Utah national parks

Very popular in the summer, if you do not you can plan on remote camping most of the time

We go to Utah a lot, just remember it gets hot early in some parts last May 11th it was already 94 degrees at Arches national park. We book our camp sites 6 months out.

My advise would be for boondocking you should be ok. New member for 8 years.. he's not coming back.

I have been in the Moab, Zion, and Bryce area many times. During the busy months, even the boondocking spots along the Colorado River near Moab are full. Most of the commercial sites are very pricy and also full. Make reservations is you know when you are going to be there.

Zion and Brice canyon Parks are restricted area, parking in the parks is limited. do your home work.
The rest of state is wide open.
We parked the coach, and use the car for the Parks.

I visited the parks two years ago when the pandemic was winding down. As for camping if you are planning on staying at private parks (I did) then make reservations early. If you are going to stay at the campgrounds in the parks its probably to late.

As for getting into the parks I know when I was there it was just starting to get very busy. By that only so many cars were allowed at one time very very limited parking. Plan on getting into the parks early morning.

Man, this whole thing makes me so glad I was able to visit these parks back before the turn of the century when it was so easy: just drive in and look around.

We visited Bryce Arches and Zion in September 2019. Very crowded. Not an enjoyable trip. Wait at the entrance, wait for the shuttle, wait for the restrooms, almost like Disney World.
I can't imagine the crowds in the peak summer months. Make reservations NOW.

quadfifty wrote:
I plan on visiting Utah's national parks this summer. It seems to be a lot of trouble to make reservations. Is it absolutely necessary to make reservations or can you plan as you go? Any advise would be appreciated.

No you’re totally fine. The fact that it’s somehow hard for you to make reservations now, in advance, means they have reserved a quadfifty spot at each campground you’ll be going to….on the day you plan on being there, without even knowing those dates…..
Lol

During peak season you can't even enter some of the National Parks w/o a reservation much less camp. Popular is an understatement. Worth the trouble to make an early reservation, however.