Fall/Winter destinations in SouthWest
So, we may be the oddballs in that we prefer to travel when the weather is mild or cool and not when it's hot. It's just not pleasant when it's so hot that you have to sit in the RV with the A/C goin...
Forum Discussion
You say you haven't travelled to Utah. Even though some of the NP's are what I would call desert, there are still trees there. If you go by October, you can hit Bryce Canyon NP which has quite a few trees on the rim, but at over 7000', it gets snow during the winter. Zion NP has Cottonwood trees all along the river up the canyon, yet great sandstone domes that in some ways remind me of the domes of Yosemite. At 4000', Zion is accessible for much of the winter w/o snow. As far as a toad in these two parks, if you get there by mid October (early November for Zion), the NPS runs free shuttles through the parks so you can leave your rig at the CG and go.
And while you say you don't want to be in the desert, the area around Moab, while a desert (Great Basin type), is distinctly different than the Sonoran Desert of southern AZ and the Mohave Desert of southern CA. In many ways we prefer Canyonlands to the Grand Canyon. And the arches at Arches NP are quite a unique display. At 4000', Moab is also more temperate, although in the middle of last winter, an inversion set in that gave Moab much colder temps than we were having here in the mountains of CO. Once in a while, we'll take our last camping trip of the season to Dead Horse Point SP in Utah during the early part of Thanksgiving week. Not crowded, generally clear blue sky, and of course the wonderful red rocks.
And while you say you don't want to be in the desert, the area around Moab, while a desert (Great Basin type), is distinctly different than the Sonoran Desert of southern AZ and the Mohave Desert of southern CA. In many ways we prefer Canyonlands to the Grand Canyon. And the arches at Arches NP are quite a unique display. At 4000', Moab is also more temperate, although in the middle of last winter, an inversion set in that gave Moab much colder temps than we were having here in the mountains of CO. Once in a while, we'll take our last camping trip of the season to Dead Horse Point SP in Utah during the early part of Thanksgiving week. Not crowded, generally clear blue sky, and of course the wonderful red rocks.
