Moving in on Memorial Day Weekend, finding a good site near Canyonlands and Arches national parks was not easy. We ended up needing to book one week in two different RV parks. Our first week is at Canyonlands RV Resort & Campground. We had to pay a pretty penny for this one due to its excellent location. It’s a decent campground but for the money, it feels crowded and lacking in some areas.

Nights: 7
RV Park Cost: $349 ($50/night)
Discounts Used: None
Address: 420 North Main Street Panguitch, Utah 84759
GPS: 38°17’55.7″N+111°24’10.5″W
Website: www.capitolreefrvpark.com

Pros

• Close to Arches & Canyonlands National Parks
• Close to numerous services, shopping, and restaurants
• Full hook ups including cable TV

Cons

• Expensive
• Iffy Internet
• Crowded narrow sites and lanes
• Limited amenities, not really a “resort”
• Very busy with guests
• Occasionally loud traffic sounds due to main street being a truck route.

Here we are parked at Canyonlands RV. Something of a squeeze to get them both in.

Arriving in the park we found a giant Class A had parked on its way out in such a way to block people coming in. Soon RVs were backed up all over the place trying to figure out how to get in creating quite a tangle. The lanes are quite narrow in the park making maneuvering difficult and the spaces are short such that tow vehicles stick out well into the lanes until they can de-couple.

Canyonland RV’s best feature is its location. It’s right on Main Street in Moab Utah which is a town big enough to have everything you need, but small enough to avoid having traffic issues. Pretty much any regular service you might need is within walking distance of the park and Canyonlands itself is just a short drive away. Close to adventure and high on convenience is exactly what you want in an RV park.

Trees make all the difference between a park and a parking lot.

The RV park is set back from the road, so despite being in the city proper it doesn’t  feel very urban inside. There are good sized trees on every lot which helps make the place attractive and feel a little more private. All in all, it’s pretty crowded and is a relatively large park but they avoid the parking lot feel many other RV parks fail to counter effectively.

For the number of people the park can host, the amenities are a bit lacking. Bathrooms are somewhat cramped with showers that are tiny stalls all next to one another in the bathroom. We found that even when marked as recently cleaned, the toilets remained dingy. The pool is very small and mostly shallow, better for kids than adults and it’s right next to the street. For a smaller park they would be fine, but considering it advertises itself as a resort, and charge a premium price, I was disappointed in what they had to offer.

A wading pool abutting Main Street does not a resort make.

Internet service at Canyonlands is typical. It works fine in the morning when the park is less full and most folks are out doing something else, but in the evening it becomes nearly useless and we are forced to use our mobile hot spots. The phone service is good so all our hotspots are available. I can’t really credit the park for that but it is nice.

All said and done I wouldn’t normally stay here. The price is steep, it’s crowded, and the amenities are limited. Unfortunately, we didn’t have many choices in the area this time of year and the location is very convenient. If you don’t mind the premium price, it’s a very decent park.