Tips for visiting Utah?- UPDATE

[mozar]

My mother and I are looking into going out west for vacation next summer. We've never been, and I figure we should do something like this before she gets old (she's 57) and before i have kids hopefully in the next few years.
I think 8 days should be a good amount of time. I don't want to take more than 5 days off work if I can help it and I want time to recover from the time difference.
She wants to go to Moab to see the arches, and I want to go to Bryce Canyon for the astronomy sanctuary, and maybe Zion National Park. Is this realistic?

Also what's a good month to go? We are flexible for May, June, or July, maybe August.. Is $400 a good price or should we see if it goes down?
She doesn't want to camp btw, but she is open to cabins.

See reply #34

[Unkempt Stash]

I have been to Utah a couple times in the winter for Sundance and its a wonderful place to visit.

Unfortunately, I do not have many answers for you (mostly based on the timing of my own trips) but I do have a couple words of warning.

The arches are beautiful. We did Arches national park and loved it. There is a lot of walking and there are no handrails. I don't know y'alls level of fitness, but just know that it's not trivial.

As we passed a guy with an expensive camera, he slipped and skidded 10 feet down and destroyed his nice camera.

[mozar]

We are fit enough to walk for several hours, but not to hike for several days.

[YHD]

Spent 8 days in Zion and Bryce last September.  One of my best trips.  Extending to arches is doable tho it's a lot of driving. 

You could fly into SLC head to Moab to overnight. One full day doing the scenic drive and some short hikes.  A slightly longer walk next next morning and head to Bryce via Capitol reef.  Overnight near Bryce.  full day doing the scenic drive.  Next day hike to the canyon floor. Next morning, Devils playground then drive to Zion.  Hike the narrows in Zion if you don't mind getting wet.  Any of the other hikes.  We did Angels landing and it was spectacular.  Unlike arches and Bryce, the road loop in Zion does not give you enough flavor of the park.  We also canyoneered and did a photography tour at sunrise.  Back to SLC Saturday night for a morning flight.

Pm if you want b&b recs in Zion and Bryce.

[mozar]

I don't have any particular trails in mind, but good to know the driving loop lacks flavor. We are open to flying into any airport that makes sense.
My mom will probably want to fly out of bwi.

[mozar]

@ knaak : do prices tend to go up or down as we get closer? Did we already miss our chance for low prices?

[boarder42]

we just did a campervan trip - 10 days starting out of Vegas.  went to zion for 2 nights bryce for 1 night - Moab for 4 nights (2 arches - 2 canyonlands)  then 3 nights at lake powell. 

make sure you drive thru capital reef on your way from bryce to Moab.  on an 8 night trip i'd add a night to either zion or bryce.  lots to see and do in both of them we will be going back. 

The campervan was awesome.  cost was around 100 a day.  and we stayed right in the parks.  we used Escape campervans.

[boarder42]

I didnt think i'd want to camp either.  but the campervan was a nice mix.  to stay that close to the parks you're gonna pay an arm and a leg at a hotel with a rental car compared to a campervan.  i'm a pretty good cook and the fridge was large enough for everything we needed and camp stove was more than enough for most of our meals.

[bognish]

The weather will be best in May, and other than Memorial Weekend the crowds are lower too. Also consider Deadhorse State park close to Arches and Goblin Valley close to Capital Reef. You can book Yurts at these parks with is a nice compromise between a hotel and camping. The one in Goblin Valley had a gas grill with a stove burner, so you could do some cooking and really only need a sheet and pillow for sleeping.

I don't think there is much distance difference between flying into Salt Lake or Vegas. If you are thinking of renting a camper/RV look into Jucy rentals. They are basically modified mini-vans. They look to be a good size for 2 people. I have seen a few during our visits to the parks and just saw one on the morning commute today in SLC which made me think of it. Price wise I have no idea if these are a good deal or not.

[mozar]

Wow, awesome. I want one of those juicy campervans for my personal use.

[boarder42]

Wow, awesome. I want one of those juicy campervans for my personal use.

i wouldnt go with Jucy if i were you, smaller and higher cost, you will be nickled and dimed over supplies.

[JJNL]

I spent about 1,5 week in Utah as part of a long US roadtrip a few years ago. 8 days to see Arches, Bryce and Zion is doable, but I agree it's a long-ass drive from Arches to Bryce/Zion. You can break it up a bit by also visiting Capitol Reef (worth it) and/or Canyonlands (likewise). You really, really, really want to go hiking in Zion, driving through the park doesn't do it justice at all. Zion and Bryce are quite high in elevation, if I were you I'd check the normal temperatures in May. It might be that it's still a bit too nippy for your tastes. July and August on the other hand are mega-hot and mega-busy. If I were you, I'd probably go for somewhere in early June. Arranging things so you can stay inside the parks or as close as possible is really worth it if you've got as little time as you have: it saves a lot of driving time into the parks and back, and you can enjoy the scenery in the early morning / evening as well. However, hotels etc. close to the parks are usually quite expensive. How averse is your mother to camping? Is she anti-tent, or also anti-RV? If you can convince her a campervan is a good plan, you're going to save a lot of time and potentially a lot of money compared to staying in hotels. In Arches, the only possibility to sleep inside the park is if you camp - and you'll need to book ahead, they don't leave spaces open for people who just show up. Bryce does have first-come-first serve spaces, but here also the only accommodation inside the park is on a campground. So I'd say: get your mother on the Mustachian bandwagon and a) save money + b) cut your driving / commuting time for sightseeing down by going camping inside the parks!

[RoseRelish]

My biggest piece of advice is to bring beer from another state to Utah!

But seriously, I hiked the Uintas for my bachelor party and had a blast. The isolated mountain lakes have refreshingly cold water and awesome fishing. We didn't see any of the "famous" sites, but experiences wonderful views and hardly saw a soul.

[kpd905]

+1 to going in May if possible. It can get really hot even in May, so I wouldn't want to be there during the real summer months.

The first time I went to Moab was late May into early June and it hit 92-95 everyday.  Made it hard to enjoy the hiking and camping.

[bognish]

Also note that rural Utah really shuts down on Sunday, so don't plan on restaurants being open unless you are in a large tourist town. Also the towns in southern Utah are very small with essentially no services in between. Make sure you have a full gas tank and extra water before you hit the road.

We were in Zion in early May last year and my kids favorite part was swimming in the creek all day. It was plenty warm. It might be cold if you want to do a technical slot canyon with water, but that most likely will not be an issue.

If you are into star gazing I think Goblin Valley and Natural Bridges are 2 of the best parks in Utah for that. 

[Seppia]

I did those parks three times in my last ten years, last time a few weeks ago.
Some additional suggestions:
- check cost of flights and car rental in Vegas. It's a lot of driving but Vegas is SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper on average, especially for car rentals. We saved over $400 for the same car compared to SLC over 12 days
- do NOT miss Canyonlands, in my opinion it's one of the best kept secrets among the national parks.
- when in Moab stay at the Moab desert hills B&B. It's beautiful, the cheaper room is $125/night, and you basically will need no food for the rest of the day after you've eaten breakfast. They always leave fruits and other stuff around. We stayed there 4 nights and our additional food expenses were around $30 (of which $15 for beers lol). Shoot me a PM if you want more details.
- if you want to hike go in May.

[mozar]

I'm going to send her (most) of this thread. She might go for a campervan.

[Debts_of_Despair]

This is another van option I've seen: http://www.jucyrentals.com/
No personal experience with it.

[boarder42]

As stated above i'd stay away from Jucy.  I did extensive research prior to choosing Escape and i think you would be disapointed in overall cost and the size of the van if you went with jucy. 

[mozar]

got it. i just like the bump up top. it says somewhere there is a bump up top for escape but i couldn't find a picture.

[kpd905]

As stated above i'd stay away from Jucy.  I did extensive research prior to choosing Escape and i think you would be disapointed in overall cost and the size of the van if you went with jucy.

How does the pricing compare? Jucy looks really cheap even compared to just renting a car in some places.

When I looked into renting an RV from Cruise America it would have been $1200+ for a week.

[zoltani]

When I think of visiting utah only one thing comes to mind - take a huge rack!

[AZDude]

Make sure you check the weather before hiking in any canyons. Flash floods do happen and you do not want to get swept away. Also, it gets rather warm during the summer, so the earlier the better.

[boarder42]

As stated above i'd stay away from Jucy.  I did extensive research prior to choosing Escape and i think you would be disapointed in overall cost and the size of the van if you went with jucy.

How does the pricing compare? Jucy looks really cheap even compared to just renting a car in some places.

When I looked into renting an RV from Cruise America it would have been $1200+ for a week.

read my statement.  Escape - not RV america. 

Jucy pricing is pretty equivalent to Escape Campervans.  But when you start looking at all the extras charges its not even close.  also they are smaller vans and look like crap IMO.  its around 100 bucks a day.

[boarder42]

Escape includes at 105 per day

100 miles per day
Blankets and pillows
cooking equipmnent
camping chairs
total 7 day trip = 735 



Jucy includes none of that at 109 per day

oh you wanna drive this somewhere - 12 bucks per day for 100 miles/d = 96 a week
oh you want blankets for your bed - 100 bucks per rental
oh you want to be able to cook your food in a pan and have some plate - 100 bucks per rental
camping chairs 10 bucks each
not only is the price starting out higher you're nickel and dimed for everything.

Jucy 7 day trip - 1079
Price difference ~350 plus 10-12% tax.  so you're pushing 400 extra to drive an ugly green and purple van with half the room inside of the maverick.
and dont forget taxes on top of that. 

[boarder42]

oh also if you book way in advance call escape up and they will throw you a 10% discount. 

[mozar]

OK, so how is Escape to drive? Do they handle well? Are they comfortable to drive for hours?

[wordnerd]

I have no advice, but I'm so jealous of your trip! DH and I are really into National Parks, and the Utah parks are high on the list.

[bognish]

If you are thinking of renting a camper, another option is to look at the classified ads on KSL.com (UT version of craigslist). Lots of people doing private rentals of the RV's that sit in their driveways 11.75 months of the year. Also come commercial rentals there. I have no idea if this is a big cost savings over Escape or Jucy I just stumbled across it when I was looking for something else.

Personally we are tent campers, but if I was doing a tour with my mom I would fly into Vegas. Hotel in zion 2 nights. Hotel a night in Bryce. Get your sunrise pictures of Bryce, then hit the road to capital reef. Stay that night in Goblin Valley (check out Little Wildhorse slot canyon next door). Then 2 nights at the yurts it at Deadhorse State park and hit Arches from there. Stay in a cheap hotel in Green River or Cedar City on the way back to Vegas to fly home. Not the cheapest way to stay, but other than lodging and gas you won't have many places to spend money along the way. And an epic roadtrip with mom is worth a little splurge.

[mozar]

She's a little uncertain about campervans so hotels/yurts might be better.

[boarder42]

She's a little uncertain about campervans so hotels/yurts might be better.

Easy to drive like driving a car its a van.

[mozar]

Thanks all for giving us advice. We got back about a week ago. I am SO glad we went in May. We originally planned on going in June, but then my mom decided she preferred May. It meant that we had to go during the almost full moon, which meant missing the astronomy night in Bryce, but my mom almost passed out in 80 degree weather!

We flew into Vegas ($313) and spent the night there. Then we drove to Zion. Zion was great. My mom loved the small town and we could go on short hikes that were beautiful. Originally we weren't going to do the narrows but my mom decided to do it at the last minute without any gear. So we hiked about a mile into the river and back. The water was too high to go further. The next day we did a short hike then it started to rain.
Then we drove to Bryce. The $80 park pass was totally worth it, mostly because my mom wanted to go to the Bryce Lodge for dinner twice, lol. We did the sunrise over the hoodoos, and did the Queens Garden hike for two hours. It was hard but not too hard for my mom, and neither of us were used to the elevation.

After two nights in Bryce we drove to Moab. We did the short strenuous hike to the delicate arch view, and the double arch. The next day we did a river rafting tour down the Colorado River. It was a pm half day. So basically 3 hours on the water with an hour for lunch. Pretty easy white rapid but scary enough for my mom (and me). Afterwards my mom was too hot and she had to rest awhile.
Then we drove all the way to St George, which was cute. We went to the custard place twice. Then next day to Vegas to fly back.
We each spent about $1100 total. That includes flights, hotels every night, and restaurants every day. I convinced my mom to walk into a grocery store once, and she only bought a chocolate bar :-)

From my mom:
"Well, to your online group and to those who answered your questions, thanks for all the advice. We did everything we planned and came in under budget. !!
Mom"

[mistershankly]

Thanks for the detailed report!   Makes me want to make a return visit.  As far as the narrows go, was the one mile hike satisfactory or do you wish you had gone further?  I've never done that hike but would love to for a half day.

When DW and I went, we drove through Zion and stayed at Zion Mountain Ranch on the north side... amazing!  Cabins set on a fence enclosing a buffalo preserve...

http://www.zmr.com

[mozar]

We definitely couldn't have gone farther that day because the water was so high and fast. But I can't say that I would go back and go further. It was beautiful, but the risk of flash floods and being swept to my death kind of puts a damper on things for me.

[boarder42]

now i want to go back - love utah really should move there

[Neustache]

Thanks for the update!  We are headed to Zion and Bryce in June (again).  We'd much rather go in early spring or fall but have a kid in school.  Glad you enjoyed it!!

[boarder42]

Thanks for the update!  We are headed to Zion and Bryce in June (again).  We'd much rather go in early spring or fall but have a kid in school.  Glad you enjoyed it!!

arent you KC area?  you guys driving?

[Neustache]

Yep!  Actually driving to California and back, but Zion and Bryce are stops along the way. 

[Secretly Saving]

We regularly visit the national parks and we've done Zion, Bryce and Arches.  Love all three, but Bryce is probably my favorite.  We've most recently done Arches, so restaurants in Moab are still in my mind.  We enjoyed two little cafes: Love Muffin (for breakfast) and Sweet Cravings (for lunch before heading out of town).  In Kanab, UT, fairly close to the well known geographic feature "The Wave," we had a fabulous meal at the Rockin V cafe.  Between Bryce and Zion in Orderville, UT, there is a bakery called Forscher German bakery and cafe.  We picked up lunches there to take withusinto the park.  Hope you enjoy your trip!

[boarder42]

We regularly visit the national parks and we've done Zion, Bryce and Arches.  Love all three, but Bryce is probably my favorite.  We've most recently done Arches, so restaurants in Moab are still in my mind.  We enjoyed two little cafes: Love Muffin (for breakfast) and Sweet Cravings (for lunch before heading out of town).  In Kanab, UT, fairly close to the well known geographic feature "The Wave," we had a fabulous meal at the Rockin V cafe.  Between Bryce and Zion in Orderville, UT, there is a bakery called Forscher German bakery and cafe.  We picked up lunches there to take withusinto the park.  Hope you enjoy your trip!

they are back already haha.

[Secretly Saving]

Well that's what I get for not reading the whole thread!  Someone else can benefit from the info then!

[Neustache]

Thanks all for giving us advice. We got back about a week ago. I am SO glad we went in May. We originally planned on going in June, but then my mom decided she preferred May. It meant that we had to go during the almost full moon, which meant missing the astronomy night in Bryce, but my mom almost passed out in 80 degree weather!

We flew into Vegas ($313) and spent the night there. Then we drove to Zion. Zion was great. My mom loved the small town and we could go on short hikes that were beautiful. Originally we weren't going to do the narrows but my mom decided to do it at the last minute without any gear. So we hiked about a mile into the river and back. The water was too high to go further. The next day we did a short hike then it started to rain.
Then we drove to Bryce. The $80 park pass was totally worth it, mostly because my mom wanted to go to the Bryce Lodge for dinner twice, lol. We did the sunrise over the hoodoos, and did the Queens Garden hike for two hours. It was hard but not too hard for my mom, and neither of us were used to the elevation.

After two nights in Bryce we drove to Moab. We did the short strenuous hike to the delicate arch view, and the double arch. The next day we did a river rafting tour down the Colorado River. It was a pm half day. So basically 3 hours on the water with an hour for lunch. Pretty easy white rapid but scary enough for my mom (and me). Afterwards my mom was too hot and she had to rest awhile.
Then we drove all the way to St George, which was cute. We went to the custard place twice. Then next day to Vegas to fly back.
We each spent about $1100 total. That includes flights, hotels every night, and restaurants every day. I convinced my mom to walk into a grocery store once, and she only bought a chocolate bar :-)

From my mom:
"Well, to your online group and to those who answered your questions, thanks for all the advice. We did everything we planned and came in under budget. !!
Mom"

I thought the Queens Garden hike is on our list, but now I'm concerned that it's going to take us 2 hours.  Were you all going at a leisurely pace?  I have a four year old who does not do 'slow' so maybe it won't take us as long. 

[mozar]

Queens garden we were going at a very leisurely pace. But it is listed as a two hour hike. If your kid has no problem with hiking a steep incline at a high elevation they could probably jog down and back in 40 minutes.

[Neustache]

Thanks!  I think we'll plan on a 1.5 hour hike - read that it's nice at the bottom and is a good picnic area, so maybe we'll break there before hiking back up.