UOT Call Center Archives: BLM Camping Rules

I received a call from a person who wanted to know the rules in Utah with regard to camping on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land. I asked the caller where, specifically, he was interested in camping. He explained that he was interested in camping on BLM land near Otter Creek State Park. In order to answer the caller’s question accurately, I asked him to give me a little time to research the question and call him back with more information. Here's what I learned ---


How to obtain rules for camping on BLM land:

Determine which BLM district oversees the land you are interested in camping on. If you are unfamiliar with the BLM and how it divides Utah’s wilderness, go to: www.blm.gov, and click on the state of Utah. On the right side of the page, you will see a map of Utah divided into 11 districts.

The BLM land near Otter Creek State Park is located within the Color Country BLM district. Click on the Color Country District. You will be taken to a page titled, Richfield, which is where the Color Country BLM Field Office is located. The contact information, including the address and phone number is listed on the bottom of the page. The same is true for all BLM districts.

I called the Richfield Field Office and they explained the following rules for camping on all BLM designated land.

Three Most Common Rules for Camping on BLM Land

1) All wilderness camping is “hike in/hike out.” Motorized vehicles are not allowed in wilderness areas.

2) Leave no trace camping techniques are required. For more information on “leave no trace camping,” go to: http://wikitravel.org/en/Leave-no-trace_camping or http://www.camping.com/community/camp-styles/1298

3) 14 day maximum stay in any location.

Some BLM rules are uniform, but there are unique rules in certain BLM districts. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to check with the BLM Field Office in charge of the land you’re interested in camping on before you go.

Utah BLM Field Offices:

Bureau of Land Management

BLM Utah State Office

P.O. Box 45155

Salt Lake City, Utah 84145-0155

440 West 200 South, Suite 500

Salt Lake City, Utah 84101

Phone: (801) 539-4001

Fax: (801) 539-4013

utsomail@blm.gov

West Desert District:

2370 South 2300 West

Salt Lake City, UT 84119

District Manager: Glenn Carpenter

Phone: (801) 977-4300

Fax: (801) 977-4397

utslmail@blm.gov

Green River District:

170 South 500 East

Vernal, UT 84078

District Manager: Bill Stringer

Phone: (435) 781-4400

Fax: (435) 781-4410

utvnmail@blm.gov

Fillmore District:

35 East 500 North

Fillmore, UT 84631

Field Office Manager: Micki Bailey

Phone: (435) 743-3100

Fax: (435) 743-3135

utfmmail@blm.gov

Color Country District:

150 East 900 North

Richfield, UT 84701

Field Office Manager: Cornell Christensen

Phone: (435) 896-1500

Fax: (435) 896-1550

utrfmail@blm.gov

Price District:

Price Field Office

125 South 600 West

Price, UT 84501

Field Office Manager: Jerry Kenczka

Phone: (435) 636-3600

Fax (435) 636-3657

utprmail@blm.gov

Moab District:

Moab Field Office

82 East Dogwood

Moab, Utah 84532

Field Office Manager: Lynn Jackson

Phone: (435) 259-2100

Fax: (435) 259-2106

utmbmail@blm.gov

Cedar City District:

Cedar City Field Office

176 East D.L. Sargent Drive

Cedar City, UT 84721

Field Office Manager: RandyTrujillo

Phone: (435) 586-2401

Fax: (435) 865-3058

utccmail@blm.gov

Canyon Country District:

82 East Dogwood

Moab, Utah 84532

District Manager: Shelley Smith

Phone: (435) 259-2100

Fax: (435) 259-2106

utmbmail@blm.gov

St. George District:

St. George Field Office

345 East Riverside Drive

St. George, UT 84790

Field Office Manager: Jimmy Tyree

Phone (435) 688-3200

Fax (435) 688-3252

utsgmail@blm.gov

Kanab District:

Kanab Field Office

318 North 100 East

Kanab, UT 84741

Field Office Manager: Harry Barber

Phone: (435) 644-4600

Fax: (435) 644-4620

utknmail@blm.gov

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

Monument Manager: Rene Berkhout

190 E. Center Street

Kanab, UT 84741

Phone: 435) 644-4300

Fax: (435) 644-4350

escalante_interagency@blm.gov

Utah Offers Accessible Powder for All

Visitors from across the nation and around the world come to Utah every winter to enjoy some of the World’s greatest skiing and snowboarding adventures. Powder enthusiasts vary from families on vacation to “ski bums” to athletes in training. But did you know that the state that lays claim to “The Greatest Snow on Earth®” is also home to numerous adaptive sport programs?

Every ski and snowboard season, people with disabilities also converge on Utah’s mountain tops to enjoy some of the finest winter adventures that Mother Nature has to offer. For people with a hearing/vision loss, a spinal cord injury or intellectual disability, Utah has an array of adaptive winter programs that have been helping people of all ability levels carve their own turns in the white mountainsides. A one-hour drive from the Salt Lake International Airport will get you to three distinct, exciting, affordable and adaptive organizations. All of these organizations have decades of experience in helping people with disabilities enjoy their winter vacations to the slopes.

How do these programs get thousands of people with physical and intellectual disabilities on ski runs every year? With the help of highly-trained staff and community volunteers that have a passion for getting people onto Utah’s famous powder. Each program also has top-of-the-line adaptive equipment that includes mono-skis, bi-skis and Nordic sit-skis. The programs have also formed a special partnership with local ski resorts that go the extra mile to help people and their adaptive equipment on and off the lifts as well as set aside extra space so the adaptive programs and their participants can have their own area to practice runs and techniques.

Headquartered at Snowbird, Wasatch Adaptive Sports (WAS) offers several adaptive skiing opportunities including downhill and cross-country skiing. Let their staff set you up with the appropriate training and adaptive equipment before hitting the beginner run, Chickadee. If you plan on doing more than one day of skiing, book an on-site stay at The Cliff Lodge & Spa where they have fully accessible rooms. Be sure to book your ski lessons and rooms early as spaces fill up fast! Contact them through their website or call (801) 933-2188.

Started in 1985, the National Ability Center (NAC) takes their skiing and snowboarding programs to the Park City Mountain Resort where participants learn techniques and gain skills to ski independently and/or with their family and friends. Be sure to also ask about their equipment rental, sled hockey programs and new shuttle service from Salt Lake to Park City. Lessons fill-up fast, so book early and plan on staying at the NAC’s private lodge and ranch that is located five minutes from down-town Park City, filled with good shopping, entertainment and dining. Call (435) 200-0987 or visit their website for more information.

Last, but not least, is Common Ground Outdoor Adventures. Located in Logan, Common Ground enjoys the mountain life without the crowds of the city. Have the whole family come and check out Common Ground’s newest program: the Beaver Adaptive Ski Evolution (B.A.S.E.) program at Beaver Mountain. When you’re not taking an adaptive ski lesson, ask the staff about guided nature tours at nearby migratory bird pathways and nature centers. For more information call (435) 713-0288 or visit their website.

Whatever you choose, you and your family will be sure to have a fun time surrounded by gorgeous snow-covered mountains while creating memories for a lifetime.

Antelope Island State Park and its Stunning Sunset Evenings

Sand and birds and sky and a silver inland sea surrounding you from horizon’s edge to horizon’s edge; jagged rocks reaching into the mirror-like waters reflecting the sky and its colors back to the sky and making the only edge of distance the silhouettes of far-off mountains; no sound save the call of seagulls – this is the picture I found at Bridger Bay on the north coast of Antelope Island. As the sun sets behind the distant peaks, it seems to intensify the Great Salt Lake’s colors. In an almost grandiose last gasp like a yawn before sleep, the sun reminds lucky viewers of its glory and power to create unparalleled beauty, each beam reaching skyward one last time as the blanket of night competes for dominance. But it’s not a battle, really. In this magical hour, a symphony or dance commences in which each, day and night, compliment the other in a perfect harmony and transcend each other, more magnificent than either one alone.

I took my boys, of course. We brought our bikes and rode on the beach, often stopping to admire the show.

As the blanket of night envelopes and dominates the sky, the colors recede to the distance and unifies to a sliver of fiery orange just above the horizon, a grand finale before the memories of yesterday and the dreams of tomorrow lulls the earth to quietude.

I recommend a blanket, good crackers, something tasty to drink, and a nice cheese. Maybe you’d prefer peanuts, popcorn, and a tall soda. Whatever your pleasure, it’s a good show.



Two thumbs up!



http://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/antelope-island

10-05-2009!!!

Achtung! Winter sports enthusiasts, winter continues to tantalize and tempt us with more of what we like.... need I say it...... SNOW!

Sharpen your edges and wax your bases because winter is coming!

Winter is officially off to an early start in Utah! On September 30th, a snowstorm blanketed our mountains with nearly a foot of fresh powder. Skiers and snowboarders, it's already time to get ready!

Goblin Valley State Park and Other Dreamscapes

Spontaneous weekend getaways are often my favorite trips because they aren’t weighed down in planning and forethought. It’s just, “Hey, the housework is caught up, the weather’s nice, and it won’t stay that way for long… Let’s load up the car and go camping someplace unique, someplace interesting, someplace we haven’t seen before.” Then you just go and hope for the best.

Last weekend, that’s what I did. I’d never visited Goblin Valley State Park, so I decided that this little trip would be to fix that problem. Since I don’t have much family in Salt Lake City, it takes a while to find someone who’s willing to take care of the dog and it’s a little pricey to bring Fido to the kennel. So, I decided to bring my dog, Cookie, along. She doesn’t get out of the city very often, so I tend to think that some of the best times for her are our little trips into the wilderness.

It’s a short three and a half hour drive from Salt Lake City to Goblin Valley State Park, but in that distance, the landscape couldn’t change more dramatically. The high Wasatch Mountains surrounding urban sprawl gives way to mesas, buttes, and red "varnished" cliffs in distant, remote desert. After a short drive over the mountains on Highway 6, comes Helper and then Price. In this vicinity, things begin to change QUICKLY. There is definitely a reason some people refer to Price as the “Gateway to the American Southwest.”

Before we arrived at Goblin Valley, I imagined a tiny “garden” of strange rock formations. I couldn’t have been more wrong (except for the idea about the rock formations). As I pulled up to the overlook, I was amazed that the vista appearing before me sprawled over what appeared to be several miles. I thought to myself, "Here is another example of the 'weird and wonderful' that makes Utah such a special place." Here is a place nature has made over eons that the most vivid and wild imagination would be unlikely to dream up. My kids were gawking at it; they were captivated in a way I haven’t seen before. So the kids, Cookie, and I walked to a trailhead and started to make our way into the bizarre valley of goblins or smurfs or rock mushrooms or various other ideas your imagination might concoct to describe this city or community of rock dreams like melting candles and Salvador Dali paintings.

The trail, which begins just past the parking lot and overlook picnic area intersects with numerous other trails heading in all directions. So once you make your way in, the choice is yours. Which of the thousands of other worldly features seem to be beckoning you? I have to believe that no matter which way a hiker goes, their imaginations are stricken with awe, confusion, wonder, and disbelief. I overheard a hiker saying, half-jokingly, “It’s a government conspiracy, this place.” One thing is certain about Goblin Valley State Park, it’s not subtle.

Camping amidst the landscape surrounding Goblin Valley was equally fascinating. The area’s remoteness means the stars have almost nothing to compete with: no light pollution, no air pollution, no noise pollution, no television (unless, of course, you’re traveling with one). When you look, they remind you of how brilliant they can be and you remember being a child with wide eyes again pondering place and existence.

The silhouettes of sandstone dunes surrounding our campsite beckoned a friend of mine and I to take a midnight stroll into the surreal desert. Cookie accompanied us as we walked along a path, up and up, higher and higher, into a narrow canyon until we reached the top when some sort of feline scurried from behind a bush. I saw a long, ringed tail and glowing eyes peering back at me and then quickly vanish.

After gazing over the canyon’s rim in the desert’s deafening silence for a difficult to determine amount of time, we ambled back to our tents. I tucked myself into my sleeping bag, enjoyed the cool, desert breeze blowing through the tent mesh, and staring into the universe until its peace ushered me to sleep.

Foothill Cultural District's Diverse Attractions

Utah Office of Tourism staff members were invited to tour the Foothill Cultural District in Salt Lake City, UT. Being a Salt Lake City resident and a person who has visited some of these sites in the past, this tour was surprisingly interesting, enjoyable, and downright entertaining. My previous visits to some of these places were mostly brief, on different days, and years apart. To visit all of these places on one day is a much different experience. It opened my eyes to our great attractions.

The Hogle Zoo’s diverse array of wildlife from all over the world includes over 1,000 animals. The area’s rich and interesting history is highlighted at This is the Place Heritage Park and Fort Douglas Military Museum. The Olympic Cauldron Park commemorates the XIX Olympic Games with a photo gallery and a film that chronicles the games from the opening to closing ceremonies. Red Butte Gardens houses a dazzling color spectrum with its many flowers, indoor and outdoor gardens, intoxicating fragrance wafting on the air, and stunning views of the Salt Lake Valley and the Wasatch Mountains. The Utah Museum of Fine Arts has an extensive collection, including 17,000 pieces and spanning more than 5,000 years.

The world-class Museum of Natural History, currently under construction, is scheduled to replace the existing museum in early 2011. The Museum of Natural History features a LARGE collection of dinosaur fossils, an exhibit called " Range Creek: An Anthropology of Place", which sheds light on the Fremont Tribe who lived in Range Creek Canyon (remote canyon in Eastern Utah) from 500 A.D. to 1300 A.D, and much more.

For more information on the Foothill Cultural District, discounts, information on the attractions, photo tours, and travel planning, go to: www.foothillcd.com