Sun Outdoors Salt Lake City: A Review
Finding a campground that’s close to everything a city has to offer can be difficult, but the Sun Outdoors Salt Lake City has nabbed a location near downtown that can’t be beat.
Any kind of urban camping comes with its own challenges—navigating down side streets and highway exits, road noise, and limited tree cover—but the Sun Outdoors Salt Lake City does its best to provide an oasis among the traffic and bustle of Utah’s biggest city.
Located just off of I-215 in North Salt Lake City, this campground was our home base while we were exploring downtown, Big Cottonwood Canyon, Thanksgiving Point, and beyond.
If you’re looking for a very convenient campground near the airport, major points of interest, and hiking trails, this might be the place for your next visit.
In the review below, you’ll find everything you need to know to evaluate the Sun Outdoors Salt Lake City campground from overviews on the amenities to photos I took while we were there.
One of the rows of campers in the Sun Outdoors Salt Lake City
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Camping in Salt Lake City, Utah: What to Consider
The Salt Lake-Ogden-Provo metro area is massive.
As in, you’ll drive through dense city traffic for more than an hour before you actually get to Salt Lake City.
Because of the overall sprawl around downtown Salt Lake City, there aren’t a lot of camping options. What might have been a campground or more rural area 20 years ago has been absorbed into the metropolitan area that is now Salt Lake City.
So, this means that you either stay in one of the more centrally located campgrounds, complete with road noise and all of the things that city camping comes with, or you drive for 30-60 minutes from outside of the city and fight traffic.
Other Camping Options Nearby
All of that being said, there are very limited options to camp anywhere near Salt Lake City, and this was one of the hardest areas to plan for as we worked our way towards Bannack State Park and Glacier National Park in Montana from doing the Utah Mighty Five national parks with my kids.
We ended up settling on the Sun Outdoors Salt Lake City primarily for its location, but here are the other 2 campgrounds I considered.
Salt Lake City KOA
The Salt Lake City KOA is one of only 2 campgrounds within the larger Salt Lake City metro area.
I strongly considered this campground, especially since the KOAs that we’ve stayed in previously tend to be reliable with great amenities for my kids.
However, the Salt Lake City KOA is south of downtown, placing it within an even busier part of the city than the Sun Outdoors Salt Lake City, which is in North Salt Lake City.
I wanted to stay close to the city while still making our departure morning as easy as possible, which is why I ultimately chose the Sun Outdoors location.
Still, the Salt Lake City KOA has excellent reviews on RVLife’s Trip Wizard (my go-to RV trip planning tool), and I would definitely check this one out whenever we’re in the area again.
Great Salt Lake State Park
The only other viable option for our time in Salt Lake City was this state park, which is to the west of the city. Google maps says its about a half hour drive, but the SLC traffic will definitely stretch that out.
This option is much less expensive than the Sun Outdoors or the KOA, but it was also further away from everything I wanted to do in the city.
Plus, the campground here is really small (5 lots) and is located just off of the marina. All of the reviews I read said it didn’t have the feel of a campground, nor did it have a lot of kid-friendly amenities.
While it would’ve been fun to see the Great Salt Lake on this trip, the Sun Outdoors Salt Lake City better fit the goals of our time here.
Sun Outdoors Salt Lake City Review
The entrance to the campground with the main office to the left and several cabins to the right
We stayed at the Sun Outdoors Salt Lake City for 3 nights in between our time at the excellent Zion Canyon Campground and RV Park in Springdale, Utah, and Mountain View RV Park in Arco, Idaho.
This was our second time staying at a Sun Outdoors (the other was at the Sun Outdoors Canyonlands Gateway in Moab, Utah), and I wanted to see how this franchise member stood up to our previous experience.
NOTE: We’ve enjoyed our time at all of the Sun Outdoors campgrounds, including the Sun Outdoors Saco Old Orchard Beach in Maine! The franchise group is quickly becoming one of our to-go places to look for sites on our trips.
Overall, I love how well labeled everything is in these campgrounds and how nicely the campgrounds are laid out. They usually have excellent amenities and clearly defined (if small) lots.
Here are some of my Utah planning resources to help you out:
Check-in Process
The main office, or as it is called at this campground, the welcome center
We arrived at the Sun Outdoors in mid-afternoon, a few hours after check-in began for the day.
There wasn’t anyone else in line for check-in, so we followed the available signage to park while I ran into the office.
The lady working the desk was efficient and quickly ran through my paperwork and the location of my site.
She noted that the security gate bar had been acting up that day, but provided instructions on how to use it once it was fixed.
Overall, check in was quick and easy.
Individual Campsite Review
The site that we were assigned at the campground
We had another employee escort us to our lot, D-10, which was located on the road furthest from the office and closest to the interstate.
We did hear some road noise because we were so close. This was most noticeable when we were outside grilling or hanging out in our camp chairs.
All of the sites here are pull-through sites on a diagonal, so getting into them is incredibly easy.
The site had a paved pad, so we barely needed to level our Winnebago travel trailer at all.
There were full hook-ups here, and the water spigot and electrical tower were both clean and free of bugs and spiderwebs.
The electrical tower also had a built in night light of sorts, so you could easily locate your site number if you were arriving after dark.
We did have a small tree at the edge of our lot. It provided some greenery, but not a lot of shade.
As with most of the private campgrounds we’ve stayed in, the lots are small, though the lack of shrubbery here really highlighted just how small they were.
We weren’t here to stay in the camper, so we spent less time lounging here than we usually do just because we were so busy with our activities around Salt Lake City, including hiking to Donut Falls in Big Cottonwood Canyon.
Our site was close to one of the bath houses, which made showers for the kids easy.
On the row across from us that butted up against the fence at the edge of the property were what were clearly long term residents of the campground.
We didn’t have any issues with any of the guests here—long term or those just passing through like us—as the campground was peaceful throughout our stay. The long time rigs, though, did look worse for the wear, and that row was a distinct departure from the rest of the tidy, well kept campground.
One odd thing that happened while we were there was a distinct smell of sewage that came and went.
In RVing, you’re always worried about having issues with your black tank, and that was where I went first. But it wasn’t our rig having the issue.
We tried walking around to see if there was a specific area or camper that was the root cause, but it seemed almost as if a drain had burst somewhere off property or the smell was being wafted in by the wind.
The smell wasn’t so strong or consistent that it drove us into the camper, but it was distinctive enough that my dad and kids both noted in on multiple occasions.
Cabins
One of the cabins and several RVs in the campground
The Sun Outdoors Salt Lake City also has cabins available for vacation rentals.
There are 29 cabins in total. Cabins 1-12 are located near the office along the shorter road that runs along the right side of the property.
Cabins 13-18 cap the ends of the 6 rows of RV sites, and cabins 19-28 are at the lower left side of the property on a cul-de-sac of their own.
Cabin 29 is off by itself on the left end of the top row of RVs. It backs up to the fence near I-215.
While we didn’t rent one of the cabins, so I can’t speak to what the inside of each looks like, we did notice that they were popular. During our short visit, the cabins were nearly fully booked.
They look similar to the deluxe cabins at KOA, which are bigger and include ensuite bathrooms and a small kitchen.
These might be a good option if you’re visiting Salt Lake City and want an alternative to the traditional hotel room.
Campground Layout
The campground is laid out like a large loop. If you imagine the loop to be more like a rounded square, the office is at the bottom right corner.
Just a few steps from the office are the sports areas, community fire pit, pool, and playground.
The loop is then sliced horizontally by 6 roads, each of which has between 18-24 camper sites.
Running along the bottom of the campground is the Jordan River and access to the Jordan River Parkway trail.
A dog park is located on the far left of the campground.
The campground is fully fenced in, which adds a layer of security to staying here.
Campground Amenities
While this campground wasn’t as packed with things to do in comparison to the original KOA in Billings, Montana, or Lakewood RV Resort in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, we still had more to do here than we could squeeze into our already packed trip.
Bath Houses
Shower area in the bath house
There are 4 bath houses scattered around the property. They’re all on the edge of the campground, so keep that in mind if you’re booking one of the sites mid-way along the rows.
Each bath house is divided into 4 shower rooms, each with its own entrance, lockable door, toilet, large tiled shower, and sink area.
It seems like the newer campgrounds, and those that have recently remodeled, are going towards the individual shower rooms over the more traditional shared sink space, toilet stalls, and shower stalls.
I do like how much room the individual shower rooms have, but these rooms don’t get as warm while we’re showering, and, since there’s no real division between each area of the room, I have to work harder to keep our clothes from getting splashed.
The additional privacy is nice, and I’m almost guaranteed to not have to listen to other campers sing in the shower or their romance audiobooks on full blast.
My son at the pool late one afternoon
Pool
The pool is the amenity to have according to my kids.
We love to spend our days busy with hiking and sightseeing, and then hang out by the pool in the evenings.
It’s the perfect way for me to catch up on my website work or read a book while my kids get those last bits of energy out before dinner and bedtime.
The pool here is behind the office, though there is a separate entrance. You’ll be provided with a key code at check-in for pool access.
The pool itself was clean and well looked after, just like all of the other areas of the campground.
There were several families in the pool on the days we visited, but the space is large enough that we never felt crowded.
On the pool deck, you can relax in the loungers or have a snack at the umbrella-covered table and chairs.
Bike Rentals
Surreys waiting to be rented at the front office
You can rent bikes and surreys to take out onto the Jordan River Parkway Trail, all without leaving the campground.
Ask at the office for availability and to rent, but there didn’t seem to be a rush for these while we were there.
Basketball Court
If the pool isn’t your family’s thing, you can get a pickup game going over on the basketball court.
My kids aren’t really into sports, so we didn’t make sure of this area of the campground, but the court stayed busy with the older kids here throughout our stay.
Playground
The playground equipment with gaga ball pit
There is a small but still fun (according to my kids) playground here.
It’s located right next to the office and just around the corner from both the pool and the basketball courts.
Here, you’ll find a slide, a couple of swings, a little climbing wall, and a gaga ball pit.
Laundry Room
If you need to do laundry while you’re here, there is a laundry room attached to the office building.
As always, I had to do laundry during our stay, and having the laundry near the pool was really helpful.
I was able to start the load on the way to the pool and then move it over after my kids were done there.
Then, coming back to pick up my clean clothes was a short trip from our site. The campground is well light at night.
Community Fire Pit
The campground’s fire pit with colorful chairs
Located near the office, the community fire pit is a great option for meeting new friends and enjoying a beautiful sunset.
There aren’t individual fire pits at the sites here, so if you want the classic experience of roasting marshmallows, you’ll have to bring your s’mores supplies here.
There are Adirondack chairs available around the fire pit.
Final Thoughts on the Sun Outdoors Salt Lake City
The campground is well marked, which we found helpful.
Was this my favorite campground that we’ve ever stayed at?
Not really.
Would I stay here again?
Probably, but only if I was passing through the city and needed a quick night’s stop.
Between the strange sewage smell that came and went and the road noise from the highway, the Sun Outdoors Salt Lake City didn’t have the best atmosphere.
Part of that (the road noise, at least) isn’t really their fault.
The location is really convenient to downtown Salt Lake City, and I know that comes with road noise, but some of that noise perhaps could be cut down with the addition of trees and shrubs.
If I did stay here again, I’d ask for a site that was closer to the office on the other side of the campground near the Jordan River.
We did love the kid-friendly amenities that were provided as part of our stay, including the bike and surrey rentals, fire pit, sports area, and pool.
If you’re looking for a quick stop off of the interstate that’s close to all that SLC has to offer, this might be the campground you’re looking for.
