Thousand Lakes RV Park in Torrey, UT: Campground Review + Photos
Close to Capitol Reef National Park, the Thousand Lakes RV Park in Torrey, Utah, is an excellent option for those looking for scenic RV sites, cozy cabins, and upgraded tent spaces on their vacation.
Despite the relative remoteness of this entire area of Utah, Thousand Lakes makes for a good base from which to visit the national park, Hanksville, Goblin Valley State Park, Scenic Byway 12, and the Bentonite Hills.
In the review below, you’ll find everything you need to know about this campground from site photos to an overview of the property’s amenities.
We camped here on our multi-week road trip from South Carolina to Montana, and it worked well for this portion of our time within the Utah Mighty 5.
The location of the campground, the surrounding scenery, and the on-site amenities are what led me to book here, and, now that we’ve stayed, I highly recommend it to other families exploring this part of the Beehive State.
RVs in Thousand Lakes RV Park backed up to the incredible views of the Waterpocket Fold
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Camping in Torrey, Utah: What to Consider
If you really want to get away from it all (while not being too far from a hot meal), Torrey, Utah, is the place to go.
The small town is an hour from Interstate 70 to the west and nearly 2 hours from the next closest on-ramp to the east.
It’s located on Highway 24, one of the prettiest—and most remote—roads in the entire state, so you’re not going to happen upon the town or the campground casually.
Torrey proper has a handful of restaurants, a downtown that covers a few blocks, and no real grocery store to speak of, so come prepared.
What it does have are incredible views of the layered red and orange sandstone that this area is known for, very little cell service, and plenty of peaceful spots.
Since Torrey and the surrounding area is so rural and remote, you don’t have a lot of options on where to camp. Capitol Reef National Park, which is 10 miles to the east of Thousand Lakes RV Park and the town of Torrey, is Utah’s least visited national park.
As a side note, it’s a shame that there aren’t more visitors who was willing to make the trek off of I-70 to see the park, and I highly encourage you to do Capitol Reef with your family! Check out my comprehensive guide to visiting Capitol Reef National Park with kids for what to expect and how to plan your time.
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Other Camping Options Nearby
Capitol Reef National Park does have camping within its borders, including a front country campground (Fruita) and 2 backcountry campgrounds.
However, these fill up very quickly between March and October, and they lack individual RV hookups.
PIN ME!
For my family, we enjoy having a pool or playground, bath house, and other cushy amenities when we travel, so we tend to look to places outside of the national parks.
Elsewhere in Torrey, and outside of Capitol Reef, there are a couple of other RV campgrounds that do offer sites with hook-ups.
Sand Creek RV Park and Campground has similarly wonderful views to Thousand Lakes RV Park, and the two are located very close to one another. However, I didn’t think that Sand Creek was as kid-friendly since it didn’t have a pool or playground available.
Wonderland RV Park, on the other side of Torrey, has arguably the better lots, thanks to the large trees scattered throughout. It didn’t have a pool or playground, nor did it have the gorgeous red rock views that Thousand Lakes offers. I did come very close to booking here, but the amenities at Thousand Lakes pushed me to ultimately choose that one for us.
Even closer to Capitol Reef is the Beas Lewis Flat Dispersed Camping. If I was camping by myself, and wanted endless views, this is the place to go. However, you’ll need to be self-sufficient as it is completely dry camping. That, combined with the fact that we were staying for several days in our camper without the ability to bring adequate water for that long, kept me from even attempting this.
Ultimately, Thousand Lakes RV Park hit the sweet spot for our needs on this leg of our trip. It was close enough to everything we wanted to see, had incredible scenery, included multiple kid-friendly activities and amenities, and had on-site food and souvenirs.
Thousand Lakes RV Park Campground Review
Wind chimes and the view from the front porch of the camp store
We stayed at Thousand Lakes RV Park for several nights in June as part of our long road trip from South Carolina to Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Montana, and South Dakota.
This stop was just after our time in Moab at the Sun Outdoors Canyonlands Gateway and just before our visit to the Bryce Canyon R Journey in Cannonville, both of which I also recommend if you’re doing a tour of the Utah Mighty 5 national parks with your kids.
The property backs up to the Waterpocket Fold, a large fin of rock that runs roughly parallel to Highway 24 and through Capitol Reef National Park.
If you’re here to go to Capitol Reef, and I hope you are, you’ll get a little taste of what the park looks like when you stay here.
>> Check out all of my free resources for planning a visit to Capitol Reef National Park here. <<
Check-in Process
Showing up to a new campground is always a bit stressful as you hope that what you saw online matches the reality of the place.
We navigated to the entrance of Thousand Lakes easy, and followed the posted signs on the property to the check-in area.
You register inside the camp store, so I waited for the employee to finish another customer’s purchase. She was quick to welcome me in, show me my site on a map, and let me know what was available on-site and in the store.
We then found our site without any issues since the campground is neatly laid out in rows.
They don’t have someone take you to your site here like the KOA campgrounds do, but the front desk employee’s directions were more than enough to get us into our site.
Views from site M-4
Individual Campsite Review
During our stay, we were in site M-4, which is to the far right of the property. I believe these are technically intended for big rigs since they’re so long, but we saw a mixture of Class A’s and travel trailers in them.
I booked this property fairly late in my planning process, so there weren’t a lot of spots left other than this one.
Now that I’ve stayed here, the lots on this row were great since they’re pushed far back from the pool and playground, and are very quiet.
However, they don’t have much of a view other than the grass and shrubbery on the property’s edge. (More on the sites with the best views below.)
We had a trash can and one of the restrooms/laundry buildings at the end of our row, which was convenient throughout our stay.
There is a small grass buffer between the lots here and no trees, so you don’t have a ton of privacy. However, we were able to push our trailer back towards the edge of our lot so we were more staggered between the travel trailer to our right and the motorhome on our left.
Campground Layout
The campground is laid out like a big square with the majority of the sites running north-south in 5 rows. We stayed on the row furthest to the right, while the camp store, pool, playground, and on-site grill are located next to the row furthest to the left.
Since these were on the other side of the campground from us, we had to walk a tiny bit to get to them, but, since the campground isn’t huge, getting to the pool might have taken 3 or 4 minutes from our site.
There is a large green space behind the camp store, and the rest of the amenities are clustered around this. In the evenings after we’d hiked and explored around the national park, it was fun to come back to families playing soccer in the field, kids swinging on the playground, and people splashing in the pool.
Bookending the green space are the tents (between the camp store and the field) and the cabins (on the far end of the green space away from the store).
The tent spaces have a fence behind them to keep some of the noise of the office away, and there are large trees to provide shade on each site.
The 5 cabins are adorable, and they have glimpses of the red rock fin between the last row of campers.
There are an additional 4 cabins in the front right corner of the property near overflow parking if you’d like to get away from this busy area of the campground.
If you want to see the gorgeous red rock cliffs behind the property and you’re staying in a camper, choose one of these sites:
1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13
50-58
D1-D3 (D3 is next to the trash cans, FYI).
All of these are back-in lots.
If you’d like a pull-through spot, there are 3 rows of them. Select any of the sites from 23-40.
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Campground Amenities
Camp store
In the main building at the front of the campground, you’ll find a camp store near the check-in area.
It has drinks and snacks, ice, pool toys, small souvenirs, and lots of t-shirts and sweatshirts. There are some food staples here like bread, ramen, and milk, but expect to pay a premium since you’re so far away from any other grocery store. (There’s a tiny grocery store in town with prices nearly as high. You can find a larger store, Royal’s Market, in Loa about 15 miles away.)
Pool
When we’re traveling, my kids’ one request is to have a pool, lake, or stream to splash around in, and I do my best to find one!
There is a pool here, which weighed heavily in my decision to book here, but it’s nothing spectacular.
In fact, it is one of the smallest pools that we’ve found on our travels, and it felt crowded with about 2 dozen people in it.
That didn’t deter my kids, who asked to go back every day we were there.
It’s only open in the summer and it isn’t heated. The nights here can get chilly even in the summer, so be aware of that.
Playground
The Camping Kiddos on the playground
There is also a playground on the green behind the camp store, and, while it wasn’t huge, it provided enough entertainment for my kids after they were done with the pool.
There is a slide and swings and other basic playground equipment.
If you’re waiting for a seat at the restaurant, this is a good option if your kids have the wiggles.
Restaurant
The Torrey Grill and Barbeque opens up daily during peak season to serve both breakfast and dinner (Wednesdays are breakfast only).
It’s rustic with a handful of picnic tables under a semi-enclosed wooden structure, but that’s part of the charm.
You can get steaks, fish, chicken wings, and spare ribs along with a variety of sides like loaded mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and baked beans.
Basketball Court
Right by the entrance to the park is a basketball court.
It’s not sparkly and new, but it is a good place for kids to play and meet new friends while they’re staying here.
Bring your own ball or ask in the office for one.
Bath Houses
There are 3 bath houses on the property: one near the pool, one attached to the camp store, and one on the row that we stayed on.
The bath houses are kept very clean, and even though the fixtures weren’t super luxurious, these were some of the nicer bath houses that we experienced on our entire 8-week trip out west.
I liked how each shower area was in its own room, which is so much nicer than being in a stall in a more open floor plan.
Jeep Rentals
If no road trip is complete without the wind in your hair, the campground also has Jeep rentals on-site.
I love this option for how easy it is to pick up and drop off (i.e. you just you walk over from your campsite).
They have both 2 and 4 door Jeeps, which run between $215 and $250 before tax per daily rental. While the campground itself doesn’t handle the rentals, they partner with a local company who handles all of the details.
Ask at the front desk for more information and to schedule your pick up.
NOTE: If you’re planning on doing Cathedral Valley while exploring Capitol Reef National Park, you’ll want a high clearance vehicle, and the Jeeps are a good option.
Final Thoughts on Thousand Lakes RV Park
The campground at sunset
I loved our time here and highly recommend it to other parents planning a similar stop at Capitol Reef National Park and the surrounding area.
The campground is clean and well maintained with plenty of amenities to keep you busy when you’re not out at one of the local attractions.
Plus, with its beautiful location, this campground stands out among the crowd, and it is definitely not a cookie cutter experience!
Thanks to its on-site restaurant, large lots, clean bathrooms, and kid-friendly amenities, it’s no wonder that it made my list of best RV camping at the Utah national parks.
