Utah road trip July 2005
 

Hello: I just found this forum and have read through many of the messages on travel in Utah. I already have some great suggestions which I am duly noting in my Moon Handbook on Utah. I have already done some planning/booking which is late for me since I usually try to book National Park trips at least in October of the year prior to going. We are in our early fifies with a 16 year old daughter. Last year we drove from Missouri to Custer State Park in SD and then looped through the Black Hills, seeing Devil's Tower, through Sheridan, Wyoming, part of the Rockies(was foggy the whole three days we were there) and then home through Kansas. In the past, we have spent our vacations in Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. We have also spent time in Arizona; have visited the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and stayed at Mesa Verde.
This year, we will fly into Salt Lake City and drive out the next day to Springdale, Utah where we are staying at the Desert Pearl for 4 nights. We want to see Zion and Bryce. Will do some dayhikes. Then we drive to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon where we will stay for one night. On to Moab, Utah for five nights where we are staying at the Sunflower Inn. Will hike at Arches and Canyonlands and hopefully do a raft trip. Back to SLC to stay a night or two and then fly back home. I generally like to stay for awhile at a place rather than spend all our time driving. These are my questions:
1. Are our accommodations OK?
2. We are staying at a cabin at the North Rim. Are they really rustic? As long as they are clean we are OK.
3. We were planning to rent a Taurus which we joke is our SUV. We have driven a Taurus in the Pacific Northwest, in Monument Valley and on the Big Island of Hawaii which has a particularly awful road to the birthplace of King Kamehameha. Would an SUV open up areas that are must see? We would not do any serious off-roading.
4. We like small off-beat surprises as well. I always try to surprise the family with something neat: Dinosaur Tracks on our Southwest adventure; King Kamehameha's birthplace(complete with sacrifical stone) in Hawaii. Any neat, little off-beat surprise that makes a visit a treat?
5. Is there anything that is a must see or do that I have to book in advance?
6. Are there any highly touted tours or sights that are not worth the time? It looks like that night-time trip on the river in Moab falls into that category.
Thanks for any information you would like to share. Sorry if this is too long a message but I sort of wanted to give you a little overview of what we are looking for. Janine

The north rim cabins are small, rustic and have paper thin walls. Our even had a squeeky floor. Without trying, you will be able to hear what is being said in the room in the other half of the cabin.

If you are staying on the north rim and had a suv you could go to Point Sublime. 18 miles one way through ponderosa pine forest and meadows. You end up on a pennisula that gives you almost a 360 degree view. It is a breathtaking view and you will probably not see another soul there. It takes about 2 hrs. one way to get there. Suprisingly, there are about 6 picknick tables. To have lunch 4 ft. from a 2000 ft. drop in the canyon is incredible.

Hi Jan,

It sounds like you are planning to see Bryce Canyon as a day trip from Springdale? It can be done, but you will miss one of the greatest sights - Bryce Canyon at sunrise. I would really recommend spending a night at Bryce.

Your time in Moab sounds just right. I've heard the Sunflower is very nice.

Besides hiking within the parks, I have two nice hikes to recommend outside. Negro Bill Canyon hike to Rainbow Arch. Easy and has a very nice reward at the end. Just off the highway east out of Moab. Also, the Corona Arch hike. Short easy and very scenic. A ways out on the Potash Rd. west of town.

Have fun!

Your plan looks good except for the drive from the N. Rim to Moab is going to be a long one.

The fastest route would be to take Hwy 89 all the way up to I-70. This route is 400 miles and about 8 hours of driving time. You would drive though the San Rafael Swell on I-70 which is very scenic.

BUT the most scenic route would be Hwy 89 to Hwy 12 passing Bryce again and up to Torrey, Utah. This route is 420 miles but a lot slower driving so it will take about 12 hours to drive. This is my ALL TIME FAVORITE scenic drive. Just past Torrey is Capitol Reef National Park. I would highly recommend spending a night in Torrey before reaching Moab if you can squeeze this in.

You want something special...then go see the Pioneer Register in Capitol Reef. Pioneers who were on wagon trains signed their names on the rock walls. It's a one mile hike on the Capitol Gorge Trail. Capitol Reef also has petroglyphs that are easy to find.

Moab is kind of the 4 wheel drive captiol. Many easy ones to do. Take the Potash road, then a side trip on the White Rim Trail to Musselman Arch and then back to go up the Shafer trail and near Dead Horse state park is the start of Long Canyon to take you back are two easy one to do.
There are many petroglphs on the Potash road and Kane Creek Road on the opposite side of the Colorado River. Kane Creek turns into a dirt road but easy going for a long while and many great petroglyphs.

If you don't mind driving out of your way a little, when you leave Moab for Salt Lake City, I would recommend driving east on Hwy 128. This is a very scenic drive you might want to do more than once. You travel along beside the Colorado River. This is the area where they do the half day raft trips that are a lot of fun. You will see Fisher Towers and cross the Colorado near the old Dewey Bridge. Once you reach I-70 then you will travel west. Get off in the little town of Thompson and travel 3 miles north on the Sego canyon road to Sego Canyon. Here are some really different kinds of petroglyphs and pictographs.

July is going to be HOT & dry! I recommend getting misty-mates to take on the hikes. They are personal misting systems that help keep you cool. Carry plenty of drinking water and try hiking early in the morning or late evening.

I've never done the night time trip out of Moab, but it looks cheesy to me. All they do is take you up the canyon after dark and shine different color lights on the canyon walls. This is the same area as Hwy 128. The rafting trips are so much fun that I would recommend that instead.

Utahtea

If you are interested in native american prehistoric art there are lots of viewing opportunities in the area around Moab. We got a kick or trying to find the pictographs along the canyons. Ask in the Moab visitor center for the artwork route. We also went to nearby Sego and absolutely loved it.

if you are going to be in springdale when in Zion, you should take a day to hike the narrows. it's fun it is IN THE RIVER, which can be waist high at times, go as far as you like, bring shoes you can get wet. this hike will keep you cool! Cedar Breaks might be a nice side trip too. take more time at bryce and do the horse back ride (1/2 day) IN THE MORNING when it is cooler. you get a good perspective without worrying about the climb out of the canyon!

We stayed in a cabin at the North Rim last summer and, after all the negative things I had heard, we found it to be quite adeqate. It was old, but clean, and we slept well. We booked it knowing we wouldn't spend much time in the cabin. We did have the whole cabin to ourselves (no sharing of walls.) The Western cabins are supposed to be nicer than the Pioneer ones ( we were in a Pioneer.) The kids loved it as they have never stayed in such a rustic place -- it was their favorite room of the trip, go figure!

The ranger guided trip through the Fiery Furnace in Arches might be a neat surprise for your family. You are led through an absolute maze of narrow little canyons and fins to hidden arches and little rooms of sand and stone...it really is special.

The cabins at the North Rim are the way to go. I did not experience sound issues there and it is well worth it to be staying that near the rim.

I also agree that spending one of your nights at Bryce is advisable. Sunrise is fantastic...superior to sunset IMHO. I dragged my wife out of bed for that against her habit and she was grateful....later. I am also a big fan of the in park horse back trip, we did the 2 hour model which was just enough.

Here is a treat, which I learned about from a Cowboy in Bryce: On your way to the N. Rim, stop in the store/gas station/restaurant at Jacob Lake (can't miss it) and buy some of their home made cookies. Outstanding!

Last summer, we were planning on staying at the Desert Pearl and driving into Zion too. Instead, I ended up booking a room at the Zion lodge (in the park) and was glad I did. The drive into the park takes probably 30-45 minutes, which is an eternity when you're on vacation. The only drawback I experienced while staying in the park was that the lodging personnel we dealt with were extremely rude. Just one example: the desk clerk refused to let a couple ahead of us check out because they had not left a tip for the cleaning crew. (I always leave a tip when we vacation, this is just my habit. But as far as I know, this is not a requirement anywhere, especially in a national park.) The couple was from England and they were stupified. Oh, one more: while we were dining, my son had to use the restroom, which was just downstairs. I allowed him to go, then a moment later, went down to check on him. This same man from above had sent my young child OUT OF THE BUILDING AT NIGHT to use a restroom in another area because the dining restroom was being cleaned.

(I realize that this type of behavior is the exception. I've found that if you treat people decently, they will do the same.)

Bryce is a very long drive from Desert Pearl.