In about a month, we will be heading out from Florida. Will be traveling I-10 or secondary roads on our way to NOLA, San Antonio, Phoenix, Las Vegas. After that, I want to go up to Utah to visit the NP's and then head to Yellowstone before turning around and heading back to FL. Our travel times/stops are flexible. I'm looking so suggestions for the route from Las Vegas to the Utah NP's then up to Yellowstone and for recommended places to stay. We are in a 43' MH towing a pickup. Thanks !

Here is a recent post that should help with the UT part plus in my second answer some CGs and a route to the Tetons. I've made this trip in a 42' MH. There is a tunnel between Zion and Bryce that's a problem for big rigs. Most will not recommend taking 12 between Bryce and Capt Reef although I have. There are some short very steep areas and it's kind of curvy. These are the only areas of concern all the way to Yellowstone.If you have the time I'd recommend the N Rim after doing Zion from the west side. 59/389/89A to Jacobs Lake will be 60 miles down and back but then you do not have to deal with the Zion tunnel. There is a USFS CG at Jacobs Lake and a private CG so do the rim in the PU from there. Leave the N Rim just after sunset and see how many mule deer you can count on the way back.

We just completed a visit to Zion, Grand Teton and Yellowstone - something we have experience doing. If I had some recommendations, they would be this: We always use Jordanelle state park as our "go-to" place. It is about 10 miles outside Park City, UT (also a great place to visit while you're in the area). Driving from Phoenix, we use Jordanelle as our stop-over on the way to points further north, then also on our way home. It is among the nicest facilities we've found in this part of the country. We stayed at Red Rock RV Park in Island Park, ID for our visit to Yellowstone this time. It was about $60 a night, but worked well for us due to vast open areas, and very rural, quiet atmosphere. We stayed several nights in Gros Ventre campground inside Grand Teton NP. It was bearable because it was largely vacant and we had no one else camping around us. The place is run down and largely in a state of disrepair. Nonetheless, we had fun and moose are commonly strolling the campground. We enjoyed some whitewater rafting on the Snake river in Jackson while there (Dave Hansen Whitewater Rafting Company). Awesome experience. We stayed a couple nights at Bryce Zion RV park in Glendale, UT. Nothing to write home about, but it worked for us. Horses surround the campground and our girls enjoyed that aspect. It was quiet and more spacious than Bauers RV park; which came highly recommended but was in town and seemed too tight-quarters for a family with dogs. Have fun with your trip. We sure did!

From SLC there are two good ways to get to Yellowstone. The direct route, I-15 to US 20, is a bit less scenic for about 1/3 of the drive, but should take about 6-7 hours at about 60 mph. That will take you right to West Yellowstone, which is a good base camp for visiting Yellowstone (allow a minimum of 3-4 full days for Yellowstone & Grand Teton combined). The longer route, more scenic and definitely more mountainous, we have not taken for many years, but goes up through Logan and Bear Lake to Star Valley, then from Alpine WY up through Jackson to GTNP. That will be a lot of hours, and you won't be to Yellowstone yet; you'd want to spend a day or two camping in the Jackson-GTNP area before going up into Yellowstone and spending another 2-3 (full) days there.

Just made the same trip used the KOA in Moab - not recommending it thoughOther campgrounds werezion river resort Virgin UtahRuby's Inn Bryce UtahThousand Lakes Rv Park Torrey Utah

JoeH wrote:In about a month, we will be heading out from Florida. Will be traveling I-10 or secondary roads on our way to NOLA, San Antonio, Phoenix, Las Vegas. After that, I want to go up to Utah to visit the NP's and then head to Yellowstone before turning around and heading back to FL. Our travel times/stops are flexible. I'm looking so suggestions for the route from Las Vegas to the Utah NP's then up to Yellowstone and for recommended places to stay. We are in a 43' MH towing a pickup. Thanks !Will not get into the your thought process here but - Las Vegas and Utah in July or August ........... Just not my idea of fun 100 - 120 degrees in the BLAZING HOT SUN! Utah is just too Beautiful to not enjoy getting out and enjoying it, and touching it.My suggestion would be to reverse the order of the trip and try to hit the states of Utah and Nevada, say, in late September or October.If I were planning this trip I'd head from Florida to Hannibal, Missouri, lots of state parks and Lakes to stop in along the way, then take Rt 36 across to Colorado and the Rockies. Getting to some good elevation (8,000 feet) Do the Colorado Loop (RMNP, Leadville, Buena Vista, Lake City, Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP, Crested Butte, Silverton, Ouray, Maroon Bells, Redstone, Marble, Rifle, Steamboat, Dinosaur NM, Flaming Gorge, Wind River Canyon, Cody, towards Yellowstone then in the cooler months head down to the warmer states. You could easily spend the next 60-90 days getting to Yellowstone and only scratch the surface. Then as the days get a little shorter head into the desert. Still warm just not in the 100's.JAT,

Las Vegas to the 5 National Parks in Utah to Yellowstone

tragusa3
Explorer
Jun 12, 2015
I'm on board and will be following this thread! We did the Utah parks last summer.
JoeH
Explorer III
Jun 12, 2015
Thanks all... I've been to Phoenix and Las Vegas many times in the summer months so I'm aware of the temps.... it was 94 degrees here today ( Florida) with about 100% humidity as I waxed the coach, so I'm somewhat used to high temps, the low humidity out there helps a lot. In the past, I didn't have the coach with us , nor had the time to visit the national parks in Utah. We are looking forward to seeing some of these sights before we have to head back to the east coast for a commitment in September.
BubbaChris
Explorer
Jun 11, 2015
Through Zion's peak season they require you to park and then use the internal tram system to get around. I love it, some people don't.

I really like the Zion River Resort, but it is in Virgin and a 10+ minute drive to the park. If you stay in Springdale, you can catch an in-town shuttle and leave your PU parked at the CG.

It will be hot in July, so go into the park as early in the day as you can to get the most value out of your visit. Bryce and most of the rest where you plan to visit will be at higher altitudes and be more comfortable.
RRinNFla
Explorer
Jun 10, 2015
Not a lot of choices on roads between AZ and UT, but the one I would choose is through Monument Valley in SE Utah.
djsamuel
Nomad
Jun 09, 2015
We were in Moab in September and stayed at Spanish Trail Campground. Nice people and clean; nothing fancy though. Very nice and we were happy with it.
Dick_B
Explorer
Jun 09, 2015
Get Mountain Directory West. Also, look at the itinerary from Adventure Caravans Grand Circle tour of the Western Parks to get an idea of where they went and how long they stayed at each place. This tour takes the entire month of September!
Ivylog
Explorer III
Jun 09, 2015
X2 on Busskipper's advice. Elevation, trees and northern areas will make for a much more enjoyable trip if you are going to be gone three months.
Busskipper
Explorer
Jun 09, 2015
JoeH wrote:
In about a month, we will be heading out from Florida. Will be traveling I-10 or secondary roads on our way to NOLA, San Antonio, Phoenix, Las Vegas. After that, I want to go up to Utah to visit the NP's and then head to Yellowstone before turning around and heading back to FL. Our travel times/stops are flexible.

I'm looking so suggestions for the route from Las Vegas to the Utah NP's then up to Yellowstone and for recommended places to stay. We are in a 43' MH towing a pickup.
Thanks !

Will not get into the your thought process here but - Las Vegas and Utah in July or August ........... Just not my idea of fun 100 - 120 degrees in the BLAZING HOT SUN! Utah is just too Beautiful to not enjoy getting out and enjoying it, and touching it.

My suggestion would be to reverse the order of the trip and try to hit the states of Utah and Nevada, say, in late September or October.

If I were planning this trip I'd head from Florida to Hannibal, Missouri, lots of state parks and Lakes to stop in along the way, then take Rt 36 across to Colorado and the Rockies. Getting to some good elevation (8,000 feet) Do the Colorado Loop (RMNP, Leadville, Buena Vista, Lake City, Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP, Crested Butte, Silverton, Ouray, Maroon Bells, Redstone, Marble, Rifle, Steamboat, Dinosaur NM, Flaming Gorge, Wind River Canyon, Cody, towards Yellowstone then in the cooler months head down to the warmer states. You could easily spend the next 60-90 days getting to Yellowstone and only scratch the surface. Then as the days get a little shorter head into the desert. Still warm just not in the 100's.

JAT,
rr2254545
Explorer
Jun 09, 2015
Just made the same trip used the KOA in Moab - not recommending it though

Other campgrounds were

zion river resort Virgin Utah
Ruby's Inn Bryce Utah
Thousand Lakes Rv Park Torrey Utah
kknowlton
Explorer II
Jun 09, 2015
From SLC there are two good ways to get to Yellowstone. The direct route, I-15 to US 20, is a bit less scenic for about 1/3 of the drive, but should take about 6-7 hours at about 60 mph. That will take you right to West Yellowstone, which is a good base camp for visiting Yellowstone (allow a minimum of 3-4 full days for Yellowstone & Grand Teton combined). The longer route, more scenic and definitely more mountainous, we have not taken for many years, but goes up through Logan and Bear Lake to Star Valley, then from Alpine WY up through Jackson to GTNP. That will be a lot of hours, and you won't be to Yellowstone yet; you'd want to spend a day or two camping in the Jackson-GTNP area before going up into Yellowstone and spending another 2-3 (full) days there.