A gravel road curving into a high mountain valley at first light, the peaks catching the sun.

Bureau of Land Management group campground

Pelican Lake Campground

Bureau of Land Management group campground in Ouray Valley, Uintah County, Utah. About 4,800 feet. 15.6 miles from Ballard.

Managed by
Bureau of Land Management Ouray Valley
Elevation
About 4,800 ft As the Bureau of Land Management states
Sites
2 2 group standard non-electric
Hookups
None listed
Reservations
Recreation.gov
County
Uintah County

Overview

This Campground is on a First Come - First Serve Basis, vistors are required to physically be at the campground to purchase and claim a site. You must also occupy the area the day you pay for it, no advance payments. We encourage our visitors to download the recreation.gov app to take advantage of the Scan & Pay Option. There is also an Iron Ranger on site that you can pay with cash or check

Pelican Lake Campground is located at 4,800 feet and has 11 individual campsites and two group sites. Pelican Lake is well known for the outstanding bluegill and bass fishing. Bird watching is also a popular pastime in the spring, when the waterfowl come to live and rear their downy young.

Recreation

Pelican Lake is well known for the outstanding bluegill and bass fishing. Bird watching is also a popular pastime in the spring.

Facilities

11 individual sites and two group sites are available. Sites include picnic tables and fire rings. Vault toilets are available within the campground community. Please bring your own water.

Campsites are first-come first-served.

Natural Features

Pelican Lake has been a nationally-renowned bluegill fishery since the 1970’s when Jim Zumbo published an article in Outdoor Life on the potential for daily bag limits of 1.5 pound bluegill. Since then, anglers have held high expectations for Pelican Lake. Unfortunately, in 2008 and 2009, adult carp entered Pelican Lake in large numbers and turned the lake from a clear waterbody dominated by largemouth bass and bluegill to a lake dominated by carp. The carp’s ability to outcompete bluegill for food eventually led to a decline in bluegill condition and a few years later, a decline in largemouth bass condition.

The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), and avid Pelican Lake anglers anticipated this decline and convened a working group that developed a management plan for the lakes future success.

Nearby Attractions

Ouray National Wildlife Refuge

Ouray National Wildlife Refuge lies along the Green River in the Uinta Basin of northeastern Utah. The Refuge provides diverse habitat types supporting over 350 fish and wildlife species and offers numerous wildlife-dependent recreational opportunities.

The description, directions and fees are the Bureau of Land Management’s own words, from its record on Recreation.gov.

What people do here

  • birding
  • boating
  • camping
  • fishing
  • ice fishing
  • picnicking
  • water access
  • water activities
  • wildlife viewing

The land around Pelican Lake Campground

The ringed pin is this group campground; the others are its nearest neighbours. Switch on forest roads or BLM routes to see the way in.

Interactive map. Drag to pan, scroll or pinch to zoom, and select any point to see which agency manages the land. Arrow keys pan and the plus and minus keys zoom when the map has focus. A list of every state with its share of federal land is on the Explore page.

Map layers

Layers
Base map
Legend

Federal land, by managing agency

  • Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
  • US Forest Service (USFS)
  • National Park Service (NPS)
  • US Fish and Wildlife (USFW)
  • Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
  • Department Of Defense (DOD)
  • Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
  • Other Federal
  • State
  • Local
  • Alaska Native Lands (Patented or Interim Conveyed)
  • Alaska Native Allotment

Federal campgrounds, by agency

  • Forest Service
  • Bureau of Land Management
  • National Park Service
  • Army Corps of Engineers
  • Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife and others

State and local land (USGS PAD-US)

  • State land
  • County and city land
  • Regional agency or district
  • Land trust or conservancy

Gaps with no tint inside public land are private parcels, often old mining claims and homesteads. They are not open to the public.

Dashed clay lines on the base map are unpaved tracks from OpenStreetMap. They show what exists on the ground, not what is legal to drive.

Select any point to see who manages the land.

Boundaries are approximate and land status changes. This map is a planning aid, not a survey or a statement of access. Confirm routes, closures and camping rules with the managing office.

Source: Recreation Information Database (Recreation.gov), record updated March 11, 2026. Elevation from the USGS 3D Elevation Program. Seasons, fees, water and fire rules change; the managing office has the final word.