Utah National Parks

[tarheelmjfan]

There's a basketball game we want to attend in SLC in October. If we can get tickets, we're considering combining the game with a National Parks visit for 8 to 10 days total. It appears all accommodations inside Zion & Bryce are already booked for the week leading up to the game. (I haven't checked the other parks.) Would you still go, if you couldn't stay in the parks? Is the experience outside the parks similar enough? FWIW, we wished we'd stayed inside Yellowstone, when we were there for DH's work trip.

 

[bennifer]

Absolutely! We stayed at the Bumbleberry Inn and we could walk to the entrance of Zion. I agree about Yellowstone - that would have been worth it to stay inside the park. Some NPs I feel are worth it, while others are perfectly ok staying outside of them.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

Stay in Springdale UT for Zion.

 

[Meriweather]

Stay in Springdale UT for Zion.

That's where we stayed and for Bryce, right outside the park and they ran a shuttle

 

[CarolynFH]

We too stayed in Springdale for Zion and at the Ruby's Inn in Bryce Canyon City. We enjoyed both parks even though we had a short drive to enter them. You've got to get moving early in the morning, though, especially for Zion!

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Thank you all for the encouragement. I'll look into your suggestions. What do you think about the other parks? Are there any in Utah where it's a definite advantage to stay inside the park?

We too stayed in Springdale for Zion and at the Ruby's Inn in Bryce Canyon City. We enjoyed both parks even though we had a short drive to enter them. You've got to get moving early in the morning, though, especially for Zion!

That may be a problem. We're not early risers. We haven't made it to rope drop at WDW in 25+ years. I'm a night person that doesn't function well in the morning. DH also likes to sleep in, when he isn't working. I suppose we could force ourselves to get up early a couple of days, if we had to.

 

[mom2rtk]

Would also recommend Arches and Canyonlands if you can manage it.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Would also recommend Arches and Canyonlands if you can manage it.

Thanks. I'll start researching those.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

Are you planning to camp? Arches, Canyonlands, and Capitol Reef (my personal favorite) don't have lodges.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Are you planning to camp? Arches, Canyonlands, and Capitol Reef (my personal favorite) don't have lodges.

Good to know. We wouldn't be camping.



Edited to correct error.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

Stay in Moab for Arches and Canyonlands. Torrey for Capitol Reef.

Like Carolyn I also stayed in Bryce Canyon City, right outside the park, I can't remember if it was Ruby's or the Best Western there. In springdale I've stayed at the Hampton Inn and the Ramada. I think one other but it was even longer ago so I don't remember which.

 

[mom2rtk]

Good to know. We would't be camping.

Lots of hotels in Moab very close to Arches. And Canyonlands is just down the road. Canyonlands is massive, but the Island in the Sky section is fairly close by and has pullouts for some amazing sights, not the least of which is Mesa Arch (just a short hike). And if you do that, don't miss the turnoff on the way into Deadhorse Point State Park. You can see some amazing sights by car even if you don't plan to camp or hike.

 

[VGCgroupie]

If you like Star Wars this place is epic. https://www.outpost-x.com/

 

[CarolynFH]

Thank you all for the encouragement. I'll look into your suggestions. What do you think about the other parks? Are there any in Utah where it's a definite advantage to stay inside the park?

That may be a problem. We're not early risers. We haven't made it to rope drop at WDW in 25+ years. I'm a night person that doesn't function well in the morning. DH also likes to sleep in, when he isn't working. I suppose we could force ourselves to get up early a couple of days, if we had to.

We haven't been to rope drop in over 30 years! But we're from the Central time zone, so having the parks be in Mountain time made it a little easier to get going earlier!

I can also endorse all the other parks mentioned. We started in Moab, visited Arches and Canyonlands, then drove to Monument Valley and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon (recently destroyed by fire, so not so beautiful at the moment), Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Canyonlands before returning to Moab. We didn't stay in any of the parks because as you found, the lodges book up very, very early. OTOH, none of these parks are anywhere near as big as Yellowstone, so staying outside the park isn't the same issue it is at Yellowstone. And I know what you mean about staying inside the park - the last time we visited Yellowstone we stayed in Island Park, Idaho, and it was a LONG drive every day into the park and back.

 

[hardcorestitch]

There's a basketball game we want to attend in SLC in October. If we can get tickets, we're considering combining the game with a National Parks visit for 8 to 10 days total. It appears all accommodations inside Zion & Bryce are already booked for the week leading up to the game. (I haven't checked the other parks.) Would you still go, if you couldn't stay in the parks? Is the experience outside the parks similar enough? FWIW, we wished we'd stayed inside Yellowstone, when we were there for DH's work trip.

You’ll need to assign 1 day just for either Zion or Bryce since those are well over 9 hr drives from Salt Lake, likely before the basketball.

 

[mom2rtk]

Also, if you really want to stay inside one of the parks, haunt the reservations page for cancellations. Lots of people book "just in case" since they do fill up fairly fast. Most of the times we stayed inside the park we had to do just that.

Also make sure you know the amenities. When we stayed in a cabin at Bryce, there was no A/C. It's not a huge deal usually but you never know.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Stay in Moab for Arches and Canyonlands. Torrey for Capitol Reef.

Like Carolyn I also stayed in Bryce Canyon City, right outside the park, I can't remember if it was Ruby's or the Best Western there. In springdale I've stayed at the Hampton Inn and the Ramada. I think one other but it was even longer ago so I don't remember which.

Perfect! Thanks for the stepping off point. That helps a lot.

Lots of hotels in Moab very close to Arches. And Canyonlands is just down the road. Canyonlands is massive, but the Island in the Sky section is fairly close by and has pullouts for some amazing sights, not the least of which is Mesa Arch (just a short hike). And if you do that, don't miss the turnoff on the way into Deadhorse Point State Park. You can see some amazing sights by car even if you don't plan to camp or hike.

It's good to know there's a lot to see, without hiking a lot. I'm not physically able to do challenging walks/hikes.

If you like Star Wars this place is epic. https://www.outpost-x.com/

How fun. It looks like it should be on any Star Wars fan's bucket list.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

We haven't been to rope drop in over 30 years! But we're from the Central time zone, so having the parks be in Mountain time made it a little easier to get going earlier!

I can also endorse all the other parks mentioned. We started in Moab, visited Arches and Canyonlands, then drove to Monument Valley and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon (recently destroyed by fire, so not so beautiful at the moment), Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Canyonlands before returning to Moab. We didn't stay in any of the parks because as you found, the lodges book up very, very early. OTOH, none of these parks are anywhere near as big as Yellowstone, so staying outside the park isn't the same issue it is at Yellowstone. And I know what you mean about staying inside the park - the last time we visited Yellowstone we stayed in Island Park, Idaho, and it was a LONG drive every day into the park and back.

Good point. We're in the Eastern time zone, so that should help some.

That sounds like an amazing trip. For Yellowstone, we spent 3 nights in Gardiner, MT, then 2 nights in West Yellowstone. The drive wasn't too bad. We just missed the feel of being in the bubble, at least for a few nights.

You’ll need to assign 1 day just for either Zion or Bryce since those are well over 9 hr drives from Salt Lake, likely before the basketball.

Thanks for the headsup. We would be doing all of the parks touring, prior to the game. We'd end the trip, by spending the weekend in SLC, then flying home from there.

Also, if you really want to stay inside one of the parks, haunt the reservations page for cancellations. Lots of people book "just in case" since they do fill up fairly fast. Most of the times we stayed inside the park we had to do just that.

Also make sure you know the amenities. When we stayed in a cabin at Bryce, there was no A/C. It's not a huge deal usually but you never know.

I'm not opposed to stalking reservations, if that would give us a much better/ more laidback experience.

 

[wabbott]

By all means go to the parks, no matter where you stay. At Zion, I would suggest lunch at the Red Rock Grill, on the outside patio. Looking at the canyon walls, while watching the deer and turkeys on the lawn, with kids playing all around, was an unforgettable experience.

https://www.zionlodge.com/dining-shopping/red-rock-grill/

 

[bcla]

Are you planning to camp? Arches, Canyonlands, and Capitol Reef (my personal favorite) don't have lodges.

Visitors to Arches and Canyonlands mostly stay in Moab, which has a wealth of places to stay. I don't recall if there are camping reservations or if it's FCFS.