DL Rupper
Senior Member
Fall is coming fast and a good place to visit when it cools down is the National /State Parks in Southern Utah. It is hard to find anywhere in the USA with better scenery. Start with the easy to reach Nat'l Parks off Highway 89, Bryce and Zion. Both exceptional. If you have the time, try Highway 12 from Bryce over to Torrey, Ut. This Highway will test your mettle. It starts out easy enough through Tropic, Ut, but gets real fun when you get to the Grand Staircase Escalante Nat'l Momument. You will encounter 8-12 percent grades in roller coaster fashion, climbing up to a narrow 2 way road overlooking the Escalante Nat'l Monument on both sides (straight down). Absolutely great views. Next comes the town of Escalante, Ut with a possible stay at Escalante State Park and a chance to hike up to a large petrified forest. Great fun. The next challenge is climbing up Boulder Mt. It is about 12 miles up a 6 percent grade with fabulous lookout points overlooking the Red Rock Country of Escalante and Capitol Reef National Park. Unsurpassed views. The forests of Boulder Mt. are full of deer so be wary. The next point of interest is Capitol Reef Nat'l park. It is a well kept secret, even in Utah. My wife and I grew up in SLC, UT and didn't visit there until after we retired and started fulltiming. We were so impressed we volunteered to be campground hosts in 2001. That's saying a lot. Retirement to me means no work. It was a fantastic experience. The Capitol Reef Campground is an oasis in the middle of an unbelievably beautiful desert red rock formation. No hookups, but a great campground with water and a dump station available. The campground and visitors center is located in an old Mormon homestead/town with fruit orchards surrounding it. Visitors can pick the fruit when ripe. From Capitol Reef it is only 120 or so miles to Arches and Canyonlands Nat'l Parks, and Deadhorse Point State Park, totally awesome. Nearby the Parks the Colorado River flows majestically by. Right down the road from the Nat'l Parks is the town of Moab,Ut. In the spring it is the 4-wheel drive mecca and mountain bike capital of the world. Thought should be given to staying in the commercial campgrounds in Moab, as the Nat'l Park campgrounds are fairly rustic. No hookups to say the least. On the trip over to Arches and Cayonlands, side trips to Glen Canyon Nat'l Recreation Area, Monument Valley, Natural Bridges Nat'l Monument and Goblin Valley State Park are possible/recommended. The scenery in Southern Utah is even more spectacular than the Grand Canyon. However, if a trip to the Grand Canyon is a must, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon (higher and better views than the South rim) can be reached by heading south on Highway 89, after visiting Zion Nat'l Park. If heading to the Grand Canyon, be sure to spend the night in Kanab, Ut. The Kanab RV Corral is a great little park with reasonable prices. These Nat'l Parks/Monuments should be visited at least once in your lifetime.