yellowstone,tetons,bryce,zion,mesa verde..help
 

my husband and I are planning to travel in these areas after labour day of 2007.we need to be back in Ontario by Sept. 23rd)We will be pulling a tent trailer...do you think we will need to make reservations in these parks at that time of year? Any ideas, suggestions, preferences would be much appreciated. First time to any of these parks, so need lots of help!...thanks

You should not have problems with CG's after Labor Day. It will be cold, expect frost, in places like Yellowstone and some of the CG's start closing as do some other services. You will need to check the YS site for Sept closing dates. http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisi....htm#september

http://www.nps.gov/grte/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Mesa Verde has a large CG and I have never seen it any where near full..

If you plan on driving the Chief Joseph or the Beartooth Highway on your way in or out of Yellowstone there are some nice National Forest CG's just to the east of Cooke City MT, they have been refurbished in the past year or so. Our favorite there is Soda Butte just up the hill from Cooke City. These are outside the park but they can come in handy if you are arriving late or just wanting an early start for the drive of the BT or CJ Highway... Always check locally for road conditions..

http://www.tfhrc.gov/pubrds/06jul/03.htm

To state the obvious: start north and move south during your camping trip.

as others have given you advice, don't forget the national forests that usually surround the national parks. they have camping areas too. you may not get hook ups but you should get by. I found this was the case on many trips. If you cannot get in the park, try the forests or the private campgrounds. triple a books usually list campgrounds...

it will be chilly at night so think CAMPFIRES yeah! the places you mention are just wonderful (except i can't speak for mesa verde, was closed when i was near there) you might want to look into some travel books for the areas, i would suggest moon, lonely planet, etc.

We just visited Monument Valley and highly recommend it. It's on the Arizona/Utah border. The scenery is absolutely gorgeous. We stayed at Gouldings Resort. There's also a campground there--don't know the cost. Should be available after Labor Day. Also strpmgly recommend a tour into the Valley with one of the Navajo guides. We took a 3 1/2 hour tour and saw things we couldn't have imagined would be there. And learned a lot, too.

Hi Sueger,

The only place I think you will really need campground reservations is Zion. Sept is still peak season for Zion and the campgrounds will be full.

There is BLM land camping fairly nearby on the Virgin River, but it's primitive camping with no toilets. There is also an "RV resort" a bit further away, between Rockville and Virgin, but it depends on if you like places like that. It is usually full too.

All the other parks should be OK as long as you don't have to have hookups.

Have fun!

We have visited YS, Tetons, Utah... In YS and Tetons, it is important to note that about half the services close down after Labor Day. We went last mid-Sept. and encountered long lines in YS for restaurants since places were closed. We tried to eat around 4 or 5pm to avoid crowds. Lots of bus tours. :-(
We made reservations everywhere but we did not camp. Watch for early snow - YS closed a few roads during our visit and the Beartooth Highway closed 2 days after we came through it - Sept. 15th. We used Lonely Planet Guide.
It is all beautiful! If you can't get all the way down to Bryce, Capitol Reef National Park is beautiful as well. You have a lot on your agenda.
Yellowstone - don't miss the mudpots, geysers, little Grand Canyon, and stop and enjoy some wildlife and hiking. Our least favorite place was around the Old Faithful Inn and Geyers - it was terrbily crowded with bus tours and more bus tours. Favorite place in YS was the Canyon Country - great hikes. Breakfast at the Yellowstone Lake Hotel was wonderful and much cheaper than eating dinner.
Tetons - take a boat trip across the lake, see the Church of the Transfiguration and the little village around there, avoid Jackson Hole, and be sure to visit Mormon Row and again, watch some wildlife. Food in Tetons is MUCH better than Yellowstone. Recommend the Pioneer Grill at the Jackson Lake Lodge and the Signal Mtn. Restaurant (great pie) for dining.
The drive up through Paradise Valley on Highway 89 through Montana was spectacular and Bozeman's Museum of the Rockies was a great museum - well worth the ticket price just to see their dinosaur egg clutches and dinosaur collection. My son and husband went fishing in Bozeman with Greg of the Bozeman Angler - if your husband fly-fishes. Great day on the river, despite the snow and sleet.
Billings - not too exciting - but we enjoyed a stop at the Pompeys Pillar National Monument - alot of Lewis & Clark history and great place to skip stones across the river. (Yes, we have homeschooled kids).
We live on the east coast and take advantage of every opportunity to avoid crowds by staying on our "time" during our visits. We saw every animal in the parks by getting up early and being out by 6am scouting for bears, wolves, and coyotes. If you plan to hike, be sure to put bells on your jackets, shoes or packs to let the bears know you are coming.
I'd be happy to help with questions...

As you get closer and know which night you will make it to Yellowstone, I'd call ahead and see if you could make reservations. Keep in mind that some of the campgrounds in Yellowstone are hard sided vehicles only. In the campgrounds where they allow tent-trailers you have to move anything with a smell to the trunk of your vehicle! Food, toothpaste, etc!

You won't have a problem getting a site at the Grand Tetons.

Last year we left Tetons and headed south, spent one night on the road then two nights at Dinosaur National Park. Very nice campground and you shouldn't have a problem getting a site.

On the way to Bryce you might want to consider stopping at Capitol Reef National Park and the Fruit campground is very nice. They don't take reservations and they do tend to fill up by evening. From Captiol Reef to Bryce you will want to travel on scenic Hwy 12.

I don't think Bryce should be a problem at this time but if they happen to be full there are National Forest and private campgrouds near by.

We were shocked last year in October how hard it was to get into Watchman Campground in Zion. Watchman takes reservations and has electrical only sites. If you don't need electrical, then you shouldn't have a problem getting into South Campground as long as you get there pretty early in the day. If all else fails, there is a private campground just outside of the park in Springdale, Utah.

You won't have a problem getting a campsite at the Morefield Campground in Mesa Verde.

Sounds like a great trip!

Utahtea