Ponderosa Uinta
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- A night
- $25.84–$50.79Across the site types the agency prices
- Sites
- 3223 on recreation.gov
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 15 notices
In the agency’s own words
Ponderosa Campground is nestled in scenic Bear Canyon just off the Nebo Loop Scenic Byway at an elevation of 6,200 feet. Nephi, Utah, is just 10 miles away. Visitors enjoy hiking and fishing in this quiet canyon. Keep reading
Recreation
Salt Creek runs alongside the campground, offering rainbow trout fishing. Bear Canyon Trail, for hiking, biking and horseback riding, begins at nearby Bear Canyon Campground.
Facilities
The campground contains several single-family sites with picnic tables and campfire rings. Some sites have grills. Vault toilets and drinking water are provided. Roads and parking spurs are paved.
Natural Features
The campground is named for the towering grove of Ponderosa pines in which it lies. The beautiful trees were planted in 1914 and the campground was built in 1933. Aspen and maple trees dot the landscape beneath the pines, providing plentiful shade and privacy between sites. Autumn leaves put on quite a show. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (385) 273-1100.
Nearby Attractions
The Mount Nebo Wilderness Area is adjacent, brimming with beautiful mountain scenery, pristine waters, abundant wildlife, vibrant summer wildflowers and numerous trail opportunities. The Nebo Loop Scenic Byway stretches 37 miles through high alpine terrain, dense forests and colorful meadows. Devil's Kitchen Geological Area can be found along the loop, just 6 miles from the campground. It offers a 1/2-mile round-trip trail to interesting red rock hoodoos.
Charges & Cancellations
Change and Cancellation Policies and Fees Overnight and Day Use Facilities: To ensure fairness, reservation arrival or departure dates may not be changed beyond the booking window until 18 days after booking the reservation. Camping / Day Use: A $10.00 service fee will apply if you change or cancel your reservation (including campsites, cabins, lookouts, group facilities, etc.). The $10.00 service fee will be deducted from the refund amount. You can cancel or change reservations through Recreation.gov or by calling 1-877-444-6777. Late Cancellations Overnight and Day Use Facilities: Late cancellations are those cancelled between 12:01 a.m. (Eastern) on the day before arrival and check out time on the day after arrival. Individual Campsites: If a customer cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival they will be charged a $10.00 service fee and will also forfeit the first night's use fee (not to exceed the total paid for the original reservation). Cancellations for a single night's reservation will forfeit the entire use fee but no cancellation fee will apply. Cabins / Lookouts: Customers will be charged a $10.00 cancellation fee and forfeit the first night's use fee if a cabin or lookout reservation is cancelled within 14 days of the scheduled arrival date. Cancellations for a single night's use will not be assessed a service fee. Group Facility: If a customer cancels a group overnight facility reservation within 14 days of the scheduled arrival date they will be charged the $10.00 service fee and forfeit the first night's use fee. Cancellations for a single night's use will not be assessed a service fee. Group Day Use Area: If a customer cancels a group day use facility reservation within 14 days of the scheduled arrival date, they will forfeit the total day use fee with no service fee charge. No-Shows Camping / Day Use: A camping no-show customer is one who does not arrive at a campground and does not cancel the reservation by check-out time on the day after the scheduled arrival date. Reserved campsites and group overnight facilities will be held until check-out time on the day following your scheduled arrival. Group day-use facilities will be held until check-in time on your scheduled arrival date. If a customer does not arrive at the campground or group facility by check-out time the day after arrival or does not cancel the reservation by the times listed under "Late Cancellations" above, the customer may be assessed a $20.00 service fee and forfeit use fees. Refunds Customers must request refunds no later than 14 days after the scheduled departure date. Recreation.gov will not grant refund requests after 14 days of departure. Reservation Fee: For some facilities, tours or permits an additional reservation fee is charged. For some overnight and day-use facilities, an additional non-refundable reservation fee may apply. The non-refundable reservation fee for tours and tickets is $1.00. The non-refundable reservation fee for permits varies by location. Refunds for Bankcard Purchases: Refunds for bank card payments will be issued as a credit to the original bank card. Refunds for Check or Cash Purchases: Refunds for Recreation.gov payments made by check or money order, and cash payments at selected campgrounds will be issued a check refund. A refund will be processed within 30 days of receipt and approval. Please Note: Refund requests made during or after departure can only be processed when approved by the facility management staff based upon local policy. Refunds for Emergency Closures: In the event of an emergency closure, the Recreation.gov team will attempt to notify users and offer alternate dates (as appropriate). If this is not possible, reservations will be cancelled and all fees paid will be refunded. Reservation fees for free tickets are non-refundable in the event of an emergency closure. Recreation.gov Billing Information Reservation transaction will appear on customer's credit card statements as "Recreation.gov 877-444-6777." Changes to Policies and Procedures Recreation.gov reserves the right, when necessary, to modify reservation policies. These policies were last updated July 2018.
What the agency tells you
This Campground is in Bear Country Store food and trash securely to avoid attracting wildlife -Failure to comply may result in fines up to $5,000, removal from your site and/or imprisonment Remember, a fed bear is a dead bear
This is a 'pack it in, pack it out' facility; bring trash bags
This is Ponderosa Uinta near Spanish Fork, not on the Mirror Lake Highway or in Dixie National Forest near St. George.
Everything else this campground posts · 12
Dogs or Domestic Pets Owners must -Control dog by leash not to exceed six feet (6’) at all times -Clean up dog feces immediately -Limit two dogs per site Do not allow dogs to -Threaten or attack people/animals -Interfere with people, vehicles, or property -Cause damage to vegetation or harass wildlife
Campground Etiquette and Rules Gates open at 7am, close at 10pm Quiet Hours are 10pm-6am No generators after 10pm Camping is allowed only within the designated space provided. Do not go beyond the boundaries of your site Max occupancy is 8 people per single site Reserved sites will be held until 12pm on the day following scheduled arrival date Horses/Off-road vehicles are prohibited in the campground Leave No Trace -Put all trash in dumpsters, if provided, or properly stored in your vehicle or bear box -Remove all personal property and trash when leaving -Unclean sites will be reported to the District Ranger LEO -Leaving food/trash in an unoccupied site may result in a $5,000 fine Cleaning fish, animals, or bathing where drinking water is supplied is strictly prohibited Fireworks or other explosives are prohibited. Discharging of a firearm in the campground is not allowed No fighting or boisterous behavior. Be courteous to your fellow visitor. Keep noise at a reasonable level No amplified music is allowed in USDA Forest Service campgrounds and facilities. People come to the campgrounds for peace and quiet Max Vehicle Length includes tow vehicle
There is a 2-night minimum stay on weekends; 3-night minimum stay on holiday weekends
Trailers/Campers and RVs: Come with water tank filled. Hooking up to spigots or the power in the restrooms, even for medical devices is strictly prohibited
First Come First Served (FF) sites For reservable sites, reservations must be made at least 5 days in advance You must claim a FF site in person on the day you wish to check-in A site listed as FF does not guarantee availability, Recreation.gov does not update FF occupancy The only way to know if an FF site is available is to arrive at the campground on the day you plan to check-in Availability cannot be predicted Many sites are in remote locations, we cannot contact camp hosts about availability Recommended arrival times vary by day. Weekends and holidays typically fill more quickly To claim an FF site, you must be present, occupy the site, and pay at that time
Extra Vehicle -$10 per vehicle, per day (paid on-site cash/check) Firewood -$9
If you booked at a discount without a Senior/Access pass, you'll need to pay the difference in cash/check upon arrival. Only Senior/Access passes qualify for discounts and proof of ownership upon arrival is required
Please understand that camping is an outdoor experience; we do not give refunds for weather or natural conditions Cancellations within 24 hours prior to arrival date will forfeit the entire use fee. Group Site Cancellations within 14 days will forfeit entire use fee No-shows, early departures, or cancellations after the arrival date are not entitled to a refund Failure to arrive at the campsite by 12pm the day after scheduled arrival and does not cancel the reservation, will forfeit site and first-night use fee
For more info on visiting Bear Country visit wildawareutah.org wildlife.utah.gov For Rules and Regulations visit gocamputah.com/rules
Click herefor more info about the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest For more info, call Spanish Fork Ranger District at 801-798-3571 or Utah Recreation at 385-273-1100 Visit our website gocamputah.comor Facebook facebook.com/letsgocamputah To reserve a site call Recreation.gov reservation line 1-877-444-6777
Don't Move Firewood: Help prevent the spread of tree-killing pests in our national forests by obtaining firewood within 10 miles of your destination and burning it on-site. For more info click here
Please note: Utah Recreation is not responsible for accident or injury to any person or property resulting from the use of this facility and is not responsible for the loss of money or valuables of any kind. The user of this permit assumes full and complete responsibility for the conduct and actions of all members in their party
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 32
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 110 ft
- Paved pads
- 16 of 32
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…campfire rings. Some sites have grills. Vault toilets and drinking water are provided. Roads and parking…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…sites have grills. Vault toilets and drinking water are provided. Roads and parking spurs are paved.…”
- Camp host
- On site
- recreation.gov lists “Host”
Around the campground
- On the water
- Creek, Meadow
- Biking
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Horseback riding
- Picnicking
- Scenic drives
- Night sky · 380th darkest of 458 in UT
- Bortle 4
- Fall color · reported 5 days ago, 29 km away
- Peak color
Nothing on the booking system for the next 30 nightsread 15:56 UTC
recreation.gov lists 23 of the 32 campsites the agency files here. The rest aren’t on its booking system, so a reservation won’t get you one.
Every one of the next thirty nights is in recreation.gov’s record and not one site is being offered on any of them. That’s a campground closed or not yet released for booking, not a sold-out one.
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.
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 · 14
What you actually pay
“Cash, Check, or Scan & Pay (with recreation.gov app) 23 single sites - $29.00 , capacity - 8 people + 1 vehicle 1 double site - $57.00, capacity - 16 people + 2 vehicles Day Use in a campground site - $15.00 Extra veh…” · the U.S. Forest Service’s own fee record
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $25.84–$50.79 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.
“Change and Cancellation Policies and Fees - Overnight and Day Use Facilities: To ensure fairness, reservation arrival or departure dates may not be changed beyond the booking window until 18 days after booking the reservation. - Camping / Day Use: A $10.00 service fee will apply if you change or cancel your reservat…” · 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 · 7
recreation.gov availability, read 15:56 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
38 records · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 23 mapped sitesAll 38 records
Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 32 of the 38 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. 32 of the 38 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
Measured shade is NLCD Tree Canopy Cover 2024 (USDA Forest Service / MRLC) read at the site’s own coordinate, 27% canopy or more, and only for the sites the agency gave no Shade value. It never changes the agency’s own shaded count beside it.
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 001 | type not stated | 193 ft | 174 ft | $25.84 | ||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 005 | type not stated | 82 ft | 149 ft | $25.84 | ||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 007 | type not stated | 133 ft | 102 ft | $25.84 | ||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 008 | type not stated | 42 ft | 236 ft | $25.84 | ||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 010 | type not stated | 89 ft | 179 ft | $25.84 | ||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 017 | type not stated | 121 ft | 284 ft | $25.84 | ||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 021 | type not stated | 228 ft | 172 ft | $25.84 | ||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | 023 | type not stated | 193 ft | 97 ft | $25.84 | ||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | xxx2 | unnamed record | $25.84 | ||||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | xxx3 | unnamed record | $25.84 | ||||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | xxx4 | unnamed record | $25.84 | ||||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | xxx6 | unnamed record | $25.84 | ||||
| MANAGEMENT SITES | xxx9 | unnamed record | $25.84 | ||||
| POND | 001 | standard nonelectric | 79 ft | 171 ft | 137 ft | $25.84–$50.79 | |
| POND | 002 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | 91 ft | 20 ft | 168 ft | $25.84–$50.79 |
| POND | 003 | standard nonelectric | 55 ft | 91 ft | 21 ft | 241 ft | $25.84–$50.79 |
| POND | 004 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 79 ft | 159 ft | 215 ft | $25.84–$50.79 |
| POND | 005 | standard nonelectric | 107 ft | 137 ft | 143 ft | $25.84–$50.79 | |
| POND | 006 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 124 ft | 14 ft | 139 ft | $25.84–$50.79 |
| POND | 007 | standard nonelectric | 148 ft | 130 ft | 118 ft | $25.84–$50.79 | |
| POND | 008 | standard nonelectric | 80 ft | 72 ft | 238 ft | $25.84–$50.79 | |
| POND | 009 | standard nonelectric | 80 ft | 80 ft | 149 ft | 243 ft | $25.84–$50.79 |
| POND | 010 | standard nonelectric | 88 ft | 88 ft | 189 ft | $25.84–$50.79 | |
| POND | 011 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | 149 ft | 131 ft | 135 ft | $25.84–$50.79 |
| POND | 012 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 71 ft | 88 ft | 62 ft | $25.84–$50.79 |
| POND | 013 | standard nonelectric | 48 ft | 71 ft | 118 ft | 56 ft | $25.84–$50.79 |
| POND | 014 | standard nonelectric | 65 ft | 73 ft | 31 ft | 177 ft | $25.84–$50.79 |
| POND | 015 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 73 ft | 11 ft | 204 ft | $25.84–$50.79 |
| POND | 016 | standard nonelectric | 110 ft | 209 ft | 56 ft | 469 ft | $25.84–$50.79 |
| POND | 017 | standard nonelectric | 99 ft | 195 ft | 210 ft | $25.84–$50.79 | |
| POND | 018 | standard nonelectric | 55 ft | 128 ft | 139 ft | 180 ft | $25.84–$50.79 |
| POND | 019 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 186 ft | 67 ft | 245 ft | $25.84–$50.79 |
| POND | 020 | standard nonelectric | 55 ft | 106 ft | 259 ft | 70 ft | $25.84–$50.79 |
| POND | 021 | standard nonelectric | 106 ft | 265 ft | 56 ft | $25.84–$50.79 | |
| POND | 022 | standard nonelectric | 63 ft | 99 ft | 163 ft | 302 ft | $25.84–$50.79 |
| POND | 023 | standard nonelectric | 43 ft | 183 ft | 203 ft | 85 ft | $25.84–$50.79 |
| POND | 024 HOST | host pad | 45 ft | 232 ft | 101 ft | $25.84 | |
| S&P | Single | type not stated | $25.84 |
The agency files 6 more records here that aren’t sites for the night: 1 it names a host pad and 5 it types MANAGEMENT rather than a campsite. They’re in the table above, marked for what they are, and none of them is counted as a site.
25 of 38 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Bear CanyonUinta National Forest · 1.7 mi
Tinney FlatUinta National Forest · 9.3 mi
BlackhawkUinta National Forest · 9.9 mi
Payson Lakes Guard StationUinta National Forest · 12 mi
Payson LakesUinta National Forest · 12 miFrom I-15, take Nephi exit 225. Travel about 6 miles east on Highway 132/Nephi Canyon to the Nebo Loop Scenic Byway. Turn left onto the byway and travel 3.5 miles to Bear Canyon turnoff. Turn left and drive 0.5 miles 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 Nephi, UT
Typical weather
Typical October night 37°F, day 67°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 18°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
Ponderosa Uinta is in Utah’s 4th congressional district. Its representative, Burgess Owens (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →