Gold Bar Group Sites
- Right now
- Closedrecreation.gov lists every site closed this weekend, read 16:48 UTC
- Sites
- 4In the agency’s record
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 10 notices
In the agency’s own words
The four group sites at Gold Bar are located along the Colorado River and are ideal for large gatherings such as school groups or family reunions. Within close proximity to national parks and open space, outdoor enthusiasts will enjoy hiking, mountain biking, whitewater rafting, and four-wheel drive tours in the surrounding area. The town of Moab is approximately 15 minutes away and has dining, shopping, sports rentals, tour companies and museums. Keep reading
Recreation
There is a boat ramp located at Gold Bar giving access to the Colorado River. The group sites are close to the trailhead for Corona Arch and numerous hiking and four-wheel drive roads. Both Arches and Canyonlands National Parks are nearby.
Facilities
Group areas have fire grates, picnic tables, vault toilets and sites A, B, and C have shade shelters. Site B has a hammock structure that can accomodate numerous hammocks. Site D does not have a shade shelter, but is ideal for groups with motorhomes. The group sites do not have water, dump stations or electric hook-ups. Trailer and RV Parking is limited as sites are meant for tent camping.
Natural Features
The group sites at Gold Bar are located on the Colorado River and provide for striking views of the red rock canyons and mesas.
Nearby Attractions
Scenic Highway 279 parallels the Colorado River. There are numerous opportunities for hiking, biking, rock climbing, and four-wheeling. Arches and Canyonlands National Parks and Dead Horse State Park are nearby as well as the Manti-La Sal National Forest and the La Sal Mountain Loop Road, which offer cooler temperatures.
Charges & Cancellations
Please contact the BLM Moab Field Office for assistance with changes and cancellations at 435-259-2100. Changes You can make changes to a reservation through your online Recreation.gov user account any time prior to the arrival/first date of the reservation. There is a $10 change fee If you wish to change to dates entirely outside of the original reservation dates. There is no change fee if you wish to extend or shorten the original reservation dates as long as the changes include dates from the original reservation. There is no change fee if you wish to change to another group site that is the same price with the same reservation dates within the Gold Bar area. You cannot make changes to your reservation after the arrival/first day through your Recreation.gov account. However, the BLM Moab Field Office may be able to assist you, 435-259-2100. For reservations with dates at the end of the available booking window (a.k.a. sliding window), you will not be able to make changes or cancellations until the site has been available to the general public for four days. Cancellations Please cancel your reservation if you do not plan to use it. This opens highly sought-after campsites for others to reserve. You can cancel your reservation online through your Recreation.gov user account or through the call center the (call center incurs an additional fee). You may also contact the BLM Moab Field Office for assistance. A $10 service fee will be withheld from any refund for a cancellation. Late Cancellations A late cancellation occurs less the 14 days before the arrival/first date of the reservation (a.k.a. cut-off window). Late cancellations will incur a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee. Early Departures If you spend at least one night and then leave prior to the scheduled departure check-out date, please contact the BLM Moab Field Office (435-259-2100) to open the remaining nights for others to use. You will not be able to cancel these nights through your Recreation.gov account. You will be eligible for a partial refund of the nights AFTER you depart that you did not use. If you depart after the facility check-out time, you will not be eligible for a refund for that night No-Shows A No Show occurs if you do not arrive at your campsite or cancel your reservation by check-out time (Noon) on the day after the scheduled arrival date. Staff will hold a campsite until check-out time (Noon) on the day following the arrival date. No-shows are assessed a $20.00 Recreation.gov service fee and forfeit the first night’s recreation fee. Refunds You can submit a refund request through your Recreation.gov account within 7 days of the departure/end date of your reservation. Applicable fees, such as the Recreation.gov reservation fees, service/cancellation fees, lottery application fees, and change fees, are non-refundable. Refunds cannot be issued to any card other than the one used to pay. In the event of an emergency closure, all fees will be refunded. Attempts will be made to notify you using the contact information within your Recreation.gov customer profile. Interagency Pass Discounts Interagency Pass discounts do not apply to group campsite reservations.
What the agency tells you
Maximum group size: Group Site A: 30 people. Group Site B: 30 people. Group Site C: 90 people. Group Site D: 30 people.
Gusty winds are possible; ALWAYS secure your tents and camping gear.
Ravens, chipmunks and other wildlife frequent the sites; NEVER leave food or trash unattended.
Everything else this campground posts · 7
Summer thunderstorms can cause flash flooding and gusty winds; stay aware of current weather.
Annual, Senior and Access passes do not apply to group site fees.
There are no showers, electricity, dump stations or drinking water at these sites, but they are available in the town of Moab.
Generator hours are from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. Quiet hours are from 10:00 pm to 6:00 am
Wedding ceremonies and receptions require a Letter of Acknowledgement from the Moab Field Office. Call 435-259-2100 for more information.
Reservation calendars are posted weekly on the kiosk near the fee tube or adjacent to the group site.
No amplified music.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 4 · 4 group
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 50 ft
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- VAULT TOILETS on 4 of 4 campsite records
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “…groups with motorhomes. The group sites do not have water, dump stations or electric hook-ups. Trailer and RV…”
- Dump station
- Yes
- Boat ramp
- Yes
Around the campground
- On the water
- River
- Biking
- Boating
- Canoeing
- Climbing
- Hiking
- Mountain biking
- Non-Motorized Boating
- OHV riding
- Off Road Vehicle Trails
- Paddling
- Rafting
- River Trips
- Scenic drives
- Water access
- Night sky · 266th darkest of 458 in UT
- Bortle 3
Nothing to book until it reopensread 16:48 UTC
recreation.gov lists every site closed this weekend
OpenBookedClosed
Tell me when it reopens
Watch for it to come back
One email when the agency reopens it, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check the agency’s own record once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time it stops saying closed.
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.
Every line of the receipt · 12
What you actually pay
“Changes You can make changes to a reservation through your online Recreation.gov user account any time prior to the arrival/first date of the reservation. - There is a $10 change fee If you wish to change to dates entirely outside of the original reservation dates. - There is no change fee if you wish to extend or s…” · 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 · 5
Why this page can’t say why
recreation.gov lists every site at Gold Bar Group Sites closed this Friday and Saturday night. The Bureau of Land Management has published no closure notice we hold, so this page can’t say why, and it won’t fill the gap with a guess. A closed night isn’t a sold-out one: the reservations its record still carries were taken before the sites were closed.
There’s no notice to quote and no reason to argue with, so this page offers you the watch and the list below, and no letter.
Open within 60 miles · 3
The agency’s own word that these are open, not our reading of a season.
- Devils Garden CampgroundArches National Park · 14 mi · 57 sites
- Island in the Sky (Willow Flat) CampgroundCanyonlands National Park · 19 mi · walk-up · 12 sites
- The Needles CampgroundCanyonlands National Park · 31 mi · some walk-up · 26 sites
recreation.gov availability, read 16:48 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
4 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 4 mapped sitesAll 4 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 4 of the 4 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. 4 of the 4 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
From Moab, drive five miles north on Hwy 191 to the intersection with Hwy 279. Turn left/west on Hwy 279 and drive ten miles to the campground entrance road.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Moab, UT
Typical weather
Typical October night 44°F, day 72°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 22°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
who answers for it
Who answers for this land
Gold Bar Group Sites 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 →