Ellijay

Has anyone stayed at the Red River Ranch at Torrey? Or do you have other suggestions for that area? We will be driving from Springdale and had planned to stay overnight at Bryce, but the lodge doesn't have a vacancy. Now thinking about making a half-day stop at Bryce and driving on to Boulder or Torrey. This will be our final night in the area before heading back home for the long drive to South Carolina, so would really like something a little special. Would appreciate any advice. Thanks!

laurieb_nyny

We did a National Parks trip last summer. We moved around alot from hotel to hotel but visited one Park per day. We would visit the park & then drive to the next destination in the late afternoon/early evening in order to "wake up" in the next park.

We stayed outside Bryce in the Bryce Canon Pines motel. There are a few motels in this area. BCP was acceptable (indoor pool/good restaurant/clean/cheap).

Bryce is a gorgeous park that deserves more than 1/2 day. There is alot of hiking, many overlooks to drive to, & mule rides to the bottom of the canyon & back.

We left Bryce in the morning on our way to Torrey in order to spend a full day in Grand Staircase Escalante NM & tour Capitol Reef the next day. To that end, when you are done at Bryce, you may want to find lodging in Tropic which is on Rt. 12 in the direction of Torrey & a little "head start".

Have a great trip -- You will love S. Utah!!!

Ellijay

Thanks for your reply laurieb. We are planning to come into Arizona via I-40 and stop the first night in the Sedona area if we can find affordable lodging. Then we'll go to the Grand Canyon, South Rim, for two nights and to Page AZ for one night. Next we will spend two nights in Springdale to allow time to enjoy Zion, then go on to Bryce and I-70 and home via Kansas City, which is the only city we really like to visit on these long trips. We are senior citizens who enjoy sight-seeing, taking pictures and walking aroung new areas. We definitely won't be taking any mule trips or hiking that is more than a an easy walk! We do plan to take one of the short boat trips at Page, thanks to several comments we have seen by Utahtea, who seems to know and love the Southwest. I will check out Tropic and see if we can figure any way to take an extra night in that area. Thanks for the suggestion. It is unlikely that we will take other trips of this magnitude to the Southwest, so we want to see as much as our energy and pocketbooks will allow. Our next trip will be to Washington and Oregon. I always need to have something on the drawing board!

dwooddon

I second Laurieb's suggestion about spending more than a half day in Bryce, even more so now that you have said you may not be back this way. Hopefully you'll be there when the sun is out.

Anyone who knows me knows that there is almost nothing that will get me out of bed before daylight. Bryce Canyon is the exception. The play of light on the geological formations at sunrise and sunset is magical.

The only place in the area I can think of that qualifies as "a little special" is a B&B at the eastern edge of Tropic. I've never stayed there but it looks very nice from the road. I'm sorry I don't know its name but you could probably find it by doing a google search for beds and breakfast in Tropic.

If you cannot, leave another message on this thread and I'll call my son to let me know what it is.

peterboy

We stayed in Torrey for a couple of nights in late Sept. but not at the Red River Ranch. One night we were chasing the sunset and saw the sign for RRR. We were intrigued since the driveway leads into a large group of large trees where the lodge is hidden well off the road. We drove in and were pleasantly surprised by this elegant "Great Camp" style lodge. We checke out the lobby and it is, indeed, quite special. On our next trip we will likely give iot a try.

Another option for you would be the Boulder MTN Lodge in Boulder. Very nice and a great hot tub with loads of fresh towels. The real treat of staying at BML (which we did for 2 nights) is dining at the Hell's Backbone Grill.

You can read more about all this in our trip report at:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads..._name=peterboy

peterboy

ooops...the r=trip report is actually here:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=1

peterboy

Sorry about that,. It looks like fodors doesn't do the linking thing. The trip report is in the utah section of Fodors under "Sothern Utah trip report"

ronkala

Ellijay,
In October we had an excellent room at Flanigans in Springfield. Senior rate then was $79.00 + tax. The next day we drove to Bryce, about a two hour drive, stayed at Bryce View Lodge which I do not recommend, and then drove to Torrey the next day. At Torrey we stayed at an almost new Days Inn, and the senior rate was $49.95. Very clean and bright with a super continental breakfast.

Where2Travel

Peterboy - is this the link you were trying to get?

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34538044

I'm sure there are better ways but when I have the post I want to link in the main screen I right-click on the topic title in the main screen (ie not the left section where all the posts are listed) and select "Copy Shortcut". Then paste it to where you want to put it.

Boxer

Stayed at the Skyridge Inn in Torrey in August 2004. Totally enjoyed and highly recommend.

www.skyridgeinn.com

Ellijay

Dwooddon: I searched for B&B's in Tropic and found two that looked good. The Stone Canyon Inn is a little pricey ($155 a night) and has only one vacancy for the date we would need it. Folks must like it!

The other is the Bryce Canyon Livery. Their web page shows a breakfast that my husband would love: meat, eggs, potatoes! I haven't checked it out but will.

Peterboy: Your description of Lodge at Red River sounds great. I would really like to work it out so we could spend at least one night there.

The drive on Highway 12 must be unbelievable and now I want to spend more time in that area. One more change, I guess. We sure have spent A LOT of time planning this trip!!

Thanks to both of you for for the advice.

dwooddon

The one I was thinking about was the Stone Canyon Inn.

Dayle

Hi Ellijay,

I can highly recommend the Boulder Mountain Lodge and Hell's Backbone Grill in Boulder. Advance reservations definitely needed for both.

I have not stayed at the Red River lodge myself, but a co-worker has. He says it was beautiful and wonderful and the fly fishing was great. (He has excellent taste, by the way.)

Have fun!

Ellijay

This trip is sounding better everyday! We have decided on Skyridge at Tropic and Red River at Torrey. This will give us a little more time in Bryce plus a leisurely drive on highway 12.

Thanks to all of you for your suggestions. Now if we could just find a shortcut through Texas and Kansas!

Ellijay

Oops! I meant to say Bryce Canyon Livery at Tropic. Skyridge is at Torrey.

bigtyke

Stayed at a cabin at Bryce Canyon Inn in nearby Tropic. Very nice. moderate price

On the drive up to Bryce, stop at the trailhead to Mossy Cave - great little hike