Planning National Parks Trip West - Summer 2014

[mlfrancis]

I guess I feel like I might have tried to bite off more than I could chew with some of these distances. Being novices at RV driving and have some folks on the trip being first time campers I know we're going to move slower than you could in a regular vehicle or what we expected at first. The problem is I should probably re-calibrate my trip and stay more to the Arizona and Utah parks rather than trying to push it all the way up to Yellowstone. Earlier advice I got was solid and it was to try to get trip distances down to around an average or 5 hours give or take some on either side. I'm traveling in just a couple of weeks, how realistic is it to change the trip route at this point? What parks would I target with the RV in 14 nights?

[Southwest Dave]

You have the time to stick to your original plan if that's your preference. Have you made reservations in the Utah parks and Grand canyon etc ? Your biggest challenge would be finding availablity in the parks at this late stage. RV sites are limited in number and extremely popular and therefor once the NP sites are booked, those closest outside begin to fill. If you were to change your itinerary then you would be looking to create a loop that would include Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce canyon, Zion and the Grand canyon NP's, but again I don't think it necessary and it could bring new problems with available sites. I don't think you have bitten of more than you can chew overall, just wrongly estimated the time to get to Yellowstone, but arriving a day later wouldn't have too much of an impact on your overall trip plan.

An update on your planned itinerary and actual bookings to date might help us to suggest some 'tweaks'.

[mlfrancis]

Another question: which entrance would I be going to enter Yellowstone thru if I'm traveling directly up from Phoenix, with some stops, or via Henderson, NV, with some stops? South Entrance or West? I'm going to be staying at the Bridge Bay Campground.

[Southwest Dave]

You have the option of either although the south entrance will take slightly longer. You should enter at one and depart by the other and try and plan an overnight stop that would give you at least a little time in the Tetons to the south.

[mlfrancis]

Here is an updated Itinerary:

* 7/18 - pick-up RV in Phoenix and begin trip
* 7/20 - scheduled to arrive at Yellowstone w/reservation at Bay Bridge for 4 nights. Do not yet have stops identified nor reservations made for the two overnight stops
* 7/24 - leave Yellowstone and head for Bryce/Zion - Do not have overnight stop location nor reservation made.
* 7/25 - scheduled to arrive at Ruby's RV in Utah as base for Bryce/Zion for three nights
* 7/28 - scheduled to arrive at Kaibab Camper Village as base for Grand Canyon North Rim for 1 night - willing to remove this from plan
* 7/29 - scheduled to leave for and arrive at Williams KOA as base for Grand Canyon South for 3 nights
* 8/1 - schedule to drop RV off in Phoenix

We have also removed the Hoover Dam option from the plan.

[Midwest Michael]

Considering you are kind of rushing a bit to get to Yellowstone as it is, I would change the reservation and not plan to arrive until the 21st. There should be no penalty for cancelling 1 day at this point.

Instead, plan to spend that night around Grand Teton. The campgrounds within GT don't accept reservations anyway, it would shorten your drives on the first two days, and gives you a chance to see at least a little of that great park on your way into Yellowstone.

[Southwest Dave]

It depends on how comfortable you feel with the driving. You could get near Page AZ on night 1, then stop north of SLC and roll into Yellowstone during the afternoon of the 20th. To break the journey to Bryce you could look at breaking the journey in Rock Springs, that would give you a little time to at the Tetons and if you wanted, a little time at Flaming Gorge res. To spend more time at the Tetons and a little less behind the wheel you could, choose to stop somewhere between Jackson and Evanston.

As was mentioned earlier, Bryce is not really a great base from which to explore Zion. With an RV it could take 2.5 hours to travel one way when you take into consideration the wait to get the RV through the Mt Carmel tunnel. I would check the Watchman campground in Zion although I suspect it will be full, there are other options around Springdale which is the closest town and the free shuttle buses into the canyon run from here. The Zion NP parking lot can easily fill by mid-morning and it's not easy to find a space with a 30ft RV.

When you say "scheduled," are you actually booked in as previously recommended ? If not I would look into this urgently.

[Lifemagician]

* 7/28 - scheduled to arrive at Kaibab Camper Village as base for Grand Canyon North Rim for 1 night - willing to remove this from plan
* 7/29 - scheduled to leave for and arrive at Williams KOA as base for Grand Canyon South for 3 nights

Assuming you follow Dave's advice, you could spend the night after your last day in Zion, in Kanab. This sets you up well to visit the North Rim the following day and stay at the Camper Village that night.

Next day, head to Williams via Cameron Trading Post, enter the GC at the east entrance, along Desert View Drive - following the Colorado River into the Canyon, and out the southern entrance to Williams. There are many viewpoints and overlooks along Desert View Drive, many of which you will want to stop at. Cameron Trading Post is also worth a stop. Last time I was there there was a ranger giving a talk near there on the two small planes which collided and crashed into the canyon back in the '50s.

Lifey

[mlfrancis]

I can't thank all of you enough. I really appreciate the advice and feedback! I got myself tied up into a pretty good pretzel and got concerned with the drive times. This gives me something I can get working on right away.

Regarding Dave's question on what I meant by "scheduled": This means I have confirmed reservations at those campgrounds indicated for the lengths of stays indicated.

On the point about how comfortable we'll be driving the RV: we're new to it but I think we'll adapt pretty good once we get going. I know it's going to be slow going.

I'm know I'm going to have more questions but this does give me something I can work with and it is appreciated. I'm going to get started on getting the overnights I don't have booked nailed down and the mapping done.

Does anyone have any suggestions on where I can start researching on a location north of Salt Lake City?

[Southwest Dave]

Just check out town names of the area you want to stay at on a map and enter the name and RV park into your search engine. For a quick example, I found these Hot springs with camping not far north of Brigham City in Honeyville. Any place should do that is reasonable as it's just some place to rest up. It's good you have confirmed reservations although you might want to look into alternatives for Zion and cancel a night at Ruby's.

You are going to have a wonderful experience, so relax and enjoy the planning.