Red Cliffs Campground sits at the south end of Red Cliffs National Conservation Area, on Quail Creek below the I-15 corridor, in a small cottonwood-and-tamarisk floodplain where the creek emerges from the sandstone walls of the Cottonwood drainage. The access road from I-15 exit 22 dips under the freeway and through a low railroad tunnel — the height restriction (10 feet) and length restriction excludes most full-size RVs and any travel trailer of consequence. The campground is for tent campers, small campers, and the kind of vehicle that can clear ten feet of overhead.
The Tunnel That Limits the Crowd
The access tunnel is the campground's main quirk and its main charm. Because most RV traffic can't fit through it, Red Cliffs stays a small loop of mostly tent campers — a different culture from Sand Hollow or Quail Creek twenty minutes south. The 11 sites are arrayed along the creek, with the red sandstone walls of Cottonwood Canyon rising directly above. Cottonwood and tamarisk shade most sites in spring and summer.
Closure History
Red Cliffs has been closed and reopened multiple times in recent years for various reasons — flood damage to the access road, BLM infrastructure redesign, water-system upgrades, and the broader Red Cliffs Desert Reserve management plan revisions. As of the most recent BLM updates, the campground is operational on a seasonal basis, but anyone planning a trip should call the BLM Red Cliffs office or check the BLM page within a week of travel. The campground's status is the single most important piece of pre-trip verification for this site.
Climate and Season
The campground's elevation is low (3,300 ft) — desert. Summer daytime highs run 100 to 108. Spring and fall are the local sweet spots; winter is mild but the creek can ice briefly. The campground is officially year-round when open but services (water, host) run reduced in winter.
What You Walk From the Loop
Red Reef Trail leaves directly from the campground area — a 1.6-mile out-and-back wading walk into the slot of Cottonwood Canyon, with carved pothole pools that fill with snowmelt in spring and hold water through early summer. The trail involves wading and a short scramble up a smooth sandstone chute; family-friendly with the right footwear and conditions. Cottonwood Forks Trail extends the walk into the longer canyon system upstream — six-plus miles for a full day.
The Anasazi Trail, Owens Loop, and several other Red Cliffs NCA day-use trails are accessible from trailheads a short drive from the campground. The northern reach of Red Cliffs (the Babylon Arch / Silver Reef area) is a longer drive via I-15 exit 23 or 27.
For supplies, Leeds is a short drive on the freeway frontage road for a small grocery and gas. Hurricane is fifteen minutes south on the freeway for full grocery. St. George is twenty minutes southwest. Cell signal is reliable on the freeway side and patchier in the canyon itself.
If Red Cliffs is closed or full, BLM dispersed camping on the nearby Red Cliffs Desert Reserve roads is restricted (the Reserve has tighter rules than general BLM ground for desert tortoise habitat protection). Quail Creek State Park is the closest developed alternative, twenty minutes south on the freeway.