Agency-listedUSFSFee
Skull Creek
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · UT · 40.86502, -109.52555
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 Skull Creek
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 7,446 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Skull CreekNIFC · 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 Skull Creek · Ashley National Forest · UT
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- ShShower4 mi
- FFuel4 mi
- DDump4 mi
- WWater5 mi
- GGrocery8 mi
- LLaundry8 mi
- @Mail8 mi
- HHardware13 mi
- PPropane28 mi
- OOutfitter28 mi
- EVEV fast charger28 mi
- MMechanic28 mi
- RxPharmacy29 mi
- AAir-up51 mi
- +Urgent care51 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 4 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 — Skull Creek
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
7,446 ft
State
UT
Coordinates
40.86502, -109.52555
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Skull Creek · Ashley National Forest · UT (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townFlaming Gorge · ~3.1 mi
- Drinking waterWater · ~4.8 mi
- FuelFuel · ~3.9 mi
- Propane / LPG7-Eleven · ~28.2 mi
- Dump station~4.0 mi
- GroceriesFlaming Gorge Recreation Services · ~7.9 mi
- PharmacyWalgreens · ~28.8 mi
- HardwareTrue Value · ~13.3 mi
EV charging — from Skull Creek · Ashley National Forest · UT — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger28.3 mi straight-line S — RMP Vernal (Vernal, UT) · Electrify America · CCS · 6 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 3 within 50 · 15 within 100 · 201 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)29.6 mi — Vernal, UT - Tesla Supercharger, Vernal
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO28.4 mi — TriCounty Health Dep, Vernal
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)28.3 mi — RAINBOW MAN DINOSAUR INN, Vernal, UT · 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 347509 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Skull Creek · Ashley National Forest · UT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletSkull Creek · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletGreens Lake · ~1.0 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletGreendale Overlook · ~1.6 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletCanyon Rim · ~1.7 mi NW · USFS
Open Skull Creek elsewhere
Other camps near Skull Creek
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Greens Lake~1.0 mi · fee
- Canyon Rim~1.7 mi · fee
- Red Canyon~2.5 mi · fee
- Greendale Campground~3.6 mi
The unit that manages Skull Creek
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Skull Creek are set by Ashley National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Kings Cabin at 8,740 ft, about 10 miles away. It sits about 1,294 ft higher 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 — Skull Creek
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 2026-08-21: no rate confirmed, and the two agency statements contradict each other. The Ashley NF page says only to see recreation.gov for the current fee. The rate table of recreation.gov listing 233819 -- the listing the forest page links -- shows $0.00 for a standard non-electric site in every season from 2023 through 2028, including the current 2026-05-15 to 2026-09-17 one, and the listing carries no advertised starting price; but the same listing's notices say the single site fee covers the cost of 1 vehicle and describe an extra-vehicle fee collected on site. We are NOT calling this free on a $0.00 row that the same page contradicts. Arrive with cash. The camp is inside the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, which also requires a Recreational Use Pass -- $5 day / $15 week / $35 annual, sold in person only, not online (https://www.fs.usda.gov/r04/ashley/recreation/flaming-gorge-national-recreation-area-0). Checked https://www.fs.usda.gov/r04/ashley/recreation/skull-creek-campground (last updated June 4, 2025) and https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/233819 .
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 Skull Creek
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 — Skull Creek
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Fire rules & restrictions →Reading your camp page →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 →