Best Campground Base For Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef?

[jambie]

We're in the initial planning stages for our 3 week trip to Arizona and Utah in June, and I'm looking for campground and sightseeing suggestions for the SW Utah parks. There are so many to see - Zion NP, Bryce Canyon NP, Capitol Reef NP, Glen Canyon, etc! We want to see as much as we can during the 4 nights we'll be camping in that area, but would not want to make and break camp at a new site every night. Is there a good place to make a base camp and do day trips from? The campground at Kodachrome Basin SP in Cannonville, UT gets good reviews and seems pretty central to the area...

If anyone has personal experience camping in or near these parks, I'd love to hear about it.

Cheers,
Tom

[TENNJIM]

I haven't camped there, but I know of it. It is ideal for Bryce, Zion is a easy day trip southwest of there. Capitol Reef is a longer trip to the east, but can be done in day trips. A good resource is: www.utah.travel

Jim B / Utah

[BrwBier]

I have never camped at Zion but have toured the campground several times. It is a beautiful campground, but we have only been there in October.
Brwbier

[jmtk]

Hi Tom,

We've camped extensively in southern Utah. Kodachrome Basin State Park is a nice campground, but I probably wouldn't use it as a base camp if you're intending to visit Zion, Bryce and Capitol Reef. I'd probably pick something closer to Bryce instead. There is a commercial RV park just outside of Bryce (Ruby's Inn), or the campground inside Bryce is very nice, too. Which you choose would depend on the amenities you desire. Ruby's is a full-service resort and has a great pool, showers, restaurants, gift shop, summer rodeos, full hookups, and is a stop on the Bryce shuttle bus system. The Bryce Canyon campground doesn't have any of that (although they might have hookups, but we don't typically need them so have never inquired), but it's just a few minutes drive (maybe 10) to Ruby's. You can get campsites that are practically on the rim, or just a short walk. I'd look into reservations at either campground. One nice thing about the Bryce or Ruby's campgrounds as opposed to Zion or Capitol Reef and even Kodachrome Basin, is that they're quite high (~8000 ft!) so the summer nights will be cooler. It's probably about 1.5 hours to get to the east entrance of Zion, and two to three hours to get to Capitol Reef. The drive over Highway 12 through Escalante, Boulder, and to Capitol Reef is amazing. You drop into deep red rock canyons, see huge slickrock expanses and climb to almost 10,000 ft over Boulder Mountain. Here's a link for Ruby's: http://www.rubysinn.com/

The Zion campground is also very nice. They have hookups available, and is very close to the town of Springdale. You can walk to the visitor's center where you catch a shuttle bus into Zion Canyon. It's lower in elevation at about 4000' and will be much warmer at night than compared to Bryce. It's kind of far for a day trip to Capitol Reef, though. Again, look into reservations. Here's a picture of one of our Zion campsites:



Tell me about the kinds of things you like to do (hike, bike, scenic drives, whatever), and I can make suggestions for you. We're hikers, so can offer the most info in that area.

You're going to have a blast. It's an incredible area!

Jeanette

[Roly Nelson]

I just saw a special HD TV pictorial about Bryce and Glen Canyon. Very impressive and it makes me want to hook up the rig and rush out and enjoy the splenders of them both. I see that they now have tour vehicles that can take you to all parts of the sceinic wonders, and you might want to consider them. I see that there are even mules that take you into the depths of the canyons, just like in the Grand Canyon. It has been 40 years since I was there last, so that trip is right at the top of my "things I want to do before I die" list..............Good luck and enjoy.
Roly

[DrCrash]

The camp ground at Zion is awsome , right on a river shaded nicly and inside the park so it is kept quiet. If my memory serves me well it is on the smaller side. So reserve it ahead of time.

you can spend weeks in Zion alone on the trails. All of them are awsome and a few of them are not for the faint of heart but absolutly spectacular.

One of them being " Angels Landing". Most people can go as far as "Walters wiggls" after that you better be in good health and have ABSOLUTLY no vertigo!



http://www.zionnational-park.com/images ... ndex10.htm

http://www.zionnational-park.com/zion-a ... -trail.htm

[DrCrash]

Oh even though it is summer bring jackets and sweatshirts. Night time and mornings untill the sun comes over the canyon it can get amazingly cold, then during the day damn it is hott.

[ssrjim]

I was never so hot in my life as when we camped in ZION the July of 07. At night it never dropped below 100. That being said the scenery was outstanding there.


The we went to North Rim of the Grand Canyon and the temperature was fantastic. We stayed extra nights just to cool off after ZION.


Here are photos from that trip:

http://gallery.me.com/ramjim#100224&bgcolor=black&view=grid

[jambie]

Hey, thanks for the responses! Bryce was completely booked, so we got a 4-night reservation at Zion. We're probably going to limit our travels from there, doing a day trip to Bryce. It sounds like there'll be plenty to do around Zion for three days...

Cheers,
Tom

[MOKI SEAKER]

You might remember that a lot of Utah is BLM land and you can camp in a lot of places without hook ups, But if you need them there are plenty of pay as you go camp grounds..Jim G

[Christina]

Hi Jambie,

We might see you there! We will be at Kaibob, Watchman Campground in Zion Bryce and Coral Sands in June as well.

[jambie]

Hi Jambie,

We might see you there! We will be at Kaibob, Watchman Campground in Zion Bryce and Coral Sands in June as well.

We'd love to meet up with you! We'll be camping on the North Rim here:

on 6/11-14 then on to Zion from 6/14-18. The North Rim campground is called Tuweep, or Toroweep, and is accessd by a 65 mile unimproved road...so we're making preparations for full sized spares, water, etc. But from the pics, it should be worth it.

Cheers,
Tom

[HossHoffer]

I have to jump in here since you are talking ground zero for me. I live in Colorado now but was raised partially in a little town right in the middle of the Grand Circle called Mt. Carmel.

I would recommend the KOA a few miles up highway 89 from Glendale. That would leave you about 45 min from Zion, 1 hr to Bryce, 2&1/2 hrs to North Rim of the Grand Canyon and about the same to Glen Canyon Dam. Capitol Reef is a longer drive but you can go via scenic byways thru Escalante. You are also near Escalante/Grand Staircase where we have been hiking for generations. Make time to see the Coral Pink Sand Dunes and try to make reservations to hike Buckskin Gulch and see The Wave. There is also Cedar Mountain with Cedar Breaks Nat'l Monument and trout fishing. If you want to know more pm me and I can gush more about it. If you are there during Father's Day weekend I'll be in Mt. Carmel and can show you around.

The campground at Kodachrome Basin is great, with showers and quail that wait to be fed every night, but adds a lot of extra time to get to the parks on the other side. However if you have a good vehicle for dirt roads then you can take some scenic roads back and forth. And before I forget the key to hiking Zion is to get on the trails early. 7:00 AM if possible. 8:00 isn't bad. When the sun comes over the rim the temps go up 20 degrees fast. And carry twice as much water as normal.

I better stop now. I'm getting home sick.
Hoss

[Christina]

Hi Jambie,

We might see you there! We will be at Kaibob, Watchman Campground in Zion Bryce and Coral Sands in June as well.

We'd love to meet up with you! We'll be camping on the North Rim here:

on 6/11-14 then on to Zion from 6/14-18. The North Rim campground is called Tuweep, or Toroweep, and is accessd by a 65 mile unimproved road...so we're making preparations for full sized spares, water, etc. But from the pics, it should be worth it.

Cheers,
Tom

Oh shoot. We will be missing you by a week. We will be at the North Rim the first week of June and then will be at Zion until the 12th. We will probably pass each other on the road though! Hard to miss another teardropper.