Campground Review: Starvation State Park Duchesne, UT

After boondocking at Pelican Lake for a week my black and gray tanks were full and my freshwater tank was close to empty.  Typically when this situation occurs I head to a one night stay at a RV park or state park.  Checking the map I saw that Utah's Starvation State Park was within a couple hour's drive so I decided to do a one-nighter there and dump my tanks and stock up on fresh water.

An information board at the park said the park's peculiar name stemmed from a two sided story.  One version of the story had a group of fur trappers using the area the park is in to try to ride out a bitter winter in the 1840's.  The hungry trappers stole food from the local Native Americans and the Native Americans then starved.  The flip side had the Native Americans stealing the trappers food and the trappers subsequently starving to death.  Either way somebody starved and the future park was named.

At an altitude of 5700 feet Starvation State Park features a 3495 acre reservoir suitable for fishing, water skiing, and swimming.  The park is divided into two camping areas, the Beach Campground which is on a pristine, groomed white sand beach and the Mountain View Campground about a half mile away that is on a bluff overlooking the reservoir,

The Beach Campground costs $3 more then the Mountain View camp area.

The beach is groomed by a tractor towed rake every day.

Entrance to the Mountain View camp area.

View from the Mountain View camp area.

Here's the Starvation State Park data sheet:

Hookups:                                             30, 50 amp, water, sewer                                           

Fire ring:                                              Yes                                                                 

Water Access:                                     Yes                                                     

Fresh Water:                                        Yes                                                     

Trash Service:                                      Yes                                         

Toilets:                                                Yes                                         

Showers:                                             Yes                                                     

Dump station:                                      Yes                             

WiFi:                                                   No                              

Level sites:                                          Yes                             

Laundry:                                              No                                          

Store:                                                  Yes (weekends only)                                                 

Pool:                                                   No                  

Shade:                                                No                                          

Verizon reception:                                4G, 3 bars                               

Internet reception:                                3 bars                          

Cost:                                                 Beach - $28 / night Mountain - $25 / night

Each site comes with a gazebo covered picnic table with fire ring

.

Boat dock near the boat launch.

Fish cleaning facility near the park store (in background).

 You don't even need an RV or tent to stay at the park:

The Mountain View camp area had 3 of these rent-able AC equipped cabins.

 

The shower facility had a dozen private shower rooms that were extremely clean:

Each campground has it's own shower facility.

Readers of this blog know I seldom stay in state parks because I prefer the boondocking experience (plus I'm cheap :D).  Every Utah state park I've stayed at has impressed me by how well they are kept up and how clean everything is, Starvation State Park is no exception, it's a first class state park camping experience on every level.  If you're in it's area I definitely recommend staying there for at least a couple nights.

Thanks for reading!