Zion to Arches National Park

[FFWIFE50]

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

[Busskipper]

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,

[2gypsies1]

...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.

[lfloom]

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.

[Lauren]

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.

[FFWIFE50]

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?

[Blackcell]

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

[Busskipper]

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,

[Lauren]

trailertraveler is precisely right

[trailertraveler]

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.

[Lauren]

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.

[jamesu]

Everyone's given plenty of great ideas of places to visit. In S. Utah not only Is the destination the thing, but getting there is the thing as well. Distances between these destinations will seem vast, but the scenery you'll experience is to die for, especially hwy 12 between Escalante and Torrey. Enjoy.

[Marv_Hoag]

Be forewarned, Sep/Oct is high season. Most RV parks will be busy. I plan my route and always make reservations.

[trailertraveler]

Here are links to some of the places we have visited and enjoyed. There is a lot to see along UT-12 that you will not see by just driving through. We have spent weeks in the area and not seen everything.

Utah 12-24 area:
Ut-12 Scenic Byway
Scenic Backways off UT-12
Burr Trail
scenic byways and backways in the Fishlake area
Cedar Breaks National Monument
Escalante Petrified Forest State Park
Kodachrome Basin State Park
Anasazi State Park
Calf Creek Falls
Hells Backbone
Capitol Reef National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park
Goblin Valley State Park

Moab area:
Kane Creek Road
Potash Lower Colorado Byway
Upper Colorado River UT-128 Scenic Byway
Sago Canyon
Dead Horse Point State Park
Arches National Park
Canyonlands National Park
Needles District
Newspaper Rock

Monument Valley, Bluff, Blanding Area:
Monument Valley
UT-261 theMoki Dugway
Goosenecks State Park
Hovenweep National Monument
Natural Bridges National Monument
Bluff Fort
South Fork of Mule Canyon and House on Fire
The Valley of The Gods
Edge of the Cedars State Park
Dinosaur Museum

In addition to Gouldings, there are two RV Parks in Bluff and one in Mexican Hat that are a bit of a drive to Monument Valley, but more centrally located for visiting all the attractions listed above.

[2gypsies1]

A suggestion - consider putting your RV/towed description in your signature so we can see what you have for recommending RV sites. I see from a previous post that you do have a 35' motorhome so going by that:

Zion - stay in the park at Watchman campground; electric and water fill/dump station

Bryce - in the park - dry camping or just outside the park at Ruby's complex.

Capitol Reef - in the park - dry camping or a handful of full hookup parks just outside

Moab - in the park - dry camping or many just outside the park

Canyonlands - can easily do Arches and Canyonlands from the Moab area or there Dead Horse State Park at Canyonlands itself - gorgeous views

Canyonlands - Needles area - dry camping in the park

Monument Valley - Gouldings RV for full hookups is the only only close

Have a good trip! Sept/Oct are ideal months.