About this place
Gates Lake camping sits next to the Gates Lake reservoir, at nearly 9,800 feet, shaded by aspen and conifer. Nothing is marked out.
There is a vault restroom and an information kiosk.
You can fish the reservoir.
The road in, FR040, can be rough. Leave the trailer behind.
There is also ATV riding on the marked routes, for machines up to 50 inches wide, plus camping, walking and wildlife to watch.
Take everything home that you brought. You can stay 16 days.
The facts
- Cost
- Free to camp
- Roads around it
- Forest Road 040 can be rough, and it is not recommended for trailers
- Drinking water
- No, bring your own
- Toilet
- Yes
- Type
- Open area. Nothing is marked out
- Managed by
- Fishlake National Forest
The roads around this place are not maintained for a regular car. That comes from the US Forest Service, who grade every road by the kind of vehicle it is looked after for. Those records cover the roads nearby. They do not cover the last stretch in to the campsite, and nobody has checked that part. Treat this as a warning. We are not promising what you will find when you get there. If you have driven it, tell us what it was like and we will say so here.
Getting there
Coordinates 38.766183, -111.685942
Open in Google Maps Agency page
What is near here
There is another spot of ours within reach, and some better-known places further out.
- Fish Lake Directions
- Cathedral Mountain Directions
- Big Rocks Special Recreation Management Area Directions
- Hilgard Mountain Directions
- Capitol Reef National Park 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
- Salina, UT Directions
Salina 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.
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.
Thank you. A person will read it before it goes on the page.
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 Forest Service’s own records, read in August 2026.