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Watchman Campground – reviews, photos

Zion National Park, UT
Hotel amenities
Watchman Campground
4.0 of 5 stars 35 Reviews
24 October 2011 -
kmroeder
23 September 2011 -
pipercam

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35 reviews from our community

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Traveller rating
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Cedar City, Utah
Contributor
19 reviews 19 reviews
Reviews in 12 cities Reviews in 12 cities
19 helpful votes 19 helpful votes
“Enjoyed it!”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 24 October 2011
8
people found this review helpful

We wanted one more camping trip before we winterized our tent camper and chose to go to Zion National Park. We have visited the park twice now, but never camped until this weekend. Watchman is the only campground in the park that has a reservation service and offers some sites with electrical hook ups. We got lucky and managed to snag what I am sure was a cancellation reservation. The site we had (A002) had electricity and was very spacious. It was close to the restrooms and offered quick access to the visitor's center where you could catch the shuttle into the park. We had a picnic table and a fire pit. There was even enough room to park both our cars and the tent camper with room to spare. The site was not as private as we would like, but it wasn't bad. We could see our neighbors, but it was peaceful and quiet. You could hear the river which was soothing. The only noise issue we had was that we were close to the restrooms and you could hear the flush of the toilets. The restrooms are new and as my kids kept saying - "they are so nice!" They were cleaned what appeared to be twice a day. The only trouble we had with the restrooms was that there was one staff at one point in the afternoon that didn't have any toilet paper. No showers, however. And another thing I didn't like was that they didn't have any electrical outlets. There was a dish washing sink outside the restroom. We attended a ranger program that evening in the campground on Raptors and the park ranger (Kaitlyn) did a great job. Very interesting program. The outdoor theater had a great set up with good sound, a projector and ample seating. It is definitely a camp ground I would consider going back to, but it does book up. There is another campground that is on a first come, first serve basis and there appeared to be vacancies, but it does not offer any electrical hook ups.

  • Stayed October 2011, travelled with family
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 4 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 4 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
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Georgia
Contributor
12 reviews 12 reviews
Reviews in 8 cities Reviews in 8 cities
9 helpful votes 9 helpful votes
“2 nights and nasty bathrooms”
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 23 September 2011
5
people found this review helpful

The watchman campground is very convenient to the visitors center at Zion and the shuttle service for the park. Our campsite was roomy and level with a base of gravel which made it easy to level your tent, and rain drained away very nicely. Water was available at an outside faucet next to the bathrooms. The only downside to the Watchman was the bathrooms. The floor was constantly wet, dirty and dark regardless of the time of day. I would roll up the hem of my pants so they wouldn't touch the floor. Overall the campground was clean and regularly patrolled by rangers and was a good place for access to the shuttles.

Room Tip: Try for a campsite near the creek. Beautiful meadow across the creek, and red rock bluff overhead.
See more room tips
  • Stayed September 2011, travelled with friends
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 2 of 5 stars Cleanliness
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Atlanta, Georgia
1 review
1 helpful vote 1 helpful vote
“Zero privacy”
2 of 5 stars Reviewed 7 September 2011
1
person found this review helpful

The level of privacy similar to a New York City subway.

Stayed August 2011, travelled with friends
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Ogden, Utah
Reviewer
3 reviews 3 reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
2 helpful votes 2 helpful votes
“A pleasant stay, but hard ground for sleeping in a tent”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 23 June 2011
1
person found this review helpful

We enjoyed camping at Watchman Campground while we were in Zion National Park. I wish they would put in some showers, but there were nearby bathrooms (with no soap and an empty bottle of hand sanitizer sitting there). If fact, we were a little too close to the bathrooms. People from the group campsites were walking right next to our campground to get to them after we had already gone to bed. It was only annoying the first night though. Fewer people were using it as a walkway the next night. I must also say that the ground is extremely hard if you are sleeping in a tent. We didn't bring any additional padding besides an extra blanket, and we deeply regretted it and lost quite a bit of sleep due to discomfort. But, it is a well-maintained campground and we had no major complaints.

  • Stayed June 2011, travelled as a couple
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 3 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
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Mission, Kansas
Reviewer
5 reviews 5 reviews
Reviews in 5 cities Reviews in 5 cities
9 helpful votes 9 helpful votes
“Great location but sites are average”
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 22 May 2011
3
people found this review helpful

The sites in this campground are very close together, but the scenery is great and it is a short walk to the visitor center and Canyon and Springdale shuttles. The campground is under construction so we did not end up getting the site we reserved and were in a site with limited shade for much of the day. The new tent pad areas are gravel, which makes it a little hard to get tent stakes to stay in the ground.

The bathrooms are being replaced and are very nice. There is an ampitheater in the campground with evening programs. The park has water filling stations all over to avoid the use of plastic water bottles. They also have recycling containers for pretty much everything.

  • Stayed May 2011
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 4 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 3 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
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