Best Way to See Everything in Utah

[Chip2013]

We are traveling from Page Arizona to Glacier National Park. We are planning on spending at least 4-5 weeks in Utah during May and visiting all the Big 5 NP. Can anyone suggest the best routes from one NP to another and things that are a definite "to do" while visiting. We are traveling in a 25' Airstream International FB. Appreciate any suggestions and help since this will be our first time in this part of the country.

And.. is 4-5 weeks enough time to spend in the state. We are able to increase time as needed. Will reservations be necessary at this time of year?

Thanks for your help!

[Len n Jeanne]

Good idea that you're spending 4-5 weeks in Utah-- most people think they can do it in a couple of days.

The short answer on reservations is yes-- and make them now. The national parks are incredibly beautiful but they get really crowded during the high season, which runs from about March through the end of October.

Arches NP: the campground is closed for remodeling this year. There are many nice RV parks in and around Moab. There is also a lot of first-come, first serve camping on BLM lands in the area, including dispersed camping allowed in some areas. But on a busy weekend, even they can fill up.

Canyonlands NP camping is very restricted, and is first come, first serve. These places can fill up on busy weekends. I am not sure what's up with the Needles Outpost campground (commercial) it was pretty rough when we visited it a few years ago, but great hiking in the area.

The Utah state parks are great, and if you can get a reservation at Dead Horse Point state park, it is highly recommended. Just outside of DHP is the BLM's Horse Thief Campground. Just south of town, is Ken's Lake BLM CG. Both nice places. There is a good information center in Moab, and you can also contact the BLM office in Moab for camping info.

We've stayed several times at the Spanish Trail RV park south of town, and the Canyonlands RV park in town, and can recommend them, but there are other nice-looking RV parks in Moab.

Bryce Canyon NP-- first come, first serve camping. We've stayed at the Ruby's Inn RV park and can recommend it, but there are some other nice looking RV parks outside the main park entrance. If the Red Canyon campground is open, run by the National Forest Service, that's another nice place. Bryce Canyon's elevation is high, so opening dates depend on the snow pack. In May, I think Red Canyon should be OK.

Zion NP: The Watchman CG takes reservations and some of the loops have electrical hookups. Recommended, as this park can get extremely hot, so you can run your AC.

Zion Canyon gets super-crowded. It runs shuttle busses up the canyon, to make up for the fact that cars are no longer allowed in Zion Canyon due to congestion. The park is huge, however, and there is some nice hiking in and around the Kolob Canyons section, and along the road to Lava Point.

Captiol Reef is the least busy, and a really nice park. There is a CG in the park at Fruita that is first-come, first served, (get there super-early) and we've also stayed at the Thousand Lakes RV Park in Torrey. We have seen people dispersed-camping between the park and Torrey, and over on the east side.

Some of our favourite places outside the main national parks are Hovenweep National Monument, which has some interesting ancestral Pueblo ruins, Natural Bridges National Monument (limited camping, but overflow allowed on adjacent BLM lands,) and the North San Rafael Swell (north of I-70. Wedge Overlook and San Rafael Bridge areas, dispersed camping allowed.)

The routes are generally fine. You would nice a special pass/fee to drive through the Zion tunnel (fun, recommended) and if you must do the Moki Dugway to get to Natural Bridges, please don't do it with your AS! Leave it behind and do your white-knuckle driving with just your TV.

Maybe others can comment more on other places on or near your route, like the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Lake Powell, Kodachrome Basin state park, Flaming Gorge, or their favourite hidden gems.

Also, if you can say what sort of activities you like to do (hiking, cycling, astronomy, &c) we can try to be helpful.

[enon woods]

Great info!

[64airstream]

Len & Jeanne,

Thanks for the detailed information.

Roy and Marie

[SCOTTinNJ]

Whats the best strategy for accounting for first come first serve sites? Show up early Monday morning? Are there local places to stay the night before (walmart, etc.)?Are there generally fallback places to stay that aren't hours away?

[Hittenstiehl]

Utah is one gorgeous state with lots of natural beauty and five national parks so there is a LOT to see.

For planning purposes I would use a paper map and online mapping to make your best route.

You can do it in a big loop so it kind of depends where you want to enter the state and where you want to leave the state and plan your circle from there.

Len and Jeanne gave a great overview.

Cedar Breaks has snow till late and will be the last to open.

Canyonlands has a great driving loop if your not into hiking.

Zion is a must for a hike if even a short one because standing amongs the hoodoo voodoo's is spectacular.

Halls Crossing in Glen Canyon is a gem but check the hours first.

Highway 12 is a beautiful little meander and I'm infatuated with the small town of Tropic that over looks a beautiful valley before you go around the bend to Bryce.

The Sevier River runs along highway 89 almost disappearing and the town of Panguitch had a great steakhouse.

Highway 14 through Dixie NF is very pretty with the beautuful homes at Duck Creek.

Escalate is vast and very informative especially if you like geological history.

The roadside restaurant in Bluff has great nachos.

The overlook at the serpentine gorges is just like on the postcards.

The Moki is a just because I can drive but vehicle only is best.

Moab is a great little crowded fun town with lots of visitors because it's cool and Arches is right next door. The colors in Arches at sundown are stunning.

Escalate, the town, is a great place for a stop.

And that's just the bottom half of the state and what I can quickly ramble off.

Distances are great between parks. Travel will mostly be on smaller roads. Towns are small get your fuel when it's available. Utah might be one of the best for off road boondocking if that's your comfort level.

The Airstream only RV Park in Southern Utah, the name escapes me right now, is a fun little place to stop.


The beer is great in Utah if you enjoy that. The Wasatch Brewery has lots of great choices. And there are lots of fun homebrews available.

You will have a great time and see many beautiful things. Maybe you will make it thread of your own when you go so that we can all see how your trip goes and follow along with your adventure.

[youngpeck]

The AAA Indian Country map is a must--and it identifies almost all campgrounds, public and private.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MZ53RI...oding=UTF8&me=

It covers all of Utah south of I-70, and as a bonus you get vast portions of Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona.

[NoResults]

We visited Colorado and Utah last year. On the border just into Colorado is a little town called Fruita. There are a couple camp grounds there with full hook ups but we were lucky they were full. Just 3miles up the road is the Colorado National Monument which is high above everything with views for miles no hook ups but free with our National park pass.

Worth your time if you are on the Colorado side of Utah.

Dave

[ericpeltier]

4-5 weeks is a good block of time! Certainly hit the big NP+NM parks, but also consider swinging through Dinosaur NM and Goblin Valley SP.

[mrdfred]

Lots of good advice for places to stay, however no one mentioned the BLM land outside of Canyonlands, Needles district. I have stayed in the park campgrounds and on the BLM land. I prefer the BLM, more private and beautiful. Check it out if the campground is full. Ask the rangers at the entry kiosk for directions. Also, I have stayed at the campgrounds at Arches, hard to get a spot. I usually stay at Dead Horse State Park nearby. Ditto for Bryce Canyon. I usually stay at Ruby's right at the park entrance. You can travel this area of Utah for 4 weeks and probably stay another 4 and still not see it all. But Glacier Park is worth another long stay.

I don't know if it is still available, but look for a local beer called "Polygamy Porter" with the slogan "why have just one". I bought a six pack that I still have unopened, Brings a smile every time I see it!

[Hittenstiehl]

Mrdfred that's exactly the beer we had at the steakhouse in Panguitch.

Wasatch Brewing has good beer and fun labels.

[Neophyte]

Len n Jeanne:
Good write-up!

[lindaebrewer]

We stayed 1 1/2 weeks at the campground right in Moab (which is a great little town.) Full hook-us, restaurants, groceries, & geenormous dog park w/in walking distance.

BUT it was ARCHES NP that made us want to stay permanently. Spent 5 days hiking to the arches. Words can not do it justice; pictures can not do it justice. If Utah had only ARCHES, it would make the trip worthwhile.

[greghoro]

Slacker's in Torrey UT, just west of Capitol Reef NP is a must stop for great hamburgers.

Green River SP in Green River UT is a pleasant campground and is somewhat central to Capitol Reef, Arches and, Canyonlands. Green River, the town has seen much better days.

See this website for some ideas
https://www.visitutah.com/places-to-go/most-visited-parks/the-mighty-5


Greg

[dower.bill]

Second (and third) recommendations for most of what is up already. I was surprised that I did not see Goblin Valley listed. It is a miniature version of Brice, in mudstone. If you can go shortly after or during a rain, it is particularly fine. There are some good ruins of native american settlements at the border of Colorado. canyon of the ancients is the best known, but there are a bunch

[mandolindave]

There are so many side trips ( day trips ) that are on dirt roads.

[Riverdrifter]

On our way into Utah from Arizona we stayed at Pink Coral Dunes State Park and thought it was great. Some ATV activity but a hike in the duns is awesome! We are doing Canyon de Chelly, Monument Valley, and the Moab area in late March, early April. Looking forward to it!

[TheGlen]

This is amazing information and we are going to be heading that way.
Can someone tell me how to save all this info so that we can access it later when needed? I am new to my ipad.

[Hittenstiehl]

Once you reply to a thread or hit the subscribe button. That thread will stay on your subscribed threads and is fairly easy to scroll down to. But if you are active in various responses of threads it can sink to the bottom pretty fast.

Maybe a cut and paste of the important stuff saved to a file or document for you to refer back to. I find the cut and paste easier to do on a desk top and place into a file.

Some route planning tools also let you save notes about your trip.

[Woosch]

Not far from Arches is Mesa Verde National Park. It's in Colorado so not in keeping with places in Utah. We enjoyed it and visiting Durango Colorado (don't miss the small gage railroad).
We got some travel advice from Len n Gene for this trip and took their advice. To this day it was one of our favorite trips in the Airstream.
Also the AAA map titled "Indian Country" is a must have for this trip.