4 to 6 weeks exploring Utah. suggestions of where to stay, what to see

My wife and I are planning on spending a month or so exploring Utah.( have never traveled there )  Plan on leaving Ca central coast early April. We are pulling a 30' 5 er equipped with a porta-bote using a gas powered Dodge. Aside from touring and sight seeing I enjoy stream fly fishing and hiking, my wife is an avid seamstress. I am looking for suggestions on routes, campsites,  things to see and experience.. Should note we are experienced boondockers.  Thanks for the Help

I have spent a lot of time in southern Utah and in my opinion everything south of I-70 should be turned into one gigantic National Park. Utah has 5 National Parks located in southern Utah and the only states with more National Parks are California and Alaska with 8 apiece. It would be hard for me to choose a favorite of the 5 since they are all so spectacular. But if you held a gun to my head I would have to choose Zion. It has two of my top five hikes in all the National Parks, the Narrows (my number one) and Angel's Landing. I was just watching Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and several scenes were filmed in Zion. Bryce Canyon would be in second place, Canyonlands third, Arches fourth and Capitol Reef is fifth. The road that goes east out of Capitol Reef is one of the most spectacular roads I have ever been on. It is route 24 and then you turn right at Hanksville on 95 and then the drive through the middle of Utah is to die for. There is no one there and there are almost no services. It is one of the most unspoiled parts of the country.

I congratulate you on choosing April, which is a great time of year to explore Utah and I congratulate you on taking one month to explore Utah, you should have the vacation of a life time.

Goblin Valley State Park is just south of I-70 on highway 24.  It hass a great little campground and unique.  Check it out here http://www.utah.com/stateparks/goblin_valley.htm 

Nine Mile Canyon near Moab is chucked full of petroglyphs, many of which can be viewed from your car.  It is east of Price & Wellington off of 191.  Check it out here http://www.ninemilecanyoncoalition.org/

Escalante-Grand Stair Case is nearly 2 million acres protected by BLM and has tons of things to see, including water falls (Calf Creek) slot canyons, petroglyphs, petrified forests,  and Indian granaries.  Throughout area are all sorts of opportunities for boon docking.  This is central to Zion, Bryce, and Capitol Reef.  Check it out here http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/grand_staircase-escalante.html

Arches and Canyon Land NTL Parks are also in the area and a must see.

I agree with seilerbird on making the whole southern part of the state one giant national park. It's right in our backyard, so here are a few of our favorite places:

Moab, Arches, Canyonlands - try the road along the Colorado River, east of Hwy 191 - there are some great spots right on the river. If you want to camp in Arches, you need to be in line at the main gate at 7 am, the campsites fill up first thing in the morning.

Hovenweep Nat Mon, Natural Bridges Nat Mon

Zion NP, Bryce NP

Goblin Valley SP

Coral Pink Sand Dunes SP

We like the whole place, even Glen Canyon. Good place to boondock if you're near Page, Arizona, on the Utah side of the dam, is Lone Rock. It's in the national park, boondocking on the beach, spectacular views and sunrises and sunsets and quiet when there are no ATVs there (they usually hang out in the summer).

Wendy

wally12 said:

My wife and I are planning on spending a month or so exploring Utah.( have never traveled there )  Plan on leaving Ca central coast early April. We are pulling a 30' 5 er equipped with a porta-bote using a gas powered Dodge. Aside from touring and sight seeing I enjoy stream fly fishing and hiking, my wife is an avid seamstress. I am looking for suggestions on routes, campsites,  things to see and experience.. Should note we are experienced boondockers.  Thanks for the Help

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In Northern Utah, Cache Valley, Golden Spike Monument, Bingham Canyon Open Pit Mine, Great Salt Lake Beach, Temple Square, Historic Park City.

Utah is a great tourist destination and a month will give you a nice visit.

In April, I would spend 1/3 of your time in Northern Utah and 2/3 in Southern Utah.

PhilB

One of Roger Tory Peterson's 12 Hottest Birding Spots in North America is in northern Utah. It is called the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. April is one of the best months to be there. There are free tours offered and it is totally amazing. Located very close to Brigham City off 1-15.

While visiting Moab both times we have stayed at Canyonlands Campground.  Spaces are tight but we like the location in town, plus site rental includes cable and good wifi.  Cell Coverage:  4 - 5 Bars,  wifi  4 Bars.  These are some notes taken from our trip log in May/June 2008.  Besides visiting Arches and Canyonlands NPs here is some additional places.  Out of Moab to highway 128 East and a scenic drive along the Colorado River up to Red Cliffs Lodge.  This is a beautiful resort, winery and working ranch on the river.  They also have an interesting museum, the Moab Museum of Film & Western Heritage.  Near Moab there is a jet boat trip called Canyonlands by night that we really enjoyed.  Out of Moab South on 191 about 30 miles (mm 93) then another 22 miles West to Needles Outlook, this was a trip highlight, glad we made the long drive.  When you are this close, you may want to plan a few days in Cortez Colorado and visit Mesa Verde NP.  In Cortez we stayed at Sundance RV Park.  On another trip to northern Utah we enjoyed Bear lake, part in Utah part in Idaho.  Another interesting area near Vernal Utah and into Colorado is Dinosaur Nat, Monument.  On our last trip after visiting Mesa Verde NP we went into Arizona and enjoyed Canyon De Chelly Nat. Mon staying free at Cottonwood campground.  The Navajo Nation in Arizona observes daylight savings time so we don’t need to change the clocks.  We have a lot more great stories of our Utah trips, enjoy.  And while you are in Utah we are heading to the central coast. 

Some additional thoughts to make you trip interesting.  Route you trip up through Lake Tahoe on hwy 50 and continue “On The  Loneliest Hwy in the US” to Great Basin N P.  Since we live near hwy 50 we take this interesting route East when visiting Utah. 

Google...Goulding's and see what you get....one of the best spots in Utah in the four corners area, run by the Navajo Indians and very well done to. Very nice restaurant, upper and lower RV camp grounds, large fueling station, large supermarket, museums, and the whole of monument valley to look at.>>>Dan 8)  By the way, I dont agree with making Utah a national park. We sure have enough in this state allready. The clowns back east dont give us credit for taking care of this land for 125 years, they come out here, are blown away by it all, and want to take it over and lock us out.  BULL!!