Kanab, Utah is one of my favorite towns in the American Southwest. Located just a few miles north of the Arizona state line, the population numbers only 4,000, which gives Kanab a small-town, “Mayberry RFD,” feel. Unlike Andy Griffith’s hometown, however, Kanab sits in red rock country and is nearly surrounded by multi-colored cliffs of limestone and sandstone. It also lies within the so-called “Grand Circle,” where you can find the nearby attractions of Bryce Canyon National Park, the Grand Canyon (North Rim), Zion National Park, and Lake Powell. In Kanab itself you can find the largest wildlife animal sanctuary in the country, the Best Friends Animal Society.
We are currently on a combined business and vacation trip in Utah. Last night we decided to stop and boondock on public land a little north of town on BLM 106, a partially paved and gravel covered road that roughly runs parallel with Highway 89. This location, which is administered by the Kanab BLM Field Office, is just a few miles north of the Moqui Cave and a few miles east of the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. The road is hard to find and is best done by locating the Peakaboo Trailhead so be on the lookout for signs to that trailhead. The area along BLM 106 is very quiet, though windy at times, and incredibly picturesque. At our campsite at 6,000 ft we are parked on a carpet of coral pink sand and surrounded by a forest of pinyon pines. There were only three other RVs that boondocked here last night and the closest one was more than two miles away.
BLM 106 (Old Highway 89) looking north.
Our campsite near sunset.
Our campsite looking north at sunrise.
View from our back window.
For those who need phone and Internet access, like myself, you can get anywhere between 2 to 4 bars of cell service through AT&T in this area. Temperatures ranged from a low of 40 to a high of 67, not too bad for early April. So if you’re passing through Kanab and need a place stay for a night or two, or even a week, this area might be worth checking out.
Mello Mike is an Arizona native, author, and the founder of Truck Camper Adventure. He's been RV'ing since 2002, is a certified RVIA Level 1 RV Technician, and has restored several Airstream travel trailers. A communications expert and licensed ham radio operator (KK7TCA), he retired from the U.S. Navy in 2004 as a CWO3 after 24 years, holds a BS degree, and now runs Truck Camper Adventure full-time. He also does some RV consulting, repairs, and inspections on the side. He currently rolls in a 4WD Ram 3500 outfitted with a SherpTek truck bed with a Bundutec Roadrunner mounted on top.
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Cool Thanks Mike!
https://goo.gl/maps/qf5bj
See if this one works – if it doesn't you can copy and paste it in your browser and it should work 😉 Thanks!!!
I don't see the dirt roads on that map, but I think that's pretty close.
Hey Mike – Thanks for posting this BLM location! Is this the location of BLM 106? Or am I way off? https://www.google.com/maps/place/37%C2%B009'17.1%22N+112%C2%B034'26.7%22W/@37.15475,-112.57409,312m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0
Sorry, Brian, your link doesn't work.