cd

I have just began to plan for a Sept or Oct 2011 trip and would appreciate any advice you have on our itinerary and time spent in each destination. We are retired so we have the time we need. We are walkers, not hikers so easy 1-2 mile walks are great.

We plan to fly into Las Vegas for one or two nights, rent a car and drive to the south rim of the Grand Canyon (140 miles)

From the GC we plan on driving to Page, Arizona and renting a boat on Lake Powell to go to the Rainbow Bridge (140 mile)

From Page we plan on driving to Arches National Park (stay in Moab?) (273 miles)

From Arches we plan to drive to Canyonlands (stay in Moab?)

From Canyonlands to Capitol Reef (156 miles, stay in Torrey?)

From CR to Bryce (115 miles)

Bryce to Zion(115miles)

Zion back to Los Vegas (168miles)

Knowing that we like to walk, explore and view scenery, how long do you recommend to spend in each destination? Is there anything along the way that you loved and that we should not miss? Is there anything we should change? And are there hotels, b&b's that you can recommend? Thanks!

emalloy

Sounds like a good start so far. There are tons of threads here that have lots of advice on the places you would like to visit. I've done a couple of trip reports on the area if you care to look, just click on my name and scroll to the trip reports.

utahtea

Grand Canyon I'd spend at least two nights to have one full day, more if you can. Walking along the rim is one of my favorite things to do. It's pretty easy walking and you can always pick up the free shuttle buses to ride to the next stop or back if you get tired. Plan on spending time stopping at the over looks as you exit the park at Desert View.

If you decide to rent a boat to go to Rainbow Bridge on your own, make sure you purchase the detailed lake maps you can get at Glen Canyon. This is an all day excursion and if you're not boaters then I'd recommend taking the boat tour out of Wahweap Marina to Rainbow Bridge. http://www.lakepowell.com/tours/scenic-boat-tours.aspx The last time we took this tour the lake was high enough to see Rainbow Bridge from where they docked the boat so I've never had to do the 1 1/2 mile hike so I can't say how hard or easy it is.

While at Lake Powell you might enjoy the Upper Antelope Slot Canyon tour just outside of Page. It's an easy, easy walk. Also the 3/4 mile hike to Horse Shoe Bend just south of Page. http://www.travelsw.com/southwest-tr.../horseshoe.htm Another favorite is the 1/2 day float trip on the Colorado River outside of Page. The float trip takes you pass what you view on the Horse Shoe Bend hike.
For Page if you are just doing the boat tour then two nights will work. Add another day for the slot canyon and float trip. Horse Shoe Bend could be worked in the day of arrival.

Easy Arches hikes are Double Arch, Windows, Park Avenue, Landscape arch. If you can muster up enough to do a 3 mile hike, then Delicate Arch is a must see. If not, you can see it from a distance at the Delicate Arch overlook.

Canyonlands Island in the Sky district, make sure you see the Green River overlook which is just a short walk. The Grandview hike is an pretty easy walk and you can just go as far as you want and back. Mesa Arch is short and pretty easy and the view there is seen in many photographs of the area.

While in Moab try to make time to drive the Potash Road Hwy 279 along the Colorado River and watch for petroglyphs. Also drive scenic Hwy 128 to Fisher Towers and back. This is a beautiful drive. If you have time you might also like driving Kane Creek Blvd which is on the opposite side of the road from the Potash Road. There are many more petroglyphs there too.

One full day at Arches, one day for Canyonlands and one day to explore and maybe do another hike in Arches. Arches is only 5 miles from Moab.

Capitol Reef is one of my favorite undiscovered areas. Capitol Gorge is an easy walk in a canyon where you will see the Pioneer Register. Grand Wash is one of my favorites but it's a 2 1/4 mile hike one way. You can just go in as far as you want and then come back. Two nights in Torrey should be enough for one full day to explore the park.

Plan on taking scenic Hwy 12 from Torrey to Bryce and plan on the day site seeing. Lots to do on Hwy 12! The Burr trail is an easy drive on the paved part, just turn around and go back once it turns to dirt.

If you don't want to do any real hiking in Bryce then I'd suggest walking along the rim from Sunset Point to Sunrise point and back. Make sure you see Bryce Point and drive the scenic drive. Two nights and one full day in Bryce should work.

The two mile round trip Riverside Walk in Zion is a must! You probably won't have any problem doing the Weeping Rock trail and the Lower Emerald pools. Might even try the Middle Emerald Pools but the Upper Pools is a hike. The Pa'rus trail is very easy walk and you can do it one way and then pick up the free shuttle bus. I'd spend at least 3 nights in Zion because it's so relaxing.

I've given the basic amount of time, if you want to plan easy days, I'd add as much more time as you can allow for each area.


Sept. & Oct. is our favorite time to be in this area! We are also retired and I just turned 60 and do all the walk/hikes mentioned above.

Utahtea

tomfuller

Not sure about renting the boat for that distance. You could be in for a rude surprise when you fill up on the return.
In November My DW and I got off the train in Salt Lake City, rented a car and drove to Green River. In the week we stayed in Green River we visited Arches, Canyonlands (Island in the Sky), Moab, Goblin Valley and Capitol Reef. Be sure to take the walk out to see Delicate Arch. We spent 2.5 days in Arches. 1 long day to see Capitol Reef and Goblin Valley SP. There some condos etc. in Moab. We decided to save some money staying at the Robber's Roost motel in Green River.

Dayle

cd,

Like Utahtea and tomfuller, I would NOT recommend renting a boat to go to Rainbow Bridge. Lake Powell is gigantic, remote, and potentially very dangerous for small boats. Even if you are boaters, you need to take special precautions and make special preparations, plus the COST involved. All the gas at Powell has to be brought in by tanker from long distances + captive tourist market + gas-guzzeling houseboats & water toys of all types = 3 X normal prices.....

utahtea

Wholy COW...I had no idea how expensive it was to rent a boat at Lake Powel http://www.lakepowell.com/powerboats-jetskis.aspx If there are just two people going, it's going to be a lot cheaper to take the tour!

My BIL and SIL brought their ski boat to Lake Powell and we didn't have any problems finding the canyon that lead to Rainbow Bridge but we didn't go down it because we knew we would have to do the hike and BIL had a bad knee. It wasn't that hard to find with the detailed map of the lake we bought at the marina.

Utahtea

Myer

I'll just add to the others.

Being of retirement age I know there's a big difference in capabilities depending upon physical condition. So being retired may not cause much to be omitted.

In Arches. Delicate Arch is a bit of a walk and it's mostly uphill going. However, there's nothing difficult. If you've been in the area for a day or two the elevation shouldn't be an issue. I would definitely try to do this hike as opposed to seeing Delicate Arch from the very distant viewpoint.

Stop and rest as required and drink water. Get there a couple of hours before sunset for an amazing view. The walk back is much easier.

When in Capitol Reef also go to Dead Horse Point and do the very short hike/walk to Mesa Arch. This is the only arch I've seen where you're at the top.

In Bryce I would at least hike a couple of hundred yards down Navajo Loop just to get down into the hoodoos. Then walk back up slowly and stop often as the elevation is 8,000 feet.

Myer

Forgot. On the way from Moab toward plan on a stop at Goblin Valley.

spirobulldog

If you would wait until Mid-October you can catch some really nice fall foliage.

cd

What great postings! Thanks so much! They have alredy been printed!

emalloy: I enjoyed reading your trip reports and yes, there is a lot of info here but sometimes that becomes overwhelming.

Utahtea: What can I say, thanks for all your knowledge of this area and your time in writing it all down. The timeline and recommendations you gave are very valuable.

Tomfuller: I checked and what I could find out was that Green River is 50 some miles away from Moab. Did you make that drive every day to sites around there?

Dayle: Thanks for confirming what the others have said about no renting a power boat on Lake Powell...did not know it was dangerous.

Myer: What is hoodoos?

Spirobulldog: Would there be a possibility of snow in October?

cd

Utahtea:
We are comparing the cost between renting an RV or renting a car and paying hotel. I know you have an RV, could you tell me how much per night for RV Sites?

tomfuller

53 miles from Green River to Moab downtown to downtown in 50 minutes. We had beautiful weather the first week of November.
No threat of snow. $11 worth of gas everyday was worth it to save over $20 more in Moab.
There was a campground near the trailhead for Landscape Arch.
There were campers there in November.
Google Goblin Valley and find out what hodoos are.

Myer

cd,

Hoodoos are the vertical spires of orange (or is it red) rocks that are all over Bryce Canyon.

Going down even part way is the only way to really get a feel for the place. Unless you are physically unable, do at least some of this.

Also, for a spectacular sight go to Bryce Point very early in the morning for sunrise (you'll get there in the dark). You will not be alone. Just wear some warm clothes as it's cool and windy there.

If you want to see my photos of most of these places you can see them at:

www.travelwalks.com

There are several trips that included the Utah and northern Arizona sights.

I don't know if anybody mentioned. At 62 years of age you qualify for a lifetime National Parks pass for just $10.00 available at the entrance to any park.

Dayle

cd,

It's not that renting a boat at Powell is dangerous, it's just that it's a BIG, deep lake at high altitude and storms can be severe. You don't want to be caught out in the main channel during one of these.

I know Myer meant to say "while in Canyonlands" hike to Mesa Arch, and Dead Horse Point is actually a UT St park in the same area. Does require it's own entrance fee, but it's worth it! DHP - A few years ago, they put in a very nice new Visitor's Center and a wonderful loop trail for hiking/mtn biking. The route offers 3 different distances for your choice.

Moab is a very unique, fun and funky little town. To me visiting the national parks there and staying up in Green River (which is NOT very appealing) is like going to Venice, Italy and staying in Maestre (mainland). You kind of miss the whole point.

Myer

Obviously Dayle is correct. My brain said Canyonlands and my fingers typed Capitol Reef.

Also, what I wrote is a little misleading. Mesa Arch is a very easy, short hike near the beginning of Canyonlands. It's not in Dead Horse Point.

But still, Dead Horse Point is worth the stop when in the area.

Some beautiful scenery sirectly behing the visitors' center and some great views of a 180 degree turn of the Colorado river.

spirobulldog

DH Point reminded me of the Grand Canyon, but prettier. The turn that Myer describes is really pretty.

You won't need to worry about snow. The trees in Capitol, Reef, Zion, and other areas are very nice on our 2 October trips(2nd and 3rd weeks in Oct). Be sure and drive the area around Timpanogos Cave area near Salt Lake for some great Fall Foliage.

utahtea

cd, If you or your DH are age 62 you can get the Senior National Park Pass and that will also get you some camping at half price! WOOT...DH just got his!

Grand Canyon: Mather Campground no hook ups but showers nearby and 30ft limit is $18.00 per night and senior discount $9.00. Nice wooded area. Grand Canyon Trailer Village has hook ups and is $34.50 per night. I don't know if they give discounts at Trailer Village. It's also a very crowded type of campground, but has hook ups if you need them.

Lake Powell: Wahweap no hook ups $23 and Full hook ups $38.00 Because this is though ARAMARK I don't know if they give the senior discount. Full hook up sites don't have as much shade but great views of the lake.

Devils Garden in Arches has beautiful scenery but no hookups. If you decided to spend the night here, then make reservations! We've gotten spoiled and usually camp in Moab to have full hook ups since we usually spend a week in town. http://www.discovermoab.com/campgrounds.htm RV campgrounds can run from $30 - $40. They've gone up! Devils Garden is quite a drive when you need to go to town or want to go to Canyonlands. Since we have a tow vehicle we don't need to move the RV every day so that's another reason we opt for the full hook up. There are plenty of nice BLM campgrounds along the Colorado River on Hwy 128 and Potash Road. I don't know the fees but I'm sure it's reasonable. These are usually no hook up sites.

Goblin State Park has a nice first come, first serve campground if you decide to stop there for the night. no hook ups is $16.00 per nite and they have showers.

Capitol Reef: Fruit Campground in Capitol Reef is one of my favorites! No hook ups but plenty of shade trees and views and at $10 a night ($5.00 senior rate) its a great bargin! It's a first come, first serve campground so you need to get there early in the day. If it's full, there are private campground in Torry. Figure $30 - $35 per nite.

We haven't stayed in Bryce Canyon campgrounds in a long time, we've been staying at Ruby's Inn. We're getting spoiled...LOL! Both North and Sunset Campgrounds are $15.00 per night and $7.50 with senior discount, no hook ups but showers nearby. Both are in wooded settings and we found it hard to find a level site for our 30ft motor home. Ruby's Inn Campground runs $35 - $40 with hook ups. You can catch the free Bryce Shuttle from the campground as long as you are there before Oct. 9th.

Zion: We love Watchman campground which has electrical hook ups. Price is $18.00 ($9.00 senior) for regular campsite and $20.00 ($10.00 senior) for River site. Make reservations as soon as you have dates because this park now fills up fast even at this time of the year! South Campground in on a first come, first serve basis and is also very nice but no electrical it's $16.00 ($8.00 senior). There are a couple of RV parks just outside the park in or near Springdale. The Zion Canyon Campground in Springdale, UT across the river from Zion is not my favorite and around $35 per night. There is a nice looking resort campground in Virgin and it is not only expensive, but you don't see views of Zion there.

Hope this helps and let me know if you have more questions.

Utahtea

cd

If we rented a RV, and knowing the places we plan on visiting, could we get away without having another vehicle?

spirobulldog

Yes. Let me say that when I visit each of the places you list, I have done them usually on seperate occasions taking 3-5 days to give each area the time it needs. Don't just go through each place to check them off your list. Especially when camping in an RV, part of the enjoyment is not rushing through thing. Perhaps you should give us an updated ITEN. There certainly are many places in between you could see.

cd

The places that are our priority are the ones listed and we are just trying to determine which is the most economical, renting an RV or renting a car and using motels. If we go the motel route, do we have to have advanced reservations? I would really like to wing it so we could stay longer if we wanted but according to Utahtea there are campsites that I should make reservations for...