Thru Utah in late August - where to stop?

[jeffrim]

We are leaving Yellowstone 8/23/18 and headed south thru Utah to Grants, NM by way of Flagstaff, AZ. Can you Utah travelers/residents help me with places to stop, pulling a TT? We do under 300 miles per day and will pickup I-15 south at Idaho Springs, ID. In no hurry so we'd like to stop at the great sights/CGs along the way that you are familiar with. Zion NP is on our list and maybe Bryce and the North Rim of Grand Canyon. DW prefers full hookups but water and electric are okay. Thanks for your responses.

Happy RVing,
Jeff

 

[Murff]

I'd avoid I-15 through Utah. The residents drive like it's their last day on Earth and are suicidal.

Or, don't drive through on a Saturday.

Murff

 

[WinnieView]

We are leaving Yellowstone 8/23/18 and headed south thru Utah to Grants, NM by way of Flagstaff, AZ. Can you Utah travelers/residents help me with places to stop, pulling a TT? We do under 300 miles per day and will pickup I-15 south at Idaho Springs, ID. In no hurry so we'd like to stop at the great sights/CGs along the way that you are familiar with. Zion NP is on our list and maybe Bryce and the North Rim of Grand Canyon. DW prefers full hookups but water and electric are okay. Thanks for your responses.

Happy RVing,
Jeff

We have traveled north and south through UT many times since the 60's but prefer HWY 89 (the original).

 

[ttavasc]

We are leaving Yellowstone 8/23/18 and headed south thru Utah to Grants, NM by way of Flagstaff, AZ. Can you Utah travelers/residents help me with places to stop, pulling a TT? We do under 300 miles per day and will pickup I-15 south at Idaho Springs, ID. In no hurry so we'd like to stop at the great sights/CGs along the way that you are familiar with. Zion NP is on our list and maybe Bryce and the North Rim of Grand Canyon. DW prefers full hookups but water and electric are okay. Thanks for your responses.

Happy RVing,
Jeff

Looking at the map I think you meant Idaho Falls, ID to catch I-15 south. Given your ~300 miles per day as a first stop I'd look at Willard Bay State Park which is just north of Ogden and ~290 miles from Yellowstone. We've stayed there a few times on our way to/from the Kanab, UT and Northern AZ area. You can reserve a spot in advance - I'd recommend the Cottonwood Campground which has full hook-ups if needed. It's located on the shore of a fresh water reservoir and has some decent walking trails to stretch your legs on. We saw a variety of water fowl as well.

All in all it was a nice overnight stop before heading through Salt Lake. Unlike Murff we haven't found I-15 too bad and we've been through both weekday and weekend. If you do choose to go that route I'd recommend not getting in the far right lane, rather stay in the second lane from the right. The far right lane is always turning into an exit only lane every mile or two so you end up switching lanes constantly if you try and stay in the far right. You can go to the Utah Dept of Transportation web site and click on the the Construction button in the upper right to see if there is any road construction along your route. I think you can see the projected work areas up to 14 days out.

We generally get off I-15 and on to US-89 around Spanish Fork though there are a couple more places you can do that further south. In the Kanab area we almost always stay at one of the RV sites at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary which is 5 miles north of Kanab right off US-89. They only have 2 spots and generally require booking well in advance though I just checked the late August availability and there are a few days open between 8-25 and 8-30 it looks like. However, if you have a few hours when passing by there I'd recommend stopping in at the Sanctuary and taking their free Sanctuary tour. It's a pretty amazing place to spend some time. They have ample parking for RV's at their Welcome Center.

In regards to Zion NP - I'd recommend going through that without your TT if possible. Some of the roads such as the Zion-Mt Carmel highway are rather narrow and winding. We enjoyed going through there a lot more without the trailer in tow.

 

[HJ Rosch]

TTAVASC has some good recommendations. Willard Bay State Park is a nice park to stay in just north of Ogden. Another great National Park is Capital Reef at Torrey, UT. If you take 89 from Spanish Fork (prettier drive than US80) to 24 to Torrey it is about 265 miles and about 5 hours of drive time. Several full service RV parks in Torrey and one in the park (but no hook-ups). I recommend Wonderland RV Park right at the intersection of 24 and 12 and about 10 miles from the park. Then it is a short day drive to Bryce on 12 through Boulder (Hells Backbone Grill a great place to eat) through Escalante (ice cream here) and on to Bryce where we stay at Ruby's RV Park - again full hook-ups and 2 miles from park entrance. West on 12 will bring you back to 89 south to Kanab where the Animal Sanctuary is located. From Kanab you can get to the North Rim (stay at Jacob Lake) or stay on 89 all the way to Flagstaff. Zion is nice but the 3rd busiest National Park in the country. You can head there from Bryce and go through the park on highway 9 but there is a tunnel with max size of 13'-1" high by 50' TOTAL length to get through with a $15 fee. Then followed by several switchbacks down into the park. We did it in our 32" A pulling a toad at 12'-6" high and 50' long. Stayed in Hurricane about 20 miles west of the park entrance at WillowWinds RV Park.
Lots of great stuff in Southern Utah.

 

[jeffrim]

Thank you all for your recommendations. Yes, I did mean Idaho Falls. Idaho Springs in on I-70 out of Denver. We will definately consider using 89 part of the way and start making some reservations in the CGs you discussed.

Happy RVing,
Jeff

 

[SloPoke-TC]

As a resident here... I can't disagree with TTAVASC or HJ Rosch in what they suggest.

Bear in mind that August is going still be a busy time for most of these places, so getting reservations is real important.

I strongly suggest the suggestion to take US-89 south and eliminate I-15 south of Spanish Fork and taking in Capitol Reef National Park (Stop in Torrey for groceries) . It is the only Fee-Free park in the state and well worth it... It is my absolute favorite of all of our NP's. The best campground there is called Fruita, and it is electric hookups only. There is water and a dump station in the park.

The other parks, Zion and Bryce are also on the same path, but HJ Rosch calls it out - Zion is NOT Rv Friendly, especially at the time of year you are travelling.

Another suggestion is to by-pass Salt Lake City alltogether and take I-84 to Echo - I-80 to Park City - US40 to Heber City and UT-189 to Provo. There are some great State Parks to choose from at Rockport, Jordanelle or Deer Creek Reserviors, and you bypass the I-15 Technology Corridor construction nightmare that will be in full detour mode.

 

[us71na]

We visited the five National parks in Utah last summer, but did it by car. Some of the Utah National Parks (Zion is one) do not have space for parking a trailer and tow vehicle.

 

[SloPoke-TC]

Oh... and could not forget to recommend - Rockport State Park... how can you beat a place like this??? Juniper Campground - Water and 50A at the site, Dump Station 1/4 mile away. Full LTE on T-mobile and Verizon.

We are in the spot next door... that is Stacy and Robin playing cards at sunset on the lake.

 

[WinnieView]

We have had a few family reunions at Rockport--it is a nice park.

Utah has 8 national parks and over 200 state parks.

 

[HJ Rosch]

Bypass Salt Lake

SloPoke has a great idea to take 84 from Ogden toward Park City and miss all the traffic on I 15 through Salt Lake, it's a prettier drive too. Rockport, Jordanelle and Deer Creek State Parks are very nice RV camping sites. I store my RV about 3 miles from Jordanelle and with my $35 senior State Park Pass use their FREE dump site when I return from trips. But all of their sites are nice for one or several nites with electric and water. Both Capital Reef and Bryce have RV parking areas but as said previously, Zion is a tough spot for RV's especially if you are towing. We were there the second week in April and it was pretty busy, summer it is a zoo. That's why we camped in Hurricane and drove our toad into the park. Actual access to the main hiking areas is by shuttle only.

 

[jeffrim]

Staying off I-15 as much as possible sounds like the ticket. And those campgrounds mentioned, wow, lots to choose from. The Utah SPs sound great, especially Rockport and Capital Reef. Thanks a bunch and ...

Happy RVing,
Jeff

 

[ttavasc]

We actually came down I-15 thru Salt Lake City late morning today and it wasn't too bad going south. However, slowed to a crawl on the north bound side. We head back for home Thursday morning so I may look at the suggested by-pass options for the return trip.

Sitting in a private campground in Kanab for tonight (Kanab RV Corral), then moving up to our reserved site at the animal sanctuary for the rest of the trip. We have another trip down here in mid-August and then on down to Homolovi State Park near Winslow, AZ in late September. I'm thinking with the expected construction having an alternate route through there sounds like a good idea.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I would skip I-15 altogether; there isn't much to see from there. From Yellowstone, take 191 to 189. Take 191 down to I-80. Take I-80 West to 189 South. Stay on 189 into Provo but pick up 89 in Provo. Or you can go on down to I-15 in Provo and cross over to I-15 further south (the last good place to do that is the 20).

89 will merge with I-70 for a short while, then branch off south again. Stay on 89 to Kanab, then continue south on 89A to get to the entrance of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Make sure you fuel up in Kanab since there aren't any fuel stops between there and Flagstaff.

If you decide to stop to eat in Panguitch, on the north end of town on the east side of 89, there is a dumpy looking diner called Flying M Truck Stop. The food and service there is good (I liked their spaghetti and their fish & chips) and there is plenty of parking in the vacant lot north of the diner. There is a really nice Mexican food restaurant on the SW corner of the junction of 89 and 89a (89 turns east there) called Nedra's Too. Food and Service there is good there but the parking lot will be a dicy if they are busy.

Grand Canyon has an excellent restaurant that's a bit on the pricey side.

Park City would be a worthwhile stop. You probably have park on the outskirts of town but the Main Drag is a great place to shop, tour museums, eat, ride the chair lifts, etc. There is a free shuttle that runs up and down the main drag.

If you decide to take 89A East of the Grand Canyon (you can always go back up to Kanab and take 89 through Page, AZ), please, PLEASE do not be one of the north ends of southbound horses that are too stupid and/or inconsiderate to use the frequent pullouts provided to let faster traffic pass. I avoid that road even though I like it much better than 89 simply because there is always at least one idiot in a Class A holding up dozens of cars and refusing to use the pullouts. I'm amazed one hasn't been shot yet.

 

[WinnieView]

Park City would be a worthwhile stop. You probably have park on the outskirts of town but the Main Drag is a great place to shop, tour museums, eat, ride the chair lifts, etc. There is a free shuttle that runs up and down the main drag.

Park City is always a worthwhile trip and we could go on and on about the history and our family's roots that helped to make it such.

But for a more current perspective check out these live webcams;

https://www.visitparkcity.com/plan-your-trip/park-city-webcams/

 

[SloPoke-TC]

We have had a few family reunions at Rockport--it is a nice park.

Utah has 8 national parks and over 200 state parks.

... AND lots of other places that are equal or better than the National Parks that you can boondock and enjoy the quiet solitude... well at least until SUWA arrives to claim the land as theirs....

 

[jeffrim]

Thank you all soooo much for this information. It is extremely helpful and will certainly make our excursions much more fun and beneficial.

Happy RVing,
Jeff

 

[HJ Rosch]

If you want to stop at Park City I would recommend parking at the Walmart just off of I 80 and Highway 224 (Kimball Junction). There is a main bus stop across the street to catch the free bus into town, they run every 15 - 20 minutes all day and evening. This Walmart allows overnight parking with a heads up to the manager.