Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedUnpriced · confirm
Upper Joes Valley Dispersed Site
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · UT · 39.34730, -111.26970
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 Upper Joes Valley Dispersed Site
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 7,362 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Upper Joes Valley Dispersed SiteNIFC · 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 Upper Joes Valley Dispersed Site · Manti-La Sal National Forest · UT
▲ your camp. Rings are 15, 30 and 60 straight-line miles; bearings are approximate and roads run longer.
Nearest of each
- ShShower12 mi
- FFuel14 mi
- @Mail14 mi
- GGrocery15 mi
- +Urgent care16 mi
- RxPharmacy16 mi
- HHardware16 mi
- MMechanic16 mi
- OOutfitter17 mi
- WWater21 mi
- DDump36 mi
- LLaundry38 mi
- AAir-up53 mi
- PPropane55 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 21-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 14 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 — Upper Joes Valley Dispersed Site
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
7,362 ft
State
UT
Coordinates
39.34730, -111.26970
Cost
Unpriced — no source gives a price; assume it may cost something and confirm before you go
Nearby & resupply — around Upper Joes Valley Dispersed Site · Manti-La Sal National Forest · UT (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureIndian Creek (stream) · mapped within 1.6 mi
- Nearest townOrangeville · ~14.2 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~3.8 mi
- FuelSinclair · ~16.3 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesFood Mart · ~15.2 mi
- PharmacySkyline Pharmacy · ~17.0 mi
- Hospital / clinicSanpete Valley Hospital · ~16.3 mi
Nearby restrooms — around Upper Joes Valley Dispersed Site · Manti-La Sal National Forest · UT — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomReeder Trailhead · ~1.9 mi S · USFS
- RestroomJoes Valley Fishing Site West · ~2.2 mi S · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletJoes Valley Fishing Site East · ~2.8 mi S · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletJoes Valley Pavilion Group Campground · ~3.0 mi S · USFS
Coming out here — Upper Joes Valley Dispersed Site · Manti-La Sal National Forest · UT
- Surface water mapped nearby: Indian Creek (stream). That is wash water at best, and nobody has checked it for you — a creek can be dry and a tank can be mud. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Assume no services at all. Most dispersed camping in a national forest has none: no tap, no power, no dump, often no toilet. Everything you need, you bring.
- Power: Dave carries his own — batteries or solar. A generator will run your rig and it is also the thing everybody camped near you can hear.
- Getting online: Dave recommends Starlink. He has had it since SpaceX introduced it, used it for four years living on the road, and it delivers as promised — several hundred nights out, and he can count on one hand the places he could not connect. The cable on his unit runs 150 feet, which is usually all it takes to find enough sky. Starlink → Referral link — Starlink pays Dave $100 in cash if you sign up through it, and that money funds this site and the next trip. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open Upper Joes Valley Dispersed Site elsewhere
Other camps near Upper Joes Valley Dispersed Site
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Joes Valley Pavilion Group Campground~3.0 mi · fee
- Upper Joes Valley Campground~3.8 mi · fee
- Pavilion B Group Site~3.9 mi · fee
- Indian Creek Group Campground~6.8 mi · fee
The unit that manages Upper Joes Valley Dispersed Site
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Upper Joes Valley Dispersed Site are set by Manti-La Sal National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Upper Joes Valley at 8,600 ft, about 5 miles away. It sits about 1,238 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 — Upper Joes Valley Dispersed Site
Source
public land records
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
USFS Recreation Area Activities, activity 'Dispersed Camping', pulled 2026-09-19: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/mantilasal/recarea/?recid=73382 || REVIEW 2026-09-24 (nightshift-verified): The recid URL above now 301s to the forest's recreation landing page (a made-up recid does the same). Live page https://www.fs.usda.gov/r04/manti-lasal/recreation/upper-joes-valley-dispersed-site (read 2026-09-24): Upper Joes Valley at ~7340 ft, 'just south of the intersection of Millers Flat Road and Lowry Water Road'; directions: FR 0014 north ~2.2 mi 'until just before the intersection with Lowry Water Road/FR 0038 on the east side of the road'. No potable water. APPROVED: the page describes the dispersed site and exactly where it is. The pin is 28 m from MVUM 50014 'MILLERS FLAT' and 77 m from 50038 'LOWRY WATER', which matches the directions. Not a duplicate: published #722 Upper Joes Valley Campground is 6 km south. No fee stated -> unpriced. Manti-La Sal alerts: the only live road closure is Black Canyon Road FS 2467 (to 2026-09-30), a different road; the Black Canyon Fire area closure was rescinded 2026-09-11.
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 Upper Joes Valley Dispersed Site
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 — Upper Joes Valley Dispersed Site
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Reading your camp page →All field notes →