Coral Pink Sand Dunes Campground

This state-park campground sits right at the edge of the coral-pink dunes, with 34 single-family sites tucked among juniper and pinyon pines. Sites 1 through 22 are dry camping, while sites 23 through 34 add water and electric hookups and longer pull-through driveways that handle larger RVs. Amenities cover the basics well: drinking water, flush toilets, hot showers, and an RV dump station on the property.

The setting is the draw, since roughly 90 percent of the dunes are open to off-highway vehicles, so ATV and dirt-bike riders fill the sand on busy weekends. Quieter visitors can hike, sandboard, or wander the conservation area set aside for non-motorized use. Because cell service is essentially nonexistent here, the nights stay genuinely dark, and the stargazing is excellent once the dunes go silent.

All sites must be reserved in advance through Utah State Parks, either online or by calling the park at (435) 648-2800; summer weekends book up fast. Reserve early if you want a hookup site. You will find the park southwest of Kanab off Hancock Road, a scenic detour into some of southern Utah's most unusual terrain.

It works well as a base for the wider region, roughly 40 minutes from Zion's east entrance and about an hour from Springdale, so you can ride the dunes one day and hike the canyon the next.