Camp Sites | Sandthrax Campground
Hype:
The Sandthrax Campsite is a very convenient primitive camping area right next to the highway. It is located at the mouth of Sandthrax Canyon and is also close to the Leprechaun Canyons. Bathrooms are located five miles down the road at the Hog Springs rest stop. Please keep the area clean.
Time:
Fees: None
Recommended Ages:
 | 0-3 |
 | 4-11 |
 | 12-19 |
 | 20-49 |
 | 50-69 |
 | 70+ |
Recommended Months to Visit:
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Navigate to 38.016325, -110.531945.
By Jeremy Dye
Jeremy Dye, Anthony Dye, Ondylyn Wagner, Luke Galyan, Tracy Kwan, Tom Collins, Mark Burnham, Ryan Hone, Zach Hansen,
Friday, December 19 – Ondy met up with me at 5:00, and we drove down to North Wash together. About 10 miles south of Price, one of the trailer tires got annihilated. I noticed the trailer tugging a bit and pulled over to check things out, and noticed that all the rubber was missing.
My new truck didn’t have a jack in it, so we drove back to Price. I also forgot that the trailer had a spare tire, so we tried to find a tire store that was open. Everything was closed, so we checked Facebook Marketplace and made a bunch of requests. Nothing panned out, so we checked Walmart. We bought a jack, but they didn’t have any tires. That’s when I realized that the spare tire for the trailer was mounted on the back and I just hadn’t paid any attention to it. So we filled the truck with gas and drove back to the trailer on the side of the road. We put the spare tire on and drove down to North Wash.
We got there after 11:00. We set up the trailer and jumped in bed. Anthony borrowed Brennen’s trailer, so Luke and Tre slept in their truck. Ryan, Zack, and Mark slept in Brennen’s trailer. Tom slept in his truck. And Anthony, Ondy, and I slept in our trailer.
Saturday, December 20 – I had an awesome day canyoneering on our Winter Solstice trip. We started off the morning with french toast courtesy of Tom.
We did three canyons, starting with Burrly Canyon. We cruised through the first part. Some of the beta said the canyon was rated PG, but the routes we took were in the easy R category. Ondy was not in a good headspace and struggled a bit with some of the downclimbs. We really liked the big elevator near the end. On the exit hike, Mark and Anthony climbed up first then lowered the rope so the others could use it as a handline.
Once we got up on top of the fin, Ondy started getting vertigo really badly and really struggled with the heights. The walking part was wide, but it got slopey in spots and had huge drop-offs on both sides. We bunched up around her to block her peripheral view, and that seemed to help.
Back at the car, we ate lunch. Then we dropped into Swirly Canyon. Most of the canyon involved stemming quite high in the air, and the ground below was very squeezy. A few people chose the bottom route, and the rest of us stayed high. Near the end, there’s a big elevator climb to get down to the rappel point. The final rappel was between 250 and 300 feet tall. I went last and converted the rappel from a stone knot to a knot block with a pull cord. After I went over the edge, I tossed the pull cord, and it got stuck on some trees. Anthony untangled it, then we got the pull cord going the right way so I could drop straight down without twisting the two ropes together.
At the bottom, we started to pull the rope, and the pull cord broke with not very much tugging. We talked through our options and decided not to ascend the rope since there was a large extension of webbing at the top that would stretch during ascent and possibly damage the rope. So we all hiked back to the car instead, and Anthony and Ryan volunteered to do the canyon a second time to retrieve the rope.
On the exit hike, Ondy once again had a really hard time with the heights. At one point, she sat down with her head between her knees, just bawling. It was definitely a mind-game thing for her. The walking wasn’t tricky, but it was windy and cold and she kept getting in a bad headspace. I clipped a rope onto the waistband of my pack and let her hold onto that, and Tre and I distracted her while we hiked, letting her tell us about some of the recent dates she has been on.
Anthony and Ryan hiked ahead and descended Swirrly Canyon, retrieved the rope, and reversed the canyon. They said it was extremely annoying to pull up the extra-long rope from the pinchy rappel point.
Luke, Tre, and Ondy waited at the trailhead for Anthony and Ryan. The rest of us drove down the road to Burr Slot Canyon. It was nearing dusk and we had given our headlamps to Anthony and Ryan, so the four of us speed-ran Burr Slot.
We didn’t have any beta with us since this was an add-on, so we route-found our way to the head of the canyon. We stemmed through the upper section, then did some walking to get to the bottom narrows. The lower narrows were 100% stemming. We galumphed and stemmed as fast as we could until we hit a section about halfway down with two big silos. The second silo was too big to cross at height, so Mark and Tom dropped down and crossed the silos low. I was pretty tired by that point and didn’t think I could reverse the elevator, so Zack and I stayed put.
Tom stopped about 20 feet past us and then came back up. He climbed the point between the two silos, which looked incredibly tricky and physical. Mark went all the way to the bottom, then reversed everything. He climbed up too soon and couldn't cross the big silo to come back, so he had to drop down to the ground and then come back up. He was pretty winded by the end of it. I think that’s the first time I’ve seen him tired. He tried the elevator that Tom went up but didn’t like it, so he did the skinny one closest to us instead. We reversed back to the top of the bottom narrows. Then we exited and found a route up the nose to the rim. By that point, it was the last of our light. We road-walked back to the cars, where we met up with the other vehicle and drove back to camp.
At camp, we made pizzas in Luke’s pizza oven. That was a lot of fun. Then we talked and hung out in the trailer and played The Crew until late.
By Jeremy Dye
Jeremy Dye, Tara Dye, Savannah Dye, Madilyn Dye, Cooper Dye, Anthony Dye, Arianne Dye, Miller Dye, Kingston, Ondylyn Wagner, Killian Wagner, Calliope Wagner,
By Jeremy Dye
Jeremy Dye, Tara Dye, Savannah Dye, Madilyn Dye, Cooper Dye, Becca Miller, Brookelyn Powell, Summer Lyman, Anthony Dye, Miller Dye, Ondylyn Wagner,
Friday, May 24 - Summer, Brookelyn, and Becca met at our house at 2:00, and we headed down to Northwash for a weekend of canyoneering. Tara drove the van with all the girls, and Cooper rode in the truck with me. We took the trailer down. At the turnoff to Diamond Fork, I got a flat tire on the truck. The sidewall got a hernia and popped. We pulled over on the side of the road and jacked up the truck, took off the tire, and pulled out the spare. But the spare had a different wheel type that required recessed lug nuts, which we didn't have. So we were unable to continue. Luckily, we had two vehicles, so we loaded the flat tire and all the people into the van and drove back to Spanish Fork. We went to Discount Tire and conveniently I had purchased their tire protection plan, so they replaced the tire for only 40 bucks. They also gave us a bunch of lug nuts to use for the spare. Tara took the kids to Costco for ice cream while we were waiting for the tire to get replaced. As the kids finished eating, Savannah pulled out her mini go fish cards and they played a round. Then we loaded up the new tire and all the people in the van and drove back to the truck. We swapped out the flat and continued on our way. That put us a couple hours behind schedule but nothing too serious. It was surprisingly not stressful. We stopped in Green River for gas and dinner. We arrived at Sandthrax Campground around dusk. We leveled the trailer and got everything situated then hung out around the campfire. Anthony, Miller, Ondy, and a bunch of members of their groups shared a campsite with us. Anthony was canyoneering with Kevin and another family. Ondy was canyoneering with a co-worker, a former roommate and some other friends. We roasted s'mores.
Saturday, May 25 - We slept in until 8:00 and had breakfast of muffins and yogurt. We packed our lunches, water, and gear. Then we dropped off the van at the bottom of Leprechaun Canyon and took the truck up to the top. We did the East Fork of Leprechaun Canyon. It was the first time that any of the girls' friends had rappelled. The first rappel was a bit scary for them, but they all did great. We started the canyon at 9:45 and finished at 2:00. Cooper, Tara, and I explored up Middle Fork to the confluence of West Fork and Middle Fork just for fun. Back at camp, we had plenty of time after our canyon. We hiked up to the petroglyphs at Sandthrax. The kids played Canadian Salad. It got a bit windy and rainy, so we piled the six kids and eight adults into the trailer. The kids played Canadian Salad on the table, and the adults played Quiddler on the floor. The weather cleared up by dinner time, so we cooked hotdogs around the campfire. We played charades with the kids then sent them to bed around 9:30. The adults stayed up and swapped stories.
Sunday, May 26 - We had another leisurely morning, waking up around 8:00. We had breakfast of bagel sandwiches and packed up for another canyon day. The original plan was to do Hogwarts, but based on reactions to the 50 ft rappels on Saturday, we decided not to do the bigger rappels in Hogwarts. Instead we did the West Fork of Blarney Canyon, and everyone had a great time. The hike up went much quicker than we remembered, probably because the previous trip had several 2-year-olds on it. We rappelled the first drop and down climbed or lowered on all but one of the other drops. When we got to the bottom of the canyon, we met Anthony, Miller, Kevin, and Cozy coming up. They had done both forks of Shillelagh Canyon and were still going strong. Cooper asked if he could go with them, so we restocked his snacks and water and sent him up with their group. A couple minutes later, I decided to join them as well. We hiked up the East Fork of Blarney crossed over and came down the West Fork again. The kids did amazing, and it was an awesome day. Tara took the kids back to camp at 3:00, and the kids played games while Tara read her book. But then Summer threw up, so Tara had to clean up the mess while the kids evacuated the trailer. The girls went and played house over the hills and far away from camp. Summer wasn't feeling good and came back to take a nap. Cooper and I joined them around 6:30. Ondy's group did Monkey Business then came back to camp, but they were looking for a little bit more in the day, so Tara joined them and did the West Fork of Shillelagh Canyon. The kids played house in the cliffs. We fixed griddle pizzas for dinner. The kids played Truth or Dare around the campfire then went to bed around 10:00. Monday, May 27 - We fixed breakfast, packed up camp, and headed home, stopping at Stans for ice cream on the way. We also stopped at the Wolverton Mill in Hanksville and at Carl's Critter Garden. The girls really liked it.
By Jeremy Dye
Jeremy Dye, Tara Dye, Savannah Dye, Madilyn Dye, Cooper Dye, Ondylyn Wagner, Jaren Wagner, Killian Wagner, Calliope Wagner, Matt Laurendeau, Amanda Laurendeau, Alex Laurendeau, Caleb Laurendeau, Rose Laurendeau,
We camped at Sandthrax campground for 3 nights during fall break.
By Jeremy Dye
Jeremy Dye, Savannah Dye, Cooper Dye, Anthony Dye, Miller Dye, Ondylyn Wagner, Killian Wagner,
We camped at Sandthrax for two nights while doing canyoneering in the area.
By Jeremy Dye
Jeremy Dye, Tara Dye, Matt Laurendeau, Amanda Laurendeau, Kelly Carter, Linda Goddard,
We camped for one night at Sandthrax campground while canyoneering with some JDE coworkers. We had a fun time around the campfire on Friday night then cooked breakfast and packed up in the morning.
By Jeremy Dye
Jeremy Dye, Tara Dye, Savannah Dye, Madilyn Dye, Cooper Dye, Anthony Dye, Ondylyn Wagner, Killian Wagner, Matt Laurendeau, Amanda Laurendeau, Alex Laurendeau, Caleb Laurendeau, Rose Laurendeau,
We camped at Sandthrax for two nights while doing Slideanide Canyon and Shillelagy Canyon. The temperature at night was in the low 30s, so it was a bit cold. Savannah especially had a hard time sleeping and getting warm the first night. Tara, Cooper, and I slept in the bed of the truck.
By Jeremy Dye
Jeremy Dye, Tara Dye, Savannah Dye, Madilyn Dye, Cooper Dye, Ondylyn Wagner, Jaren Wagner, Killian Wagner, Shawn Wagner, Ryan Baker, Eliza Baker, Baker Kids,
We camped at Sandthrax Campsite for 3 nights over Memorial Day weekend while we canyoneered in the area. We split up and did the East and West forks of Leprechaun in two groups, we did Lucky Charms, Angel Slot, Angel Cove Slot (north and south forks), Main Fork of Maidenwater, and East Fork of Shelelagh. It was a fun-packed weekend.
By Jeremy Dye
Jeremy Dye, Tara Dye, Anthony Dye, Ondylyn Wagner, Marci Parker, Rick Maggio, Austin Mehlhoff,
We camped at Sandthrax Campsite Thursday night and Friday night when we did Horse Play Canyon, Woody Canyon, and Conundrum Canyon.
By Jeremy Dye
Jeremy Dye, Savannah Dye, Madilyn Dye, Anthony Dye, Arianne Dye, Miller Dye, Ondylyn Wagner, Killian Wagner, Kevin Christensen, Michelle Christensen, Ryan Baker, Baker Kids,
Tara came down with a bad cold, so she and Cooper stayed home while I took the girls. We got to camp at about 11:00 Friday night. I got the tent set up in the dark then tucked the sleeping kids in their sleeping bags. Saturday we did Hogwarts Canyon then Morocco Canyon, and Sunday we did Death Canyon.
By Jeremy Dye
Jeremy Dye, Tara Dye, Savannah Dye, Madilyn Dye, Cooper Dye, Anthony Dye, Arianne Dye, Miller Dye, Ondylyn Wagner, Shaylin Dye, Eric Burrows, Alex Woolsey, Tia Hammon, Kevin Christensen, Michelle Christensen, Kid Christensen, Austin Haacke, Rebecca Haacke,
We camped Friday night and Saturday night while we did Blushing Bride Canyon and Left Fork of Blarney Canyon.
By Jeremy Dye
Jeremy Dye, Tara Dye, Savannah Dye, Anthony Dye, Brenen Dye, Shaylin Dye, Alex Woolsey, Nathaniel Booth, Jeff Bates, Ash Burton,
I don't know if it was especially busy because it was St. Patrick's Day weekend, but the whole area was packed. We managed to claim the last patch of ground in the campsite. There were people everywhere. We camped Friday night after stopping at Little Egypt on the way down. Then on Saturday, we did Shenanigans Canyon and the East fork of Leprechaun Canyon.
Camp Sites: Butler Canyon Primitive Camping
Canyoneering: Maidenwater Canyon, Middle Fork
Fun Places: 
Hiking: 
Primitive Camping
No Drinking Water
Road Access is Dirt - Low Clearance
Access Road is 2WD Accessible
Fire Rings