Southern Utah parks in September

[kerry_grim]

My son and I are tentatively planning to fly from PA to Las Vegas in mid-September and then visit north rim of

the Grand Canyon, Zion NP, Bryce NP, and Capitol Reef NP (from a Wednesday to Wednesday). We are choosing

September because October does not work with my son and his work.

 

How are these parks at this time of the year? Are they crowded? Are advance reservations needed for lodging at or

near these parks.

 

Are there any must-see outdoor locations on the way to or close to these parks? I believe Vermillion Cliffs would

be on this list.

 

I have a lot of information on these national parks and will study in detail. For now, we would appreciate some

of the basics since this area would be totally unfamiliar to us. We want to book our flight 2 months in advance

for the savings.

 

Canyonlands and Arches is a must see, but this would be out of or area and am sure the above mentioned areas

would keep us more than busy.

 

Any advice, suggestions, or pitfalls to avoid would greatly be appreciated. Thank you.

[User_6502147]

<p>I've spend 70 days (open list) in the SW last Fall and Oct is way better than Sept. But the weather can easily switch on you and twist plans to some extent (also, different elevations to consider). Somehow a week in the SW is not very realistic....or you'll reduce yourself to a proverbial bus tour where people jump out and take few pics and jump back on. Anyway, there are some distances to deal with and many distractions along the way. Sept can still remain fairly busy even though families return from vacations and kids go to school....and some people want to take advantage of this. I've camped (except for 2 cold nights in the Rockies), so I'm not in position to say anything about lodging. The No. Rim closure is weather dependent (read: snow), tho last year it was still open in early Nov when I checked.</p>

<p>Overall, I'd pick only small number of places and relax and enjoy them vs trying to see too much...but that's me and maybe not you. Try keeping things flexible, due to weather or road work, etc. The distances can be deceiving and often you just can't go 60 MPH from one spot to another...sometimes you're dealing with traffic, slow speeds, sometimes dirt road.... Give yourself time to pull over for the "other views" (and there will be many), hike to an interesting area or distant lighting that slashes through the sky, etc.</p>

<p>One of the books I'd recommend is Laurent Martres's "Photographing Southwest". Some of the hikes in the book can be time intensive, but you can get a feel for the area, its vastness and beauty....even if you don't follow the author's advise. Enjoy the trip.</p>

<p>Les</p><div></div>

[kerry_grim]

That is good advice. We do not want to try too much, rushing from place to place. I do have Martre's book and it has a lot of photographic advice.

[phillips]

<p>I agree with Leszek that it is pushing it to get to all of those areas in a week. As he said, travel times are significantly longer than you might expect. Highway 89 between Zion, Bryce and Capitol Reef is a beautiful drive and worth the leisurely pace .My suggestion is to spend the time between Zion, Bryce and Capitol Reef. Capitol Reef is significantly less crowded than either Zion or Bryce and well worth spending some time. Steve Howe of Redrock Adventures in Torrey, Utah conducts photo tours of Capitol Reef-and some of the spots such as the Lower Cathedral Valley really call for high clearance or a 4 wheel drive vehicle.</p><div></div>

[bob_flood1]

Going in Sep means you'll miss the fall foliage, but everything else will be just fine.

 

The north rim is better than the south rim for crowds - 90% of all visitors to the park go to the south side. The north rim closes in mid-late Oct - the date will be scheduled and announced in advance as the parks closes all the facilities and de-staffs, but the roads may remain open until the snow flies IF the park service has rangers that can patrol the north side.

 

Be prepared for cool weather on the north rim. It's at 8,000 ft and temps will be 25-30 degrees cooler than Las Vegas just due to elevation difference. Lows around freezing are a realistic possibility, and highs in the 70s would be unusually hot. You'll experience large temperature changes within a single day at all the parks, so clothing needs to be adaptable.

 

There's only one lodge in the park on the north side, and lodging outside the park is rather distant (1-1.5 hours drive from the rim, less if you don't get caught). So I recommend staying in the park and you should make reservations ASAP, and it may already be too late. In my experience, the lodging at Jacob Lake and Fredonia isn't awful but isn't great either, and the lodging in Kanab UT is better but father away.

 

Plan for a 5.5 hour drive from Las Vegas to the north rim. The drive up to Zion is only a couple of hours, and less than that from Zion to Bryce. The valley you'll drive thru between Zion and Bryce is full of farms and rather attractive - it may slow you a bit for photos on the way.

 

You could easily spend your entire week in any one of the parks you plan to visit, so you'll need to do some planning to limit your time in each. Doing any serious hiking in any of the parks will require time, and I suggest you limit how much hiking you want to try to just a couple of the parks and skip it in others.

If you can skip hiking down among the hoodoos in Bryce, that park can be done in a single day (be sure to be at Sunset Point at sunset - the hoodoos fairly glow in the nearly horizontal light at the end of the day). There are so many great hikes in Zion and the GC that you need to do some homework on what you'd like to see. Capital Reef is a tougher call - so much of the park cannot be reached by road that some hiking will be mandatory.

 

And BTW, the drive on UT12 from Bryce to Capital Reef is spectacular. The road runs along the edge of the Escalante Grand Staircase NM, and follows the knife-edge top of some ridges. Looking down can be a challenge for people with issues about heights, and the 2 lane road has no shoulder and only several feet of space on either side in a few spots. But there are views to photograph that are amazing. Expect this drive to take a lot more time than the distance would suggest.

[SCL]

<p>In addition to the above, which I heartily agree with, be prepared for wide swings in weather at that time of year, and make reservations NOW, as some places fill up 6-7 months in advance. Regardles of the weather, make sure you have plenty of drinking water with you. Although last time at Bryce and Zion I hiked for several days at each location, we were advised to carry at least a gallon of water with us, to avoid dehydration, and in case we got stranded by good old mother nature. Also, please wear good, well broken in heavy duty hiking shoes,,,not sneakers, flip flops, or loafers. Even some of the easy places to visit can do a job on your feet and ankles.</p>

[johne37179]

<p>This is my favorite part of the country. You could spend a lifetime here. One of my favorite places there is a little bed and breakfast about 10 miles outside of Mexican Hat. The finest night skies anywhere. Lots to see close by -- Goosenecks, Ship Rock, Arches, Mesa Verde, Monument Valley, Dead Horse Point and Canyonlands to the north. The B&B is in a national monument. Be sure you rent a vehicle that can take dirt roads. Zion and Bryce are a half day drive. Be sure to drive Hwy 12 northeast from Bryce.</p>

[david_henderson]

<p>Just a few quick points-my last visit there was about three weeks after you 're proposing to go.</p>

 

<ul>

<li>You can bank on the main viewpoints being pretty occupied at both sunrise and sunset at that time of year and indeed most others. Be there ahead of time if you don't want to be photographing over someone else's shoulder</li>

<li>In general National park lodges aren't terribly good. But they are convenient and book up fast. Doesn't matter in Zion or Capital Reef where there's non NP motels quite close to where you need to be. Matters more at Grand Canyon. At Bryce its pretty important to get into the lodge or Ruby's Inn. Get your routing and accommodation fixed very soon. You may already be too late. Its not fun driving a half hour to a viewpoint in Bryce knowing that it might be very busy when you get there.</li>

<li>When you have a route, get to work planning at each location what your priorities are , what times of day, how you're going to get there (sometimes drive, sometimes shuttle bus , occasionally walk) There's a bit to see and random exploration won't help you much.</li>

<li>Completely off the wall, I've found the best pictures at Bryce to be early morning- dawn to an hour after. So I've used the afternoon to drive to Cedar Breaks, a similar amphitheatre which faces the other way, so catches the setting sun.</li>

<li>I like Capitol Reef but there's little doubt that a highlight-Cathedral Valley Drive - requires you to ford a river. Its not horrific if you've done anything like that before, but you do need to be sure that your rental vehicle is capable of supporting that and be aware that your rental company may not be terribly helpful.</li>

<li>Be very careful on gravel and avoid compacted clay roads after rain. You may well discover a whole new meaning of "slippery" </li>

</ul>

<p> </p>

[marc_rochkind]

<p>At Bryce, don't just tour the rim. Take the Fairyland trail. Fantastic angles.</p>

[bob_flood1]

I had to post again to endorse Mr Lewis' statements about water - I should have included the same in my first post. It's a desert all year round out here and the need to stay hydrated never goes away. Even though it may be cool at some location, the dry air will still dry you out.

 

Mr. Henderson's statement about random exploration is also praiseworthy - there's so much to see that unplanned, random exploration (great term for it!) will waste a lot of your time. Good planning will get much, much more from your vacation time.

 

Lodging - if you are budget conscious, you will find most of the lodging in Springdale immediately outside Zion Canyon to be rather expensive (although there may be some seasonal reductions). I usually stay in Hurricane, a town about 20 miles west of Zion Canyon. There are national chain motels there at lower prices. Likewise, at Bryce, the legendary place to stay (for longer than the park has been a park) is Ruby's, which is immediately outside the park entrance. It's a Best Western, but be advised that there are 2 Best Westerns there, Ruby's and a brand new one across the road. The rooms at Ruby's are large enough and clean, quite satisfactory every time I've stayed there, and generally run under $100 per night. The new Best Western across the road runs considerably higher. Ruby's has a nice general store that is stocked for campers, too, plus a slightly high priced but otherwise good restaurant.

[kerry_grim]

Thanks everyone this is wonderful information and very useable. We will be taking a little more time than originally though and probably not cover so much. There are a lot of excellent tips here and we appreciate every one of them.

 

I have experience in New Mexico in September so understand about water and suspect Utah has a similar monsoon season. Although this is a lot more remote! We are hikers, but the mountains in the east area joke compared to the real mountains of the west. Heck, 50 feet of the highway through Shenandoah National Park they consider as wilderness! Thanks again.

[johne37179]

<p>Kerry and all: I have enjoyed this thread immensely. I have made about a dozen trips through Utah and have a place in Arizona, but I years to return to this ground and have started planning the next trip.</p>

[jairorodriguez]

<p>Hi Kerry, <br>

In case you want more info from a photographer (myself) that did something similar to what you are planning, take a look at this blog post:<br>

http://www.jairophoto.com/blog/photography-guide-national-parks-in-utah-and-arizona/<br>

Cheers!<br>

Jairo</p>

[gulfbeach47]

<p>Jairo, Great blog and photos. Had to chuckle when I saw the people line-up at Mesa arch. I'm hoping to return to Utah, Arizona, Yellowstone and all points in between in October. The mystic and beauty of this part of the country is addicting. Last summer, I finally made it to Goblin Valley and Great Sand Dunes National Park. Goblin seems like your on another planet. Great Sand Dunes is worth a look, if you don't mind hiking up very high dunes.<br /> I'm expecting to drive 6 or 7 thousand miles, since I am driving from the gulf coast.</p>

[kerry_grim]

Just as a follow-up, we visited with full days September 10-18. We chose September since it worked best for my son and his job, instead of October, which I would prefer due to cooler temps and leaf color.

 

Briefly we were at Bryce, Kodachrome Basin SP, Scenic Route 12 to Capitol Reef, Cedar Breaks and then Zion. Zion canyon had lots of people, but it is not difficult to get away from that. We got to Zion just after the 7 hikers were killed in that flash flood.

 

Everyone's advice was spot on. We should have booked a bit earlier, but it worked out well.

 

A note to myself if I have the opportunity to go again would be to study up on trails. The west is very different in not describing the trails and locations were tricky to find. Here in the East we are spoiled...parks have numerous books or booklets for trails, hikes to waterfalls, etc. but, heck, in Shenandoah NP, you walk 50 feet off a trial and they warn you it is wilderness! I really should post photos.