RoadTrip Guru & Enthusiast
The main road through Zion is Route 9, that you can use. You can't drive the canyon road.
Renting a vehicle is going to be very costly, because there is a daily surcharge for each driver under 25, and those under 21 may not drive it at all. If your car is in good shape, no reason not to take it, and I'd get a AAA membership.
I believe you can drive to the campground if you have a reservation or they have a space for you. Otherwise, the RV's would never get there. :-)
Here's the link to the one just outside Zion, tho, Zion Canyon Campground/RV.
Donna
The main Watchman campground is near the entrance and the town of Springdale which you can drive to. You can also drive part of the way into the canyon if you are staying at the NP lodging, but if you end up staying in town, there is no point going in by car just to park up near the campground and then get the shuttle, just get on it from town.
No, Zion's campgrounds are located along UT-9, right by the visitors center. It's the road back into Zion Canyon that is shuttle bus only.Originally Posted by twilly123
Being that you're already pushing the limits for what you can fit into 2 weeks, I think leaving off Bryce and Cap. Reef is a good idea.
Not necessarily. First, have you priced out a rental car yet, with all the fees? Rental car companies typically charge about $20-25 a day for each driver under 25, and most completely forbid drivers under age 21. That means you'd be down to 2 drivers, and could still be paying $50 a day just in underage fees. You'll also have to make sure you don't have any geographic restrictions, especially because you hope to go into Canada. And actually, many companies consider an SUV to be a specialty vehicle, and they won't rent them to anyone under 25.Rental car is the way to go right?
A rental does have the advantage of getting a nearly new car, and you wouldn't have to worry about repairs.
What do you have for a Jeep? Is it roadworthy for a cross country trip? Certainly, any vehicle can have the potential of breaking down, and breaking down on the road isn't the most fun. But highway miles are actually easier on a car, and as long as you can afford to make the repairs (and also have AAA or some other coverage to pay for a tow), it wouldn't be the end of the world. There are advantages to your own car too. You know how it operates and handles, and with your Jeep, you're free to go off the beaten path, whereas in a rental car you have to stick to paved roads and there are some gravel paths in Arches and Canyonlands you wouldn't be able to take in a rental.
Keep in mind that Canyonlands is sliced into big chunks and other than the Islands in the Sky section, it is quite remote and not easily reached from Moab/Arches. Considering the time you have available, are "day hikes" on the agenda ? In the 'Islands' section of the park you can drive down to Grandview point and walk to the end of the Mesa which doesn't take too much time and reveals great views. You should also stop at Mesa Arch for some photos of the 'Washer woman' rock through it and you could also take a quick detour to Dead horse point State park if time permits.and it seems like Canyonlands has some pretty awesome day hiking routes.
After looking into rental cars it turns out Hertz will let me be an authorized driver even though I am 20, and for the same price as my 21 year old brother and our 24 year old friend. its 13.50 extra per day for each of us for being under 25. Hertz was the only rental place I could find that allowed under 21 year old drivers. Money is luckily not too much of an issue for this trip, so we are going to do that. My jeep has 145,000 miles on it and repairs away from home (where we cant get junkyard parts and fix it ourselves) could cost close to the total value of the car. I feel more comfortable with the rental, because breaking down in an area with miles upon miles to the nearest service, is a fear id rather not accompany me on this trip.
Sounds good about the route 9 through Zion, we will hopefully be able to get to camp right in the park for a couple of days.
We are planning to stay in Moab the night before we get to Zion. Leaving from Denver that morning (about 6 hours away by I-70 to UT-191, right?) we should have at least a couple hours check out Arches National Park that afternoon, then chill in Moab for the night, and prob see Islands in the Sky before our roughly 6 hour (right?) drive from there to Springdale and Zion.
RoadTrip Guru & Enthusiast
Will Hertz allow you to take the car anywhere in the lower 48?
If you are going from Denver to Moab, instead of taking I-70 all the way to US-191, cut the corner on UT-128, that's a very scenic drive and doesn't take any longer.
If you have to stay in a hotel in Moab, note that they are very expensive. Even the Motel 6 is $120 a night.
If you can spare the time, I'd highly recommend taking UT-12 between Capitol Reef and Bryce Canyon, it's one of the most scenic drives anywhere.
Hertz will let us go anywhere in the U.S. and even Canada so that we can go through it on our way back from Chicago to Niagara Falls.
Thank you for that tip of taking UT-128 instead, seems more direct and if it's more scenic that is a huge plus, as the more beautiful the drive the less we all mind driving/sitting in a car. Our 2 friends accompanying me and my brother have never been to the american southwest, I cannot wait for them to see how beautiful that area is. It really is one of the coolest places in the whole world.
Id love to go through that UT-12 route, but it just seems so far out of the way. maybe on the way back if/when we decide to spend extra time there.
Hostels.
The Lazy Lizard Hostel in Moab is less than $25 for a dorm bed, and a private room for four is less than $50. I stayed there in 2001, and loved it. Then it was the cheapest hostel at which I had stayed, and it still is amongst the cheapest.
Lifey
Edit: Looking at the hostel website, you can rent a whole house to sleep 13 for the price of a room in Motel 6.
Last edited by Lifemagician; 07-03-2015 at 01:35 AM.
Another thought in Moab is the Apache Motel. We stayed there about 3 years ago, and found it to be comfortable for us. Yes, it's an older property, but many of the lesser expensive mom-and-pops are. We were in a King Room, but the double-queen tops out at $105 these days (which would mean room for 4 if you don't mind sharing).
UT-128: I will second that as being a gorgeous drive. At first you think you're going to pass through the town of Cisco, but it's really not much, almost a ghost town. Then you see the BLM signs. As you drive, there are places where there is a sharp contrast between the red rocks and the green grass of the resort below. (My husband was reminded of an old movie, The Eiger Sanction, as we drove through. We believe it was one of the many movies filmed in the area.) There are also places where the passenger may not want to look DOWN. Before you get to Moab, there are several BLM campgrounds along 128 that were not being utilized! We commented that we'd have probably grabbed one of those sites, had we still been tent-camping.
Donna
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