Willow Lake
- Right now
- Closed for the seasonOut of the season the agency publishes
- A night
- $7From, per site
- Sites
- 1110 on recreation.gov
- Season
- June 1 – September 30Open June 1 through September 30
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 7 notices
In the agency’s own words
WIllow Lake Campground is located on the east shore of Willow Lake, at an elevation of 9,640 feet. The small lake sits in an alpine basin high on the Wasatch Plateau. Spruce, fir and aspen trees dot the open landscape, providing partial shade in the campground. Wildlife and summer wildflowers are plentiful, and autumn leaves put on quite a show in the surrounding area. This campground contains 10 single-family sites with picnic tables and campfire rings. Most sites have lake views, though none have direct lake access. Keep reading
A footpath leads to the shore from the campground, and another trail with easy fishing access leads all the way around the lake. Vault toilets are provided, but there is no water or garbage service. Roads and parking spurs are gravel. Visitor enjoy fishing, canoeing, wildlife viewing, mountain biking, and hiking to explore many of the surrounding trails. In winter, the area becomes a playground for snowobile enthusiasts.
Recreation
Canoeing and fishing are popular activities on the lake. A trail leads to the lakeshore from the campground. Another recently developed footpath goes around the entire lake and features four stream crossings, two bridges, and fisherman access points on all sides of the lake. The campground is a staging area for the expansive Arapeen OHV Trail System, with more than 350 miles of designated, maintained trails for all riding levels.
Facilities
The campground contains ten single-family campsites, most of which have lake views. Sites are equipped with picnic tables and campfire rings. Vault toilets are provided at this location. This campground does not have water or garbage service so visitors will need to plan to "pack it in and pack it out". The main parking area for day use and lake access is located right next to the main road by the information kiosk and there are two additional parking areas farther west on Ferron Canyon Road. Roads and parking spurs within the campground are gravel.
Natural Features
This small lake sits in an alpine basin high on the Wasatch Plateau. Spruce, fir and aspen trees dominate the landscape on the south and east sides of the lake, providing partial shade in the campground. The north and west sides of the lakeshore are covered in grasses and wildflowers, allowing easy access to fishing areas. Wildlife and summer flowers are plentiful, and autumn leaves put on quite a show in the surrounding area.
Nearby Attractions
Ferron Reservoir is a short drive west, offering additional fishing and canoeing opportunities. Other lakes in the area include Duck Fork Reservoir and Wrigley Reservoir. Skyline Drive runs along the top of the Wasatch Plateau for more than 60 miles, rewarding visitors with beautiful mountain scenery, glacial cirques, spruce/fir/aspen forests, and access to numerous lakes and reservoirs.
What the agency tells you
This is Willow Lake Campground, within the Manti-La Sal National Forest in Utah; it is not to be confused with others of the same name
Drinking water is not available at the campground
Off-road vehicle use is prohibited within the campground
Everything else this campground posts · 4
Click here for information on the Arapeen OHV Trail System
Click here for more information on the Manti-La Sal National Forest
Don't Move Firewood: Help prevent the spread of tree-killing pests in our national forests by obtaining firewood near your destination and burning it on-site. For more information visit dontmovefirewood.org.
Garbage service is not available at the campground
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 11
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 30 ft
- Paved pads
- 1 of 11
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed at 10 of 11 sites
- Campfires
- 10 of 11 sites
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…leads all the way around the lake. Vault toilets are provided, but there is no water or garbage…”
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “…lake. Vault toilets are provided, but there is no water or garbage service. Roads and parking spurs are…”
- Playground
- Yes
Around the campground
- On the water
- Reservoir, Lake, Creek
- Biking
- Boating
- Canoeing
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Hunting
- Kayaking
- Non-Motorized Boating
- Off Road Vehicle Trails
- Paddling
- Picnicking
- Wildlife viewing
- Night sky · 173rd darkest of 458 in UT
- Bortle 2
- Fall color · reported 13 days ago, 33 km away
- Peak color
Nothing on the booking system for the next 30 nightsread 16:36 UTC
recreation.gov lists 10 of the 11 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 · 13
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $7 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 16:36 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
11 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 10 mapped sitesAll 11 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. 11 of the 11 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| Main | 1 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 126 ft | 276 ft | $7 |
| Main | 10 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 76 ft | 870 ft | $7 |
| Main | 2 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 150 ft | 130 ft | $7 |
| Main | 3 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 180 ft | 306 ft | $7 |
| Main | 4 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 115 ft | 394 ft | $7 |
| Main | 5 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 115 ft | 499 ft | $7 |
| Main | 6 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 118 ft | 588 ft | $7 |
| Main | 7 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 118 ft | 681 ft | $7 |
| Main | 8 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 94 ft | 761 ft | $7 |
| Main | 9 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 76 ft | 830 ft | $7 |
| Scan and Pay | ScanPay 1 | type not stated | $7 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Ferron ReservoirManti-La Sal National Forest · 4.1 mi
Indian Creek Guard StationManti-La Sal National Forest · 4.2 mi
Twelve Mile FlatManti-La Sal National Forest · 5.8 miUpper Six Mile Ponds CampgroundManti-La Sal National Forest · 9.3 mi
Manti CommunityManti-La Sal National Forest · 12 miFrom Ferron Utah Willow Lake is located approximately 25 miles up Ferron Canyon, on Forest Road 022.
From Mayfield Utah Willow Lake is located approximately 27 miles from Mayfield. Head East from up Forest Road 022, turn left on Skyline Drive at 12 Mile Campground then following signage towards Ferron Reservior. Willow Lake is located approximately 4 miles east of Ferron Reservior.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Ferron, UT
Typical weather
Typical June night 41°F, day 66°F.
Coldest night of the open season: typical September night 39°F. Bring the bag rated for it.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or moreOutside the published season
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
Willow Lake 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 →