Navajo Lake Campground sits at 9,200 feet on the north shore of Navajo Lake, the third of the three USFS campgrounds spaced around the lake's perimeter. The loop has more of an open meadow-and-aspen feel than Spruces on the south shore — taller deciduous canopy mixed in with the conifers, more grass between sites, and a closer, more direct view of the lake from most pads. The boat ramp at the east end of the lake is a short drive from this loop.
The Middle Loop
Of the three Navajo Lake-area USFS campgrounds, Navajo Lake Campground splits the difference. It's smaller than Te-ah, larger than the older portion of Spruces, with more direct lake access than either. The loop is laid out for a mix of tent and small-RV traffic; some pull-throughs accommodate trailers up to thirty-some feet, the rest are back-ins.
A portion of sites are first-come-first-served, which matters in summer when reservations clear six months out. The walk-up policy gives last-minute campers a real shot mid-week, less so on weekends. Check the Recreation.gov listing for the current reservable-versus-walk-up split — it shifts by season.
Climate and Season
The same Markagunt Plateau pattern: late May or early June opening (snow-dependent), late September close, summer days in the sixties and seventies, summer nights in the forties dropping to thirties. Frost is normal by Labor Day. The aspen on the plateau turn in mid-September, and the late-September weekends are the local quiet-and-cold sweet spot before the loop closes.
Fire restrictions follow Dixie National Forest's seasonal posture. Stage 1 means rings only; Stage 2 means no flame at all.
What You Do
The lake is the headline. Trout fishing — rainbow, brook, and splake — stocked by Utah DWR. Bank fishing from several pull-outs around the campground; small-boat fishing with a 10-mph speed limit; kayak and float-tube use is widespread. Utah fishing license required for ages 12+.
Cascade Falls Trail is the regional short-walk classic — half a mile to the sinkhole where lake water disappears into a lava tube and reemerges as the headwaters of the North Fork of the Virgin River. The Virgin River Rim Trail passes along the south rim of the plateau for longer-distance hiking and equestrian use.
Within driving distance: Cedar Breaks National Monument is forty minutes west on UT-14 and UT-148 for the alpine amphitheater and bristlecone pines. Duck Creek Village is twenty minutes east for the closest re-supply, the small general store, and a couple of casual restaurants. Cedar City is forty minutes back down UT-14.
Loop Practicalities
Vault toilets, potable water spigots, picnic tables, and fire grates are standard across the loop. No showers, no dump station on site (the Cedar City RV parks are the closest dump options off the mountain). Cell signal is poor across all carriers; some sites get one or two bars on AT&T, others get nothing.
If Navajo Lake Campground is full, Te-ah (west end of lake, larger, more boat-ramp-adjacent) and Spruces (south shore, smaller, denser canopy) are the alternatives on the same lake. Cedar Canyon Campground is the next option down UT-14. Duck Creek Campground services the Duck Creek Village side. Dispersed USFS camping on the surrounding plateau forest roads stays open with standard 14-day rules.