Duck Creek

Duck Creek Campground is located 25 miles east of Cedar City, Utah, resting beneath a sheltering canopy of ponderosa pine and aspen. Visitors enjoy fishing in Duck Creek Pond and nearby Navajo Lake, exploring the Markagunt OHV Trail System and the many miles of non-motorized trails. It is a good base if your plans include visiting Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks. Duck Creek Pond offers great fishing for rainbow, brook, brown and cutthroat trout. The Markagunt ATV Trail System can be accessed from within the campground, offering about 300 miles of ATV/OHV routes and trails for riders of all skill levels. The Virgin River Rim Trail is a very popular 32-mile non-motorized trail skirting the rim with views of Zion National Park in the distance; it can be accessed in several locations within a few minutes' drive and is enjoyed by bicyclists, horses and foot travel. Duck Creek offers a variety of campsites for families and groups alike. Flush and vault toilets are provided, as is drinking water from Memorial Day through mid-September. An amphitheater with a covered stage and plentiful bench seating is located in the campground. There is an OHV parking area on the northeast corner in Loop D between campsites 89 and 90; OHVs, including street legal ones, may ride from your campsite to the trail in the D loop and back to your campsite only, and joy riding is not allowed. OHVs are permitted only in the C, D and E loops, while the A and B loops are closed to all OHVs including street legal. There is a dump station with potable and non-potable water at the entrance, and drinking water spigots are scattered throughout the campground, but there are no water hook-ups, so fill your trailer at the dump station before you set up camp. The campground sits at an elevation of 8,400 feet in stands of aspen and Douglas fir with several old growth ponderosa pines that are 200 to 500 years old, adjacent to Duck Creek Pond, which you can walk to from the campground. The area is rich in volcanic rock fields that originated from underground lava tubes. The Duck Creek Visitor Center is just across the road from the campground, with trail maps and information on local attractions such as Cascade Falls, the Mammoth and Ice Caves, and fishing at Navajo and Panguitch lakes. Restaurants, cabin rentals, groceries and fuel are available in Duck Creek Village two miles east. Small aluminum fishing boat rentals, a boat dock and rustic cabin lodging are available at Navajo Lake Lodge on the northwest shore of Navajo Lake, a short 6 miles away. Cedar Breaks National Monument is 10 miles away, with hiking trails, guided tours and breathtaking scenery; adjacent to it is the Ashdown Gorge Wilderness Area, where hikers will find miles of trails including the Twisted Forest trail and its stand of ancient bristlecone pine, some of which can live up to 5,000 years. Bryce Canyon National Park is a 35 minute drive to the east and Zion National Park an hour to the south.