Ok, my boyfriend and I are planning our 1st RV trip for late Sept/early Oct. We are both 31, active, both running the NYC marathon one month after our trip, and up for any fun adventure - would love advice.

Day 1 - fly from NYC to Phoenix. Pick up RV and travel 2 hours to Sedona. See Red Rocks Park, maybe ballooning? Boynton Canyon?? Stay at Rancho Sedona RV park. Oak Creek Brewery??

Day 2 - wake up early, drive to Page / Lake Powell. Check in at Wahweap Trailer Village, hike, walk run around lake shore drive. Relax, dinner. Zapata's Restaurant??

Day 3 - wake up early, quick run, leave for Bryce NP, 2 hour drive. Hike, explore, park RV.

Day 4 - explore Bryce - any trails one would recommend? Any RV parks?

Day 5 - wake up and head to Zion - 3 hour drive. Hike explore, Park RV. Watchman Riverside. Hike Emerald pool, worth it??

Day 6 - at Zion, rent ATVs, explore again. Zion Pizza & Noodle??

Day 7 - head to GC - South Rim - 5 hour drive. Hike, explore, Park RV, watch sunset. Pancho Mexican Cantina Restaurant??

Day 8 - Sunrise, check out the new glass walk, possible white water rafting?

Day 9 - head to Scottsdale (closer to airport for our return flight). 5 hour drive. relax, shopping, relax again. Oggis Restaurant??

Day 10 - return RV around 12pm, later flight back to NYC.

Thoughts about RV parks?? restaurants?? Hiking trails would be greatly appreciated!!!

If you are not experienced at driving a vehicle as large as an RV you need to keep in mind that it will take longer to get where you are going. Road conditions are not always going to be in your favor. Some places you go even parking can be a chore as would the simple act of turning around.. You may want to go to this site http://www.rv.net/forum/ and ask a few questions. It also takes time to park, set up and do proper maintenance when you are living in an RV. Its not exactly as easy as checking in and out of a hotel or motel...

Sounds like a great trip.
May I suggest doing a search here?
There are many many regular posters who have done this trip, some who have done it several times. Search for Posts
by UtahTea and Ellen Griswold and Bob Brown and DAYLE.
(we're also planning a similar trip)
Have fun planning.

I'm not sure you realize the glass walk is not at the South Rim. According to their website it is 242 miles from the South Rim Visitors Center http://www.destinationgrandcanyon.com/indexe.html

I wonder also about the order of your stops, I would think you'd save driving time by visiting the Grand Canyon before Page?

Hi E,

There are campgrounds at the Natl Parks that are usually a bit more "rustic" than RV parks, but MUCH nicer in my opinion. At the time of year you are going, you should make advance reservations, especially if you want a spot with hook ups.

Since you are very active and in shape people, I would suggest doing one of the better hikes in Zion - either Angels Landing or the Narrows. The Narrows should be fine during late Sept, but you need to get weather conditions prior. Angels Landing offers amazing views and a good workout. You could do Emerald Pools right afer if you want. If you want a real, unforgettable adventure, get one of the guide companies to take you into one of the slot canyon just outside the park.

Sedona is pretty, but very developed. Nothing to compare with the Natl Parks.

In Bryce, the Queens Garden, Navajo Loop trail is really nice.

Dining is not going to be the highlight of this trip, so don't obsess about eating at certain reastaurants. You're paying for an RV, try it out a couple of night!
Have fun

RedRock, Wanderluster, BarbaraS, and Dayle - within a few hours of posting, i already thank everyone for their advice.

Yes, driving the RV will be a trip in itself, as we will also focus on the NP trails and cooking some gourmet meals on the campgrounds!

I too suggest you post this at rv.net for expert advice from seasoned rv'ers. Sounds like you have a great trip planned and not too many miles driving each day, which as someone else mentioned is way slower in an RV. As for resturants, remember you will have to unhook the RV, drive it to the resturant, and find parking, which is not always easy. Re RV parks, we avoid them and try to stay in the National Parks as they are usually in a prettier setting, but of course also usually lack hook-ups.

If you approach your RV trip more as a deluxe camping adventure I think you will have a wonderful time. You are certainly going to a beautiful part of the country. Enjoy!

Note the comment by BarbaraS above about the glass Skywalk. It is at Grand Canyon West, a long drive (4 to 5 hours) from the South Rim. If you have your heart set on whitewater rafting, you may want to go there, because there is no way to do a one-day raft trip at the South Rim.

However, you could also consider staying 2 nights at the South Rim. You could do a longer hike down into the canyon, or a nice long run along the Rim Trail---about 19 miles if you do the whole thing round trip, but you could also run one-way to Hermit's Rest and catch the free shuttle back.

Whatever you do, be sure to heed the advice about carrying water.

I think most people would fly into Las Vegas instead of Phoenix and make this trip into a big loop, instead of the backtracking kind of route you've got planned. You may want to consider that.

You may be there at a good time for fall colors (won't really know until probably a couple weeks prior to your trip). If colors are good, I'd try to incorporate some of that into your trip and skip 2 things: the day in Page and the trip to the glass skywalk. Other than Zion/Bryce, you could expect to see some aspens turning at the North Rim and possibly good colors in Sedona.

The Inner Basin trail outside Flagstaff also has lots of aspens and the possibility of rutting elk in the fall, all in a sort-of alpine setting. The basin is surrounded by volcanic peaks/mountains reaching 11,000 to 12,000+ feet in elevation. Not sure an RV could/should try to make the drive up the road though, so you'd have to check on that and maybe rent a car for the day.

I would agree that Las Vegas would probably be a better starting point for your loop if other factors would work out; you avoid quite a bit of wasted driving.

For your first day, allow extra time; you will probably spend an extra hour at the rental place learning about the rv power/water/sewer systems - it's a bit more complicated than a rental car. Also, you will probably want to stop at a grocery store to pick up supplies.

The road between the east entrance to Zion and the town of Springdale has a tunnel. Check the size restrictions before you try to take the RV on that route. Even if it fits, it most likely will require an escort and will cause a delay.

If you fly into LV instead of Phoenix, you could skip Sedona and Scottsdale and spend more time in the GC, Zion and Bryce. It would be a much more relaxing trip - seems like you will be driving a lot on this itinerary.

Our friends left yesterday for a similar trip, although they are not renting an RV.

They flew into and out of LV and are headed to Zion and Bryce. They are meeting us on Thurs. at the Grand Canyon and 7 in our group are hiking down to Phantom Ranch on Friday. You are probably too late to get reservations for Sept/Oct., even for the campground--we made the reservations a year ago. You could try though--getting reservations for 2 is easier than for 7.

We do love Sedona. If you enjoy hiking, one day is not enough. Look at the many hikes on www.hikearizona.com. We have flown into Phoenix, driven to Sedona, the Grand Canyon,and then gone on to Las Vegas, flying out of LV--I don't know if your RV offers one way rentals.

<You are probably too late to get reservations for Sept/Oct., even for the campground--we made the reservations a year ago. You could try though--getting reservations for 2 is easier than for 7. >

I'd bet that's due to the time of year (spring break).

There's a new reservation system in place now, and reservations cannot be made more than 6 months in advance. There's still lots of availability in September, and I doubt October would fill up real quick. I'd guess if you made some firm plans and reservations by the end of April you'd be safe.

LindainOhio is talking about a whole different campground reservations process. Getting reservations for the RV campground (Mather?) at the south rim is a whole lot easier than getting reservations at the bottom of the canyon, either at Phantom Ranch or Bright Angel campground. Those have to be reserved a year in advance (Phantom) or five months (the campground).

So, if they wanted to leave their RV behind and hike into the canyon for an overnight stay, they could still do so. Reservations for late September would open up May 1.

Or if they want to stay at Mather on the rim, they can make reservations now.