Community Forums

twogypsies · 01-14-2014, 07:49 PM

Zion - stay in Springdale (Hwy 9) where you can easily board the free shuttle bus into the park. You can't drive your Jeep.

Don't take the tunnel out. Instead, go back to I-15 north and pick up Hwy 20 at Circleville which will take you east to Hwy 89 and the Bryce area. Do not take Hwy 14 with your rig as someone mentioned - narrow, twisty and steep. Hwy 20 is excellent.

OR...from Zion/Springdale backtrack on Hwy 9 west to Hurricane and pick up UT59 to Colorado City which becomes AZ389. Then pick up 89 north at Fredonia to Bryce area or from Kanab continue on 89 east to Lake Powell if you want water. Then you have to turn around on 89 west to Kanab, UT and 89 north to the Bryce area.

Once you get to Fredonia you could also stop for a couple nights and visit the Grand Canyon - North Rim by stay ing in Kanab, UT or Jacob Lake, AZ.

Bryce - Hwy 89 to Hwy 12. Stay at Ruby's

Escalante - continue east on Hwy 12 and stay in Escalante to explore with your Jeep.

Continue on Hwy 12 to Torrey for Capitol Reef. Stay in Torrey.

Take Hwy 24 east out of Torrey to Hanksville. Take Hwy 24 north to I-70 east to Hwy 191 south to the Colorado River (nice nighttime tour on the river) and Moab. Plenty of parks in Moab - the 4-wheeling meca. From Moab you can tour Canyonlands as day trips.

Have fun! We've been on all these roads many times with our 40' motorhome and Jeep. No problems. It's a favorite area of ours.

CruisinCondo · 01-17-2014, 07:53 PM

Check out my blog at www.cruisincondo.blogspot.com . Scroll down to year 2013 and look for Salt Lake City, Arches N. P., and Devils Garden. Good luck and have a great trip. Mark

Tom3205 · 01-20-2014, 11:49 AM

May/June remember, kids may be out of school, and the crowds will be in full force. [foreign tourist abound], Reserve sites. Stop early. Weather will be turning HOT. Bring appropriate clothing.[jackets and shorts], .. BE ALERT. People will step out in front of you, lay on the road to take pictures, do all kinds of stupid stuff, but just be patient, take your time. AND ENJOY.. [I know, because I have been there and seen those stupid people].
Ask about the tunnel when you get to Zion. They may say you are OK to go thru. It is an easy drive, but no time for the driver to look out the "windows" cut in the wall.

Tom3205 · 01-20-2014, 11:56 AM

If you stop in Escalante , and head up to Torrey, that route 12 is the most fascinating highway. I think its called the "hogback", it is like driving on a narrow ridge, with drop offs on both sides. Lot of pull-offs for sightseeing tho. Again, take your time. Don't let anyone hurry you thru.
Once you get to Capital reef, it's another world. No hook-ups. But just amazing. Deer are in the campground, and are not afraid of people.. We were there in Sept. and could pick apples/pears.. The country store is unique. I can't wait to return.
We took 5 weeks from Wisconsin, and back.

scenic route · 01-22-2014, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom3205

If you stop in Escalante , and head up to Torrey, that route 12 is the most fascinating highway. I think its called the "hogback", it is like driving on a narrow ridge, with drop offs on both sides. Lot of pull-offs for sightseeing tho. Again, take your time. Don't let anyone hurry you thru.
Once you get to Capital reef, it's another world. No hook-ups. But just amazing. Deer are in the campground, and are not afraid of people.. We were there in Sept. and could pick apples/pears.. The country store is unique. I can't wait to return.
We took 5 weeks from Wisconsin, and back.

That would be 'Hell's Backbone'...14% grade. For some reason, I can't load the pic of the RV and Jeep on the road.

Dr4Film · 01-22-2014, 05:55 PM

44 miles of gravel road. Not a place I would take my RV and Toad.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

tcopeland · 01-24-2014, 03:58 PM

Planning the same during late May/June.
We plan on going to Grand Canyon - Monument Valley - Utah parks - Salt Lake City - Yellowstone - maybe Banff.
Looking at all the post about tunnels and RV's.
Anything other than UT Hwy 9 in question?
Anyone know a good route from Monument Valley up north towards Bryce Canyon?

scenic route · 02-03-2014, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr4Film

44 miles of gravel road. Not a place I would take my RV and Toad.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

Your post got me thinking so I looked it up. We drove Hwy 12 from Torrey (AYK is all pavement)to where it intersects with 89. I remember seeing the Hell's Backbone sign and then a 14% grade sign. I assumed (yeah, I know) that section of 12 was called Hell's BB. You are correct...HB is a gravel road from Escalante to just West of Torrey on 24 and parallels 12. We stayed in Torrey and I sure wish I'd known about it. Never with the coach, but I surely would have like to take it in the Jeep. Dang! My apologies for my mix up.

Tom3205 · 02-04-2014, 08:04 AM

I can't find hwy 24 anywhere near Escalante. 24 seems to run East/West out of Torrey. We took 24 East to Capital reef. Hwy 12, is a paved road, that runs Northward towards Torrey, from Escalante, and is called the "ridge/backbone" of the mountain, from Escalante to Torrey, and is a great road that no one should miss. There may be an unpaved road, northward out of Escalante, but I doubt it is Hwy 24. Probably has a name, not a number.And may very well be called "hells backbone", but it is not listed on Goodle maps with that name..

Tom3205 · 02-04-2014, 08:27 AM

However I did Google "Hells backbone". It is hwy 153. It joins hwy 12 just south of the Anasaszi SP museum. It is closed in winter, so it is probably not RV friendly.
AGAIN, don't let all those "twisty/turny" loops on the map , on HWY 12, scare you. Easy to navigate at reasonable speed. also don't be scared of the steep grades. Just go slow. IT IS AWESOME.

Tom3205 · 02-04-2014, 08:29 AM

Escalante to Torrey is 65 miles. It took us about 3 hours. Stop often, enjoy the sights.

Scottybdivin · 02-04-2014, 08:50 AM

If you want to visit a truly amazing place, drive your toad to Echo Park outside of Vernal, UT. It's part of Dinosaur National Monument. It's also the site of the controversial dam to be built as depicted in the Ken Burns series National Parks. There is a campground there that would be wonderful place to stay, but I don't think you could get a rig of any substantial size in there. I have only been there by water. It is where the Yampa meets the Green River. It was named by John Wesley Powell on his trip down the Green and Colo. Rivers in 1869. There is also a place where you can go into a crack in the side of a 500 foot cliff called Whispering Cave. The sinking cold air from the stone creates a rush of cold air. I could stay at this park a couple weeks if I could get my rig in there. It would also be a great place for a canoe, kayak, or small motorized fishing boat.

There is also Split Mountain boat ramp and campground which is accessible by RV. It was our takeout point of our rafting trip.

MRUSA14 · 02-04-2014, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sgtjoe

BTW, there is a RV park in a little place called Fruita that has fruit trees and you can watch the deer come and eat in the late afternoon and early morning hours. It's past Torrey on the way to Goblin Valley, which is really beautiful. In fact, you can spend your whole trip in Southern Utah and then come back and do the Northern half later. Utah has a lot to see throughout the entire State.

The Fruita campground is very tight for a 40-footer. With that size rig I would go to one one of the nearby commercial campgrounds. I stayed at Wonderland RV Park in Torrey and it was very nice.

MRUSA14 · 02-04-2014, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom3205

However I did Google "Hells backbone". It is hwy 153. It joins hwy 12 just south of the Anasaszi SP museum. It is closed in winter, so it is probably not RV friendly.
AGAIN, don't let all those "twisty/turny" loops on the map , on HWY 12, scare you. Easy to navigate at reasonable speed. also don't be scared of the steep grades. Just go slow. IT IS AWESOME.

Tom is right. Hwy 12 in Utah is the most fabulous road I have ever been on, and I've driven through 49 states. It is an easy drive for any vehicle. The biggest problem is keeping your eyes on the road and not sightseeing the whole way. The sights are totally gorgeous, but you have to watch the road, so use the many pullouts, which are ample in size.