Help with Utah trip

[Danny Moss]

my wife and want to travel to Utah to enjoy the Canyons,etc. where would be a good location for a base camp? We have a 303rls. Where is a good place to camp with the 33' rig? What do you who have travelled Utah have to share about 'be sure to see places'? Thanks for your help.

 

[Paul & Deb]

We spend a lot of time in Utah. You can fit into any of the spectacular National Parks but the state is much bigger than you are thinking. It doesn't really lend itself to having one base camp and then visiting the other parks. I could spend months just visiting all Utah has to offer. Some of our regular places to visit, but certainly not all of the great places, are Zion (top of our list for hiking), Moab (Arches National Park), Monument Valley, Capitol Reef. You will have no problem getting your trailer in there. Most of these Parks have campgrounds or at least nearby private RV Resorts that fit 40 plus ft motor homes so you're no problem.

Do some planning and don't rush it if possible. You will be blown away by the beauty of the state!

 

[Dave & Darlene]

Poppy's makes a good point about Utah, It is a fairly big state. My advice would be to stay in Moab as your base camp if you want to see some of the most beautiful places. from hear you can visit Arches, Zion Park, goblin valley, canyon lands, etc. from Moab be sure to visit dead horse point, hole in the rock, Colorado river, and many natural arches in the area. you could do a day trip into the San Rafael swell area as well. You still have Northern Utah, Southern Utah, And a lot of beautiful desert areas in Western Utah, But you would need a new base camp for each of these.

 

[2hams]

We used several base camps on our trip through Utah. We started from the south (went to the Grand Canyon first), traveling with our previous 30' fifth wheel. We stayed at Ruby's to see Bryce, skipped Zion (if our dog can't go, we don't go). We stayed at Wonderland in Torrey to see Capitol Reef. Moab has lots of commercial parks and is a good base camp to see lots of stuff like Dead Horse Point SP, Canyonlands, Arches, and the Colorado River. I forget the name, we stayed at a Passport America park and it wasn't bad. We stayed at La Mesa in Cortez to visit Mesa Verde then moved on to Durango to see the train before heading back east.

One thing we noticed about Utah is that every time we moved, even if just 50 miles, the landscape and terrain changed. It is very interesting.

 

[Scott and Jan]

BryceCanyon is beautiful! We stayed at Ruby's also. Plenty of space, especially in the back, no shade trees back there but we could've had three campers on our site alone! Bear Lake up North is pretty too.

 

[RamGunner]

St. George and Hurricane (pronounced "Hurricun") both have a number of RV parks that work well if you are staying in the south. Moab has some that are great for that area, and Beaver is a great area to explore if you have toys. As others have said, it's a big place, so one base camp won't do. But that's the great thing about trailers, you can move your base camp pretty easily.

 

[Danny Moss]

Thanks to all...any other insights from others?

 

[Jthamilton]

I second dead horse point, site where Thelma and Louise drove off the cliff. Small area so very little congestion. Don't neglect the needles area south of the canyonlands, most stay north and never travel down there.

 

[wrp75_CO]

Not to contribute more to do, but don't forget about north UT! Salt Lake City is probably not overly RV friendly, but the surrounds are fun. Golden Spike National Park/Memorial (I don't remember which) is a must-visit for anyone interested in US history or railroads. Park City still had a fun mountain town vibe, and the US Olympic museum up there is very well done. Having said all that, I still haven't made it to the south UT parks, so it may not even compare.

 

[RamGunner]

Not to contribute more to do, but don't forget about north UT! Salt Lake City is probably not overly RV friendly

It's really not too bad. There is a KOA on North Temple just west of downtown, and there are some other campgrounds north and south of SLC in the valley.

 

[photogent]

Just to add another place to go in AZ just south of Moab is Upper and lower Antelope Canyon. This place is in every photo maggot the back. Spent 2+ weeks photographing the parks and antelope canyon and you will love every minute of it. Don't miss Devil's backbone. Islands in the sky is another place not to miss but come to think of it wherever you go you will be WOWED! We are headed back again this summer and spending at least two months to photograph the parks and hike and bike. Then off to the Grand Design rally in late August then back to SC and a rest for a few weeks.

 

[Danny Moss]

Wow! So much good info. Thanks! I hope this good Utah info helps others plan a fantastic vacation.