Forum Discussion

FULLTIMEWANABE's avatar
Apr 12, 2017

Which UTAH State & National Parks Should Not Be Missed

With limited time in the area (a little flexibility to add an extra day here or there but not weeks!), and so much choice from what google information we've managed to source can you share what would be your "must see" for the day/half day or when passing enroute, versus "should camp overnight" or two nights. We are not sure if we should be buying the $75 annual SP pass as well as the $80 America The Beautiful annual pass or just Pay as we arrive at each and every SP, as some state you don't pay the day entrance fee if you are booked into the CG overnight.

We enjoy walking, but we are not strenuous hikers by any means. We enjoy anything water related such as rafting/kayaking, fishing for hubby (albeit depends on what's available versus price of non-resident license!), and of course general WOW sightings whilst enjoying our picnics. We are set up well and prefer dry camping and boon docking so happy for any tips on where to stay.

We've done Zion NP overnights very briefly 3 or 4 times years ago , but we'd like to save that for a more in depth stay for a few days in the future at maybe Watchman CG so not including on this trip.

We will be crossing the Sweetgrass border early in the morning on the 3rd May, and intend to head to Yellowstone NP North side (Gardiner) and then amble our way around and down towards and through Tetons, and eventually be at Antelope State Park on 6th or 7th May for an O/N - day and half in that SP. Is this an OK time of year to do this?

We have to head directly over the next couple of days down to Yuma (not ideal time of year to do that but schedules and need dictates!) for dental work, the main reason for this trip, and will hang around for a good couple of weeks plus doing a loop of things in AZ

We will be coming North through the VRG from LV, and working out way North back to Canada at the very end of May taking about two to three weeks to get home around mid June and here is where we wanted to get a good taste of Utah's SPs and NPs which we've passed by so very many times over the years but never experienced. Here and more or less in order are our thoughts, and where we look to you experienced RVers as to what is worth staying at overnight for the ambience/visiting for the day or as passing by, or maybe even "don't waste our time as xxxx is much better". Likewise is there any "must see/do" we've missed maybe, and please any boon docking tips always welcome.

Gunlock SP and/or Sand Hollow SP
Otter Creek SP
Bryce Canyon NP
Kodachrome (Check out as passing enroute?)
Capital Reef State Park
Goblin SP
Arches NP
Moab (where best to stay O/N here, ideally boon docking but ..... and how long to explore?)
Canyonlands NP
Dead Horse Point SP (Is this worthy compared to what else we'll be doing?)
Huntington SP - ?worth a look see enroute or ?
Starvation SP - ?worth detouring a little to check out?
Deer Creek SP - ?look see or worth staying at O/N?

Then amble having a look see enroute over the next week or so up through part of Idaho & Montana, to Twin Falls, Hagerman, Sun Valley, Ketchum, Stanley, Salmon, Hamilton, Missoula, Anaconda.

In a nutshell we are trying to get off the I15 Hwy, and get a little taster of different areas we've not been to, that we can maybe add into our spreadsheet of places we'd like to spend more time at when that time permits us to do so in the future.

Thanks for sharing your valuable input regarding the general plan for this trip so we can make the absolute best of our time. Likewise any "boon docking/dry camping tips" so very very much appreciated.
  • I would definitely recommend Arches and Canyonlands NP. Canyonlands is actually 3 segments (Island in the Sky, Needles & The Maze) with independent entrances (you cannot drive across Canyonlands). Arches is at least a day minimum by itself since some of the Arches you have to walk to (a lot of short 15 minute hikes on good ground).

    Spend time if you can taking some of the shorter easy walks in both parks, you'll be surprised what you find in both parks for views and history.

    We just had time for Canyonlands - Island in the Sky, but did take the Mesa Arch walk - spectacular views. Spend some time on the drive at a lot of the vista points, some very interesting history and ranger talks. You can see a lot of Canyonlands on the paved roads, unless you like long 4x4 trips (some of the 4x4 roads are one-way for safety).

    Just find a place in Moab as a home base to visit Arches and Canyonlands. The town of Moab is interesting, but we just used it for home base to go to the parks. Good town services.

    Also, go to NPS.gov for information on all the national parks in Utah. There's a lot more parks, etc in Utah that are also very interesting.

    Watch Yellowstone NP website, currently the road won't be open through to the Tetons till around May 12th (west side of the loop past Old Faithful). You may want to consider reversing your route - go directly south, THEN back through the Tetons & YNP. Then all the roads in YNP will most likely all be open later in May, especially if they find avalanche damage after they remove the snow.
  • Thank you TexasChaps, will look into that and the cost of license etc. Appreciate the recommendation.
  • if you are heading to Bryce then you might like to check out Pangiutch lake to fish.. there is a forest service campground ( north site not the south site ) there $10 or $12 a night. no free dispersed though..
  • No we are not intending to drive 8 or 10 hours "just" to spend an hour or two in a major interest park. Ironically as I've already mapped out what we "think" we'd like to cover, most of it has anywhere from an hour to 4 hours generally between points, so I'm totally confused how you'd think we'd just flat out be driving 8 or 10 hours a day to spend a couple of hours in a park?????

    As I mentioned we are taking two or three weeks to cover the return from roughly St George UT area to home (if we were just going direct up I15, that would typically be 16 to 18 hours actual driving time), and we have the flexibility to add an extra day or so here and there, just sadly unlike already full-timers or snowbirds, we don't have the luxury right now of taking an extra several weeks.

    Nonetheless, thanks for your input agesilaus thus far!
  • First thing you need to do is check the snow condition at YNP unless you intend to do snowshoeing

    The rest of your itinerary is based on wild dreams, these parks are -far- apart. If you think driving for 8 or 10 hours in order to do a hour or two in the park is worth it then have at it.

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