Southern Utah in October

[scottyb]

I will be in Lake Havasu City Oct 11 - 13 and plan to head to So UT after the race. I would like to find a couple places to base camp from. I have about a week and I know I can't see everything in the area, but I really want to see Bryce and Zion and maybe a state park. I wouldn't mind dry camping part of the time if it would gain me access to some 4WD trails. The main thing is, I want to take in as much as possible without moving the RV more than once during the week. After the fun in UT, I will tow to Chandler, AZ and park the rig at Firebird Raceway for our finals race a week later. Knaab or Escalante are names that have been mentioned. I know there are several here that are familiar with the area.

 

[RoadJunkie]

If you want to see Zion, stay at the ZNP campground. There is dry camping within the park and several commercial parks within a short driving distance of the park; Zion River Resort, in particular. The towns of Hurricane and St. George offer commercial campgrounds with quick access to Zion and offers some commercial opportunities such as restaurants and shopping. If you want to stay in the Bryce area...same thing...Bryce has a couple of campgrounds within the park and several commercial parks outside the park but within easy driving range. What type of 4WD trails are you interested in? SxS, or jeeping trails?

 

[scottyb]

I was looking at the Zion campgounds and they look pretty decent. They don't take reservations for stays after Sep, so I'm wondering if they are not that crowded in Oct? I'm mainly interesed in jeep trails for the Mule and dogs and maybe a trout lake or two. I assumed the Nat'l Parks might be too controlled for this and thinking more in line with Nat'l Forest or BLM. It's just one option and I'm not opposed to staying in a commercial camp ground for part of the time.

 

[RoadJunkie]

There are some reservoirs in the areas close to Hurricane and Springdale (just outside of ZNP). Take a look at Sand Hollow State Park, which is built around a reservoir and Kolab reservoir. Not sure if Kolab is a state park. There is also sand dunes and gobs of 4x4 trails in the Hurricane area. Check with Southern Utah Adventure Center which is located in Hurricane and they can fill you in on the 4x4 activity in the area (no affiliation, of course).