San Rafael Swinging Bridge Campground
1Heads up1 fire 45 mi away
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- A night
- $15From, per site
- Sites
- 2423 on recreation.gov
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 1 notices
In the agency’s own words
These campgrounds are located just outside the South end of Buckhorn Draw where Buckhorn Wash converges with the San Rafael River. Uniquely in the heart of the Northern San Rafael Swell and part of the San Rafael Recreation Area. The San Rafael River is adjacent to these campgrounds and separates Swinging Bridge North and the Equestrian Campground from Swinging Bridge South. Keep reading
The historic San Rafael Swinging Bridge, Utah's oldest intact suspension bridge, a 160-foot-long suspension bridge built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1937 was once the only bridge over the San Rafael River and used until 1990 when the bridge next to it was constructed. There are three different campground loops at this location: Swinging Bridge North, the Equestrian Loop and Swinging Bridge South. All three loops have tent pads, picnic tables, toilets, parking areas and fire rings. Swinging Bridge North Loop consists of 1 large group site and 8 individual campsites containing. It has a few cottonwood trees, which are good for shade in the hot summer months. Swinging Bridge South Loop has 11 campsites and some shade structures. The Equestrian Loop has 6 campsites as well as corrals at each site and a central corral area. There is no drinking water or trash removal services at these campgrounds. Please pack it out. Camping at each of these sites is $15 per site per night.
Recreation
This campground has many recreation opportunities nearby including: OHV trails, rock climbing, hiking, mountain biking and much more.
Natural Features
This recreation site is located in the heart of the Northern San Rafael Swell, where Buckhorn Wash joins with the San Rafael River. These campsites sit atop the banks of the San Rafael River and are bordered by the lofty escarpment of Buckhorn Draw to the North and large buttes such as Assembly Hall Peak and Window Blind Peak to the Southeast which can be viewed from all three campgrounds. Bottle Neck Peak is a few minute drive south along the Buckhorn Wash road located on the West side. Also visible from the campgrounds is the end of the Little Grand Canyon of the San Rafael River, campers who journey to the Wedge Overlook are rewarded with stunning views of The Little Grand Canyon. Common wildlife sightings are Mule Deer, Antelope, and Bighorn Sheep which may be seen in the morning or evening hours.
Nearby Attractions
Nearby attractions include: The historic San Rafael Swinging Bridge for which the campgrounds are named. Access to the southern trail head for the Little Grand Canyon hiking trail (a 17-mile point to point hiking trail with numerous river crossings). This trail is not maintained. Assembly Hall Peak and Window Blind Peak which are located to the south east and can be viewed from all three campgrounds. Bottle Neck Peak which is a few minute drive south along the Buck Horn Wash road located on the west side. Mexican Mountain Road the entry road for the North and Equestrian Campgrounds is 30 mile out and back, semi-primitive dirt road (4WD and high clearance advised) leading to primitive hiking trails, rock climbing routes and technical canyoneering routes. Buck Horn Draw which contains: Native American rock art; the Cow, Calf and Pine Canyon hiking trails; the Buckhorn Dinosaur Track; Furniture Draw, a non-technical entry level slot canyon; numerous rock climbing routes; and the MK Tunnels (1950's Cold War explosive test sites). Other Nearby attactions include: Jurassic National Monument and the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry, Open seasonally (April thru October) Thursday - Sunday from (10 am to 5 pm). The Wedge Overlook, overlooking the LIttle Grand Canyon of the San Rafael River Corridor. Good Water Rim Mountain Bike Trail a 17-mile non-motorized single track trail. Cane Wash Road intersects with Buckhorn Draw Road several miles south of Swinging Bridge Campground and can be used to access Fix-It Pass, Coal Wash and the Devils Race Track.
What the agency tells you
This location is split into 3 loops Swinging Bridge North, the Equestrian Campground and Swinging Bridge South. All sites are first come first serve. Swinging Bridge North has 6 sites, the Equestrian Campground has 6 sites each with its own corral, and Swinging Bridge South has 11 sites. No trash or water services are available at these locations. Located about 20 miles north of Exit 131 off of I-70 on Buck Horn Draw Road and roughly 55 miles south of Price, Utah (depending on route). Nearby towns include Green River, Utah which is roughly 50 miles away (depending on route), Castledale, Utah which is roughly 27 miles away (depending on route) and Huntington, Utah which is roughly 29 miles way (depending on route.) All towns have grocery stores and gas stations. There is limited cell phone reception at the campgrounds (depending on carrier) more reliable reception can be found at the top of Buck Horn Draw.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 24 · 1 group, 1 cabin
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
Facilities
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “…at each site and a central corral area. There is no drinking water or trash removal services at these campgrounds.…”
Around the campground
- On the water
- River
- Backpacking
- Climbing
- Hiking
- Historic site
- Horseback riding
- Off Highway Vehicle Trails
- Wilderness access
- Wildlife viewing
Nothing on the booking system for the next 30 nightsread 15:45 UTC
recreation.gov lists 23 of the 24 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
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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 · 13
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $15 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 15:45 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
24 sites
All 24 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. 23 of the 24 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| Equestrian Loop | 07 | standard nonelectric | $15 |
| Equestrian Loop | 08 | standard nonelectric | $15 |
| Equestrian Loop | 09 | standard nonelectric | $15 |
| Equestrian Loop | 10 | standard nonelectric | $15 |
| Equestrian Loop | 11 | standard nonelectric | $15 |
| Equestrian Loop | 12 | standard nonelectric | $15 |
| North Loop | 01 | standard nonelectric | $15 |
| North Loop | 02 | standard nonelectric | $15 |
| North Loop | 03 | standard nonelectric | $15 |
| North Loop | 04 | standard nonelectric | $15 |
| North Loop | 05 | standard nonelectric | $15 |
| North Loop | 06 | standard nonelectric | $15 |
| Scan & Pay | Standard | type not stated | |
| South Loop | 13 | standard nonelectric | $15 |
| South Loop | 14 | standard nonelectric | $15 |
| South Loop | 15 | standard nonelectric | $15 |
| South Loop | 16 | standard nonelectric | $15 |
| South Loop | 17 (group) | group shelter nonelectric | $35 |
| South Loop | 18 | standard nonelectric | $15 |
| South Loop | 19 | standard nonelectric | $15 |
| South Loop | 20 | standard nonelectric | $15 |
| South Loop | 21 | standard nonelectric | $15 |
| South Loop | 22 | standard nonelectric | $15 |
| South Loop | 23 | standard nonelectric | $15 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate
Where it is
Cottonwood Canyon CampgroundPrice Field Office · 4.0 mi
New Joe's CampgroundPrice Field Office · 4.0 miSids Mountain Wilderness - The WedgePrice Field Office · 5.2 mi
Buckhorn DrawPrice Field Office · 7.4 miTemple Moutain Campground WestPrice Field Office · 28 miThe weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Green River, UT
Typical weather
Typical October night 32°F, day 68°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 10°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
San Rafael Swinging Bridge Campground 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 →