Zion to Arches National Park

2gypsies wrote:
...and just the opposite. We have found the Utah parks, including Moab easy to get a site in Sept/Oct - if you're not picky and if you pull in early afternoon. We don't travel with reservations and even with our 40' motorhome we find sites.

Agreed, there are two types of RV'er those who do and those who don't.

I drive this big Bus around the country and have 100 gal of Water - Heat - a holding tank and I really could care less, if I have a Full Hook Up site or end up in a Wall*Mart, especially in the best months of the year. In eight units close to 50 years and 500,000 miles I have no bad memories because of not making reservations.

I and a number of others, who never make reservations love it.

JMHO,

...and just the opposite. We have found the Utah parks, including Moab easy to get a site in Sept/Oct - if you're not picky and if you pull in early afternoon. We don't travel with reservations and even with our 40' motorhome we find sites.

We travelled around So Utah in April and sort of assumed we could make it up as we went along. We had some reservations along the way, but mostly not. BIG mistake. We ended up with some rather unpleasant RV parks (RV parks in that area are mostly gravel lots) or leaving very, very early in the morning to get to a place that is first come (of course, in some areas you have no choice - Fruita in Capitol Reef is like that and well worth the visit)

I would like to go to the area again, and this time I know where I want to stay and will be online the minute reservations open up.

You should seriously consider getting reservations; that is a very high demand time. Will you find someplace? Depends on your needs - are you willing to boondock with absolutely no facilities or do you want hookups?

As I mentioned before, we can be far more helpful if you tell us your wants / needs in that regard, your rig and your interests.

I'm concerned about the comments regarding Sept/Oct being high season. We don't have reservations anywhere and didn't have any specific time line we thought we had the time and would just go as we wanted. Now I'm concerned that we won't find a place to camp? Am I worrying for nothing?

This time around I've decided to confine my trip to only Utah and also bypassing SE Utah due to the many places I want to see and the vast driving distances between them all. I'll be starting in Moab and working my down to Zion.
Here's my route and destinations.
Utah 2014 RV Trip

FFWIFE50 wrote:
Hi,

We are planning on taking some time in Sept/Oct to see all the parks from ZIon to Arches. We have never been out west and are looking for suggestions on places to stay and things to do? The list of things not to be missed has always been very helpful and it is always great to hear about where people like to spend their nights
Thanks in advance for your ideas, thoughts and suggestions

Lots of good advice;
State parks in Utah are great!
There are a couple of Roads that I will drive 1-200 miles out of my way just to drive them, Rt 12 and Rt 128 out of Moab While some drivers, are not comfortable on them they are not to be missed, IMHO, so make an effort to drive them in something if you are not comfortable in the Coach.

Rt 12 Photo's

Rt 128 Photo's

Just a little taste of what you will enjoy,

BOL,

trailertraveler is precisely right

Lauren wrote:
...And, since you have not been west (and depending on your rig), you most likely will not want to drive Hwy 12 - I would not recommend it...

As I mentioned in my post and you will see in the links, there is a lot to see along UT-12. If you explore it in your toad or tow vehicle without the RV, that will help you decide if you want to drive the RV on UT-12 from Bryce to Torrey. If not the alternative is not a bad drive and if the Aspens are changing, scenic as it follows Otter Creek around Boulder Mountain. Take US-89N from Bryce to UT-62 at Kingston. At Koosharem, take a right on Brown's Lane. Turn Right onto UT-24 East to Torrey.

If you tell us your rig, your preferences as to hookups, etc, and your interests we could pinpoint instead of trying to cover the whole spectrum. There is so much there.

And, since you have not been west (and depending on your rig), you most likely will not want to drive Hwy 12 - I would not recommend it.