Driving Bryce-Canyonlands-Arches in late November? Snow?

Some good advice here for sure.

If you are going up thru Torrey I would strongly suggest you spend time at Capitol Reef - one of our favorite places. I do not recommend Hwy 12 between Bryce and Torrey for RV's even in good weather and certainly would be extremely cautious doing it in November....use the 89/62/24 route to get to Torrey / Moab.

Many rv parks will be shut down.

Trailer Village at South Rim will be open but I will still recommend a reservation even now.

LOVE all these places.

Enjoy - be safe.

Curious - why are you going Bryce/Zion --> Canyonlands/Arches --> Grand Canyon, when it would seem to be more direct to do Canyonlands/Arches --> Bryce/Zion --> Grand Canyon, and then east to New Mexico?

Thank you so much for all your replies!! I really appreciate it!!! Looks like we will watch the weather and try to head to Canyonland and Arches after Bryce. We will have to watch Grand Canyon. We are heading toward New Mexico after Utah/South side of Grand Canyon(if we can get there). Have a great weekend! Thank you,
Kim :)

The roads will be good; the weather will be your problem. It can be beautiful or you can be in a snow storm. All you can do is to watch the weather daily as you travel. We all know how fast it can change. Good luck!

When on I-70 heading east to Denver U'll really need to unhitch & drive the TOAD separately any time of the year.

lbrjet wrote:
The pass on rt 12 between Torrey and Boulder is 9400 ft, not 8000. It was snowing lightly when we crossed it a month ago. Very scenic area. ...

We encountered snow flurries on that pass in mid September 9 years ago. This was on the tail end of a tropical storm that had soaked the area. But I remember the great fall color more (esp. aspens).

In Dec., '09 we did Zion and Bryce as far as Kodachrome SP in a rental car, staying in Majestic View Lodge at Zion. Plenty of snow on the ground, especially at Bryce, but roads were kept clear. Trail walks were icy at Zion and non-existent at Bryce because of the snow pack.

We thoroughly enjoyed that trip: no traffic and we had the parks to our selves. Would do it again.

Wear layers.

The pass on rt 12 between Torrey and Boulder is 9400 ft, not 8000. It was snowing lightly when we crossed it a month ago. Very scenic area. The road is in excellent condition. Just keep an eye on the forecasts. We just spent six weeks in Utah and the forecasts were pretty good statewide.

kcinmo wrote:
We are headed to Zion then Bryce late next week. We would love to continue to Canyonlands then Arches then south to Grand Canyon. Can anyone give me your thoughts on the roads? We have a 35ft Class A with tow. We do not want to drive in snow. Do you think it is risky? Anyone know how the roads are? I really appreciate your help!

Thanks,
Kim

This is our favorite time in Utah -- IMHO if you are LUCKY you might catch some snow! Just keep your ears on the weather and stay in your comfort zone. One year we took our son's -- T-shirts and shorts in Zion at Angels Landing and the Next evening in Bryce with 6" on snow and a Sunset to die for. If you think the Red Rocks of Utah look good normally just see them with the contrasting White snow, nothing like it.

The roads are fine, if it snows stay where you are comfy. The ride over the mountains in Dixie Forest needs to be well thought out, or at least driven slowly in the Snow.

IMHO go for it.

BOL,

Not considering some freak weather phenomena, Zion travel should be OK. Snow should stay above the 7000ft elevation. Most peaks in Zion are about that and the canyon floor about 4000ft. Interesting...private cars are allowed on the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive weekdays in Nov. and later. I thought only shuttles were allowed year round.

Bryce will be different. The rim is in the 8000ft. elevation range. It stays so dry out west, moisture shouldn't last long, but it's 20s F most nights now.

Arches, Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point should be good traveling....4000-6000ft and your really in the high desert. Warmer than Bryce. There's good roads to the Island in the Sky Visitors Center at Canyonlands...Harder to get to Needles VC. About 50 mi. South of Arches is Newspaper Rock SP...100s of petroglyph's.

Colorado Nat'l Mon. is about the last of the sandstone canyons if your going East.

The Grand Canyon South Rim is in the 7000-7500ft range as is I40 Flagstaff/Williams. It's getting to be winter there...more humidity than those northern destinations. North Rim is probably closing. Keep the weather radio on and expect some delays, but the West isn't in true winter yet. You are setting yourself up for using I70 across the Continental Divide...that can be tricky Grand Junction to Denver. It is snowing up there now.