About this place
The Hogup Mountains stand at the northwest corner of the Great Salt Lake. It is rough going.
The range splits into two main ridges, divided by a large valley and by Big Pass, the high point of the road. The western ridge holds the highest peaks, Tangent Peak among them at 7,047 feet.
People lived here a very long time ago. Hogup Cave, on the southwestern side of the range, is one of the best-studied ancient sites in the Great Basin. It was used for thousands of years. Digs in 1967 and 1968 turned up moccasins, rabbit-fur robes, and pieces of darts and bows.
Motor vehicles may use the marked routes only. Nearly all of those routes need a high clearance four wheel drive.
People camp out here, walk, take photographs, ride and watch wildlife.
The facts
- Cost
- Camping fee not confirmed
- Roads around it
- Nearly every route needs a high clearance four-wheel drive
- Type
- Specific campsite
- Managed by
- Bureau of Land Management
Getting there
Utah SR 30 runs to Park Valley. From there a maintained gravel road heads south to Dove Creek Sinks and the Hogup Mountains.
Coordinates 41.46361111, -113.1369167
Open in Google Maps Agency page
What is near here
A few more of our own spots are within reach of this one, along with some better-known places.
- Hogup Cave Directions
- Cub Island Directions
- Gunnison Island Directions
- California National Historic Trail (NHT), Bidwell-Bartelson Route Directions
- California National Historic Trail (NHT), Hastings Cutoff Directions
Every distance on this page is the driving distance. A short distance can still take a long time. The road may be closed for the season, covered in snow, or washed out. Many of these roads are dirt. Plan your route before you leave home. Out here there is often no phone signal to look it up on the way.
Nearest town and supplies
- Snowville, UT Directions
- Hooper, UT Directions
Hooper is big enough that you’d normally expect fuel and somewhere to buy food. Nobody from here has been to check, so don’t count on it if you’re running low.
Why “at least”: this route is hard to measure. We worked the drive out twice, with two separate mapping tools, and they gave different answers. That usually means there is no road close to the campsite, so the drive doubles back a long way. The figure above is the longer of the two. The real drive could be further still, so check the route before you set off.
Why the drive to town is usually twice what the map says — what we found measuring every campsite in this guide.
When it’s time to move on
On most public land you can camp for 14 days before you have to move on. Check this site’s own limit before you plan a long stay. When you move on, the Bureau of Land Management usually wants you at least 25 to 30 miles away. So the free campsites closest to you are the ones you cannot use.
One in this guide sits inside that 25 miles. The nearest one you could move to is Wildcat Hills Designated Routes, Utah — 27 miles in a straight line, but at least a 37 mile drive.
Why “at least”: there is no road right at this campsite, so the drive is hard to measure and the real one could be further. Check the route before you set off.
This guide covers five states and does not list every free campsite, so there may be something closer that we do not hold. Check this site’s own rule before you rely on it.
Have you been here?
Fees and access change, and the records do not always keep up. If you have been, tell us what you found.
Thank you, that is recorded. It helps the next person.
Add road notes for this site
The thing we cannot get from any government record is what the drive in is actually like. If you have done it, this is the most useful thing you can leave behind. We read everything before it appears, and we print a first name with it if you give one.
Thank you. A person will read it before it goes on the page.
Where this information comes from
The description on this page is ours. The facts in it, and the fee and facility details below it, come from the Bureau of Land Management’s own records, read in August 2026.