Digital Nomad Guide to Southern Utah
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If you’re new here, I’m on a quest to create digital nomad guides to the national parks. These posts are aimed at people who live in their vehicles and work remotely, because generic visitor guides rarely take our very specific criteria into account. Nomadic travelers and van lifers require unusual amenities.
For the past two months, I’ve based myself in various locations throughout Southern Utah near Zion, Bryce, Snow Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Canyonlands, and Arches. Spending such a long time in Utah allowed me to figure out the best strategies for accessing strong wifi signal, showers, free campsites, and everything else a van-dwelling or car-living nomad needs for daily life and remote work.
For reference, to work remotely while car camping I use a Jackery portable power station and solar panels, plus a Verizon wifi hotspot. A campsite with good Verizon cell service equates to strong wifi signal for me.
Sign up for a 7-day free trial of The Dyrt PRO here to find free dispersed campsites; PRO allows offline access, plus more advanced search features and map layers.
Where to Car Camp for Free Near Zion National Park
The best free campsite I found in the southwestern half of the state if you’re focusing on Zion National Park is Hurricane Cliffs Recreation Area, a Bureau of Land Management site only 25 minutes from Zion Visitor Center. It’s in between Apple Valley and Hurricane, Utah; you might see signs for Gooseberry Mesa which is also in this area, but I did not get good cell signal there.
The cell signal at Hurricane Cliffs is immaculate. When I first arrived in Utah I got an AirBnB for a couple weeks so I could drive around testing out BLM sites before switching entirely to car camping for the rest of my stay, and I had better service at Hurricane Cliffs than I had at the AirBnB. It made me wish I was staying there from the start. You’re allowed to stay up to 14 days.
Hurricane Cliffs is a vast swathe of desert land full of dispersed campsites and a trail system that’s popular among bicyclists. Some of the campsites are pull-outs directly off the main dirt road, and some are farther back and hidden away. You’ll have a wonderful view of snow-capped mountains in the distance, and rocky mesas and buttes in the near vicinity. When I was there, even though I chose a campsite right off the road instead of venturing farther, my stay was extremely peaceful and I had a lot of privacy.
Sheep Bridge Road is “the main dirt road” in question. It connects Hwy 59 (Colorado City to Hurricane) to UT-9E (La Verkin to Springdale and Zion National Park). It’s a little shortcut between the Arizona Strip and Zion National Park, so you can skip the big descent on the highway down into Hurricane. Sheep Bridge Road is somewhat rough and gravely, so you’ll want to drive slow. After rains, it may become muddy and rutted, but while I was there I had no trouble at all in my Toyota Tacoma. It’s not next to a sheer cliff or anything scary.
As you drive from one end to the other, you’ll pass many dispersed campsite options and the cell signal will vary. Keep an eye on your phone to see how many bars you’re gaining or losing as you drive between them. I stopped and chose a campsite as soon as I hit four bars, knowing my wifi hotspot would work well in that location.
There are some cool free campsites off N Kolob Terrace Road too, and this is even closer to Zion. However, I did not get cell service there. I slept there after hiking when I had days off so that I would be closer to the trailheads, but I didn’t stick around during the work week.
If you’re willing to pay and prefer a few more amenities, there are some affordable campsites like Simple Life Campsites in Kanab and Vanlife Campgrounds in Cane Beds.
Where to Shower Near the Campsite
There are gyms in St. George, Hurricane, and Kanab, including an Anytime Fitness in Hurricane. The Zion Outfitter shop in Springdale, basically right in the national park, offers public showers. It’s $4 for a 5 minute shower.
Where to Do Laundry Near the Campsite
I did laundry at Dixie Spin in Hildale, Utah. The Zion Outfitter shop in Springdale, basically right in the national park, sometimes offers laundry services. At the time of this writing the laundry facility is unavailable.
Where to Buy Groceries Near the Campsite
Bee’s Marketplace in Colorado City, Arizona is a massive grocery store with a great selection. It’s similar to a City Market or Safeway. It also has a pharmacy where I was able to get some prescriptions refilled. There are markets in Hurricane, St George, and Springdale as well, though I wouldn’t venture into the crowded tourist town of Springdale for something like that.
Where to Get Free Potable Water Near the Campsite
According to Campendium, Bee’s Marketplace in Colorado City, Arizona has free potable water and a dump station (I never needed to refill my six gallon jug during my stay so I can’t attest).
Where to Get Wifi Near the Campsite
As described above, the cell signal at the campsite is great, so you should be able to work from there. If you’re having trouble with your usual portable wifi device for whatever reason, the Washington County Library supposedly offers internet access for $1 per day for up to 4 hours. There are locations in Hurricane, St George, and Springdale. I would not recommend trying to use the one in Hildale. One reviewer wrote, “Are you even ALLOWED in this building if you are NOT ‘f.l.d.s.’ NOPE! You are NOT!”
Where to Go for Car Maintenance
If you’re having trouble with your van, or, like me, got a flat tire while searching for pictographs on the Arizona Strip thinking you’re Indiana Jones, hit up Rocky Mountain Auto Care in Colorado City, Arizona. They were extremely kind and seemed fair with prices.
A note about Colorado City, AZ and Hildale, UT: These two sister cities are practically the same town, they are right next to each other. This is where the infamous Warren Jeffs FLDS polygamist compound was. You will see women wearing the old school outfits and you might pick up on a strange vibe in general as you galavant around the marketplace or cafes. Nobody bothered me at all, but it’s something to be aware of. At the same time, this area is becoming infiltrated with adventurers since it’s a gateway to the parks. One day while doing laundry at Dixie Spin, I overheard a conversation between a woman and a man. The woman said she runs a camping place nearby for nomads, and the man said he escaped FLDS and has 13 brothers and sisters. It’s quite the clash of cultures.
Where to Car Camp for Free Near Arches and Canyonlands National Parks
The best free campsite I found in the southeastern half of the state if you’re focusing on Canyonlands National Park or Arches National Park is Klondike Bluffs, a Bureau of Land Management site 20 minutes from Moab, Utah.
When I drove into the greater Moab area, I came prepared with coordinates saved on my phone for multiple free campsites I’d found online. Each one was reported to have great Verizon signal.
The first site I drove to in fact didn’t have good signal at all. Thankfully Klondike Bluffs was a home run! I had four bars and sometimes even five bars of signal and working remotely was painless.
Klondike Bluffs is directly across from Canyonlands Regional Airport on the other side of US-191, but you can continue down Klondike Bluffs Road (sometimes called Long Valley) to find campsites far away from the highway. I didn’t have any noise from the highway at all and felt like I was really “out there”. The road is somewhat rough and gravely, similar to the campsite near Zion, but nothing crazy.
While car camping at Klondike Bluffs, the desert put on a private show just for me. Some mornings I woke up to hot air balloons on the horizon at sunrise. By late morning, skydivers parachuted down to the Canyonlands airport. One afternoon two pronghorn walked past my truck. And one of the coolest experiences was seeing an ATV attached to a parachute flying directly past me while I sat in the truckbed – check out the video! Apparently this is called a SkyRunner Flying UTV?
Where to Shower Near the Campsite
The Chevron gas station and Sun Outdoors Canyonlands Gateway has a shower onsite since they are also an RV campsite. It’s available from 8am-7pm for $10 per person and you pay the clerk at the convenience store/gas station. There is also a gym in Moab called the South Town Gym which has a daily rate of $15 if you don’t want to buy a membership.
Where to Do Laundry Near the Campsite
There are a handful of laundromats in Moab, Utah, including Moab Laundry Express and Moab Wash & Fold.
Where to Buy Groceries Near the Campsite
City Market or one of the many, many grocery stores in Moab, Utah.
Where to Get Wifi Near the Campsite
As described above, the cell signal at the campsite is great, so you should be able to work from there. If you’re having trouble with your usual wifi device for whatever reason, you can use the wifi at the Grand County Public Library in Moab for free and stay as long as you want during their opening hours (9am-8pm weekdays, 9am-5pm Saturdays, closed Sundays). I thought it was really fast, and they have little work stations.
Where to Get Free Potable Water in Moab
I filled up my six gallon water jug for free at Lion’s Park Trail Hub. Lion’s Park also has public restrooms, picnic tables, and an approved waste disposal bin for wag bags.
Where to Dispose of Waste in Moab
It’s important to Leave No Trace and not relieve yourself in the fragile ecosystems around Moab, but the city of Moab is also asking people not to dispose of wag bags in regular trash cans because they explode on garbagemen, which is too disgusting to fathom. I bought some wag bags at Moab Gear Trader and they come with a sticker that lets you know the appropriate address where you can dispose of them:
Grand County Transit Hub
South side of intersection of Hwy 191 and Hwy 128 (“River Road”)
Southeast Utah Health Department
575 Kane Creek Blvd
Moab, UT 84532
Due to disposal equipment used in the Moab area, wag bags cannot be placed in trash.
Thank you for keeping Moab clean.
A note about other Southern Utah national parks: If you’re up for a brief road trip, Hurricane Cliffs (the Zion spot) will also put you reasonably close to Snow Canyon, Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bryce Canyon. Getting to Capitol Reef from Hurricane Cliffs is more of an undertaking, but I did drive there and back over a long weekend. There is a paid RV and car camping site in Torrey, UT called Wonderland RV Park with good wifi. I did not try any of the free dispersed sites near Capitol Reef so I can’t attest to signal strength there, but this one seems to have good reviews for Verizon. If you are camping near Moab, you will only be about 2 hours from the east entrance to Capitol Reef, so it’s an easier road trip from Klondike Bluffs.
My Digital Nomad Guide to Southern Utah is one in a series that also includes my Digital Nomad Guide to the Smoky Mountains and my Digital Nomad Guide to Big Bend National Park. This series will take me a lifetime to complete if I want to include all the national parks, considering I do actually stop and work remotely from each place I visit! Which park should I do next?
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I agree with the other commenters – this is really helpful for campers as well as digital nomads! We often book a hotel after every few days so we can wash clothes/find wifi and have a shower… so your guide could help us camp for longer! 😀
I love following your nomadic adventures! I hope to be a digital nomad in the future and explore more National Parks. This is such a helpful guide. Thank you for sharing your tips!
I’m not a digital nomad but I love knowing about great free places to camp in Utah when I’m out there visiting. You give so many great tips in the post. That flying ATV is insane!
I love this concept of providing information for digital nomads about national parks and especially their camp sites. It is vital for digital nomads, especially the location of grocery stores and best spots for wifi signal. I’m happy I found your site about digital nomad lifestyle; this is very inspirational! Cool video about the flying ATV. I’ve heard about powered paragliding, but this is new.
Hello,
I work at a TV station in Utah and we are looking to chat with digital nomads for an upcoming show we’re doing. Please send me an email so we can connect.