I drove through western Colorado on the way to Moab, Utah a few years back and spent two weeks in Manti-La Sal National Forest. It was incredible. The featured image is of a doe with one of her twin fawns she gave birth to while I was there. In the photo one of the fawns is hiding in the brush, the other you can see following his or her mama if you look closely. It was shot on an iPhone, wish I’d had a little 35mm digital camera with zoom lens.
Warner Lake and Warner Lake campground
Only 15 minutes or so of driving on the gravel yet very drivable (when I was there) La Sal Mountain Loop Road you come upon a turnoff for Warner Lake, a swimable reservoir stocked with Rainbow Trout. Take the turn! It’s a beautiful, clean 1.7 mile lake with hiking trails and view of picturesque Haystack mountain as a backdrop. Even the parking lot is scenic, with picnic tables set on the forested dirt paths a few feet from the lake.
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I was going to stay in the parking lot overnight as it was practically empty with very few tourists around, but some nice folks from Salt Lake City told me about Warner Lake Campground just five miles away. The campground has rustic sites (some pull-through) in a forest setting set off from the main dirt road with pit toilets and potable water.
Free RV camping in Manti-La Sal National Forest
Warner Lake and campground is closest to Moab, yet there are other lakes and campgrounds in the forest with a whopping 8100 acres of lakes and reservoirs in the park in total. Don’t ask me the mileage or time to drive to those, but you can check out a list with links to more information for all of the lakes and ponds that have fishing available here: Manti-La Sal Lakes and Ponds.
There are also 32 developed campgrounds in the forest: Manti-La Sal Campgrounds.
After I took an hour to get my little 16ft travel trailer situated in a campsite (not good at backing in and was teasing, it only took me 40 minutes!) I unhooked my tow vehicle and took a few drives up the mountain roads about an hour or so away during my stay. I came upon two more campgrounds and another lake or two, plus saw a zillion places of Free RV Camping, with rigs parked off the road here and there. It’s a beautiful place to explore by vehicle or hiking shoes.
Cell service is poor
Cellular coverage is not very good in the area. I was able to make phone calls from some spots, but I couldn’t watch a movie online with my Verizon WiFi hotspot. I should note this was before 5G iPhones, so maybe you can get a better connection now. There is also Starlink satellite internet available now for RVers. If you have that WiFi setup I’m sure you’ll have internet.
40 minutes to Moab, Utah
The entrance to the park is around 40 minutes from the small, touristy town of Moab, but there is a ‘one mainstreet’ kinda town a few minutes away from Manti-La Sal that has a small grocery store, restaurants, gas stations with propane, etc. I even found a great little mechanic shop on a side road that helped me with my trailer battery. No Walmart in site but if you want to stay awhile you have access to all the amenities you may need.
Moab is the closest larger town, with a population of 5,517 year-round residents. Famous as the “gateway to Arches National Park” Moab plays hosts to more than three million tourists per year.