Suggestions for trip to Grand Canyon & Arches?

You can head north toward Colorado National Monument and then head east to Rocky Mountain NP and Estes, CO. Or cut across southern CO via Durango (Take the narrow gauge train to Silverton). Then continue east and visit Great Sand Dunes, stay in Antonito and ride the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic RR to Chama, NM.Then work you way north then east to NE.

Re: The Grand Canyon. Be aware that it gets hotter hiking down into the canyon. If you take a short hike, make sure you have PLENTY of water. My favorite short hike is on the South Kaibab down to Ooh Aah Point. It's about 1.5 miles round trip and it's easy to discover how this place got its name. Early morning is a great time to start plus it's the best time for photography. Be aware that should you head out of the park in the early evening, that's a good time to have a bad encounter with an elk.

From Mather Point, you can head west along the rim using the shuttle buses to Canyon Village. From there you can continue west to Hermit's Rest. There are lots of stops along the way for you to get off and enjoy the scenery. Buses usually run about every fifteen minutes. However, near evening they can get pretty crowded and you may have to wait longer for one to come by that has any vacancies.

If you're tired of the crowds, you don't have to walk too far along the Rim Trail until you'll find a spot that's pretty empty.

Enjoy your trip.
Chris

2gypsies wrote:

Janitor1 wrote:
. When we will be returning, we would have five days extra it takes four days back and we just like to have to relax and get settled when we get home so we are wondering if there is something to see on the way back in Colorado or Nebraska.

You could go back via Colorado 160. Just north of Durango is Haviland Lake national forest campground that is awesome.

Another stop could be Pagosa Springs on 160. Spend a morning soaking in the immaculate pools of varying temperatures overlooking the river. We love it!

Your truck would be fully capable of continuing on 160 to South Fork, CO. You'll have a steep climb out of Pagosa but it's a wide highway and plenty of RVers and truckers drive it.

From South Fork you could continue east on 160 to CO10 toward La Junta and north to Nebraska, bypassing I-25 and the traffic.

Good route and if you go north on CO150 east of Alamosa, CO you can hit Great Sand Dunes Nat. Monument enroute campground link

Janitor1 wrote:
. When we will be returning, we would have five days extra it takes four days back and we just like to have to relax and get settled when we get home so we are wondering if there is something to see on the way back in Colorado or Nebraska.

You could go back via Colorado 160. Just north of Durango is Haviland Lake national forest campground that is awesome.

Another stop could be Pagosa Springs on 160. Spend a morning soaking in the immaculate pools of varying temperatures overlooking the river. We love it!

Your truck would be fully capable of continuing on 160 to South Fork, CO. You'll have a steep climb out of Pagosa but it's a wide highway and plenty of RVers and truckers drive it.

From South Fork you could continue east on 160 to CO10 toward La Junta and north to Nebraska, bypassing I-25 and the traffic.

Here are some links to places to see.
Moab area:
Kane Creek Road
Potash Lower Colorado Byway
Upper Colorado River UT-128 Scenic Byway
Sago Canyon
Dead Horse Point State Park
Arches National Park
Canyonlands National Park
Needles District
Newspaper Rock

Flagstaff Area:
Sunset Crater National Monument
Wupatki National Monument
Walnut Canyon National Monument

South of Flagstaff in Sedona/Cottonwood/Camp Verde:
Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well National Monuments
Tuzigoot National Monument
Palatki and Honaki Ruins
V-Bar-V Heritage Site
Verde Canyon Railroad
Fort Verde State Park
Cathedral Rock
Gold King Mine
Jerome State Historic Park
the town of Jerome
the town of Sedona

Going East on I-40 from Flagstaff are Homolovi Ruins State Park near Winslow where you can stand on the corner. Meteor Crater and Petrified Forest National Park are not far from the New Mexico Border.

If you head Northeast from the Grand Canyon there is a lot to see in the Monument Valley/Bluff/Blanding Area:
Monument Valley
UT-261 the Moki Dugway
Goosenecks State Park
Hovenweep National Monument
Natural Bridges National Monument
Bluff Fort
South Fork of Mule Canyon and House on Fire
The Valley of The Gods
Edge of the Cedars State Park
Dinosaur Museum

In Nebraska, Fort Kearney is worth a visit in my opinion. There is also the Great Platte River Road Museum on I-80.

Thanks for all the good ideas

We are leaving from Wisconsin and we are going to be stopping at Estes area for 2 days. We are wondering were to stay and see there, then we will be traveling to Spanish trail campground in arches and staying 5 nights. I think we have it covered what to do there. Then we will be going to Bryce canyon for one night staying at ruby's. Then we are going to go to Zion for two night at watchman's campground. Then to travelers village for the grand canyon for two days. When we will be returning, we would have five days extra it takes four days back and we just like to have to relax and get settled when we get home so we are wondering if there is something to see on the way back in Colorado or Nebraska.

There are several private campgrounds around Moab, however most of the national park campgrounds and blm campgrounds might not be a good fit for your 40 footer. About 4 yrs ago, we visited in a 40 foot fifth and wheel and chose to stay at Portal RV resort on the northern edge of town. There is a privately owned side and a side for public use. The private side is exceptionally nice and the owners allow their sites to be rented, when they are not using them. An added bonus for that time of year- a pool! There was one campground somewhere near Deadhorse Point State Park, that we might consider, but it is quite a ways from town and other parks, which would be a negative IMHO. A beautiful area!! Have fun!

Agree with previous posters regarding Ouray/Durango area, but if you go that route, be sure you are aware of roads.

Yup, Trailer Village on South Rim is where you want to be. Will be there again (about 8 times now I think) and also Moab again (same number there) later this year. We go in the Fall. We stay at Spanish Trail in Moab - no quite as convenient to Arches but like it the best and we have tried them all.

In the Grand Canyon you can stay at Trailer Village and leave your fifth wheel hooked up for A/C for your dogs and use the bus system to get around. You can use your TV in the village and out to the east. There is a campground convenient to Arches and Canyonlands, Arch View Resort RV Camp. Again you can leave your dogs in the A/C in the fifth wheel and travel via the TV. Of course, you have to feel comfortable leaving your dogs in the fifth wheel.

Traveling between Arches and the Grand Canyon you may want to stop by Antelope Canyon which provides an opportunity for some unique photography. You must use a tour company or the tour offered at the canyon. You cannot go on your own. It might be wise to make reservations for a tour in advance if you go there. The tours on site tend to back up by several hours.

We traveled in that area this past summer and you can see where we stayed and what we did in the blog "Arches, Geysers, and Canyons" in my signature.

We are not hikers so there will very minimum hiking in our trip.

Grand Canyon's north rim is higher and cooler than the south rim. Plenty of places to boondock on national forest land just outside the park boundary, search past threads for details.

I really like Arches NP, but from about 10:30 am to 7:30 pm will be hot, hot, hot. If it gets to be too much for you after a couple of days, think about heading to the Telluride/Ouray/Silverton area where it's high and cooler with great mountain scenery; rent a Wrangler and hit some of the trails!

As noted, dogs are very restricted in the national parks.

Arches and Moab area is hot in July and August. Average high is 96 degrees. Temps above 100 not at all uncommon. Sightsee early in the morning and late in the evening. One hike you can do with a dog is Negro Bill Canyon about three miles up UT 128 from US 191. The trail is in a canyon so shaded from the sun part of the day. A stream flows through the canyon for the dog to splash. Keep the dog on a leash as they report poison ivy in the canyon. There is an interesting arch at the end of the trail. The LaSal Mountain Loop up Castle Valley to the LaSals is a good way to spend the middle of the day. Quite nice up there with great views overlooking the red rock country.

Grand Canyon is higher up and thus cooler in mid-summer. Again, significant restrictions on where dogs are allowed.

I would think three or four days for GCNP and a week for the Moab area would leave you time to see other, cooler places. littlemo noted the San Juans as one escape from the heat. Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP is another park higher up in elevation. Bryce Canyon NP is the highest in elevation of the southern Utah parks and also worth a few days.