Best road trip i've ever done, AZ and UT

[dman87]

Recently got back from this trip on my winnebago sprinter and just wanted to share what an amazing experience it was. I started in LA and went to vegas then the trip started, the parks I hit up were:

1. Zion
2. Vermillion Cliffs (the wave) - crazy but you can get lost if not careful
3. Grand Canyon North Rim and South Rim
4. Bryce Canyon
5. Petrififed forest escalante
6. Capital Reef (unbelievable like another planet, had no idea what was in store when driving through this section)
7. Golbin valley - if possible stay till night time when the stars come out, apparently one the darkest spots in USA, also feels like youre on another planet as well
8. Arches national park - unreal better than monument valley I thought
9. Canyonlands, like grand canyon but looks different
10. Monument valley - always wanted to go here and was the main reason for embarking on trip but was a bit of a let down, also highly commercialized
11. Antelope canyon - worth spending the 65 dollars to do the tour, otherwise you cant get in, be prepared for a lot of tourists in the beginning but after a while it you have many moments to yourself, took some of the best photos ever here
12. sedona - didnt spend much time here but was so pretty i was flabergasted by the oasis
13. meteor crater - not much to see but very interesting considering what created it


overall highly recommend and want to now embark on another trip but to the south eastern coast if anyone has any park recomendations for that

 

[Diver160651]

Agreed done most of those except, Antelope, Goblin Valley and Sedona.

Please share some pictures.

 

[Larry M]

Nice trip. How long from Vegas to Sedona? Weather report with daily and nightly temps?

 

[TrackSprinter]

what was the total duration of the trip?

 

[dman87]

trip was about 2 weeks, i only spent 1 day in each place roughly with a few exceptions. I never did vegas to sedona, so couldnt tell ya, i started and vegas and went the northern route then looped around and finished in sedona then phoenix then back to vegas. phoenix was lame and probably not going back, no offense to anyone who lives there, i just mean from a road trip point of view.

 

[r456]

I have been to those places many times. They are indeed very beautiful and pleasurable. Spring time is probably better. Do not forget to cross death valley as well, again in Spring time.

 

[autostaretx]

Wen you're near/at Bryce Canyon, also drop into Kodachrome Basin (not far to the east).
If the Bryce campgrounds are full, Kodachrome might have space.

--dick

 

[Kajtek1]

You can't go wrong with such route.
From the list I'd say that Sedona and Lake Powell are both worth several days vacations.
The 1st with UTV ,or using Pink Jeep Tours, the 2nd with boat, or houseboat, unless they will restart Rainbow Bridge tours.
The upper Antelope Canyon tours require 1 year advanced reservations.

 

[HuckFinnAdventures]

We lived in Greenville, SC for 12 years. The wife and I did a similar trip a couple years ago in a rented Jeep (AZ/UT). We got bit by the bug and fast-forward to today, we are proud land owners just outside Sedona. You picked a good loop, we love this area.

If going to the SE I’d say Charleston, SC / Hilton Head Island / Asheville, NC were our go-to spots. Greenville and Asheville have an awesome brewery scene, which I miss dearly out here. But the views make up for it Likewise in that area you have the Blue Ridge Parkway (scenic drive), Lake Keowee (good hiking), and Lake Jocassee (great boating & paddle boarding -> where Deliverance was filmed (now underwater and a scuba hotspot)). Asheville is a super-cool town; floating the French Broad and jumping out at various breweries, the Biltmore estate, and the Omni Grove Park Inn. Enjoy!

 

[autostaretx]

Between Blanding UT and Monument Valley you have the "opportunity" to take the Moki Dugway.
One of the more "fun" roads on the planet.

Take Utan 261 south from Blanding, and the pavement ends at the upper edge of this:



After about 3 miles of unpaved hair-pin turns later, you end up down there, back on the pavement:



Medicine Hat is on the far edge of that photo.
Our Sprinter happily chugs on down that in 2nd gear

--dick
p.s. photos snarfed from TripAdvisor
p.p.s. Blanding has a surprisingly good dinosaur (and giant sloths) museum
p.p.p.s. but Vernal UT has both the Dinosaur National Monument and the in-city Visitor Center which has the best "timeline" presentation i've ever seen.

 

[Fourbye]

Great route! But you did it too quickly. That's a lot of territory, and seeing some places you mention for just one day is inadequate. Still fun. There are plenty of things along that route (or nearby areas) that you need to see next time. Like the Escalante, Skykline Overlook near Hanksville and as mentioned the Moki Dugway, camping at Muley point nearby. I've spent countless days in all these places. My favorite places on earth. For some inspiration visit my photo site.

 

[Kajtek1]

Great route! But you did it too quickly. .....

I guess most of us have that problem.
I own RV for over 30 years, yet when working, I seldom could afford more than 2 weeks vacations.
Being self-employed, later on, I did 5 weeks couple of times, but that took lot of preparations.
It wasn't till my retirement, when I started to take 9 weeks vacations and could afford to stop whenever and for any time I wanted.
That said, the above route just blow by Valley of Fire, and Red Rock Canyon, what is a shame.
But again, you need time.

 

[rcpilgrim]

Still on the road but we came from Alabama and are almost to Seattle. We drove through Amarillo, Texas to Great Sand Dunes NP then snaked our way across the New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, and Nevada borders. After GSD we went to the Four Corners and Aztec Ruins NHP. We did Monument Valley drive and then came up into Utah through Glen Canyon NRA and Bears Ears NM. We went to Natural Bridges NM and then onto Capitol Reef NP. From there we took the scenic route through Grand Staircase-Escalante to Bryce Canyon NP then Zion NP. Spending several days in this area was really fun. We did BLM land, RV parks and national forest. From Zion we went to the Grand Canyon North Rim and stopped at Pipe Spring NM. We came back to Hurricane again then over to Lake Mead NRA. Outside Vegas we did Valley of Fire SP and the Hoover Dam. From there on to California and Sequoia NP, Redwoods NP and multiple state parks. It’s been an awesome trip so far. One speeding ticket, Lots of DEF added and only two windshield chips.

 

[dm07]

Go to Florida, we liked the Bok Singing Tower, Everglades and Keys are unique

Great Smokey Mountain NP

Blue Ridge Parkway (South of James (?) River) and Skyline Drive

See the elk in Benezette PA (Fall rut season)

Northern NY (RT 3), VT (RT 100), NH (RT 2), ME (in the fall, chase the leaves and nice weather)

Acadia NP - gorgeous on nice days, not so much in the fog

Casco Bay, Maine (charter cruises or just drive to boat launches, and hike) has 365 islands

Popham Beach, Maine - very well rated

Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia, Canada

 

[Hbsurfdad]

Add Moki and Burr and you have a loop I have done on an Adventure Bike and our Van at different times. I just had the wrong timing, the Burr water crossing was almost tank deep on the bike trip and almost dry when I took the wife in the van. Spent 2 days telling her how cool it was going to be and I had to check the GPS to know we were there.

 

[Mr. Bills]

How long from Vegas to Sedona?

The distance is just short of 300 miles. In my experience it takes all day at "vacationing" speed, about 5 hours if one wants to get to the destination with nothing but fuel stops/potty breaks.

 

[Ken-R]

Noticed this thread which brought back memories of a similar trip we made back in 2000.
Started out with a brand new Ford Explorer rental at LAX.
1st stop Vegas to visit family, on to Bryce for a few days of hiking. Took the Burr trail to Bullfrog and boat rental where my 8 year old decided he wanted to swim. Off to Grand Canyon before driving to family beach house at Solimar Beach in Ventura county. Last stop was 4th of July party at uncles house in Beverly Hills.
Returned the well used rental with 2200 miles 10 days later and left with memories of a great trip.

Thanks for taking me back!

 

[78YZ]

Recently got back from this trip on my winnebago sprinter and just wanted to share what an amazing experience it was. I started in LA and went to vegas then the trip started, the parks I hit up were:

1. Zion
2. Vermillion Cliffs (the wave) - crazy but you can get lost if not careful
3. Grand Canyon North Rim and South Rim
4. Bryce Canyon
5. Petrififed forest escalante
6. Capital Reef (unbelievable like another planet, had no idea what was in store when driving through this section)
7. Golbin valley - if possible stay till night time when the stars come out, apparently one the darkest spots in USA, also feels like youre on another planet as well
8. Arches national park - unreal better than monument valley I thought
9. Canyonlands, like grand canyon but looks different
10. Monument valley - always wanted to go here and was the main reason for embarking on trip but was a bit of a let down, also highly commercialized
11. Antelope canyon - worth spending the 65 dollars to do the tour, otherwise you cant get in, be prepared for a lot of tourists in the beginning but after a while it you have many moments to yourself, took some of the best photos ever here
12. sedona - didnt spend much time here but was so pretty i was flabergasted by the oasis
13. meteor crater - not much to see but very interesting considering what created it


overall highly recommend and want to now embark on another trip but to the south eastern coast if anyone has any park recomendations for that



View attachment 289794

I've done about half of your list, and agree on Arches. It's just amazing. One place I did not see on the list, but highly recommend, is Valley of Fire State Park. Go to Google images and you're in for some great pictures.

 

[The_D]

Did same trip last year without last 2 on the list, on 4 of July, amazing places agree with OP 100%

 

[EBS-P]

We are planning something similar. Tent camping with a family of 7. Kids 3-14. We have 2300 miles to get to Zion. We are trying to decide how long a trip we can manage. It will be our first long tent camping trip and first long trip in the Spinter. We did 8 nights split between two locations in ME and Quebec last summer.