Very High DemandReservation4 min read

Updated August 9, 2026

How to Get a Fossil Flats Permit

Twenty-seven primitive sites in Utah's newest state park, 20 minutes from Moab, at a third of what a Moab campground costs - and with no potable water at all.

Check Fossil Flats permit availability

$30 per vehicle, per night, plus $15 for an additional vehicle per night. The day-use pass is not required if you are camping in the campgrounds.

Permit Cost

1-14 nights

Duration

easy

Difficulty

About Fossil Flats

Fossil Flats Improved Primitive Campground is the primitive half of Utahraptor State Park, Utah's newest state park, on the Moab side of Highway 191. The park lists 27 sites, back-in and pull-through, each with a fire ring and a picnic table, with pit toilets in every loop and access to the dump station in the Gastonia Campground. The water situation is the thing to plan around. The park states directly that there is no potable water in the Fossil Flats Improved Primitive Campground, and that the water bottle filling station is at the Visitor Center. Arrive full. Rates are $30 per vehicle, per night, plus $15 for an additional vehicle per night. Only one camping unit per site, a maximum of 8 people per site, quiet hours 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., a 14-day limit, check-out at 12 p.m. and check-in at 3 p.m. A day-use pass is $15 per vehicle but is not required if you are camping in the campgrounds. Reservations go through Utah State Parks. Camping access is via the state park entrance from Highway 191, with Dalton Wells and Willow Springs roads reached from there - and the park asks you to camp only in designated sites with existing fire pits, and not to create new ones.

Utahraptor State Park took in the Dalton Wells and Willow Springs areas, which had been free-for-all dispersed camping outside Moab for decades. Fossil Flats is what replaced that: 27 designated primitive sites with fire rings, tables and pit toilets in every loop, at $30 a night per vehicle. For anyone who wants red rock near Moab without paying Moab prices or fighting the Arches and Canyonlands campground lotteries, this is the answer that has actually been built.

The Experience

Open desert benches with the Moab rim country standing around you and Arches just up the road. It is quiet in a way the Moab campgrounds are not, and the night sky here is the same one the national parks charge for. The catch is that this is genuinely primitive: a fire ring, a table, a pit toilet, and no tap.

Camping access to the primitive sites is via the state park entrance from Highway 191, with Dalton Wells and Willow Springs roads accessed through that entrance and connector roads - follow park signage. Fossil Flats has 27 sites, back-in and pull-through, each with a fire ring and a picnic table, and pit toilets in every loop. There is access to a dump station located in the Gastonia Campground, the park's developed RV campground. The park is explicit that you should camp only in designated sites with existing fire pits and not create new ones.

What to Expect

27 sites, back-in and pull-through, with a fire ring and picnic table each

Pit toilets in every loop, and access to the dump station over at Gastonia Campground

No potable water in the campground - the filling station is at the Visitor Center

$30 per vehicle per night, with a second vehicle at $15

One camping unit per site and a maximum of 8 people

Quiet hours 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., check-in 3 p.m., check-out 12 p.m., and a 14-day limit

Red rock and dark skies about 20 minutes north of Moab

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Permit Requirements

Camp only in designated sites with existing fire pits - do not create new fire pits

Only one camping unit per site

A maximum of 8 people per site

Quiet hours are 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.

There is a 14-day limit

Check-out is 12 p.m. and check-in is 3 p.m.

$30 per vehicle per night, plus $15 for an additional vehicle per night

A day-use pass is not required if you are camping in the campgrounds

Gear & Preparation

Required Gear

•All your drinking water. The park states there is no potable water in Fossil Flats; fill at the Visitor Center bottle filling station on the way in
•Firewood, since collecting is not an option in a state park
•Shade of your own - this is open Moab-area desert
•A stove as a backup to the fire ring, in case fire restrictions are in force
•A headlamp with a red mode for the night sky

Hazards & Safety

No potable water in the campground, in a desert where summer temperatures are severe

Moab-area summer heat with very little natural shade

Flash flooding in washes during monsoon season

Fire restrictions, which are common in this part of Utah through the summer

Highway 191 traffic on the approach, which is fast and busy in season

Best Time to Visit

Spring and autumn, the same seasons that fill every campground around Moab. Fossil Flats is a useful shoulder-season option precisely because it is newer and less known than the national park campgrounds up the road. Summer is hot with no water on site; winter is cold but very quiet, and the Visitor Center switches to off-season hours from 1 December, Tuesday to Sunday.

Pro Tips

Fill every water container at the Visitor Center bottle filling station on the way in. There is no potable water in the campground.

A second vehicle is $15 rather than a whole second site, which makes this cheap for a two-car group of up to eight.

Skip the day-use pass if you are camping - the park says it is not required for campers.

Camp only in designated sites with existing fire pits. The park asks specifically that you not build new ones.

The dump station is over at Gastonia, not at Fossil Flats, so plan the loop out accordingly.

Check-in is 3 p.m. and check-out is 12 p.m., which is tighter than the dispersed camping this area used to be.

This is the cheapest designated red-rock site near Moab by a wide margin, so it books earlier every season as more people find it.

Written by

PermitSnag Team

100+ wilderness permits, extensive backcountry experience

This guide is based on personal experience obtaining wilderness permits and is regularly updated to reflect current policies and strategies.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get a Fossil Flats permit?

Fossil Flats permits require advance reservations. Book online as soon as reservations open for your desired dates.

When is the best time to visit Fossil Flats?

How difficult is Fossil Flats?

Anyone using Moab as a base who wants a designated site with a fire ring at primitive prices, and who will carry their own water.

What gear do I need for Fossil Flats?

Essential gear includes: All your drinking water. The park states there is no potable water in Fossil Flats; fill at the Visitor Center bottle filling station on the way in, Firewood, since collecting is not an option in a state park, Shade of your own - this is open Moab-area desert, A stove as a backup to the fire ring, in case fire restrictions are in force, A headlamp with a red mode for the night sky.