Grand Canyon North Rim, Zion, Bryce Canyon

Yes, indeed, we live just north of Longview. The Taylor River - Spring Creek area above Almont has been one of our favorites from long before we started pulling an RV.

So, I was taking North Rim, Zion, and Bryce as givens. The others were just possibilities for the trip back. Colorado is still going to be inviting in August. But an alternative would be to "scoot" back to Santa Fe and spend some time there. We like Santa Fe Skies RV Park. No trees, but on a hill overlooking the city.

BTW, we usually stop at Ole Town Cotton Gin just for an overnight. We have also stayed at Wichita Falls RV Park and the Rocking A at Vernon. IF we are going on up to Colorado (rather than Santa Fe) we try to stop on the top of Raton Pass at Cedar Rail.

From the NPS site:

"Prohibited Vehicles:
Vehicles over 13 feet 1 inch tall, Semi-trucks, vehicles carrying hazardous materials, vehicles weighing more than 50,000 pounds, single vehicles over 40 feet long, combined vehicles over 50 feet long. All Bicycles. Pedestrians."

If you can meet these limits, its an awesome drive through (although a little nerve racking).

We haven't been to the north rim yet, so I can't comment on it (bad planning so far, but an excuse for another trip out).

If you want to stay in one place, we've been to both Bryce and Zion and would favor Zion. DW and I both consider Zion to be one of the most beautiful places anywhere.... There are a number of good hikes; but DON'T MISS walking the Virgin river up into the canyon. It is awesome. (half day)

In Bryce, take the hike down into the canyon. If you like to hike, its certainly worth the effort (half day).

If you decide to stay in one place and visit the other I would certainly recommend Zion (we generally like staying in one place and doing it justice). You can do Bryce in a long day. Its almost 2 hours between, so you'd have to leave early and return late to do it any justice.

Regards,
Doug

The tunnel was no big deal. I think they charged $15 and that was good for 7 days. As soon as you pull up to the checkpoint, they radio the ranger on the other side of the tunnel. He stops traffic on that side, so you are able to drive down the middle of the tunnel. Check for height restrictions though, as we have a travel trailer. I would highly recommend staying at Watchman in Zion. It's an amazing campground and very convenient to the shuttle. We stayed there 4 nights and could have stayed 4 more! We thought it was the most beautiful place on our entire trip out West, and that included the Grand Canyon. We had intended to drive to Bryce from Zion, but found so much to do at Zion that we never made it over there. We loved Utah so much that we plan to go back next year to see the rest of their national parks.

Not knowing your planned route to get to the North Rim area, here's a suggestion to get you started:

Arizona I-40 at Flagstaff: spend a night if you're ready to stop - at Bonito national forest campground just outside the entrance gate of Sunset Crater Volcano Nat'l Monument just north of Flagstaff on Hwy 89. It's a beautiful campground - flush toilets, no showers and no dump station. Then when you leave, do the Sunset Crater loop which will take you past Wupatki Nat'l Monument if you want to check out the ancient dwellings. Continue on this short loop drive and it will take you back out to Hwy 89.

Continue north on AZ89 and pick up Alt 89 taking you to Jacob Lake, AZ. There are campgrounds there - dry and full hookup - or you can continue on 67 to the North Rim and stay in the park's campground. No hookups but there is a dump station, water fill and pay showers, small grocery, restaurant. With your children's ages and since you mentioned you enjoy hiking, plan on at least 2-3 nights at the North Rim.

Then go to Zion via 67 back to Jacob Lake and pick up Alt 89 into Fredonia, AZ. At Fredonia take AZ389 which becomes UT 59 at Colorado City. Continue on UT 59 into Hurricane, Utah and east on Hwy 9 to Zion. This is the no tunnel route. There are full hookup parks in Springdale and you can catch the free park shuttle right in this small town. Or you can stay in the park itself at Watchman campground - electric sites and a dump station and water fill. The sites are shady. You can easily walk to the visitor center to pick up the free shuttle into the canyon. Zion has some very nice hikes by using the shuttle. Just get on and off wherever you want and pick up the next shuttle. Again, if hiking, plan on at least 3 nights in Zion.

Leaving Zion - with your 32' RV you can easily use the tunnel route if you want. Just get on Hwy 9 and continue east to Mt. Carmel Junction at Hwy 89 and continue north on 89 to Hwy 12 and Bryce.

Or...leaving Zion...if you don't want to use the tunnel, backtrack the way you came (UT 59/AZ389 to Fredonia, AZ and take 89 north to Hwy 12 and Bryce.

Or...leaving Zion...head west on Hwy 9 to I-15 north. Go north to Hwy 20 (good for RVs) and head the short distance east to UT 89 then a short distance south to Panguitch and to Hwy 12 and Bryce. Don't take Hwy 14 at Cedar City from I-15. It's very steep and curvy. Take Hwy 20 instead.

Bryce - either stay at Ruby's RV just outside the park gate for full hookups. It's a huge complex with restaurants, laundry, fuel, repairs. If you don't need full hookups stay inside the park. Both places have the free shuttle for touring the topside rim. However, to really get the feel of Bryce and again, since you enjoy hiking, definitely take a couple trails down into the canyon. It's an awesome experience to weave in and out of those magnificient hoodoos. You won't get the same feeling if you stay up on the rim. 3-4 nights here if you plan to hike.

We would never advise anyone to try to stay at a base camp for these Utah parks and try to see them by long day drives. That's not how to experience the parks. It's best to stay IN them or very nearby.

Don't know how you want to get back to Texas but from Bryce you could continue on Hwy 12 and stop at night or two in Escalante and hike Calf Creek Falls (wear you swimsuit). Then continue on 12 to Capitol Reef and Hwy 24 to I-70 for your return home.

Lots of options. We've been to these parks often and are hikers so we know you'll definitely enjoy them. Have a good trip!

I haven't been to north rim of GC yet, but hope to go soon. Maybe this July.

On a trip I took to Bryce and Zion, I camped just a few miles W of Bryce at Red Canyon. Red Canyon has some nice trails. One in particular that I greatly enjoyed was the Arches Trail; the views are great and the climb is not too long or too difficult.


Bryce is nice, but I regret not taking the horse ride down into the canyon; your family would probably love this.

And as mentioned previously, the hike up the slot canyon (wading in the Virgin River) at Zion is not to be missed if you are there. Plan about 6 hours for this hike, I think. Rent water boots (5-10 Canyoneers) and stuff at a shop in town for the day. Zion will be hot, but it's quite a bit cooler in the slot. Your kids will talk about this hike for years to come, I bet.

Nearby Cedar Breaks is like a mini Bryce Canyon, only you just view it from the rim. At very high elevation, so it will be cooler there if other places are too hot for you.

If you like mountain biking, you could boondock out on the Rainbow Rim -- cool and green. You can take a big rig out there, carefully:

North Rim trip -- lots of pictures

farmbone wrote:
It sounds like a lot of you are suggesting visiting tons of places over our time, but to be honest, we have gotten where we like to see less and more in depth. We like staying places for 3 or 4 days at least.

Smart, smart, smart!

The time of year makes this a tougher choice. For us, the best hiking of the three is in Zion, but it is hot there in the summer. However, if you plan your day, you can still stay a little cooler. Hike the trails on the east side of the canyon in the morning and the west side of the canyon in the afternoon, taking advantage of the high canyon walls for shade. Some of the trails also climb up to higher elevations where it's cooler (Observation Point, West Rim Trail). Another interesting trail is Hidden Canyon Trail above Weeping Rock. You'll get to a sign where it says the trail ends, but you can keep going (you won't be the only ones doing so). You'll enter a deep box canyon where the high walls help block the sun. Go as far as you can up the canyon -- your scrambling abilities will dictate how far that is. Of course the Narrows is cool even on the hottest days. Take some hiking sandals or old tennis shoes to do this hike. Take your time and explore along the way. It is sooooo refreshing in there. As for camping, if you stay at Watchman CG in the park (has electric) you'll be able to soak your feet in the Virgin "River" to cool off, plus you won't have to drive to go anywhere, as you can walk to the shuttle (the only way into the canyon). Big cottonwood trees line the river which is just footsteps from some of the campsites.

At Bryce, you're up above 7000' so it is quite a bit cooler. Use the shuttle bus to get dropped off at one viewpoint, hike down into the canyon, and exit via another viewpoint, where you can catch the shuttle bus back to your vehicle. We prefer to camp near each of the parks rather than spending a couple of hours each day "commuting".

I guess if it were me, it would be three days each at GC and Zion and two days at Bryce.

We took a similar trip a few years ago. When we left the north rim, we took highway 89 north from Fredonia and into Kanab, Utah. A great place to take a little break and have some lunch. It's a very quaint little town and still has a old western movie set where many western movies were filmed. The Gunsmoke filming location is not too far outside of town to the east. It's on private property and is in dis-repair and has no trespassing signs on the fence, but the land owners live right next door and allowed us to go in and take pictures. They said the no trespassing signs are just for insurance reasons. Also on your way out of Kanab to the north is some really cool wind caves just off the road on your left. You can find some photos and the exact location on Google Earth, which is how we stumbled upon them. This road will lead you to highway 9 and the east entrance to Zion. I agree with some other posters in that this just an amazing park and the hiking there is both amazing and endless. This is by far my favorite national park of the ones that I've been to so far. If you are seasoned at towing your 5th wheel, and it sounds like you are, I wouldn't be afraid to go through the tunnel. There are some switchbacks, and there is a fee and I would check on height restrictions before going, but the views into the canyon from here are a must see. If you can't get into one of the campgrounds in the park, there is one just outside of the west gate in Springdale that we stayed in. It is along the Virgin river and has full hook-ups. You can catch a shuttle from there into the park if you like. Bryce and the North Rim are awesome and are a must see, but for me personally, Zion is where I would spend the bulk of my time. I envy you and wish we were going with you. We didn't get to hike the narrows when we were there, they were closed due to too much water flow from the river. But hey that just gives us an excuse to go back.

farmbone wrote:
Hello, we are driving from Texas for a trip to the North Rim and then on to Zion and Bryce..

I'm thinking 4 days at the North Rim and 2 nights each at Zion and Bryce Canyon. ( Or should it Bryce and then Zion?) Or my husband wondered if we should just camp 4 nights at Zion and take a day trip into Bryce or camp 4 days and just take a day trip to Zion?

Also, we have a 32 foot 5th wheel. I keep reading about a tunnel and can't tell if we should avoid it or not. We could drive it after we drop off the trailer as another option. I'm just not sure of the route we should take.

We will be going the first couple of weeks of August. The North Rim and Bryce look like they would be a little cooler than Zion.

Thanks for any help.

Some RVers are nervous when it comes to roads like the Zion tunnel switch backs,in 2010 Hwy9 through Zion was upgraded including the switchbacks, making them wider in the turns. In the video below you'll see a large 5th wheel coming down the switchbacks during the construction.

click on photo for video


If boon docking is good with you, take FR22 into the Kaiba Forest, this will place you about 5 miles from the North Rim entrance. There is a fuel station inside the N. Rim park as well as a small market.
Off FR22

I have not read every word of every post. Most seem good, but a couple of things come to mind: (Sorry if I am repeating somebody)

Leaving North Rim, try to go by Pipe Springs NM. Interesting take on early settlements.

While it is possible to go from Ouray, CO directly to Santa Fe, that takes you over the Million Dollar Highway, through Silverton, Durango, and Pagosa Springs. You don't want to do the first two segments unless you are VERY experienced in the mountains. We have done it both ways with fivers, once 28' and the last time with 35'. I don't have any problems with it but the high country is my second (and favorite) home.