Utah Parks

[wildwilly.]

We are planning a western adventure in late September/early October in our Airstream Interstate. We are going to a Chicago Bears game in Phoenix followed by a business meeting in Las Vegas. Our plan is to then spend some time in Utah visiting the parks in the southern and eastern part of the state before heading home to Florida.
I am looking for suggestions as to where to stay around Bryce, Arches, Zion, Capital Reef and Canyon Lands. Also any unique tours or other tips would be welcomed. We don't tow a vehicle so I am curious if we should rent a vehicle out there or rely on our ability to drive the AI through the parks. It appears there are lots of tour companies that may be interesting. We will be taking our bikes and looking forward to biking some parts of the area.
Thanks for any input.

[mpsgolf]

Dont know but Im jealous!! Another longer trip to S Utah is on my list!!

[steverino]

I would suggest that “don’t miss” Parks might be Kodachrome Basin State Park near Bryce, and Dead Horse Point near Canyonlands. Oh, and there is Snow Canyon State Park near St George, 45 minutes fro Zion, kind a in my back yard. I’m writing this from Petrified Forest State Park in Escalante.

Weather might be a factor at Bryce in October...

[Kevin245]

Explore Utah’s Byway 12. https://scenicbyway12.com/

[Lumatic]

Originally Posted by wildwilly.

We

I am looking for suggestions as to where to stay around Bryce, Arches, Zion, Capital Reef and Canyon Lands. Also any unique tours or other tips would be welcomed.

Every place in Utah is great! If you want to go off the beaten track check out Goblin Valley State Park (where they filmed Galaxy Quest). Also there are some excellent back roads in the area, google San Rafael Swell. There is a campground in Hanksville that is a good base to explore Capital Reef (Hwy 12). Google the "Burr Trail".Grand Staircase/ Escalante National Monument is also worth checking out.

[TheOhioSean]

Most of the scenic views, trailheads, etc. in those national parks are accessible via paved road. There are some exceptions, though. The roads into the washes at Capitol Reef, and some of the furthest reaches of Canyonlands' Needles District are unpaved, or even require a 4WD vehicle. A few side roads in other parks are gravel, or require 4WD. But I've hit all five of the national parks in Utah and was able to enjoy them quite well driving an old Ford van. I'll also second the recommendation of Scenic Byway 12, which is not only amazingly scenic but a great route between Bryce and Capitol Reef.

The Watchman Campground at Zion looks like it would be a cool place to stay, but has electrical hookups in one loop only, and showers are available at a private facility just outside the park. I stayed just across the river in the town of Springdale, at the Zion Canyon Campground and RV Resort, which had hookups, shade, nice shower facilities, a pool, and was only a short walk from the entrance to the park. It tends to be a bit warm at that elevation.

At Bryce Canyon I stayed in the park at North Campground. It is reasonably-well shaded by the tall pines, but there are no hookups and the showers are at a camp store that has good but limited hours. It was very close to the rim; it only took about a minute to walk from the campsite I was in to the Rim Trail. It tends to be cooler at that elevation. Just outside the park is a large private campground that is part of the Ruby's Inn complex, which looked a bit less charming but does have hookups and some shade - and is convenient to the small cluster of commerce just outside the park.

[Waipio Rim]

Capitol Reef has fruit orchards that the Park Service agreed to maintain when they took it over. There should be fruit at that time of year.

If you are feeling adventurous, take a guided UTV tour in Moab, one where you get to drive and they lead the way.

[Woosch]

We stayed at Ruby's when visiting Bryce and Zion. They advertise that they are close to Zion but that would depend on what your definition of "close" is. We walked through the Watchman CG and will stay there on our next visit to Zion.
It starts getting cold that time of year so be ready for some near freezing temps at night.

[Len n Jeanne]

The Watchman campground in Zion NP would be our choice. There are a fair number of electrical (only) sites, with a sani-dump and drinking water in the CG. It looks like the South Campground now takes revs. It's got more shade and generous spacing between sites, but none of the sites has hookups. I would suggest you make revs now, if you want them, as any more, ZNP has almost no "off" season.
https://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvis...ds-in-zion.htm

There is a private RV park in nearby Springdale close to the park, but it's more congested. (Zion Campground & RV Resort.)

You wouldn't need a car in ZNP because of the free shuttle system. In fact, cars are no longer allowed in Zion Canyon through the end of November. However, driving the famed Zion Tunnel is really interesting. There is an extra fee for RVS.

Bryce Canyon has a high elevation, so winter will come early there. If you have some options, I would recommend you visit there at the beginning of your tour, rather than later on. We've stayed a Ruby's Inn, and can recommend it. Bryce also has a free shuttle service that runs frequently, although it's optional. But you wouldn't need a car there.

Moab, Utah, near Arches and Canyonlands is the jeeping capital of Utah, so you could easily rent a 4WD vehicle there.

[Nesty19]

Originally Posted by wildwilly.

We are planning a western adventure in late September/early October in our Airstream Interstate. We are going to a Chicago Bears game in Phoenix followed by a business meeting in Las Vegas. Our plan is to then spend some time in Utah visiting the parks in the southern and eastern part of the state before heading home to Florida.
I am looking for suggestions as to where to stay around Bryce, Arches, Zion, Capital Reef and Canyon Lands. Also any unique tours or other tips would be welcomed. We don't tow a vehicle so I am curious if we should rent a vehicle out there or rely on our ability to drive the AI through the parks. It appears there are lots of tour companies that may be interesting. We will be taking our bikes and looking forward to biking some parts of the area.
Thanks for any input.

Hands down, our favorite campground in UT was Dead Horse Point State Park. Hookups and shelter at each campsite were so efficient/clean, and of our 9,000 mile journey with tens and tens of campgrounds sampled, the views here left us utterly in awe and speechless. Coffee at sunrise at the point there is now my go to “happy place.”

I also second another post that mentioned Snow Canyon State Park near St. George. Immaculate, pristine park... we only wish we had one of the sites that was more remote, as we were literally 3 feet from our neighbor, but even with that, it was in our top 5 across the country.

We stayed at Zion River Resort and it was our least favorite campground of our entire journey. Friends scored a spot at Watchman and that would be our choice in the future.

If you happen to pass through the Monument Valley area, we boondocked at Goosenecks State Park 20 feet from the canyon rim! (check weather and don’t camp if there are high winds), as well as Valley of the Gods (amazing drive/Boondocking in a small trailer - do research and don’t go too far in with a trailer OR go if rain is forecasted). After boondocking, we found Goulding’s Lodge and Campground to be a delight.

If you’re near the UT/AZ border we used Kanab Tour Company to explore some more remote/less crowded slot canyons. Highly recommend them. While in the area we stayed at the Kaibab Paiute Tribal Campground and the folks there couldn’t have been nicer or facilities cleaner.

We had a hard time moving on from Utah! Enjoy!

[pfcardwell]

Check out our pic on campsite pic. Las Vegas to Salt Lake Utah was a great trip.