Seattle to Zion National Park April 2016

[robertsonr]

My family and are taking 8 days in April(of next year) to head from Seattle to Zion. 2 adults and 2 kids(3 and 5) in a MH. Tips? Places to see? Routes? Will need to stop at a CG with laundry at least once. Just getting an idea and ideas to plan this.

[Full.Monte]

Zion is very nice. I wouldn't miss a trip to Bryce, which is not too far, given the distance you are traveling. If you plan to do everything including returning to home in 8 days, that's a lot of trip for a short time.

[robertsonr]

Originally Posted by Full.Monte

Zion is very nice. I wouldn't miss a trip to Bryce, which is not too far, given the distance you are traveling. If you plan to do everything including returning to home in 8 days, that's a lot of trip for a short time.

Yeah it's still up for debate.

[robertsonr]

The plan is 2 days down, 2 days back 4 days in the park.

[Coulter]

Don't be surprised to encounter snow in Bryce or Zion, in April. And depending on your route, maybe more snow on the passes.

[TheToads]

We just got back home from Utah, doing all 5 of the NP. I agree with Full.Monte that is one long trip to do in 8 days. But if you have 2 drivers and the kids don't go batty being on the road for 8 to 10 hours a day, more power to you.
The first thing to remember is that Utah is much higher than anything around Seattle, except for Mt Rainier. Zion and Bryce are both up in the 7000' range and we got snowed on 1 day in the end of April. But then 2015 was the year for record NO SNOW.
Also IMHO, Bryce is much prettier than Zion. But each has its own grandeur. You can easily do each one in 2 days each and not really miss much, unless you want to go hiking down into the bottom of the canyon, which is another spectacular trip all by itself.
If you want I can go back through my trip and figure out where are some good spots to stay, figuring out where/how far a 2 day trip would get you.
Dean
The Toads.

[robertsonr]

Originally Posted by TheToads

We just got back home from Utah, doing all 5 of the NP. I agree with Full.Monte that is one long trip to do in 8 days. But if you have 2 drivers and the kids don't go batty being on the road for 8 to 10 hours a day, more power to you.
The first thing to remember is that Utah is much higher than anything around Seattle, except for Mt Rainier. Zion and Bryce are both up in the 7000' range and we got snowed on 1 day in the end of April. But then 2015 was the year for record NO SNOW.
Also IMHO, Bryce is much prettier than Zion. But each has its own grandeur. You can easily do each one in 2 days each and not really miss much, unless you want to go hiking down into the bottom of the canyon, which is another spectacular trip all by itself.
If you want I can go back through my trip and figure out where are some good spots to stay, figuring out where/how far a 2 day trip would get you.
Dean
The Toads.

Thank you! I am worried about the snow, and am thinking maybe a bit later in the season. Any info is a big help for me planning(My wife is by the seat of her pants, i like to be a bit prepared!). I would like to extend to 10 days. She would like to blaze down and come back slow. The kids are becoming better at traveling.

[twogypsies]

This weather chart of average temperatures and snowfall was taken from the nps.gov site for Zion Nat'l Park. Check out the site as it will give you lots of good information:


http://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisi...er-Chart-2.pdf


The chances of snow in April is slim although it can happen. Your biggest problem for April and May would be runoff from area mountain snowfall from winter. This makes the rivers high.

Bryce would have a higher chance of snowfall in April but it will still be iffy.

We've been to both in April and May and the weather was perfect, especially for hiking.

[robertsonr]

Originally Posted by twogypsies

This weather chart of average temperatures and snowfall was taken from the nps.gov site for Zion Nat'l Park. Check out the site as it will give you lots of good information:


http://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisi...er-Chart-2.pdf


The chances of snow in April is slim although it can happen. Your biggest problem for April and May would be runoff from area mountain snowfall from winter. This makes the rivers high.

Bryce would have a higher chance of snowfall in April but it will still be iffy.

We've been to both in April and May and the weather was perfect, especially for hiking.

Thanks!

[TheToads]

If you want to do the down trip in 2 days, it will look something like this
Day 1 Seattle to Baker City, OR distance 378 miles. There is a nice Good Sam RV Park there called Oregon Trails West Rv Park
Day 2 Baker City to Kaysville, UT, distance 444 miles. Look up Cherry Hills Camping resort.
Day 3 Kaysville UT to Zion NP, distance 327 miles. There are several parks in Hurricane UT which is right next door to Zion.
Also there are camping spots in Zion, but I am not sure about hook ups and laundry facilities.
If you need more info, let me know and I will see what I can do.
Dean
The Toads

[Vacay Wheels]

Zion and back in 8 days is an impressive feat of long haul driving, IMO! We too are planning a trip out there in 2016 with our family of four, though we'll probably wait until August. Doing it in summer means we don't have to be constrained by the spring break window. That said, we have friends who motored it out to Moab and back this past spring break and had a great time.

We're planning to take 4 days going out via Yakima, Boise, SLC, then 5 days coming back via Butte and Coeur d'Alene to hit some old favorites along the way. Plus 3 days each at Bryce and Zion. Even that feels rushed to me.

In Zion, we were thinking of staying in the NP campground itself, in the Watchman. Alternately, there's the Zion Canyon Campground for FHU, and it looks like there's a shuttle to get us to the park itself. (Though I didn't check whether the shuttle runs in April, or whether it's even needed then).

[Percival6]

Don't worry too much about the snow. You can't plan for it. We were there for 5 days around April 1 and the weather was gorgeous! As is the scenery, we were in Watchman CG next the river and our kids loved it. Ours are 11,11,11, and 6. We even hiked through the Virgin River about 1.5 miles, the river was cold, but hike was very memorable. Awesome feeling being at the bottom of a canyon. We had just come from the Grand Canyon, which is a totally different point of view, top down as opposed to bottom up, both unique in there own ways. Enjoy the trip, hope you survive the drive! Don't think I would be that brave with my kids.

[UTTransplant]

April is prime season in Zion. While there might be some snow, it probably wouldn't be enough to worry about. Campsites fill up fast then, so make reservations. I really like Watchman CG in the park, but it is dry camping. I am not a true climber, just a casual hiker, and I found 2 days in Zion plenty. For two small children, it definitely will be enough! I really would encourage you to add Bryce to your list, but be aware it is much higher and has a much better chance of snow in April. It is beautiful though, with more hikes appropriate to children. You can catch a shuttle bus through the park, stop at the viewpoints and short hikes, and when anyone gets tired, catch the next one back. August will be too hot for Zion with temps of 100 degrees. Bryce is much better then, though it can still bet pretty warm.

I took children of the same basic age camping in lots of National Parks, but mine don't remember really anything about the parks. They might remember playing in the water at a creek, or a fun time in the snow in June, but this trip will be more for the adults. I am not saying that is a bad thing. We used to drive 600 miles in a day, but my kids started early with visits to family 12 hours away as infants. Kids gripe, and sleep, watch videos, read books, and survive. Get up really early, and leave by 5:00 am to make it easier on yourself.

[gazingm42]

Since we live several hours from Zion we go there often...

1. April weather is fine. Snow unlikely in the southern part of utah, but not impossible... August is HOT.
2. Camp in virgin ut at the Zion rv resort...
3. Take bikes and hiking shoes and gear.
4. Before hiking check weather at ranger station.. Flash floods are very dangerous