Wide Hollow Campground

Lakeside camping with petrified wood and good fishing

(49)

Escalante, UT

About

Wide Hollow Campground is the overnight hub of Escalante Petrified Forest State Park, located 1.5 miles west of Escalante off Highway 12. The campground sits beside Wide Hollow Reservoir, a small lake stocked with rainbow trout and bluegill — a quiet surprise in a region most people think of as purely desert canyon country. It's about 35 miles east of Bryce Canyon's entrance, making it a reasonable base for the Bryce corridor and an excellent staging point for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Sites and Hookups

The campground has 22 single sites plus one accessible site. A handful of sites (including sites A, C, D, 20, 21, and 22) have electric hookups; the rest are dry camping with water access nearby. A newer section added in 2024 offers more open, less shaded spots, while older sites have more tree cover. Flush toilets, showers, and a sanitary dump station are on-site.

Activities

Fishing and non-motorized boating on Wide Hollow Reservoir
Rainbow Loop Trail through the petrified forest — short, accessible hiking with exposed petrified wood
Direct access to Grand Staircase-Escalante NM trailheads nearby

Reservations

Sites can be reserved through Utah State Parks via ReserveAmerica. Summer weekends fill early — book ahead if visiting July through Labor Day. The park is generally open year-round, though winter conditions vary.

Reviews (49)

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4.3

49 reviews

Google Reviews

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Katie Tuckett

a month ago

Very clean and updated across the campground. Very nice clean bathrooms. Right next to reservoir and out of town, but still close enough to easily go in to Escalante. No light pollution at all so the night sky was amazing!!

Philip Trautmann

8 months ago

Gregg Kenney

8 months ago

I don't recommend the tent only sites. They are packed together very tightly and don't have much room on them to pitch a tent. I measured nine feet between my tent and the person sleeping next door. Our site (5) had about half of the available tenting area covered in thick red canyon mud from flooding. The pad under the pavilion was also covered. It looks like site 4 also floods. This season also featured a camp host who had two loud barking dogs, vacuumed at 10pm (??), and had a heater that kicked on loudly for three seconds and then off for eleven seconds. All night long..... Many of the RV sites would have more privacy and space to pitch a tent. The showers were nice.

Orazio Marletta

10 months ago

We enjoyed a wonderful "Full Hookup" location directly across from the lake. A magical place with incredibly friendly staff and the company of charming ducks and Canada geese. Spotless bathrooms and impeccable overall cleanliness. The beauty of the place makes you never want to leave.

Naomi Aylwin

10 months ago

Lovely campsite! Newly renovated with sheltered picnic tables and great bathrooms.