Utah - what have we missed?
 

We are trying to plan a 7 day trip, in April, to the Utah area, and would like suggestions on an itinerary that would bypass some of the places that we have recently been to which include, Moab, Bryce, Island in the Sky (Canyonland), and Glen Canyon.
We would fly into either Las Vegas or Salt Lake City.
I would like to include Zion, even though we have been there many times, just because it is my favorite place. We might want to leave room for a couple days in Las Vegas.

One slight adjustment to my inquiry. We might want to fly into Grand Junction, CO, and back home from Las Vegas.

When you start in Colorado could you land in Durango ? en you could visit Mesa Verde then to Kayenta (visit Monument valley)-Page (lakePowell- and then on to Bryce.To LV via Zion with visit Valley of fire park along the way.Paul

Hi Mike,

If you want to include Zion and LV, then those will take 3 - 4 days based on what you say. That only leaves you 3 days for something new.

I would suggest flying into SLC, driving to Capital Reef, driving on to Boulder, driving on to Zion from there flying out of LV.

How you distribute the time is up to you. There are some great hikes and scenery at Capitol Reef and in the Escalante area.

Highly recommend staying at least 1 night a the Boulder Mountain Lodge. Must reserve early.

If Zion is a must, then I would be incline to start or end in Las Vegas. Zion and Capitol Reef would be my two top choices. There's plenty of things to see and do on Scenic Hwy 12 to make it a destination too.

Utahtea

Thank you, all, for your suggestions.
Let's say that we fly into Salt Lake City, around 12:30 pm and have three nights before we head to Springdale for the 4th night.
How would you suggest that we break up those three nights in the Capital Reef, and Escalante area?
Would it make sense to stay close to Capital Reef, the first night and move to Boulder for the balance?
What are the main (must see) sights in that area?

Salt Lake City to Torrey is 220 miles and about a 4 1/2 hour drive. If you can make that, then I'd spend 2 nights in Torrey for one full day at Capitol Reef and then one night in Boulder, Utah.

Utahtea

HI Mike,

I agree with Utahtea. 2 nights in Torrey to see Capitol Reef and 1 nt in Boulder.

In Capitol Reef, I've enjoyed the Hickman Bridge hike and the hike along the river to see the petroglyphs. I also have done the scenic drive and the Capitol Wash hike. One I've yet to do, but it looks really good is the Golden Throne (longer and more strenuous, can't do when lightening is threatening due to exposure).

The Calf Creek Falls hike is beautiful with the wonderful reward of the falls at the end. Hike this EARLY before it gets hot and crowded. Another hike is the Escalante River, which I haven't done yet. Requires many water crossings.

April is peak season for the Escalante area, get res now if you can at Boulder Mtn Lodge.

PS - If you don't want to do a lot of long hikes, there are some beautiful drives in addition to Hwy 12. You can do the Burr Trail out and back on the paved section which is very scenic. There is a mini slot canyon to see on the way.

There is the Hell's Backbone road, graded gravel road, OK for regular cars in dry weather. It's about 30 miles, but with an absolutely awesome payoff at the Hell's Backbone. Something you will never forget.

Have fun!

Pick either SE (Canyonlands, Arches, maybe Capitol Reef too) or SW (Zion, Bryce, Escalante, etc) Utah. You can't do it all in 7 days.

Or, the idea to fly to SLC, start at CR, then move to Zion and Bryce before flying from LV is also good.

Dayle,

On Hell's Backbone...where do you start? Is it a loop or you come out the way you go in? You don't need 4 wheel drive? I had read some things that made it sound like this wasn't worth it...but now you have me thinking differently.

Utahtea

Utahtea,

The Hell's Backbone road takes off north from Hwy 12 in Escalante and is a loop that exits at the other end before the switchbacks to Boulder. If someone had the time, they could do the most spectacular part of Hwy12 to to Boulder and come back via Hell's Backbone.

It is a long drive and not very spectacular, but once you arrive at the Hell's Backbone and the bridge over it - WOW! Very aptly named. The bridge is a narrow old thing just wide enough for one car. The road circles the Box Death Hollow Wilderness Area, a place I've wanted to backpack for years, in spite of the name!

If taking a regular car, you would need to go slow. I did it long ago, but do remember parts of the road being quite steep through the forest.

Dayle,

Thanks for the information, that's what I was looking for!

Utahtea

Probably your motorhome would not be the vehicle for this one!

Another vote for Calf Creek Falls.I was there nearly forty years ago and it has stuck in my memory. No crowds then, we went skinny dipping.

Dayle,

No, I wouldn't even think of doing it in our motorhome. We rented an SUV at Ruby's Inn just for the day when we were there in October. We wanted to go out to Kodachrome Basin State Park. If you guys hadn't had such a late moonsoon season, we wanted to go out to Grosvenor's Arch but the road was closed....you probably will remember hearing about the school bus that got stranded just outside of Hanksville...that's the same time we were in the area! Not a time to be on that kind of a road...in any vehicle! If it hadn't been for the monsoon season, we might have kept the suv longer and done Hell's Backbone.

Utahtea

Thank you everyone, for your suggestions. They all sound great!
Utah is an amazing state.

Mike,

Have a great time! You know you'll want to come back for more. The more time you spend in Utah the more you love it!

Utahtea,

I'm glad you guys didn't get washed away!! Our unusual weather year contiues with much less snow than normal. Not good. :(

Mike,

Sorry that Dayle and I have hyjacked your thread!

Dayle,

We are having the same problem in California with rain and snow....somehow Colorado is getting more than it's fair share...but then again that should help Lake Powell!.

Utahtea

Haven't gotten out the map yet, but quickly, If I fly into SLC, is the best idea to drive to Torrey and stay a few days in order to hike around Capital Reef and Escalante? Or is Escalante another place? We are planning to head from Capital Reef to Moab for several days and then home either flying out of SLC or somewhere else. Is this a reasonable itinerary?

HeyJude,

Yes, you need to check you map. Escalante is south of Capitol Reef, in between Boulder and Bryce Cayon.

It is NOT a short drive from Torrey and Capitol Reef to Escalante. If you stop for photos and a short hike, it will take a minimum of 1/2 day.

Moab is far southeast from both.

So the best plan for a week would be to: Fly into SLC and drive to Torrey for a couple of nights 2 or 3,
Then drive on to Moab for 4 or 5 nights
Then drive back to SLC to fly home.
Any suggestions about adding other places to visit either coming or going?

Hi HeyJude,

With a week, I would do

2 nts Torrey
1 nt Boulder or Escalante
4 nts Moab

There is so much great hiking plus other things to do that it's hard to choose when dividing up your time.

Have fun!

Thanks for the suggestion. After looking this up on a map, it might be better to try and get a flight into either Grand Junction or Durango. Possibly we could head from Durango to Mesa Verde and then on to boulder, then Torrey and finally on to Moab and possible fly out of Grand Junction. Any thoughts?

Are you camping? If so: Goblin Valley State Park, which is about 25 miles south of I-70 on Highway 24. I went on a 3 week road trip of utah and wyoming, and it was one of my favorite places. Very desolate, but unlike anything you've ever seen before (different from Arches etc.). The rocks and dried mud form these things that look like...large snowmen. Very cool. Google it to get a better idea.

Thanks for posting. No we are not camping. So far we are flying into Durango and driving to Mesa Verde(one night in Durango and one in Cortez) and then on to Moab where I have booked 4 nights and then have 2 more nights to plan giong back to SLC before flying out the next afternoon. I had posted on another site and gotten some good suggestions for Durango and Moab lodging. So this is where I am now. Any suggestions for spending the last two days from Moab to SLC. One posted said that Capital Reef was really out of the way for driving back to SLC. Any ideas???

Hi again Mike,

Going to Capitol Reef would not be a straight shoot back to SLC, but it would be very reasonable with 2 days.

From Moab to Capitol Reef is about 2 hours drive w/o stops. If you wanted, you could stop off at Goblin Valley as another suggested. It's a very unique place good for a short stop, but it is about 25 mi off hwy 24.

Another special place enroute off hyw 24 is Horseshoe Canyon in the Maze Dist of Canyonlands. You can hike to the Grand Gallery for one of the best petroglyph sites in the world. However, once again,it's a 30 mi drive on dirt road to the trail head and is impassable if wet or recent rains.

April will be cool in Capitol Reef as it's a bit higher in altitude than Moab. Perfect for hiking and the fruit trees in the campground might be blooming. Lots of lodging choices in Torrey. Cafe Diablo will probably not be open in April. They are summer season only.

From Capitol Reef to SLC is about 4 1/2 hours.

Thanks to eeryone. We have finalized our itinerary which is:
Day 1:Fly into Durango, stay at the Rochester Hotel,
Day 2: Mesa Verde, stay at Best Western at cortez
Day 3: Drive to Moab, stay 4 nights at Cali Cochitta
Day 7: Drive to Capital Reef stopping at Goblin Vally, stay 2 nights at Best Western in Torrey
Day 9: Up early and drive to SLC airport for a 2:00 flight.

Any suggestions? I booked at BW in Torrey in case we change our itinerary , you can cancell 24 hors before. Does anyone think we should stay closer to the airport the last night? Also are we really missing out on SLC? We really like nature and beautiful scenery. I didn't want to skip Capital Reef but I could cut it short. Thanks

Heyjude,

Your itinerary sounds just great. I think you can drive to SLC the morning of your flight. Just be sure to allow plenty of time for the unexpected, get up early!

You might want to visit SLC and Park City in conjunction with a future Yellowstone/Tetons trip!

Have fun!

Thanks Dayle. We have done the Yellowstone Teton trip 2 years ago. But for some reason we never seem to visit a city. I think we'll be ok driving too. It's a sunday and I hope traffic will be minimal.

No you won't have any weekday traffic and as long as you aren't traveling on a holiday weekend (Easter?) you won't have people returning from southern Utah. If it is Easter weekend, you will have some traffic, but shouldn't be slow.

SLC is a very nice city, but not a place to go just for a visit on it's own. Many of the surrounding places like Park City and Snowbird/Alta are great places for an active vacation.

Give us a trip report when you get back.

Thanks. Will do!