Utah in the heart of red rock country, Capitol Reef National Park is a hidden treasure filled with cliffs, canyons, domes and bridges in the Waterpocket Fold, a geologic monocline (a wrinkle on the earth) extending almost 100 miles (160 km). The Fruita Campground has 71 sites. 65 sites are reservable year round- there are no longer first come, first serve sites any time of year . Sites 1, 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8 are used as administrative sites. Sites 14, 24, and 63 are accessible sites with electrical hookups. From March 1 through Thanksgiving weekend, generators are only permitted in Loop C during generator hours. Keep reading
Recreation
Walk to historic inscriptions on the Capitol Gorge Trail and stroll the Goosenecks Trail or longer trails such as Cohab Canyon, Chimney Rock, and Cassidy Arch. Check out our Trail Guide to explore your options. Enjoy the geology and view the Fremont Culture Petroglyphs along Hwy 24. In addition, the Scenic Drive will introduce you to the fascinating cultural and geological history of Capitol Reef National Park. The drive includes a portion of the original road through the Waterpocket Fold. The road passes through parts of the Fruita Historic District and follows the western faces of the Waterpocket Fold, and spur roads allow exploration into beautiful Grand Wash and Capitol Gorge. Check at the Visitor Center for a current schedule of interpretive programs, which may include geology talks, Fremont culture talks, evening programs, star gazing, moonwalks, and geology hikes. Wander through the historic Fruita Orchards and pick fresh fruit when in season. The orchards contain approximately 3,100 trees including cherry, apricot, peach, pear, apple, plum, mulberry, almond, and walnut. Discover Mormon pioneer history at the historic Gifford Homestead store and museum.
Facilities
The Fruita Campground has 71 sites. 65 sites are reservable year round. Sites 1, 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8 are used as administrative sites. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring (except sites 7, 48 and 50, which only have an above ground grill). There is a RV dump and potable water fill station near the entrance to Loops A and B. Restrooms have running water and flush toilets, but no showers. Accessible campsites are located adjacent to restrooms. Campsites have no individual water or sewage hookups. There are no electrical hookups (except accessible sites 14, 24, and 63). Electrical hookups at these sites are for required medical devices only. There are no first-come, first-served sites during reservation season. A Fruita Campground map (PDF) is available on the park website.
Natural Features
The Fruita Campground area is located one mile south of the visitor center and is often described as an oasis within the desert. Fruita Campground is a semi-shaded, grassy campground and is located in the Fruita Historic District of the park. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (435) 425-3791.
Nearby Attractions
The Fruita campground is adjacent to the Fremont River and is a short walk from the group site, amphitheater, picnic areas, hiking trails, the historic Gifford house and orchards.
What the agency tells you
Bring Reservation Information. There is no cell coverage at the campground, so please print, write down or otherwise save your confirmation and site number to present upon arrival.
Stay Limit. Fruita Campground has a 14 day stay limit per year.
Check In/Check Out. Check out is 11am and check in is 3pm.
Everything else this campground posts · 12
Quiet hours: 10 pm to 6 am
Generators Hours: Mountain Daylight Time (Mar.–Nov.): 8 am–10 am and 6 pm–8 pm. Mountain Standard Time (Nov.–Mar.): 8 am–10 am and 5 pm–7 pm. From March 1 through Thanksgiving weekend, generators are only permitted in Loop C.
ADA sites with an electrical hook up (14, 24, and 63) are for required medical devices only.
Wildlife. Campers often see Mule Deer in the campground. Do not approach or feed them. As a visitor, you are responsible for your safety and the safety of the animals. Keep a distance of 30 feet between you and deer. You are responsible for backing up to a safe distance, even if the deer moves toward you.
Horses. Do not enter horse pastures where horses are present. Do not feed the horses.
Campfires. Fires may be built only in the grills and campfire rings provided. NOTE: Sites 7, 48 and 50 have grills, but no campfire rings. The park prohibits wood gathering. You may purchase firewood at the Gifford House or at local stores during the summer season. Please fully extinguish fires.
Don't Move Firewood: Help protect our forests! Prevent the spread of tree-killing pests by obtaining firewood at or near your destination and burning it on-site. Moving firewood is illegal in some states. Visit dontmovefirewood.org. to learn more. Use of fuel burning stoves is encouraged.
Washing. Do not wash dishes or clothing at water faucets or in the restrooms. You must collect gray water and dump into the utility sink.
Pets. All pets must be on leash (6 feet or less in length) at all times. The park does not allow pets on the trails or in the backcountry or to leave pets unattended.
Orchards. You may pick fruit in orchards posted as open. There is no charge for fruit consumed within the orchard but all fruit taken out must be weighed and paid for. A scale and self-pay station are provided near each open orchard. Quiet hours are from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
Hanging Lines. Hammocks, clotheslines, and slacklines are permitted only during daylight hours (unless the hammock is currently occupied i.e. you are sleeping for the night in your hammock), in your own campsite, and in such a way that no resource damage occurs. Slacklines must be attended at all times.
For more information: visit the Capitol Reef National Park website. To contact park staff with questions or to report a late arrival, please email care_fees@nps.gov or call 435-425-4173 (Sunday-Wednesday) or 435-425-3791 (Thursday-Saturday)
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 72 · 7 tent-only
- Hookups
- 3 electric
- Longest rig
- 52 ft
- Paved pads
- All
- Accessible sites
- 4
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets - year round
- Drinking water
- Yes
- Dump station
- Yes
Around the campground
- On the water
- River
- Climbing
- Hiking
- Historic site
- Ranger programs
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 32nd darkest of 458 in UT
- Bortle 2
- Fall color · reported 2 days ago, 0.4 km away
- Patchy color
Full this Saturdayread 15:32 UTC
How full the weekend is nationally.
OpenBooked
Every one of the 64 sites on offer is taken this Saturday. 1 is free on Mon, Oct 19. read 15:32 UTC Why the weekend fills and the week doesn’t
Watch for a cancellation
Watch this campground
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 · 17
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $25 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
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 15:32 UTC · rules read Oct 1, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
72 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 65 mapped sitesAll 72 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 62 of the 72 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| Fruita Campsite | Fruita Campground Scan and Pay | type not stated | 32 ft | ||||
| Loop A | 001 | type not stated | 1,010 ft | ||||
| Loop A | 002 | type not stated | 984 ft | ||||
| Loop A | 003 | type not stated | 39 ft | 982 ft | |||
| Loop A | 004 | standard nonelectric | 36 ft | 46 ft | 964 ft | $25 | |
| Loop A | 005 | standard nonelectric | 32 ft | 46 ft | 944 ft | $25 | |
| Loop A | 006 | type not stated | 32 ft | 970 ft | |||
| Loop A | 007 | type not stated | 33 ft | 917 ft | |||
| Loop A | 008 | type not stated | 30 ft | 955 ft | |||
| Loop A | 009 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 47 ft | 892 ft | $25 | |
| Loop A | 010 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 66 ft | 776 ft | $25 | |
| Loop A | 011 | standard nonelectric | 31 ft | 63 ft | 789 ft | $25 | |
| Loop A | 012 | standard nonelectric | 38 ft | 47 ft | 847 ft | $25 | |
| Loop A | 013 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 43 ft | 822 ft | $25 | |
| Loop A | 014 | standard electric | 28 ft | yes | 43 ft | 861 ft | |
| Loop A | 015 | standard nonelectric | 33 ft | 53 ft | 851 ft | $25 | |
| Loop A | 016 | standard nonelectric | 43 ft | 48 ft | 894 ft | $25 | |
| Loop A | 017 | standard nonelectric | 29 ft | 62 ft | 963 ft | $25 | |
| Loop A | 018 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 48 ft | 920 ft | $25 | |
| Loop B | 019 | standard nonelectric | 29 ft | 47 ft | 837 ft | $25 | |
| Loop B | 020 | standard nonelectric | 28 ft | 47 ft | 826 ft | $25 | |
| Loop B | 021 | standard nonelectric | 32 ft | 47 ft | 792 ft | $25 | |
| Loop B | 022 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 47 ft | 786 ft | $25 | |
| Loop B | 023 | standard nonelectric | 32 ft | 54 ft | 748 ft | $25 | |
| Loop B | 024 | standard electric | 34 ft | yes | 50 ft | 744 ft | |
| Loop B | 025 | standard nonelectric | 36 ft | 41 ft | 702 ft | $25 | |
| Loop B | 026 | standard nonelectric | 29 ft | yes | 41 ft | 668 ft | $25 |
| Loop B | 027 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 48 ft | 648 ft | $25 | |
| Loop B | 028 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 46 ft | 690 ft | $25 | |
| Loop B | 029 | standard nonelectric | 28 ft | 46 ft | 670 ft | $25 | |
| Loop B | 030 | standard nonelectric | 42 ft | 52 ft | 563 ft | $25 | |
| Loop B | 031 | standard nonelectric | 28 ft | 49 ft | 528 ft | $25 | |
| Loop B | 032 | standard nonelectric | 36 ft | 49 ft | 572 ft | $25 | |
| Loop B | 033 | standard nonelectric | 26 ft | 50 ft | 544 ft | $25 | |
| Loop B | 034 | standard nonelectric | 28 ft | 47 ft | 576 ft | $25 | |
| Loop B | 035 | standard nonelectric | 43 ft | 47 ft | 599 ft | $25 | |
| Loop B | 036 | standard nonelectric | 29 ft | 44 ft | 574 ft | $25 | |
| Loop B | 037 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 44 ft | 616 ft | $25 | |
| Loop B | 038 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 41 ft | 617 ft | $25 | |
| Loop B | 039 | standard nonelectric | 34 ft | 41 ft | 649 ft | $25 | |
| Loop B | 040 | standard nonelectric | 34 ft | 47 ft | 675 ft | $25 | |
| Loop B | 041 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 47 ft | 701 ft | $25 | |
| Loop B | 042 | standard nonelectric | 32 ft | 48 ft | 722 ft | $25 | |
| Loop B | 043 | tent only nonelectric | 16 ft | 779 ft | $25 | ||
| Loop B | 044 | tent only nonelectric | 16 ft | 792 ft | $25 | ||
| Loop B | 045 | tent only nonelectric | 14 ft | 805 ft | $25 | ||
| Loop B | 046 | tent only nonelectric | 14 ft | 816 ft | $25 | ||
| Loop B | 047 | tent only nonelectric | 15 ft | 827 ft | $25 | ||
| Loop B | 048 | standard nonelectric | 31 ft | 39 ft | 765 ft | $25 | |
| Loop B | 049 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 33 ft | 848 ft | $25 | |
| Loop B | 050 | standard nonelectric | 27 ft | 41 ft | 811 ft | $25 | |
| Loop C | 051 | standard nonelectric | 42 ft | 76 ft | 569 ft | $25 | |
| Loop C | 052 | standard nonelectric | 42 ft | 44 ft | 603 ft | $25 | |
| Loop C | 053 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 53 ft | 637 ft | $25 | |
| Loop C | 054 | standard nonelectric | 47 ft | 44 ft | 585 ft | $25 | |
| Loop C | 055 | tent only nonelectric | 48 ft | 695 ft | $25 | ||
| Loop C | 056 | tent only nonelectric | 48 ft | 723 ft | $25 | ||
| Loop C | 057 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 65 ft | 683 ft | $25 | |
| Loop C | 058 | standard nonelectric | 48 ft | 59 ft | 616 ft | $25 | |
| Loop C | 059 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | 50 ft | 649 ft | $25 | |
| Loop C | 060 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | 57 ft | 566 ft | $25 | |
| Loop C | 061 | standard nonelectric | 29 ft | 50 ft | 612 ft | $25 | |
| Loop C | 062 | standard nonelectric | 42 ft | 43 ft | 494 ft | $25 | |
| Loop C | 063 | standard electric | 47 ft | yes | 69 ft | 438 ft | |
| Loop C | 064 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 43 ft | 503 ft | $25 | |
| Loop C | 065 | standard nonelectric | 43 ft | 72 ft | 432 ft | $25 | |
| Loop C | 066 | standard nonelectric | 47 ft | 77 ft | 472 ft | $25 | |
| Loop C | 067 | standard nonelectric | 52 ft | 72 ft | 400 ft | $25 | |
| Loop C | 068 | standard nonelectric | 44 ft | 70 ft | 365 ft | $25 | |
| Loop C | 069 | standard nonelectric | 42 ft | 68 ft | 397 ft | $25 | |
| Loop C | 070 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | 68 ft | 457 ft | $25 | |
| Loop C | 071 | standard nonelectric | 48 ft | 70 ft | 444 ft | $25 |
25 of 72 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Capitol Reef Group CampgroundCapitol Reef National Park · 0.3 mi
Group CampsiteCapitol Reef National Park · 0.3 mi
SingletreeDixie National Forest · 9.4 mi
Lower BownsDixie National Forest · 12 mi
Rosebud ATVDixie National Forest · 13 miTraveling westbound on Interstate 70: Take Utah State Highway 24 west towards Hanksville (exit 149). Stay on Highway 24 for 80 miles (129 km) to reach the park Visitor Center.
Traveling on Interstate 15: Take US Highway 50 east at Scipio (exit 188) towards Salina for 30 miles (48 km). At the junction with Utah State Highway 89/259, turn right (south) and travel 8 miles (13 km). Turn left (east) onto Utah State Highway 24 towards Sigurd. Continue on Highway 24 for 82 miles (132 km) to reach the park Visitor Center.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Torrey, UT
Typical weather
Typical October night 43°F, day 66°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 21°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 · a letter you can send
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
Fruita 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 →
Who can change it · 4
Two offices, two different asks. The draft to the agency asks it to set aside a published share of the sites here for whoever drives up. The draft to Congress asks why that share is zero and presses for a published minimum at the campgrounds it funds.
- The office that runs itCapitol Reef National ParkNational Park Service unit
- The member who votes the moneyCeleste MaloyU.S. Representative · Utah’s 2nd district
- Your senator, on the same appropriationJohn R. CurtisU.S. Senator · Utah
- Your senator, on the same appropriationMike LeeU.S. Senator · Utah
Read the draft, or change the wording
For the camper who turned up, or tried to book, and couldn’t get in. Every draft is written from this campground’s own record (its agency, its unit, its site count and its own weekend) and the buttons above copy whichever wording is selected here.
Asks the National Park Service to set aside a published share of the sites here for whoever drives up, and to post what that share is.
Subject Hold back a share of sites at Fruita Campground for campers who drive up
To the National Park Service, Capitol Reef National Park: I tried to camp at Fruita Campground in Utah and couldn’t. recreation.gov lists 65 of the 72 campsites the agency files at Fruita Campground, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 64 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Fruita Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m asking for one specific thing: set aside a published share of the sites at Fruita Campground as first-come, first-served, and post what that share is so it can be checked. Somebody who drives up has no way in, and no way to find out whether they might have had one. Sent about Fruita Campground (Capitol Reef National Park, Utah) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Fruita Campground, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
Dear Celeste Maloy, I’m a constituent in Utah’s 2nd district. I tried to camp at Fruita Campground, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, and couldn’t. recreation.gov lists 65 of the 72 campsites the agency files at Fruita Campground, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 64 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Fruita Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Fruita Campground. I’m asking you to put it to the National Park Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Fruita Campground (Capitol Reef National Park, Utah) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Fruita Campground, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
Dear John R. Curtis, I’m a constituent in Utah. I tried to camp at Fruita Campground, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, and couldn’t. recreation.gov lists 65 of the 72 campsites the agency files at Fruita Campground, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 64 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Fruita Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Fruita Campground. I’m asking you to put it to the National Park Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Fruita Campground (Capitol Reef National Park, Utah) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Fruita Campground, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
Dear Mike Lee, I’m a constituent in Utah. I tried to camp at Fruita Campground, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, and couldn’t. recreation.gov lists 65 of the 72 campsites the agency files at Fruita Campground, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 64 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Fruita Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Fruita Campground. I’m asking you to put it to the National Park Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Fruita Campground (Capitol Reef National Park, Utah) via campanac.com