Horsethief Group Sites
We don’t think it should be. Every campground should hold some sites for whoever drives up.Tell your representative →
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 30 of the next 30 nights read 16:38 UTC
- Sites
- 5All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 11 notices
In the agency’s own words
The five reservable Horsethief Group Sites are ideal for smaller gatherings (10-20 people & 6 sedans/trucks/vans only---no trailers or RVs). Group Site #39 is located in the main campground and Group Sites A, B, C, D are located in the adjacent campground, which is designed to accomodate tent and van campers only. Horsethief Campground is ideal for those wishing to be close to The Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse Point State Park. The area also offers outdoor enthusiasts many options for hiking, mountain & road biking and four-wheel drive tours. The town of Moab is 25 minutes away and has dining, shopping, sports rentals, tour companies and museums. Keep reading
Recreation
From Horsethief Campground, there are multiple options for mountain & road biking, hiking, scenic tours, four-wheeling and photography. The area has many mountian bike trails and four-wheel drive roads leading to canyons and vistas. Nearby Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse Point State Park have many scenic overlooks and trails for hiking, biking and exploring.
Facilities
The group areas have shade shelters, picnic tables, a fire rings with grate and nearby vault toilet. These are relatively small group sites with limited parking and cannot accomodate RV/motorhomes, campers or trailers (parking accomodates up to six sedans or small vans only). (RVs, campers and trailers should use Lone Mesa Group Sites on SR 313, just six miles back towards Hwy. 191.) The group site does not have water, a dump station or electric hook-ups.
Natural Features
Tucked among pinyon and juniper trees on a high mesa west of Moab, Horsethief Campground offers open vistas with great sunrises and sunsets. The higher elevation (5500 feet) allows for slightly cooler temperatures in the summer.
Nearby Attractions
Arches and Canyonlands National Parks as well as Dead Horse Point State Park are within a 15-minute drive. Groups heading into Canyonlands to ride the White Rim trail often use this site for camping before and after their trip. Horsethief Campground is also near the Gemini Bridges Road and the Mineral Bottom Boat Ramp.
Charges & Cancellations
You may 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 within the Horsethief Campground for the same dates. 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 at all group sites: 20
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 · 8
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.
Additional information is available by visiting the Moab Field Office website at http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/moab.htm
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
- 5 · 5 group
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 22 ft
- Accessible sites
- 1
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets · Pit Toilets
- VAULT TOILETS on 5 of 5 campsite records / ACCESSIBLE PIT TOILETS on 1 of 5 campsite records
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “…back towards Hwy. 191.) The group site does not have water, a dump station or electric hook-ups. Natural…”
- Dump station
- Yes
- Boat ramp
- Yes
Around the campground
- Auto Touring
- Biking
- Hiking
- Mountain biking
- Scenic drives
- Stargazing
- Night sky · 73rd darkest of 458 in UT
- Bortle 2
Full this Saturdayread 16:38 UTC
How full the weekend is nationally.
OpenBooked
Every one of the 4 sites on offer is taken this Saturday, and on four midweek nights after it as well. read 16:38 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.
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 · 13
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 · 6
recreation.gov availability, read 16:38 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
5 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 5 mapped sitesAll 5 sites
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 5 of the 5 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. 5 of the 5 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
Horsethief CampgroundMoab Field Office · 0.0 miCowboy Camp CampgroundMoab Field Office · 2.0 mi
Lone Mesa Group SitesMoab Field Office · 3.6 mi
Gold Bar Group SitesMoab Field Office · 9.8 mi
Courthouse Rock CampgroundMoab Field Office · 10 miWilliam's Bottom CampgroundMoab Field Office · 12 miFrom Moab, drive 9 miles north on Highway 191, turn west on Highway 313. Drive 12 miles and then turn right and drive in the short entrance road to the campground.
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 65°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 · a letter you can send
Who answers for this land
Horsethief 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 →
Who can change it · 3
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 member who votes the moneyMike KennedyU.S. Representative · Utah’s 3rd 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 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 Horsethief Group Sites, Moab Field Office, Utah
Dear Mike Kennedy, I’m a constituent in Utah’s 3rd district. I tried to camp at Horsethief Group Sites, Moab Field Office, Utah, and couldn’t. All 5 sites at Horsethief Group Sites are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 4 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. Horsethief Group Sites keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Horsethief Group Sites. I’m asking you to put it to the Bureau of Land Management 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 Horsethief Group Sites (Moab Field Office, 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 Horsethief Group Sites, Moab Field Office, Utah
Dear John R. Curtis, I’m a constituent in Utah. I tried to camp at Horsethief Group Sites, Moab Field Office, Utah, and couldn’t. All 5 sites at Horsethief Group Sites are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 4 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. Horsethief Group Sites keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Horsethief Group Sites. I’m asking you to put it to the Bureau of Land Management 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 Horsethief Group Sites (Moab Field Office, 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 Horsethief Group Sites, Moab Field Office, Utah
Dear Mike Lee, I’m a constituent in Utah. I tried to camp at Horsethief Group Sites, Moab Field Office, Utah, and couldn’t. All 5 sites at Horsethief Group Sites are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 4 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. Horsethief Group Sites keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Horsethief Group Sites. I’m asking you to put it to the Bureau of Land Management 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 Horsethief Group Sites (Moab Field Office, Utah) via campanac.com