First road trip - South Utah in April

[Nils]

Hello everyone

I have been reading a lot on this forum and learned a lot but I need a little bit more help.

My girlfriend and I have now decided to do a road trip within our a 2 week holiday in the US in April, for app. 9/10 days (starting on the 12/04/2011) through Utah.
Our itinerary would be the following:
- Arrive in Las Vegas
- Zion National Park
- Bryce Park
- Monument Valley (may be going there through Capitol Reef as the road seems great but apparently we will have to avoid Moab because of the Jeep Jamboree week)
- Page Antelope Canyon / Grand Canyon (South Rim)
- Las Vegas

We plan to do this trip driving an RV.

My questions are the following:
1/ What is your view of my itinerary (do we have enough time to do it or actually could we see even more (do we miss something essential))?
2/ How long should we spend at each destination (we like hiking but we don't plan to do "hard core" hikes))?
3/ Is this trip do-able with an RV (could we have problems on the road (bad quality of the road, snow...), would that be too cold to stay at night in the RV?) or should we rent a 4x4 car and find motels at each destination (is a car better to use in the parks)?
4/ If we go for the RV, do we need to book camps in advance because of Easter break or we should be ok if we call a few days in advance, and do you have good address for RV rentals?

Many thanks for your help

Nils

[glc]

Welcome!

I can address one of your questions - it's very easy to get from Bryce to MV via Capitol Reef without going through Moab - take Scenic 12 from Bryce to CR, then 24 to Hanksville and 95 to 191. This will also take you right by the north end of Lake Powell and Natural Bridges. If you look on the map, 261 looks like a shortcut from 95 to Mexican Hat - it is, but that takes you down the Moki Dugway, which you may not want to do in a RV.

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

Your trip is doable at a fairly relaxed pace, but I wouldn't add to much more and keep that way. There are some interesting places and scenic drives along your route where you can make plenty of short stops for pictures and short walks etc.

I would spend at least a couple of nights in Zion and Grand canyon and at least 1 in Bryce, Capitol Reef, Monument valley and Page, two in Page perhaps, if it 'fit's', depending on the time you want to spend in Vegas.

The trip is doable in an RV, you could well experience some colder nights at high elevation, such as at Bryce canyon. We have 'survived' temps well below freezing in an RV and they can stay reasonably warm with the heating on and thermostat set. Bring layered clothing on the trip, you could see vast differences in temps.

A car and Motels would be a cheaper option and there would be no need for a 4x4 in particular, so it really is a Lifestyle choice.

Cruise America has a base in Vegas as do other rental Co's so I would Google 'Vegas/RV rental and then check to see what deals are on offer.

As it is a fairly short trip with time constraints it might be best to book in advance in the National parks. There are limited RV sites [the bigger the RV the fewer there are] and they are a great place to camp, you could be OK without but that's for you too decide if you want the security of a site or the freedom to roam.

If you scroll down the page in this link you will see our RV trip that includes Zion to Vegas via the route glc mentioned above and all the other spots other than Page.

[Nils]

Thanks for your answers guys.
Southwest Dave, your trip looked great, I think we are going to do it with an RV as well, seems like a lot of fun and freedom, hopefully it won't be too cold at night.

Nils