deckema

I have a message out there already on a two week trip out west, looking for what to do. I've had several people say that my July 29th to Aug 12th trip from MI would be better spent around Yellowstone and Grand Tetons and not take the time to do Bryce at this time of year. This might be my 1 and only chance at a 40ft motorhome to go out West so I want to see the "best of the best" for my kids (13,12,11) but still "experience" an area vs taking photos.
Thanks for any response.
Mark

xkenx

If memory serves me correctly, the top of Bryce, where all the lookout points are, is around 8000 ft. elevation, so summer afternoon temps. are only around low 80s, low humidity-- very pleasant. If you hike down the trails, it will be warmer.

xkenx

BTW, we thought Bryce is truly spectacular, one of the highlights of a similar trip.

Otis_B_Driftwood

Yellowstone will be a zoo during that period. Finding parking for a 40 ft motorhome would be a chore, not to mention trying to find campsites. Have you made reservations?

We did SW Utah one year in August. Bryce was fine because of its altitude but the surrounding areas were very hot.

In Zion, it was 105 every day. We spent a lot of time in the river and did hikes early in the am.

Capitol Reef and Lake Powell were also very hot and we experienced some awesome thunderstorms and even a flash flood.

After the monsoon rains, the flowers at Toroweap (Grand Canyon) were magnificent but it was too darn hot to stay there with no shade. However, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon was very pleasant. Again because of altitude.

Dayle

Hi Mark,

In the west, it's all about altitude. There is a huge difference between the altitude of Zion Canyon and Bryce. 8,000 ft in August is very pleasant! Hiking down into the canyon, it will get a bit warmer as you loose altitude.

Zion is much lower (I don't know how much, guess about 3,500 or 4,000 in the canyon. HOT in August.

If it's you only time in a lifetime to go, then go. Just with what you had planned you're going to feel very rushed.

KTtravel

I'd go to Bryce. I've been there (and Zion and Moab) in late July/early August and loved it. I don't really like hot weather but had a great time. Bryce shouldn't be that much of a problem, heat wise as it is cooler than Zion and Bryce. In Zion, we cooled off by doing the river walk.

We did stay at a place in Moab with a/c which did help us cool off as this was the hottest place we visited. Does the motor home have air conditioning? If a campground in Moab has a swimming pool I'd choose that one.

elnap29

Definitely go to Bryce. We've been many times in the summer. It is usually cooler because of the altitude. However, one year it was very hot, so we just adjusted our routine. Found it perfect to set the alarm and get up at 5 or 6AM and hike below the rim at Bryce - wonderful experience. Then, we hiked out and had breakfast, spent the heat of the day reading, napping, etc, then ate early dinner and hiked in the evening. Perfect!