About this place
Sand Wash is where boaters put in to float the Desolation and Gray Canyons of the Green River. You need a permit to float it, at any time of year.
The river was crossed here long before the boaters came. A ferry ran from the 1920s until the early 1950s, and some of the old cabins from those days are still standing.
There are several basic campsites, and 4 bug huts you can book through recreation.gov. There are vault toilets, picnic tables and fire rings. There is no running water and no trash service.
The roads in are graded gravel. Good tires and a spare are a must, and you may have no phone signal if something goes wrong.
The facts
- Cost
- Camping fee not confirmed
- Stay limit
- 14 days
- Drinking water
- No, bring your own
- Toilet
- Yes, vault toilets
- Type
- Specific campsite
- Managed by
- Bureau of Land Management
Getting there
Two ways to the Sand Wash launch site. One is the Sand Wash Road off HWY 40, between Roosevelt and Duchesne. The other is through 9-Mile Canyon and the Wrinkles road, off HWY 6 at Wellington. Either way it is about 25 miles of dirt road once the pavement ends, and about 1.5 hours of driving.
Coordinates 39.839444, -109.914166
Open in Google Maps Agency page
What is near here
Nothing is close to this one. Everything below is a long drive away, and each line says how far.
- Ouray National Wildlife Refuge Directions
- Fred Hayes State Park at Starvation Directions
- Fantasy Canyon 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
- Myton, UT Directions
- Roosevelt, UT Directions
Roosevelt 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 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
You can camp here for 14 days. After that you have to move on, and 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.
Nothing in this guide sits within 25 miles of here anyway. The nearest one you could move to is Range Study Area, Utah — 65 miles in a straight line, but a 104 mile drive.
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.
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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.