Agency-listedUSFSFee
Payson Lakes
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · UT · 39.93351, -111.63435
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 as a developed campground. Expect marked sites, a fee station or a reservation, and the usual campground rules. The dispersed-camping freedom of the surrounding forest does not apply inside it. 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 Payson Lakes
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 7,949 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Payson LakesNIFC · 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 Payson Lakes · Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest · UT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- DDump3 mi
- +Urgent care4 mi
- ShShower4 mi
- WWater5 mi
- FFuel8 mi
- GGrocery8 mi
- HHardware8 mi
- RxPharmacy8 mi
- MMechanic8 mi
- AAir-up8 mi
- @Mail8 mi
- LLaundry9 mi
- EVEV fast charger9 mi
- PPropane12 mi
- OOutfitter20 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 8 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 — Payson Lakes
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
7,949 ft
State
UT
Coordinates
39.93351, -111.63435
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Payson Lakes · Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest · UT (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townWoodland Hills · ~5.6 mi
- Drinking waterWater · ~4.8 mi
- FuelMaverik Truck and RV · ~7.7 mi
- Propane / LPGHoliday Oil · ~11.6 mi
- Dump station~2.9 mi
- GroceriesMaverik · ~7.7 mi
- PharmacySantaquin Pharmacy · ~8.1 mi
- Hospital / clinicStaff Lodge · ~4.1 mi
- HardwareStringhams hardware · ~7.7 mi
EV charging — from Payson Lakes · Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest · UT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger9.2 mi straight-line W — Murdock Ford, Santaquin, UT (at a public site) · FORD_CHARGE · CCS · 2 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach20 within 25 mi · 57 within 50 · 138 within 100 · 176 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)19.4 mi — Provo, UT - Tesla Supercharger, Provo
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO19.9 mi — VOLVO CAR USA PROVO DC2, Provo
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)9.6 mi — MTECH PAYSON STATION 2 · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- 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 417832 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Payson Lakes · Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest · UT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletPayson Lakes · at this camp · USFS
- Flush restroomPayson Lakes Guard Station · ~0.6 mi S · USFS
- Flush restroomBlackhawk · ~2.5 mi S · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletMaple Lake · ~3.4 mi NW · USFS
Open Payson Lakes elsewhere
Other camps near Payson Lakes
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- USFS dispersed camp — Utah County, UT~0.7 mi
- Blackhawk~2.5 mi · fee
- Maple Lake~3.4 mi · fee
- Maple Bench~3.7 mi · fee
The unit that manages Payson Lakes
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Payson Lakes are set by Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Payson R.S. at 8,050 ft, less than a mile away. That is about the height of this camp, so it is a fair proxy. 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 — Payson Lakes
Source
U.S. Forest Service recreation data
Confidence
Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.
How it was placed
Developed FEE campground (not free) - review | auto:usfs-fee 2026-08-20: US Forest Service developed campground, agency coordinates, agency states a fee. No dollar amount in the agency record -- expect a charge and confirm the current rate before you go. Not field-verified. | Fee 2026-08-22: $27.45 per night for a standard or RV non-electric site, for the current 2026-05-08 to 2026-10-10 peak season. The same season carries a second standard rate of $54.91, and group rates of $189.51 and $270.10; recreation.gov distinguishes these only by an internal unit code, so we cannot say what size site each buys. The forest page publishes no amount and links this exact listing. Minor caveat: the coordinates recreation.gov prints for the facility are 0.48 mi from our pin -- the same campground, a different corner of it. Sources: https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/232228 and https://www.fs.usda.gov/r04/uinta-wasatch-cache/recreation/payson-lakes-campground (last updated May 29, 2026).
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 Payson Lakes
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 — Payson Lakes
When the high country opens →Camping near a reservoir →What “dispersed” means here →First-night troubleshooting →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 →