Duck Creek Guide
Seven Forest Service campgrounds, free designated dispersed sites at Uinta Flat, and what a night at 8,400 feet actually feels like
Camping around Duck Creek, Utah splits three ways: Duck Creek Campground sits right off SR-14 just west of the village, a cluster of quieter Forest Service campgrounds rings Navajo Lake a few minutes down the highway, and free designated dispersed camping runs along Forest Road 064 at Uinta Flat. The season is short — late May through September — nights are cold at 8,400 feet even in August, and summer weekends are worth reserving ahead.
Every developed campground on this page is in Dixie National Forest, and they share the same ground rules: no hookups, no showers, and a 14-day stay limit. Most sites can be reserved at recreation.gov or by phone at 877-444-6777, with some held first-come, first-served. Fees below are the 2026 recreation.gov rates — verify current fees when you book.
If you are building a lake day around your campsite, start with our Navajo Lake page and the Duck Creek fishing guide — several of these campgrounds put you steps from the water.
Duck Creek Campground is the one at the village; the Navajo Lake trio is the quieter, closer-to-the-water alternative. Cedar Canyon and the Panguitch Lake pair are farther out but worth knowing about when everything nearby is spoken for.
The closest campground to the village — the entrance is right off SR-14 just west of Duck Creek Village, next to Duck Creek Pond. It is the largest campground in this guide, with five loops (A–E) spread through spruce, fir, and aspen at 8,400 feet.
OHVs are allowed in loops C, D, and E only — handy if you are riding the Markagunt trail system straight from camp (see our ATV guide).
Holiday weekends carry a 3-night minimum stay.
On the south shore of Navajo Lake, reached off SR-14 via Navajo Lake Road. Sites sit close to the water, there is a boat ramp right in the campground, and 11 of the 27 sites are walk-in tent sites — quieter, cheaper, and closer to the shoreline. If you plan to fish from camp, our fishing guide covers what is in the lake.
Also on the lake’s south shore, about 2.5 miles down Navajo Lake Road. About two dozen sites tucked under the spruce; the tent rate makes it one of the cheaper ways to wake up near the water.
The highest campground in this guide at 9,200 feet, off Navajo Lake Road about 4.5 miles in, past the west end of the lake. Around 40 sites plus one group site for up to 20 people, with spring-fed piped water and paved access roads. ATVs are prohibited inside the campground, which keeps it noticeably quieter than Duck Creek.
Two more Forest Service options sit within striking distance — useful when the Navajo Lake campgrounds are full, or when your trip leans toward Cedar City or Panguitch.
At 8,100 feet, 13 miles east of Cedar City — the west side of the Markagunt Plateau, so the far side of the mountain from Duck Creek. It suits trips split between Cedar City and the high country. ATVs must stay trailered here. Currently the campground has no potable water due to construction, and a 20% fee reduction is in effect — check the Dixie NF alerts page before you go.
A pair of campgrounds at 8,400 feet on UT-143, 16 miles southwest of Panguitch, near the lake many locals consider the best big-trout water in the region. North is the full-service side: 39 single, 8 double, and 3 group sites with flush toilets, water, and a dump station. South is simpler — 18 tent-only sites, first-come, first-served only, with water and flush toilets.
Dispersed camping — camping outside developed campgrounds — is allowed across much of Dixie National Forest around Duck Creek, and it is free. No reservations, no fees, and no services: you pack in everything, including water, and pack out everything, including trash.
The designated dispersed area closest to the village is Uinta Flat, along Forest Road 064 just off SR-14, reached via Strawberry Point Road. Sites are numbered and first-come, first-served. There is no water.
These come from current forest orders, which get updated — the Dixie National Forest alerts page lists what is in force.
Fire restrictions on this mountain are volatile. Stages tighten and relax as conditions change, sometimes more than once in a single summer. Under stage restrictions, campfires are typically limited to Forest-Service-installed permanent fire pits at developed campgrounds — which means no dispersed campfires at all, including at Uinta Flat.
Never assume last month’s rules still apply. Check the Dixie National Forest alerts page and utahfireinfo.gov on your way up, and again if you stay more than a few days.
None of the Forest Service campgrounds above have hookups. Several have dump stations — Duck Creek, Te-Ah, Spruces, and Panguitch Lake North — so self-contained rigs do fine, but if you want full hookups you are looking at private parks.
In the village itself, Duck Creek Village RV (duckcreekvillagerv.com, 435-580-8185) is listed in the Duck Creek Village Association directory. Hookup details are not published online, so call ahead for availability and specifics. Pinewoods Resort is under new ownership and reopening in phases — confirm directly before counting on it as an RV stop.
Nights are cold — genuinely cold — even in July and August. Everything on this page sits between 8,100 and 9,200 feet, and summer days that feel warm in the sun drop off fast once it sets. Bring a sleeping bag rated well below what the daytime forecast suggests, plus warm layers and a hat you can sleep in. Our Duck Creek weather page has current conditions and forecasts.
July through September is monsoon season. The pattern is clear mornings and afternoon thunderstorms with lightning. Plan hikes and lake time early, and when thunder starts, get to your vehicle or a building and wait 30 minutes after the last clap before heading back out — that is the National Park Service guidance for the plateau country.
Water is seasonal everywhere. Spigots run roughly Memorial Day to Labor Day at Duck Creek Campground and get shut off outside each campground’s core season; Cedar Canyon currently has none at all; dispersed areas never have any. Carry more than you think you need.
Book the popular weekends early. Duck Creek and Cedar Canyon carry a 3-night minimum on holiday weekends, so those dates go as blocks — if you are set on one, reserve as soon as your dates open on recreation.gov. And remember SR-14 is a real mountain highway: check road conditions before towing a trailer up, especially early and late in the season.
We will be straight with you: we run an inn, so we are biased. But a lot of our guests are campers — they come for the same forest, the same lake, the same trails. Where the inn earns its keep is the nights the mountain does not cooperate: the August cold snap, the third straight afternoon of monsoon rain, the fire restrictions that cancel the campfire half the trip was about. If part of your group loves tents and part of it loves hot showers, our cabins and rooms sit in the village a short drive from Duck Creek Campground — book the doubters a real bed and meet up for the day.
August 2026
We are innkeepers in Duck Creek Village, not rangers. Fees, seasons, water availability, and fire restrictions all change — the sources below are what we checked in August 2026, and they are where you should verify before you go. The Duck Creek Visitor Center on SR-14 (open Friday–Monday 10am–3pm in season) and the Cedar City Ranger District at (435) 865-3200 can answer anything this page cannot.
Quick answers for planning a camping trip around Duck Creek Village.
Duck Creek Campground sits right off SR-14 just west of the village. Three more Forest Service campgrounds — Navajo Lake, Spruces, and Te-Ah — sit off Navajo Lake Road a few minutes away, and free designated dispersed camping is available at Uinta Flat off SR-14. Cedar Canyon and the Panguitch Lake campgrounds are within day-trip range.
Most sites at Duck Creek Campground can be reserved at recreation.gov or 877-444-6777, with some held first-come, first-served. Navajo Lake Campground is mostly first-come, first-served, and Panguitch Lake South is entirely first-come, first-served. Duck Creek and Cedar Canyon carry a 3-night minimum on holiday weekends.
Yes. Uinta Flat, along Forest Road 064 off SR-14 via Strawberry Point Road, is a designated dispersed camping area with numbered first-come, first-served sites — free, with no water or services. General dispersed camping is also allowed in much of Dixie National Forest, limited to 16 days in any 60-day period and subject to setback rules from campgrounds, trailheads, and water sources.
It depends on the fire restrictions in force, which change through the season. Under stage restrictions, campfires are typically allowed only in Forest-Service-installed permanent fire pits at developed campgrounds, with no dispersed campfires permitted. Check the Dixie National Forest alerts page and utahfireinfo.gov before your trip.
Roughly late May through September. Duck Creek Campground’s 2026 season runs May 22 to September 28; the Navajo Lake area campgrounds close in early September and the others by mid September. Outside those windows the campgrounds are closed and water is shut off.
Not at the Forest Service campgrounds — none have hookups or showers, though Duck Creek, Te-Ah, Spruces, and Panguitch Lake North have dump stations. For hookups, Duck Creek Village RV (435-580-8185) operates in the village; hookup details are not published online, so call ahead.
Rooms and cabins at Duck Creek Village Inn put you minutes from the campgrounds, the lake, and the trails — with heat, hot showers, and a real bed waiting after a cold night.
