We love that we can change plans quickly while traveling full-time. And we tend to see the cooler things at places we weren’t expecting to visit, like this time at Dinosaur National Park! BUT, we changed plans without sticking to our travel rules which didn’t go well. Join us on our journey through Utah and Colorado to see what we found!

Where We Stayed⛺🗺️📌

UFO Valley Campground (iOverlander)

As close as you can legally get to Skinwalker Ranch. Small private campground. Dry camping, but they do have a small dump station. Each campsite has a picnic table and a firepit along with trash receptacles.

We stayed there for $40 a night, right by the “infamous” mesa. They also have ATV tours of the mesa for additional fees. I originally thought it was pretty expensive for a no-hookup campsite but very glad we chose to stay. And will definitely stay again.

Weird stuff happens, and even happened to us and we just stayed 2 nights. You do need to reserve online. Limited to no cell service, so be prepared.

Also, sites are not long – check per site for the max length. We’re in a 25′ truck camper and there were a few sites we would have struggled to get into. But totally worth the experience.

Colorado Rest Areas are NOT for Overnight Stays

Our biggest takeaway on this trip was that you can NOT stay overnight any any Colorado rest area. I made the mistake of not checking this before, and the first 4 options were rest areas. We ended up traveling much longer to find a site that we could legally sleep overnight.

BLM Spot outside near Colorado River (near DotZero, CO) – (iOverlander)

This was the final spot we found to park for the night. A small area not far from the interstate that was surprisingly quiet. There were a LOT of people that stayed overnight but by mid-morning nearly everyone was gone, and it was a very quiet evening. I’d definitely stay there again, but I’m glad we got there before everyone else – we were able to back into a little area where we had the most privacy and a great view of the river.

Our Camping Locations 🛻⛺

If you’re interested in seeing all the places (overnight, dining, sightseeing) as well as FREE boondocking locations we’ve been to, check out our Google Maps travel map! Enjoy!