Southern Utah Trip report
Jan 13th, 2005, 06:07 PM
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Southern Utah Trip report
Hello all,
I know that I appreciated reading others trip reports as it helped me plan mine. Nothing fancy, but here goes.
LAS VEGAS - Friday/Saturday
HOOVER DAM/GC - Sunday - Drove to S.Rim Grand Canyon with a 2-3 hour stop at the Hoover dam. (about 5 hour total drive time)
GRAND CANYON - Sunday/Monday - Stayed at Thunderbird Lodge. Nice rooms, but small. Awesome views of the GC right out your window. Literally 20 feet from the rim. Hiked Bright Angel Trail to 2nd checkpoint, steep on the way up, but managable. Be sure to pack water if the checkpoints no longer provide it - we went in October and there was no water until the bottom.
Also hiked the rim trail - easy hiking.
Ate at El Tovar - excellent food, not cheap. We wanted to stay there, but it was full.
MONUMENT VALLEY/MESA VERDE - Tuesday - Drove though the rest of S. Rim park to the east entrance. Then headed for Monument Valley (3 hrs? from GC East entrance). We really enjoyed this area. Private car is fine for these roads, just gets dusty. It's Indian reservation, only cost $5 to get in.
We drove on to Mesa Verde and cliff dwellings in SW Colorado, stayed in the park at Far View Lodge. Pricey, older rooms, no TV. It takes a good 45 minutes from Cortez to get to the hotel. Prepare ahead for a long/curvey drive in.
MESA VERDE/MOAB - Wednesday - spent the morning touring the cliff dwellings - do Cliff Palace and Balcony house if you go. Left early afternoon for Moab, UT - there are lots of places to stay here, most were cheap and looked new. take your pick!
Drove through the Needles section of Canyonlands on our way to Moab. Very nice, would love to go back and hike it. There is so much I couldn't see from the car.
CANYONLANDS/MOAB - Thursday - Hiked Island in the Sky at Canyonlands. Grandview lookout and Upheaval dome. Easy, short hikes.
Ate at Moab MicroBrew - fun place.
ARCHES/MOAB -Friday - Hiked Arches: Double O, Primative Trail, Delicate Arch for sunset. We loved hiking this park.
Drove to Torrey after hiking - stayed at Best Western/Capitol Reef resort. Nice place.
Saturday - ATTEMPTED the 4x4 Cathedral Valley drive on our own. Won't do that again as we got stuck and spent 1 1/2 hours digging out. Luckily made it back safe and spent $$ washing the rental. FYI - TELL somebody, even the hotel staff, you're going out. Make sure someone knows you're out there!!! They'll come looking when you don't check in.
HIGHWAY 12 TO BRYCE - Do this during the day. It's a great drive with awesome overlooks of capitol reef. You go through the Grand Staircase Escalante as you head for Bryce. We stayed at a B & B in Tropic - Stone Canyon Inn. Great place, wonderful hosts.
Sunday - BRYCE - LOVED IT!! great hiking and amazing park. Any hike you take is going to be good. We did the peekaboo loop since Wall street was closed due to rock slides. I've heard Wall street is the best for really getting the feel for the park, I don't think any would be bad.
Monday - ZION - You have to stay at the DESERT PEARL INN!!!!!! This is my ALL TIME favorite hotel ever. I didn't even need to go to ZION, I could have hung out in my room all day. Also check out the Spotted Dog Cafe - sounds casual, but it's nice with awesome food. We ate there 2 nights in a row! Hiked several 'easy' trails: Emerald pools, weeping rock, river walk, canyon overlook, next time will do Angel's landing.
Tuesday - back to Las Vegas and back to reality
Vacations over...
I know that I appreciated reading others trip reports as it helped me plan mine. Nothing fancy, but here goes.
LAS VEGAS - Friday/Saturday
HOOVER DAM/GC - Sunday - Drove to S.Rim Grand Canyon with a 2-3 hour stop at the Hoover dam. (about 5 hour total drive time)
GRAND CANYON - Sunday/Monday - Stayed at Thunderbird Lodge. Nice rooms, but small. Awesome views of the GC right out your window. Literally 20 feet from the rim. Hiked Bright Angel Trail to 2nd checkpoint, steep on the way up, but managable. Be sure to pack water if the checkpoints no longer provide it - we went in October and there was no water until the bottom.
Also hiked the rim trail - easy hiking.
Ate at El Tovar - excellent food, not cheap. We wanted to stay there, but it was full.
MONUMENT VALLEY/MESA VERDE - Tuesday - Drove though the rest of S. Rim park to the east entrance. Then headed for Monument Valley (3 hrs? from GC East entrance). We really enjoyed this area. Private car is fine for these roads, just gets dusty. It's Indian reservation, only cost $5 to get in.
We drove on to Mesa Verde and cliff dwellings in SW Colorado, stayed in the park at Far View Lodge. Pricey, older rooms, no TV. It takes a good 45 minutes from Cortez to get to the hotel. Prepare ahead for a long/curvey drive in.
MESA VERDE/MOAB - Wednesday - spent the morning touring the cliff dwellings - do Cliff Palace and Balcony house if you go. Left early afternoon for Moab, UT - there are lots of places to stay here, most were cheap and looked new. take your pick!
Drove through the Needles section of Canyonlands on our way to Moab. Very nice, would love to go back and hike it. There is so much I couldn't see from the car.
CANYONLANDS/MOAB - Thursday - Hiked Island in the Sky at Canyonlands. Grandview lookout and Upheaval dome. Easy, short hikes.
Ate at Moab MicroBrew - fun place.
ARCHES/MOAB -Friday - Hiked Arches: Double O, Primative Trail, Delicate Arch for sunset. We loved hiking this park.
Drove to Torrey after hiking - stayed at Best Western/Capitol Reef resort. Nice place.
Saturday - ATTEMPTED the 4x4 Cathedral Valley drive on our own. Won't do that again as we got stuck and spent 1 1/2 hours digging out. Luckily made it back safe and spent $$ washing the rental. FYI - TELL somebody, even the hotel staff, you're going out. Make sure someone knows you're out there!!! They'll come looking when you don't check in.
HIGHWAY 12 TO BRYCE - Do this during the day. It's a great drive with awesome overlooks of capitol reef. You go through the Grand Staircase Escalante as you head for Bryce. We stayed at a B & B in Tropic - Stone Canyon Inn. Great place, wonderful hosts.
Sunday - BRYCE - LOVED IT!! great hiking and amazing park. Any hike you take is going to be good. We did the peekaboo loop since Wall street was closed due to rock slides. I've heard Wall street is the best for really getting the feel for the park, I don't think any would be bad.
Monday - ZION - You have to stay at the DESERT PEARL INN!!!!!! This is my ALL TIME favorite hotel ever. I didn't even need to go to ZION, I could have hung out in my room all day. Also check out the Spotted Dog Cafe - sounds casual, but it's nice with awesome food. We ate there 2 nights in a row! Hiked several 'easy' trails: Emerald pools, weeping rock, river walk, canyon overlook, next time will do Angel's landing.
Tuesday - back to Las Vegas and back to reality
Vacations over...
Jan 14th, 2005, 03:24 AM
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Jim and Sandy,
Great report. Just wondering when you went. Next time, be sure to rent a 4wd vehicle. It gives you a lot more flexibility and peace of mind on all those great back roads. Even with 4wd, the roads can get pretty muddy and unpassable. Sounds like a great trip!
Great report. Just wondering when you went. Next time, be sure to rent a 4wd vehicle. It gives you a lot more flexibility and peace of mind on all those great back roads. Even with 4wd, the roads can get pretty muddy and unpassable. Sounds like a great trip!
Jan 14th, 2005, 04:58 PM
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Jim and Sandy,
Thanks for the great report. How long was your entire trip? Your itinerary is similar to ours (we are skipping Mesa Verde, though). Did you feel rushed?
Did you take the tour at Hoover Dam? Would you recommend a stop there?
Sounds like you had a wonderful trip, can’t wait to go!
Thanks for the great report. How long was your entire trip? Your itinerary is similar to ours (we are skipping Mesa Verde, though). Did you feel rushed?
Did you take the tour at Hoover Dam? Would you recommend a stop there?
Sounds like you had a wonderful trip, can’t wait to go!
Jan 14th, 2005, 08:31 PM
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Sharondi - We DID have a 4x4 - Ford Explorer. The roads are not passable if they are wet, no matter what you drive or how 'meaty the tires'.
We went in mid October of 2004. We found out that UT had just had about 6 inches of rain the week before, but the guy at the hotel thought the roads would be OK in Capitol Reef. Just be careful and be sure somebody knows where you are going.
Mesa Verde is the best place to skip. It added a lot of drive time just for 1/2 day spent there; however I wanted to bring my husband since he'd never been there. Reason: my sister had worked at that park for a whole summer and I wanted to go back.
Our whole trip was 12 days. We did feel rushed at times, but we wanted to see a lot since it was our first time in the area. Overall, I was really happy with our itinerary and the pace.
We went in mid October of 2004. We found out that UT had just had about 6 inches of rain the week before, but the guy at the hotel thought the roads would be OK in Capitol Reef. Just be careful and be sure somebody knows where you are going.
Mesa Verde is the best place to skip. It added a lot of drive time just for 1/2 day spent there; however I wanted to bring my husband since he'd never been there. Reason: my sister had worked at that park for a whole summer and I wanted to go back.
Our whole trip was 12 days. We did feel rushed at times, but we wanted to see a lot since it was our first time in the area. Overall, I was really happy with our itinerary and the pace.
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