Late Summer Trip to Zion and Bryce Canyon Natl. Parks

[Steamy1]

North Rim campground shuts down for the winter on November 1st. The campground is at 8,200 ft elevation and can receive a lot of snow.

[Len n Jeanne]

Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce, Zion, and the South Rim are open year round. Apparently so is the Goosenecks State Park. https://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/goosenecks/ I would suggest you check the .gov websites for the national parks to see what facilities shut down for winter. For example, Bryce is open, but once the snow falls they don't plough all of the roads and campgrounds.

Moab in November can be lovely-- or, it can be the onset of cold gloomy weather. Would suggest you plan your packing around both a lovely Indian Summer and the beginning of the kind of weather you'd find in Ontario.

Then when you're driving, keep an eye on the forecasts, noting that elevation will make a big difference.

[57Wanderer]

Our Recommendations:

Zion: Zion River Resort. Full hook-ups, since you don't know just how hot it's going to get the week you're there. September is a very hot month in Southern Utah. This place has a lovely pool and jacuzzi. The laundry room is the best I have seen anywhere. Hike the Narrows! Rent the strange water shoes that are available at the rental place just inside the entrance to the park. We were advised to rent just before closing on the evening prior to the day we planned on hiking.....really good advice. We then were able to catch the first shuttle bus up the canyon in the morning, getting a head start to avoid the crowds who show up by 11 am or so. This is a very special hike, one we rated at TOP 5 on our list of National Park attractions. The rental venue lends you a walking stick also, which is a necessary item to successfully hike through the water.....

Bryce: We stayed about 20 miles away (I know, sounds crazy!). I had heard such good things about Kodachrome Basin State Park that I just had to give it a go. It exceeded expectations. So beautiful. Remote. Quiet. Dark. No WiFi. No cell signal. We stayed 4 nights, and when I go back, I'll stay at least a week and detox from modern life completely. We drove in to Bryce on two of those days, and had our fill and then drove back to Kodachrome.

***Be advised that the area around Bryce is sort of a food desert. Bring your own groceries. Ruby's has a restaurant but their grocery store is not really a grocery store.

You can continue on to the Escalante/ Grand Staircase. It's worth seeing, particularly Calf Creek. Who knows what it will look like in 2 or 3 years when the mining industry has had it's way with it.....

If you can, take Highway 12 (stop at Hell's Backbone Grill in Boulder; make a reservation....) up to Capitol Reef. Out of all the red rock parks, Capitol Reef is the REDDEST! And much less trafficked by the crowds. There, you can stay in the Fruita Campground, which is in the middle of orchards planted over one hundred years ago by Mormon settlers. A truly special place. Might be first come-first served. Best chance of getting in is on a weekday morning.

Happy trails to you. See you on the road.......Susan and Michael

[57Wanderer]

One more thing: We can recommend Sand Hollow State Park, between Hurricane, Utah and St George, Utah. Beautiful place on a reservoir with some wonderful views. About one hour from Zion.

[Vickitn]

If you have time, the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, about an hour from Zion, is worth the time. The dunes of pink sand are an amazing site and you can rent four wheelers. We rented four wheelers and had a guide. So much fun. The picture doesn’t do the dunes justice, but hopefully it gives you an idea.

[Len n Jeanne]

Originally Posted by 57Wanderer

Our Recommendations:

.....

You can continue on to the Escalante/ Grand Staircase. It's worth seeing, particularly Calf Creek. Who knows what it will look like in 2 or 3 years when the mining industry has had it's way with it.....

If you can, take Highway 12 (stop at Hell's Backbone Grill in Boulder; make a reservation....) up to Capitol Reef. Out of all the red rock parks, Capitol Reef is the REDDEST! And much less trafficked by the crowds. There, you can stay in the Fruita Campground, which is in the middle of orchards planted over one hundred years ago by Mormon settlers. A truly special place. Might be first come-first served. Best chance of getting in is on a weekday morning.

Happy trails to you. See you on the road.......Susan and Michael

If you do drive the Boulder-Escalante area, you might enjoy an overnight stay at the Shooting Star RV resort. They have several on-site Airstreams set up for overnight stays, an RV park, plus an outdoor movie theater that plays old classics. http://www.shootingstar-rvresort.com/

The campground at Capitol Reef (Fruita) is first come, first served. I don't know what it's like later in autumn but it does tend to fill up very early during the high season. For walkers/hikers, there are a lot of wonderful side canyons to explore driving south along the "reef" on the road to Bullfrog marina.

[Mansderm161]

Thanks so much for the info. I'm hoping to go this fall

[StreaminGeo]

Here’s what we decided on. Although we prefer dry camping in parks, business necessities during this trip require that we have electricity, wifi, and phone access throughout, (This trip is for a wedding, so we are restricted by the date.) The Watchman campground at Zion has electricity, but it was booked for when we plan to be there. So the first night in the area will be at the Willow Wind RV Park in Hurricane, Utah (because we couldn’t book that night for the next place we’ll stay). Then the next day we’ll go to the Zion Canyon Campground and Resort in Springdale and stay there for three nights. Then it’s up to Ruby’s outside of Bryce for four nights before leapfrogging in 250-mile increments to Cincinnati (where we’ll stay at the Hamilton County park campground in Winton Woods).
This will be our longest Airstream journey yet (the previous record being from Hanford, CA to Dallas, TX) and we are really anticipating it with enthusiasm!

[Wetfeet]

We just got back from a trip to both parks. I highly recommend the Watchman campground at Zion, loop B. You get electric hookups, nice restrooms, and best of all, with a 5-10 minute walk from your campsite you can be across the footbridge and sitting in a nice brewpub for dinner. And groceries, laudramat, showers, numerous restaurants, shopping, etc.

At Bryce I recommend the North Campground, from which you can walk to the trails. No hookups however.

[TheOhioSean]

Winton Woods is not exactly exciting, but it is a nice little park built around an Army Corps of Engineers flood control lake. The campground store is relatively new (within past decade) building with decent parking, reasonably well stocked. I can't vouch for the quality of the bath house, as I've only enjoyed the park on day trips. There's a snackbar at the harbor area, maybe 3/10 of a mile west from the campground.

The campground is adjacent to the heavily-patronized paved 1.6 mile loop trail around (and over) the eastern park of the lake. A paved 0.9 mile spur trail branches off and heads west, first ducking under the Winton Road bridge and then running on the hillside above the west part of the lake. At the end of the spur, across the parking lot, is a remnant of the old trail that followed the lake shore; it will take you past a small rock face carved by one of the streams as it makes a bend and descends over some rocks into the lake. Across the street from the end of the spur trail is another parking lot and the trailhead for the Kingfisher Trail, a well-shaded dirt and gravel loop trail that is maybe a mile or so long, with some minor hills. Further down the road is the trailhead for the Tall Oaks trail, which is shorter but has more impressive elevation changes.

[StreaminGeo]

Thanks for the Winton Woods info, TheOhioSean. I haven't been there since the family camped there when I was a kid (grew up in Cinti) and I don't have too many memories of it. I was wondering what it was like!

[wbrisett]

Originally Posted by Woosch

Rubys advertises that they are close to Zion as well. I think that all depends on what your definition of "close" is.

Both parks are spectacular. Enjoy your trip!

The couple of times I've been to Bryce and Zion have been off-seasons. I wasn't in the Airstream any of the times I went because I was either *way offseason... Feb and the facilities were closed*, or I was tent camping because I was on my motorcycle. But Ruby's is about as close as you can get outside the park. They do seem to have full facilities. The food if you need dinning is just so-so. But there aren't loads of dinning options in Bryce. Last time my wife and I went in February, we flew in and stayed at the lodge at both parks.

As mentioned both parks are spectacular!

Bryce in the winter: https://flic.kr/s/aHskQw6vri
Zion in the winter: https://flic.kr/s/aHskQ973UG

Have a great time!

[TheOhioSean]

Originally Posted by wbrisett

The couple of times I've been to Bryce and Zion have been off-seasons. I wasn't in the Airstream any of the times I went because I was either *way offseason... Feb and the facilities were closed*, or I was tent camping because I was on my motorcycle. But Ruby's is about as close as you can get outside the park. They do seem to have full facilities. The food if you need dinning is just so-so. But there aren't loads of dinning options in Bryce. Last time my wife and I went in February, we flew in and stayed at the lodge at both parks.

As mentioned both parks are spectacular!

Bryce in the winter: https://flic.kr/s/aHskQw6vri
Zion in the winter: https://flic.kr/s/aHskQ973UG

Have a great time!

Ruby's is about as close as you can get outside Bryce, yes, but they also claim to be close to Zion. Ruby's isn't crazy far from Zion, but it is well over an hour's drive. Certainly doable for a day trip, but not convenient for repeated visits.

[wbrisett]

Originally Posted by TheOhioSean

Ruby's is about as close as you can get outside Bryce, yes, but they also claim to be close to Zion.

I didn't realize they also claimed that. You're right, they are close enough to drive, but I certainly wouldn't consider them close enough to do any serious day hikes.

[jsfranchek]

We just got back from Zion and traveled from there through Colorado to Cleveland. The best campground near Zion we found was at Snow Canyon RV and Campground in St. George, Utah. 30 Amp and water with dump station in the park with spectacular views. The drawback is that the sites are too close and they put two sites where there should only be one in the inner loop. The newer loop (ask them about it) is great but you must specifically ask about these sites. It is also close to the outdoor theater at Tuacahn. THAT is really terrific. Look it up on the internet. It is worth the trip.

[Bompagene]

Originally Posted by Abraham

I have been to Zion many times but not with trailer. I would suggest you call are otherwise check on the requirement for taking an RV through the tunnel going east out of Zion NP toward Hwy 89.. I have been told that it requires a special permit or something and requires an escort vehicle since the tunnel is low clearance on the edges, so only one way traffic is allowed when RVs go through. I believe there is a small fee. It is a beautiful drive, but does require planning.



Enjoy the trip.

Abe

The tunnel isn’t a problem but check on the hours when you pay at the park entrance. Let the ranger know that you are going to be using the tunnel and they will let you know the process. I do it all the time while working as a tour bus driver with a 45 foot bus 11.5 feet tall!