[hippiepunkpirate]

I have a car camping trip with my dad in the works for 3 nights the second week of May. It's gonna be a Colorado Plateau trip, on either the Arizona strip or the Utah canyonlands. Our campsites will definitely be of the dispersed variety. We did Valley of the Gods/Cedar Mesa last year, so looking to do something a little different than that. My dad has plenty of ideas, but I'd like to be able to give some cool suggestions of my own. Given the stipulations...what do y'all think?

[RedRoxx44]

Camp off Cottonwood Canyon Road, hike Hackberry, Cottonwood Canyon Narrows, drive up a bit hike Round Valley Draw ( requires some scrambling). Kodachrome State Park, Grosvenor Arch, access to some great canyons coming off the Kaparowits on up the road. Oh, and almost forgot Yellow Rock.
That area could keep a person busy for easily a week or more.
For more details see Mike Kelsey's "HIking the Paria Canyon country area" or something like that. He's coming out with a new edition in a few months.

[Rob del Desierto]

RedRoxx's idea is very sound. Plus then you could swing by Page! Another idea is the Escalante area - car camp off Hole-in-the-Rock Road and hike the canyons leading down towards the river. Lots of possibilities there too. There is also the area between Bluff and Cortez. Not as appreciated as some of these other areas, but lots of canyons and lots of ruins over there.

[gringoantonio]

There's some great dispersed camping, just east of and above, Natural Bridges National Monument. Just drive up County Rd 228 (A.K.A. FS Rd 88 on the Nat Geo topo/ A.K.A. Elm Mtn Rd on google maps) off of the 275, shortly after it starts off the 95. There's plenty of dispersed camping at the top of the bluff with awesome views of Natural Bridges and the entire valley. Just take a left or a right at the top of the plateau (after the sharp bend in the road). Collecting dead wood for campfires is allowed.

If you decide to take this trip, Hwy 261 through Muley Point is a worthwhile route, giving you an awesome view of the San Juan River and Monument Valley from a 1,200' sheer cliff.

The hiking in the park is amazing. There's hundreds of Ancestral Puebloan ruins throughout the canyons, most are unmarked. A compass & topo wouldn't hurt as even the park's 8.6 mi loop trail is not marked once you are down in the canyon. Arch Canyon, just east of the park, is also definitely worth checking out. It has more Ancestral Puebloan ruins and quite a few large arches.

If you can, try to time the trip when there's no moon--the park is the first designated International Dark Sky Park. They have a free astronomy program with a huge telescope on weekends.

Here's a map showing where to start looking for dispersed camping:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&fb=1&gl=us&hq=Canyonlands+National+Park&hnear=Canyonlands+National+Park&hl=en&view=map&ved=0CBgQpQY&ei=x8q0S57UAYSGiAOoxMVT&t=h&msa=0&msid=112824717363844462766.000483305adb35c5bcc2f&ll=37.600972,-109.955807&spn=0.051273,0.111151&z=14:

[Rob del Desierto]

Dispersed camping on Elk Ridge is certainly a good idea, true. If you are going up the Dugway again, maybe head west towards Hite? More good camping and hiking options that way too.

[hippiepunkpirate]

Camped a Muley last year it is awesome, and did some Natural Bridges stuff as well. Man, there's a TON of cool stuff out there. So hard to pick one area.