zion to Gran Tetons what's on route

[Lipets]

I see it's about 450 miles anything in between worth stopping at, likely go up rt 15

Any ideas, or is it just a mike run?

[BubbaChris]

I have to recommend Bryce on the must-see list. Ruby's has FHU sites, but read about whether or not you want to be in the newer section of their RV park.

If you want just a taste of what Bryce is like, try Cedar Breaks National Monument. But come and go from the South. That route has some 8% sections, but the other side is even steeper.

While at Zion, check to see what activities are going on in Springdale. You can use the town and park shuttles to easily get around.

[trailertraveler]

Lipets wrote:
...Bad roads are lot of 6% plusgrades...

You will encounter a considerable number of 6% plus grades in Utah if you choose to visit several of the great places mentioned in the previous posts. US-191 between I-70 and I-80 has steep grades between Helper and Vernal, North of Vernal and through Flaming Gorge. I suggest that you get a copy of the Mountain Direstory West or plot potential routes in Google Earth and use the "Elevation Profile" feature.

Here are links to some of the places in Utah we have visited and enjoyed along potential routes from Zion to the Tetons. Some of the Scenic Backways may not be of interest to your wife and are not suitable for an RV.

Utah 12-24 area:
Ut-12 Scenic Byway
Scenic Backways off UT-12
Burr Trail
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 the Moki 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

As for boondocking, there are opportunities in the Fishlake and Dixie National Forests. You will have to get copies of the current Motor Vehicle Use Maps(MVUM) to determine which areas are open to dispersed camping. There are also boondocking opportunities on BLM lands. In the Moab area there are resticted areas which can be seen on this map.

[fanrgs]

Sorry, those are not RV parks, they are campgrounds. The only one with even electrical hookups is Dead Horse Point, a Utah state park, and none have water or sewer hookups. Some will not even allow RV generators to be run. But, if you were planning to boondock, do you need hookups?

Avoid Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Utah as US 191 has a number of very long 6%+ grades.

[Lipets]

Bad roads are lot of 6% plusgrades

I'll look at the rv parks you mentioned thanks

[fanrgs]

What do you consider "bad roads"? Two-lane instead of Interstate? Winding instead of straight? Hilly instead of flat? Gravel instead of pavement? She's not going to like Zion or Yellowstone roads if she can't handle winding, hilly, two-lane roads.

And boondocking instead of staying in some of the most scenic campgrounds in the US? Try http://freecampsites.net/#!(38.11707100570107, -111.52627561562497) for a start.

But I wouldn't even consider those free campsites when I could stay at North Campground at Bryce Canyon NP, Fruita Campground in Capital Reef NP, Dead Horse Point State Park near Moab, Firefighter's Memorial Campground above Flaming Gorge Reservoir, Granite Creek Campground (Forest Service) near Hoback Junction, WY (south of Jackson), and Colter Bay campground on Jackson Lake in Grand Teton NP. And most of those are on paved roads!

But each to his own, I guess.

[Lipets]

I have about 5 weeks, (including Yellowstone & Cody), how are the roads to some of those place the wife hates the bad ones, I just laugh, but need to keep her happy too.

One other ? can you just boondock in any of these places or nearby?

[Busskipper]

Lipets wrote:
I see it's about 450 miles anything in between worth stopping at, likely go up rt 15

Any ideas, or is it just a mike run?

Have you got a couple of weeks?

You are driving through the one of the Best areas in the Country,and to not take advantage of this opportunity would be crazy. Out of Zion head up Rt 12 to Kodachrome, Escalante, Capital Reef and Goblins. Then over to Moab, Canyonlands, out of Moab follow the Colorado River on Rt 128 back to I-70 up to Rifle, Dinosaur, then to Flaming Gorge, before meandering up through Jackson to the Tetons.

This is just a splash of what you could do, I've spent months and months in this area and only seen a small portion.

Enjoy the trip.

BOL,

[ClaireOKC]

Yeah - there's a lot (and I mean a lot) of beautiful scenery away from the interstate especially up the eastern side of Utah (Moab, Canyonlands) and then up through Vernal (Flaming Gorge). I would be tempted to stay a few days here and there. This is gorgeous rock country and there's lots to see. I'd very much recommend Page for a couple of days (WahWeap RV Park) where there are some slot canyons (Grand Staircase and Escalante National Monument) and then over to Antelope Canyon and then you can trek north to Moab & Canyonlands and into Vernal and then Tetons.

This is what I love about RV-ing is that you can zigzag around hitting different spots.

[kknowlton]

What Cloud Driver said.

[CloudDriver]

If you would enjoy a more pleasant drive than the Interstate, pick up route 89 near Brigham City to Garden City on Bear lake and continue on 89 all the way to Jackson. The section of 89 between Logan and Garden City is the Logan Canyon Scenic Byway. There is about 2 miles of 6-7% down grade just before Garden City.

If you want to stay on I15, take route 26 out of Idaho Falls to Alpine Junction then 89 north to Jackson. Route 22 over the Teton pass to Jackson has 10% grades and sharp curves and is a white knuckle drive (been there, done that).

We left Grand Teton two days ago (Sunday).