Hi everyone,

In September, I'll be driving myself and all my possessions in a mid-size car from Denver, CO to Orange County, CA and I'm looking for a place to camp out and enjoy nature somewhere in the middle, i.e. Utah.

My plan is to drive all day on a Wednesday and arrive at a campsite in late afternoon/early evening. I could spend Thursday and Friday exploring the park, then pack up on Saturday morning and continue on my way.

I'm a 28-year-old guy traveling alone, I'm in good shape and I enjoy moderate hiking and photography. I've got a good tent and sleeping bag, but I'm not looking for anything too primitive.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

Either Bryce or Zion's would be very nice.

Moab is where you want to go! Arches and Canyonlands NPs are there and they are spectacular! There are campgrounds in the parks, but they are on the primitive side. There are private campgrounds around Moab that are better equipped, but you'd have to share the space with RVs. I've camped in both kinds of campgrounds there, and the one in Arches was the most scenic I've ever stayed in - much better, even though it only had a primitive bathroom.

Moab is also just off I-70, en route to Denver. If you've never been there, you'll love it. Funky town with great hangouts like Eddie McStiff's and the Moab Brewery. September is a good time to go there as well, a tad less hot than the broiling summertime temps.

Have a great and safe trip!

6 hours of driving will get you from Denver to Moab. Sounds like Capitol Reef, Bryce or Zion would be better in terms of the distance you'll have covered.

Does it need to be a national park? There are some pretty cool state parks in Utah, and most (if not all) have showers. Generally, campgrounds within national parks do not have showers.

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I've already been considering Bryce and Escalante. I'll look into Zion and Capitol Reef as well.

Moab sounds like a fun place, but I am looking to get a few more hours on the road before stopping. At least 10.

As for campsites, my only requests would be a place with a toilet at least within a short hike, and maybe a source of potable water. Showers I can do without for a couple days.

And, no, it doesn't have to be a National Park. If you were me, where would you go?

Thanks again!

What about Calf Creek Falls...gorgeous area and at the 10hr mark your looking for: http://www.pbase.com/devonshire/calf_creek
http://www.utah.com/byways/highway_12.htm
http://www.utah.com/hike/calf_creek.htm

A lot of these places might have good Fall color going off. It's all timing. Southern Utah or North Rim of the Grand Canyon are good for fall color and hiking. Zion, Arches, and Bryce are also nice to visit since the Summer crowds are gone.

I've been to Calf Creek State Park. It's getting popular now, so finding a camp site might be hard there. There are some good places to camp in above Grand Stair Case. Kodachrome State Park is really nice. Lots to see and close to Bryce. It's also warmer than Bryce, since it's lower.

Here are some good trail maps of the NP parks -
www.cccarto.com/wmaps/Arches/index.html
www.cccarto.com/wmaps/Zion/index.html

Hello, hello,

If you want to get in a full day's drive, I would recommend Zion. Not too far out of your way off I-15. Calf Creek Falls is nice, but would be quite out of your way.

September will be just a bit cooler temps, but still quite busy. Great for a 2 day visit. You could make a camping res, or if you can't get in the park, there is a commercial campground (full of giant RVs) on the way, before Rockville. There is also some BLM primitive (no water, no toilets) camping along the Virgin River outside Rockville.

Sept is a good time for hiking the Narrows in Zion.

A solution that will not take you out of your way at all and is just about ten hours from Denver is the Cedar Pockets campground in the Virgin River Gorge. It's a BLM campground and you can see more info at http://www.blm.gov/az/asfo/Recreate/VRCG.htm.

mapper, you stated "... Kodachrome State Park is really nice. Lots to see and close to Bryce. It's also warmer than Bryce, since it's lower."

Trip West should be thru there during the first half of Oct.

Will Bryce be pretty cool by then?

visit www.rv.net and ask there. That's the ULTIMATE camping travel website.

ps - visit the 'open roads forums' on rv.net, and ask on the 'around the campfire' forums at the bottom of the list of forums.