Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Lava Flat Designated Dispersed Camping Area
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · UT · 37.54200, -112.64500
Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.
Ask about this camp →U.S. Forest Service lists this site. On most of their ground you can camp away from developed sites pretty much anywhere — so treat this as a known-good spot, not the only one allowed. The unit sets stay limits and how far off road and water you must be. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Lava Flat Designated Dispersed Camping Area
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 8,337 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Lava Flat Designated Dispersed Camping AreaNIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.
Everything you need — measured from Lava Flat Designated Dispersed Camping Area · Dixie National Forest · UT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel2 mi
- GGrocery8 mi
- DDump10 mi
- @Mail11 mi
- WWater12 mi
- ShShower15 mi
- MMechanic18 mi
- OOutfitter18 mi
- RxPharmacy23 mi
- LLaundry23 mi
- HHardware23 mi
- +Urgent care23 mi
- EVEV fast charger25 mi
- AAir-up26 mi
- PPropane28 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 2 mi out.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — Lava Flat Designated Dispersed Camping Area
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
8,337 ft
State
UT
Coordinates
37.54200, -112.64500
Cost
Free · dispersed public land, no fee in any source
Nearby & resupply — around Lava Flat Designated Dispersed Camping Area · Dixie National Forest · UT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureRiver · nearby
- Nearest townDuck Creek Village · ~1.6 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelMaverik #231 · ~22.8 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~9.5 mi
- GroceriesJunction Market · ~22.8 mi
- PharmacyPanguitch Drug Co · ~22.6 mi
- Hospital / clinicGarfield Memorial Hospital · ~23.0 mi
- HardwareHarbor Freight Tools · ~24.5 mi
EV charging — from Lava Flat Designated Dispersed Camping Area · Dixie National Forest · UT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger24.8 mi straight-line W — Cedar City, UT - South Main Street - Tesla Supercharger (at a restaurant) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 16 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. NACS partner enabled. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach1 within 25 mi · 10 within 50 · 35 within 100 · 46 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS25.1 mi — Cedar City Motor Company - DCFC, Cedar City
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO25.4 mi — Walmart 1438 (Cedar City, UT), Cedar City
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)22.6 mi — Two Sunsets Hotel - Tesla Destination, Panguitch, UT · Tesla Destination · J1772, NACS (Tesla) · 6 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-08-27 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to all vehicles.
- Also listed, not counted aboveNACS-only Level 2 — The Grand Lodge at Brian Head - Tesla Destination, Brian Head, 16.0 mi · NACS (Tesla) · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · AFDC lists it “Free”
- Pricing at the fast chargernot listed
- Power (kW)not listed by AFDC — “DC fast” spans roughly 24 to 350 kW, so ask the network.
- Read this honestlyStraight-line miles, like every distance on this site. Roads run longer than this, and you have to get back. We know where a charger is listed. We don’t know if it works today, how fast it is, or the road miles. Check the network before you commit.
Snapshot 2026-09-16 · AFDC record 421675 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Lava Flat Designated Dispersed Camping Area · Dixie National Forest · UT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletAspen Mirror Lake Trailhead · ~2.1 mi SW · USFS
- Flush restroomDuck Creek Pond Trailhead · ~3.2 mi SW · USFS
- Portable toiletDuck Creek Visitor Center · ~3.5 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletLava Picnic Site · ~7.1 mi N · USFS
Open Lava Flat Designated Dispersed Camping Area elsewhere
Other camps near Lava Flat Designated Dispersed Camping Area
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Uinta Flat Designated Dispersed Camping Area~2.7 mi
- Duck Creek Campground~3.3 mi
- Duck Creek Campground~3.4 mi · fee
- Strawberry Valley Free Campsite~3.6 mi
The unit that manages Lava Flat Designated Dispersed Camping Area
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Lava Flat Designated Dispersed Camping Area are set by Dixie National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Harris Flat at 7,800 ft, about 5 miles away. It sits about 537 ft lower than this camp, so treat it as a guide rather than a reading for this spot. We do not repeat a depth here, because any number we stored would be stale by the time you read it — the station publishes today's.
How we know this — Lava Flat Designated Dispersed Camping Area
Source
OpenStreetMap contributors
Confidence
Researched — The record is detailed and internally consistent, and the coordinates land where the managing agency says this site is.
How it was placed
auto: drive (road/trail right there)
EV chargers
US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.
Field check
On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.
What we don’t know about Lava Flat Designated Dispersed Camping Area
A land record can put you within a few meters of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Seasonal & winter access
- Current fire restrictions
- Whether any water here is drinkable
- Shade & wind exposure
- Noise and who else shows up
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it
Before you go — Lava Flat Designated Dispersed Camping Area
When the high country opens →Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Off-grid communication →All field notes →
Been here? Tell us what changed. This page is built from public records, so the fastest way it gets better is somebody who has actually pulled in. Road washed out, site gone, gate locked, or it is exactly as described — all of it useful. Send a report →