Help us plan our trip! Zion NP

alesis wrote:

2gypsies wrote:
I guess I don't understand getting a 'base camp' and traveling two hours to see something else and then two hours back again.

I'd recommend moving to different areas. Then you can explore all day without having to drive an additional two hours back to the campsite.

I'd suggest 4 nights in Zion; 4 nights in Bryce and 3-4 nights in Capitol Reef. Stay in the parks for the best overall experience.

We're open to trying anything! It's just a pain to tear down and setup multiple times, especially when we have a 27 hour drive from home. But any things an option! That's why we ask here. :)

We have done similar things. Note Zion, yet, that is still on the to-go list, thinking of trying to do it during a Christmas or Spring Break. We are from the Detroit area and decided anything west of Rushmore would have to be a 2 week trip to make it work the driving to get there and back. I sure don't regret taking the long drives to see what the other side of the country has to offer!!

We generally push hard to get to our destination (long days driving, 14 to 16 hours) and just overnight off the freeway somewhere. Then when we get to our destination we try to stay put for 3 to 4 days before moving to the next spot (all based on seeing the things we want to see in that area). We have found that it strikes the best balance of being close to the things we want to see, while not constantly driving, packing, unpacking, setting camp and breaking camp. It also works out that it will be about time to dump the tanks too. Keeping this in mind, we keep the camp setup fairly minimal (in Bear territory we have to do it anyway) so the the setting up camp and breaking camp don't take too much time. I'd suggest trying this to limit car time during vacation. Works for us, but your mileage may vary.

jmtandem wrote:
If you plan to drive thru the tunnel with your trailer, be sure to first check with the rangers. It is one lane for RV's due to the size of the tunnel.

You don't need to contact the Rangers, there's one at the entrance.
Tunnel

Thanks for all the advice! We decided to do 4 nights at Zion, 2 at the north rim, and 4 in Moab. We'll visit Bryce while at Zion, and visit the 2 NPs near Moab while there. Keep the suggestions coming for activities! You guys are awesome :)

2gypsies wrote:
Since you're avid hikers, I'd suggest Bryce, for sure. It a cooler park in summer because of elevation and the trails are like a fairy wonderland. The kids (and you) would really enjoy it.

Then take Hwy 12 up to Capitol Reef Nat'l Park - more great trails.

If you have time on your return, stop for a few days at Moab for Arches Nat'l Park. Again, the trails are awesome, especially the Fiery Furnace range-led hike. Again, the kids would absolutely love it. If you only have a couple days for Moab, concentrate on Arches NP rather than Canyonlands. The hikes are more fun.

Personally, I'd skip Zion for this trip and instead, do the above three parks.

Excellent advice.

alesis,

Looks like you have got a lot of good info on your upcoming summer trip to "Red Rock" country. Just a comment on your plans for hiking to the river and back whether a day or backpack trip in the GCNP during July in a few years.

My wife and I have never hiked to the river in July but have been there a number of times in April, early May and have experienced temperatures over 100F while the temperatures on the rim can be quite cool. These are shade temps. The real temps are much higher and shade quite often, is few and far between. I am the first person to encourage families to hike during their vacations and you have said your kids are avid hikers. Only you know their capabilities. Just be aware,The park info does not recommend hiking to the river in the summer.

We have been lucky in the last 5 years to have day hiked or backpacked every official trail in the South Rim, sometimes multiple times, from the Little Colorado to the Boucher Trail so if you Have any questions, just pm me.

Dave

Thanks for all the great info! Unfortunately, this is the only time we have 2 weeks straight to camp. It's based off my wife's work vacation shut down, which is always these 2 weeks. We've done Dallas and the South Rim during this same time. We just plan accordingly and stay hydrated!

4runnerguy wrote:

alesis wrote:
We will visit Zion first, as it's further from home. If this option, we will do day trips to Bryce and GCNP while at Zion.

It's a three hour drive each way from Zion to the North Rim. That's six hours of driving for a precious few hours at the canyon. After a 27 hour drive, I doubt your kids would want another day in the car. Besides, you are worried about set up and take down time. I'm sure that you wouldn't use six hours to do that. I'd either camp at the North Rim or just scratch it this trip, esp. since you've already been to the South Rim.

One can visit Bryce from Zion, but get up really early and plan on returning really late. It's a four hour round trip, so I'd only plan one day if you're not going to make the move (but we wouldn't think of doing this, and we've got more to do with moving a PUP than a trailer would take). Park at the visitors center and use the shuttle bus so you can drop into the canyon at one place, hike in the canyon, then come out somewhere else where you'll meet the bus. (Bus is free).

alesis wrote:
Is there a better area than Moab to stay to access Canyonlands NP and Arches NP? After reviewing CGs in Moab, most seem to get relatively shady reviews or don't have a pool, which is a must for us.

Moab is really the only place to stay in the area. Since you're going in the middle of the summer (ugh, hot), did you check out Dead Horse Point SP? Only electric (50 amp to run an a/c) but no water or sewer. Dump station at the entrance. 2000' higher than Moab, so 6 to 8 degrees cooler. Better spacing between sites and much quieter at night. A bit of a drive back to Moab is the biggest down side. We stay here in late fall (Oct/Nov) when it's getting a little chilly and we need the elec. for heat. Otherwise we camp in the BLM spots along the river.

As for a pool, I sure wouldn't make that a priority. There's so much to do around Moab, you might not find yourself spending more time at your campsite except to sleep. If you want to do some swimming in the heat of the day, take a hike to the Mill Creek swimming hole or to Faux Falls. There are also places to wade and play in Negro Bill Canyon on the way up to Morning Glory Arch. Playing in the water at any of these places would be a unique experience for a kid from Detroit and surely top just another swimming pool experience at a CG. So if your CG has a pool, great, but don't make your decision based on that one criteria.

alesis wrote:
If you have any "must do" things in the locations, please let me know!

If you'll look at my post above, I gave you several good ideas of kid-friendly things to do.

alesis wrote:
will visit GCNP again in a few years to do the full hike to the bottom.

For future reference, make sure you plan this as a March or October trip, esp. with children. This is absolutely not something one should do in the summertime. It can be a brutally hot hike near the bottom even in spring and fall.

Since you're avid hikers, I'd suggest Bryce, for sure. It a cooler park in summer because of elevation and the trails are like a fairy wonderland. The kids (and you) would really enjoy it.

Then take Hwy 12 up to Capitol Reef Nat'l Park - more great trails.

If you have time on your return, stop for a few days at Moab for Arches Nat'l Park. Again, the trails are awesome, especially the Fiery Furnace range-led hike. Again, the kids would absolutely love it. If you only have a couple days for Moab, concentrate on Arches NP rather than Canyonlands. The hikes are more fun.

Personally, I'd skip Zion for this trip and instead, do the above three parks.

alesis wrote:
We will visit Zion first, as it's further from home. If this option, we will do day trips to Bryce and GCNP while at Zion.

It's a three hour drive each way from Zion to the North Rim. That's six hours of driving for a precious few hours at the canyon. After a 27 hour drive, I doubt your kids would want another day in the car. Besides, you are worried about set up and take down time. I'm sure that you wouldn't use six hours to do that. I'd either camp at the North Rim or just scratch it this trip, esp. since you've already been to the South Rim.

One can visit Bryce from Zion, but get up really early and plan on returning really late. It's a four hour round trip, so I'd only plan one day if you're not going to make the move (but we wouldn't think of doing this, and we've got more to do with moving a PUP than a trailer would take). Park at the visitors center and use the shuttle bus so you can drop into the canyon at one place, hike in the canyon, then come out somewhere else where you'll meet the bus. (Bus is free).

alesis wrote:
Is there a better area than Moab to stay to access Canyonlands NP and Arches NP? After reviewing CGs in Moab, most seem to get relatively shady reviews or don't have a pool, which is a must for us.

Moab is really the only place to stay in the area. Since you're going in the middle of the summer (ugh, hot), did you check out Dead Horse Point SP? Only electric (50 amp to run an a/c) but no water or sewer. Dump station at the entrance. 2000' higher than Moab, so 6 to 8 degrees cooler. Better spacing between sites and much quieter at night. A bit of a drive back to Moab is the biggest down side. We stay here in late fall (Oct/Nov) when it's getting a little chilly and we need the elec. for heat. Otherwise we camp in the BLM spots along the river.

As for a pool, I sure wouldn't make that a priority. There's so much to do around Moab, you might not find yourself spending more time at your campsite except to sleep. If you want to do some swimming in the heat of the day, take a hike to the Mill Creek swimming hole or to Faux Falls. There are also places to wade and play in Negro Bill Canyon on the way up to Morning Glory Arch. Playing in the water at any of these places would be a unique experience for a kid from Detroit and surely top just another swimming pool experience at a CG. So if your CG has a pool, great, but don't make your decision based on that one criteria.

alesis wrote:
If you have any "must do" things in the locations, please let me know!

If you'll look at my post above, I gave you several good ideas of kid-friendly things to do.

alesis wrote:
will visit GCNP again in a few years to do the full hike to the bottom.

For future reference, make sure you plan this as a March or October trip, esp. with children. This is absolutely not something one should do in the summertime. It can be a brutally hot hike near the bottom even in spring and fall.

alesis wrote:
Is there a better area than Moab to stay to access Canyonlands NP and Arches NP? After reviewing CGs in Moab, most seem to get relatively shady reviews or don't have a pool, which is a must for us.

I know most tourist areas have small sites, but some of the Moab CGs have cmapers nearly touching. If there's a better area allowing easy travel to these, I'd love to hear it.

Portal RV in Moab has a nice pool, but you need to stay on the "resort" side of the park to use it.

Is there a better area than Moab to stay to access Canyonlands NP and Arches NP? After reviewing CGs in Moab, most seem to get relatively shady reviews or don't have a pool, which is a must for us.

I know most tourist areas have small sites, but some of the Moab CGs have cmapers nearly touching. If there's a better area allowing easy travel to these, I'd love to hear it.