Vacation assistance - Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona touring

Lots of good suggestions and I'm looking at them and trying to figure out a route to take in as many as possible!

General advice -- 2.5 weeks sounds like a long time, but you'll quickly realize it's nowhere near enough. Don't try to pack your schedule too full. You will probably get more out of having time to linger, explore, and discover instead of racing around to check off items on a list.

If you don't already have them, check out the Laurent Martres books. I really like a lot of the out of the way places around Page, but an RV will be prohibitive in this area.

I've been going out there in RV's since 1979. My advice is to cut back the number of states to visit or you will spend most of the time driving. Besides, most of the scenic places in Colorado involve driving steep, mountainous roads. I avoid some of them although I have lots of mountain driving experience.

A good loop might include Valley of Fire, Zion, Bryce, Escalante/Grand Staircase, Capitol Reef, Moab (Arches/Canyonlands/De​ad Horse Point), Monument Valley, Page, Grand Canyon and then south to your friends. I don't know what size RV you will have, but I assume you will not tow a vehicle for driving narrow, rough roads. You can see all the places I listed without a small vehicle. If you need it, I could offer advice on campgrounds that will work with these locations, but I can't guess where each night will be spent.

neilwood32 wrote in post #15682717
Lots of good suggestions and I'm looking at them and trying to figure out a route to take in as many as possible!

And a reminder to stay out of outbuildings or other abandoned structures because of the risk of hantavirus.

sparker1 wrote in post #15684119
I've been going out there in RV's since 1979. My advice is to cut back the number of states to visit or you will spend most of the time driving. Besides, most of the scenic places in Colorado involve driving steep, mountainous roads. I avoid some of them although I have lots of mountain driving experience.

A good loop might include Valley of Fire, Zion, Bryce, Escalante/Grand Staircase, Capitol Reef, Moab (Arches/Canyonlands/De​ad Horse Point), Monument Valley, Page, Grand Canyon and then south to your friends. I don't know what size RV you will have, but I assume you will not tow a vehicle for driving narrow, rough roads. You can see all the places I listed without a small vehicle. If you need it, I could offer advice on campgrounds that will work with these locations, but I can't guess where each night will be spent.

If memory serves, we are getting a C25 so nothing too big and awkward. We certainly have no plans of towing another vehicle.

Advice on campgrounds would be great. Have been thinking about booking up the Grand Canyon campgrounds way in advance due to their popularity but not thought about the others.

Numenorean wrote in post #15661658
Look up Kebler Pass here in Colorado. A wonderful fall drive. You will likely need to have another vehicle though...not sure about an RV there.

I would take an RV or Kebler, I made it just fine with my lowered Miata. It is a dirt road, make sure your rental contract allows you to travel them. If your timing is good for the fall colors, this would be a great drive.

OK, a 25' RV will go a lot of places, but still not to a lot of the good spots. Trailer Village at South Rim works well because you can walk to some overlooks and take the shuttle to others. There is a full hook-up RV park (Zion Canyon) next door to Zion, you can walk to the shuttle. If you don't need FHU, stay in the Zion park's campground. At Bryce, Ruby's RV park for FHU, the Bryce park's campground otherwise. Shuttle stops at both. Two FHU parks in Torrey for Capitol Reef, or stay at the national park's campground in Fruita (more scenic but no hook-ups). For Moab, I like Dead Horse Point State Park for visiting Canyonlands (no water there) and the Arches NP campground. If you need FHU, there are many good RV parks in Moab. At Monument Valley, stay at Goulding's RV park and book one of their tours. You DON"T want to drive an RV over the road in the valley.

I don't know if reservations are necessary in Sept. If you can plan you dates accurately, make reservations. If not, there are almost always alternatives.

To my way of thinking, bringing an RV means you shouldn't have to worry about campsites! There are zillions of places in on National Forest and BLM land where you can simply drive along a well maintained dirt road until you find a pretty place to park.

Forest near Boulder, Utah. http://*******/maps/UU​NeM
The NFS operates 'Singletree,' a developed campsite. http://*******/maps/dN​T8Q

Primitive and developed sites along East Fork Rd, just west of Bryce.
http://*******/maps/Vt​3Mx

Lava Point, just off Kolob Reservoir Rd. in the Zion high country. 6 minimal sites. If this is full, continue north a few miles to the Kolob Reservoir area, where there is plenty of space. http://*******/maps/Uy​QTO

The area just n. of the gate at Grand Canyon, North Rim, has endless camping among the aspen and pine forest. Very pretty! Again, there's a developed NFS campground if you need.

Kodachrome is very nice, as are most Utah State Parks. If full, you can get a free back-counrty permit at the BLM office in Cannonville.

To name just a few possible places...

EDIT
What the bleep? Can a Mod please explain why the links are intentionally buggered?!
To reverse this idiocy, please paste goo dot gl in place of the ******

paul3221 wrote in post #15664265
I haven't seen it mentioned yet, so here are a few from my list.
Valley of Fire - a must see and it's only an hour out of Vegas on the way to Zion
Zion NP
Bryce
Page Area - Lake Powell, Antelope Canyons. Horseshoe bend
Monument Valley - And possibly Valley of the Gods Nearby
Head Up to Moab, UT - Canyonlands NP, and Arches
SouthWestern Colorado - Particularly the million-dollar highway from Montrose to Durango.
I'm not really up on my New Mexico locations, so I'll let others comment on that
Other things to see in Arizona:
Meteor Crater
Canyon De Chelly
Grand Canyon (North and South Rim)
Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon
Sounds like a great trip. I'm jealous, except for the fuel bill you're going to have...

Ditto the above almost exactly. My wife and I go out west in our motorhome every year for 5 or 6 months. And of the aforementioned I'd say DO NOT miss the Million Dollar Hwy between Durango and Ridgway. It is spectacular. BUT I'd rather not drive it in a class A motorhome, maybe a C or B. Although you see big rig truckers on it, I'd not drive it in my class A due to extreme "pucker factor", and I'm pretty experienced. I really love the red rock country of Utah but, imho, all that red rock starts to look alike after a while. Though they are all unique, I'd prioritize it thus: Grand Canyon(both rims), Antelope Slot Canyons, Arches, Capitol Reef, Bryce and then Zion. Of course that's all strictly opinion and my own preference. Don't worry about the fuel costs. People always ask me "what kind of mpg do you get?" Well, it sucks, but the motorhome is actually our SECOND home, but just happens to have wheels under it. It is NOT for commuting and it is cheaper and more comfortable than hotel stays. But I digress, don't forget a good tripod AND monopod. The reason for the monopod is we all get tired and lazy, thus you'll be more apt to grab it on the spur of the moment than just try to hand-hold a shot that you'll later be kicking yourself over. Also, check out www.rvparkreviews.com for some great info about rv parks. If you're interested, rent a Jeep and get off-road for a great time and some excellent photo ops. Good luck and remember to stay on top of those tire pressures, as well as make sure you know how to change the tires. (In fact, roadside assistance is always a great idea, check out Good Sam).

For any people thinking fuel costs, don't worry. Since I live in the UK, I am used to paying huge fuel costs to run even a family car.

At the moment we are sitting at 147.9p/litre for diesel which equates to £5.60/US gallon. That works out to about $8.84/US gallon compared to about $4.10ish that you are paying.

So fuel really isn't a huge issue to me!