Utahns can spend their summers camping in dozens of different campgrounds on federal, state and private lands while enjoying parks close to water, in high elevation mountain areas, near urban areas or on the desert. Here are five of Utah's best campgrounds:

1. Devils Garden, Arches National Park » There is a reason this ranks as one of Utah's fastest-filling facilities each night during the busy tourist season from March through October. With the amphitheater framed by Skyline Arch, clean sand and great nearby hiking, and difficult to beat redrock scenery, this is a wonderful campground. Located 18 miles from the park entrance, Devils Garden has 52 individual sites, 28 of which can be reserved in advance through www.recreation.gov. The fee is $20 per night for up to 10 people with a $9 booking fee. Facilities include picnic table, fire pit, restrooms with cold running water and flush toilets and drinking water.

2. Kodachrome Basin State Park » Guarded by the towering rock pinnacles popular with photographers, this park's campground nine miles south of Cannonville off Utah Highway 12 near Bryce Canyon National Park is popular with campers because its 27 units are a great distance from each other, ensuring better privacy than found at many areas. Couple that with great modern restrooms that offer showers, a nearby concessionaire that provides horseback rides and rents cabins, and good hiking and riding in the nearby Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and this is a good place to create a base for further exploration. Cost is $16 per night and there is a 45-foot limit to the length of a recreation vehicle.

3. Dixie Red Cliffs » This Bureau of Land Management area near Leeds just north of St. George can get a bit warm in the summer, though shade structures over most of the 10 individual units coupled with nice trees and a small stream can cool things off. No reservations are taken at this site, which includes a hiking trail to a pretty canyon and is near the Silver Reef historic area. Cost is $8 a night. Located near Cedar City, this is a quiet little area for those who don't want to be surrounded by a lot of people.

4. Tanner's Flat » Located 4.15 miles up Little Cottonwood Canyon, this U.S. Forest Service facility might be near the city but at 7,200 feet in elevation, it is a wonderful place to beat the heat on a summer night. There's a creek flowing nearby, some sites guarded by large slabs of granite and great facilities that include flush toilets. The cost to rent one of 42 available campsites is $18. Reservations are strongly suggested, especially on the weekends.

5. Cherry Hill » This privately owned Kaysville facility might be between two of Utah's busiest highways -- Interstate 15 and U.S. 89 -- but you would never know it when camping in the quiet, shaded area. This is a wonderful place for a weekend family get-together. Kids love the miniature golf course, batting cages, water park, hamster house play area, aeroball and climbing wall and it is also a short drive from the Lagoon Amusement Park. Cost is $38 for full hookups and $30 for a tent site for two people. Each person older than 6 above two costs an extra $2. There is also a charge to use many of the recreation facilities. Reservations are suggested, especially on weekends. Call 801-451-5379.