Route 89 in Utah

Likes to tow wrote:
How's route 89 from Interstate 70 south to Orderville, Utah?? Are there any steep grades to be concerned about while pulling a 5th wheel?? We want to set up a base camp and see the national parks in the area. Any recommendations??

All I remember was how much I loved the Area - some of the roads require you to actually drive - you have the tunnel at Zion - It's uphill into Bryce but the area is Beautiful and the biggest problem you will likely have is the number of RV's on the roads.

I would not hesitate to go again in My Coach.

Enjoy the area, take lots of pictures, and get back to us after the trip.

89 is a good highway but you will be much happier having several base camps. Otherwise you will waste too much time each day getting to and from what you want to see and be unable to spend anytime seeing it. Utah is a large state. You should stay at Zion (Springdale), Bryce, Capital Reef (Torrey), Canyonlands (Monticello and Moab) and Arches (Moab) as separate base camps. Don't forget to take Utah 12 from Bryce to Torrey, one of the most magnificent drives in the country and the only National Scenic Byway in Utah. You could easily spend a month in Utah and not see everything.

accsys wrote:
89 is a good highway but you will be much happier having several base camps. Otherwise you will waste too much time each day getting to and from what you want to see and be unable to spend anytime seeing it. Utah is a large state. You should stay at Zion (Springdale), Bryce, Capital Reef (Torrey), Canyonlands (Monticello and Moab) and Arches (Moab) as separate base camps. Don't forget to take Utah 12 from Bryce to Torrey, one of the most magnificent drives in the country and the only National Scenic Byway in Utah. You could easily spend a month in Utah and not see everything.

Good Advice ^^^^

Only thing I'll add is you could spend "Years" in Utah and only Scratch the Surface - Beautiful People and a Beautiful State.

Speaking from Experience - see and discover something new with every trip.

Enjoy your time in Utah,

Hwy 89 from I-70 south is what I'd call the TV super highway. Good road all the way from I-70 down to Kanab. A few hills down there, but nothing major. If your want to visit most of the major National Parks, this is the road to do it on. I spent last summer camp hosting at a small RV park in Junction, Utah, and I'm going back again because of the people and the beauty of the state of Utah. And the weather nice too.

Very good advice here. accsys and others. Have been to UT several times and simply love it. You need more than one base camp for sure and get to Capitol Reef as well.

I would also advise you not to visit the national parks from one base camp. From your profile it looks like you might have a 29' RV. If so, why not stay inside each national park? It really doesn't take much to move from one to another and you will limit the miles you'd have to drive each day. Also, driving from park to park one time and finding out how long it takes and what little time you'll have to enjoy in the parks, I'll bet you don't drive to the parks more than once. That's not the way to explore a national park.

I-70 to 89 is an easy drive but don't be so concerned about mountain driving. You'll be in the west and you're going to have to do some if you want to see the beautiful sites. Your RV is small and you won't have any issues. Secondary roads are just fine. We used them with our 40' motorhome with no issues. You don't see anything via the interstates.

One more voice added to the chorus of not trying to see Bryce and Zion (or any of the other parks) from one camp. Too much time on the road "commuting" every day.

Our 5th wheel is about the same size as yours and we stayed at the North Campground (no hookups) at Bryce Canyon NP without any problem. A nearby campground with full hookups is Kodachrome Basin State Park--we also stayed there in a pull-through site. Obviously a longer commute than from the North Campground, but doable if you have to have hookups.

We tried to stay at Fruita CG at Capital Reef NP, but they were repaving it. So we stayed in Torrey at a FHU RV park newly renamed Wonderland. Not a bad park, but lots of road noise.

With a 5th wheel traveling US 89, keep in mind the tunnel rules going into the east entrance of Zion NP. You may have a long wait getting through it, depending on the size of the crowds while you are there. We had reservations for Watchmen CG at Zion, but didn't stay there after seeing our site (we couldn't have fully opened our slides). We ended up at the WiilowWind RV Park in Hurricane, but it was a really long commute. Of course, it was Memorial Day weekend. so beggars can't be choosers!

UT 12 is a GREAT road for scenery and shouldn't be a problem for someone used to towing in the mountains of West Virginia. Of course the trees block the view of the vertical drops in WV. But there are few trees in southern UT, so you can see the all the way to the bottom--on both sides of the road!

Have a great trip!