Grand Canyon June 2022

[stew47]

Hello everyone. I put in my vacation days. June 10-July 1 I have off. The goal is see Grand Canyon. Never been there. Son would like couple days in Phoenix. I’d also like to head to California. I grew up in Goleta and would like to show my boys where I grew up. I know it’s pretty ambitious and if time or price of gas nixes California then maybe year after we can fly to west coast for a week. What’s everyone’s thoughts on routes from ne Ohio and what would you stop and see along the way ?

[bgum]

agesilaus wrote:

bgum wrote:
Williams is 60 miles one way from the GC. Any money saved on free camping will be spent in fuel costs and dump fees if you stay there.

Make your reservations at trailer village as soon as they finalize.

Who has been talking about Williams? The national Forest is all around the south rim and our Boondocking spot was a few miles from the south entry station and closer yet to that town.

LWIDDIS mentioned Williams twice.

[ken56]

You asked about routes and places to see. OK, I have in the past gone online and ordered the travel guides from all the states I would be going through on our previous long trips. You have lots of time to do that and have it at hand to look through and see what stands out to you to see and do. They are free. Just look up the dept. of tourism for each state. I like them because they divide the states into regions with region specific maps usually.

From Ohio you could head to Indianapolis and see the Speedway museum. Then head on to St. Louis and see the Gateway Arch and museum. Then make your way to Springfield MO. and see the home of Bass Pro shops and then continue down to Oklahoma City and pick up I-40.

An alternative is to head to Nashville and pick up I-40 there. Mammoth cave is in Kentucky a little way off I-65, then on to Nashville and see the Hermitage there and Broadway street downtown. Onward to Memphis and into Arkansas and Oklahoma. No suggestions for those 2.

Into Texas there is Palo Duro Canyon, the grand canyon of the east. It's not too far south of Amarillo and might make a good place to camp for a day or 2. On into New Mexico and Arizona. We stayed in Williams when we went to the Grand Canyon. Yes, it's an hour drive away but really, if you don't hike or intend to take one of the mule excursions or rafting trips then there isn't all that much to do there. We loved seeing it and we went there 2 days. Williams is a great route 66 town. We stayed at the Grand Canyon Railway RV park. Very nice park with access to the hotel and the buffet restaurant. I will say you may not want to boondock in the hot summer. You need electrical hookup to run the air conditioner

You have almost 3 weeks to do this in. It will be a lot of driving and having to pass up seeing some sights. Get the visitor guides to the states and then you can compare things you may want to see or do. It will be a wonderful trip.

[stew47]

Thank you son much. I’ll get out the calendar and map and start planning.

[Thom02099]

stew47 wrote:

agesilaus wrote:

skip CA with that amount of time and focus on seeing sites between your home and GC. Including Sedona.

+

Lord only knows what fuel will be in CA by then, it's $5/gal now might be $7 or $8 by then. And to think, I was getting diesel for just over $2 a year ago.

I won’t lie lol. Gas prices have me also planning a trip to Colorado as a plan B. 1400 miles to Denver vs 2500 miles to la area. I know we could spend couple weeks in Colorado and enjoy it.

If you're thinking about the Denver area, also think about making reservations now. In checking, for example, Cherry Creek State Park, they still have some full hookup sites for the weekend of the 10th and 3rd, which are the busy times, and during the week should be less of a problem. Also, in checking Chatfield State Park, they also have FHU spots available for both weekends so again the weekdays shouldn't be much of a problem.

Both state parks are very nice, and FHU would be desirable, particularly having water and electric. H E R E is the link to the reseervation page for both of those, as well as any other State Parks in Colorado. All Colorado state parks are reservation only now, there's no first come/first served.

IF you're thinking about RMNP for a stay, if you want inside the park, again make reservations now as these fill up very quickly. Two campgrounds in the Estes Park side, Glacier Basin and Moraine Park. They had restrictions on loops available last year due to the pandemic, but those loops have been re-opened for the 2022 season. Also keep in mind that RMNP has timed entry again this year for the 3rd season in a row. One must have a reservation to enter the park during a specific time window. If you are camping in the park, then you don't need the timed entry reservation, but you do need proof of reservation at one of the campgrounds.

There are private RV parks in the Denver area, but for the money you would do better with the state parks. Estes Park private RV parks will be way overpriced, the cheapest being Estes Park Campground at Mary's Lake for $47/night for W/E sites. Other prices will be more in the $60-$80/night range for FHU sites.

If USFS campgrounds are something you would consider, you will again need to make reservations now. The popular ones for the weekends of the 3rd and 10th of June are likely already completely booked, at least up here in my neck of the woods in northern Colorado. For the weekend of the 17th, the reservation window thru Recreation.gov opens on 12.17.21 at 10am EST/8am MST. Weekdays will be less of an issue.

[stew47]

agesilaus wrote:

skip CA with that amount of time and focus on seeing sites between your home and GC. Including Sedona.

+

Lord only knows what fuel will be in CA by then, it's $5/gal now might be $7 or $8 by then. And to think, I was getting diesel for just over $2 a year ago.

I won’t lie lol. Gas prices have me also planning a trip to Colorado as a plan B. 1400 miles to Denver vs 2500 miles to la area. I know we could spend couple weeks in Colorado and enjoy it.

[agesilaus]

skip CA with that amount of time and focus on seeing sites between your home and GC. Including Sedona.

+

Lord only knows what fuel will be in CA by then, it's $5/gal now might be $7 or $8 by then. And to think, I was getting diesel for just over $2 a year ago.

[Mike_W]

Just to complete the weather possibilities picture...we were in Phoenix area on June 11...at 11am it was 111 degrees. Made the mental note to visit in gentler times. South rim slightly cooler but worth consideration. Personally I would skip CA with that amount of time and focus on seeing sites between your home and GC. Including Sedona.

[agesilaus]

bgum wrote:
Williams is 60 miles one way from the GC. Any money saved on free camping will be spent in fuel costs and dump fees if you stay there.

Make your reservations at trailer village as soon as they finalize.

Who has been talking about Williams? The national Forest is all around the south rim and our Boondocking spot was a few miles from the south entry station and closer yet to that town.

[profdant139]

Boondocking is wonderful -- but not in hot weather. I think the South Rim area will be pretty hot in June. So I would recommend hookups. But that is just me -- other folks boondock in the heat, with no apparent ill effects.

If you want cool boondocking, maybe think about the North Rim? Let us know if that is an option for you, and we'll post some links.

[bgum]

Williams is 60 miles one way from the GC. Any money saved on free camping will be spent in fuel costs and dump fees if you stay there.

Make your reservations at trailer village as soon as they finalize.

[agesilaus]

stew47 wrote:

jdc1 wrote:
Phoenix in June? Hmmmmm. Drag those boys to a few "Ghost Towns" in AZ. There plenty of them. I usually stay at Cave Creek Reginal Park when I visit Phoenix. It's on the north end, away from all the traffic and noise.

Haha I know...hot!

Stopped to fuel up there one summer, 119 degrees. Just about got heat stroke filling the tank

[stew47]

jdc1 wrote:
Phoenix in June? Hmmmmm. Drag those boys to a few "Ghost Towns" in AZ. There plenty of them. I usually stay at Cave Creek Reginal Park when I visit Phoenix. It's on the north end, away from all the traffic and noise.

Haha I know...hot!

[jdc1]

Phoenix in June? Hmmmmm. Drag those boys to a few "Ghost Towns" in AZ. There plenty of them. I usually stay at Cave Creek Reginal Park when I visit Phoenix. It's on the north end, away from all the traffic and noise.

[agesilaus]

If you boondock, then there are many excellent boondocking spots in the surrounding National Forest. We were about 5 miles from the south entry station and spent 5 days in the NF on the south rim. Had a very good time last April. The North Rim is the same, many boondocking spots but much farther out.