Utah in early May?

In early May expect snow at higher altitudes. Bryce for one. Minimal crowds tho. But the weather that early can get bad in a blink of the eye.

There is no way to find one central location to visit Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches and Canyonlands. Maybe for Zion and Bryce but you'll spend a lot of time driving. This is especially true if you really want to see the parks and get some hiking in. I take it you are new to western parks and how big they are and how far apart they are. Canyonlands and Arches can be both done from the Moab area. For the west side of Canyonlands anyway.

I will be watching this thread as we are also thinking about going out in early May. lizzie

Look at Kanab, Utah as a base camp for the Zion area. Kanab Website

I've been there in April. It was a bit windy and the town really doesn't get their season started until May but it has a good location.

Moab is its own stop. Arches is having construction this year on their roads, be aware of that. Canyonlands is there. Dead Horse Point State Park is there.

Capital Reef NP is nice too if you want to spend a day there on the way from Moab to Zion. You can stay in the park in Fruita (no reservations and not very big campground) or just outside the park in Torrey. Escalante is a town a lot of Utahans go to but I don't know if out-of-staters go there.

"Escalante is a town a lot of Utahans go to but I don't know if out-of-staters go there. "
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We have spent several weeks in Escalante, but we do 4WD backcountry driving. There are a lot of slot canyons around that area. And there is the Hole in the Rock rd which brings you to the San Juan river after 70 miles of dirt road, the last 10 miles or so are on redrock with no road. Lots of history in the area. I'll have to say that the CG there is nothing great, the typical dry country dirt property.

Capitol Reef also has some good slot canyons and very very good 4WD backcountry roads.

We stayed in Kanab to do Zion, Bryce and the north rim of the Grand Canyon. We weren't camping, but it's a perfect location for the southern Utah parks. We like the north rim better than the south rim, much less crowded. It is a beautiful area.

Mark

Best time for Moab is May or October. Several large RV Parks catering to the biking crowd. North along the Colorado is some great BLM boondocking sites. Lots of hikers and bikers in May.

This past Memorial Day we spent a week in Utah riding our Harleys and RZR's. Weather was wonderful but chilly at times. Snow was gone except for the extreme mountain tops. We toured Zion and Bryce. We camped at a wonderful RV park in Marysvale on Hwy 89 called South Forty. It's probably farther north than you want to be but we loved the place.

Even if you don't own a SxS, such as a RZR, there are plenty of places to rent one for the day. I recommend it as there is so much beautiful country to see that can't be seen from the road.

We went in early May 3 years ago. Day-times were excellent weather, but nights were cold, below freezing on some nights so our water hose froze solid. That being said, it was a great time to go, not too many people being one of the benefits.

You may want to check with the Red Rocks 4-wheelers website about the Easter Safaris that happen around your time frame. I was out in Moab in 2014 picking my wife up from the hospital after a 12 day stay for an ATV accident. The place looked like a Sturgis week except for Jeeps. I doubt if there was any rooms or camping space anywhere.