Southern Utah and Colorado tour questions

[lostskier]

Have a great trip. My list of places to go in Utah is 15 pages long. I spent 8 weeks there last spring and I've gone there the last 4 years. Escalante is a good place to stage for the GSENM and there is great boondocking spot at the entrance to Hole in the Rock road. And down that road, are great hikes and some easy slot canyons. Near Capitol Reef, just to the east of Torrey is a huge BLM area that is spectacular. In 4 years traveling Utah, I have never paid for a commercial campsite. A few BLM because they are inexpensive but never a commercial hookup. Lots of stuff out there to explore.

[alanmalk]

Here is another option about an hour west of Capitol Reef NP. Higher and cooler than the surrounding area. Some sites are first-come/first-serve. Good drinking water.


SINGLETREE CAMPGROUND

This campground is the largest campground in the area and has some sites that accommodate large RVs. There is a lot of open space. Located in a scenic ponderosa pine and aspen area. Fall colors are beautiful. Views include an open vista of Capital Reef. Roads and spurs are paved. Nearby attractions include Capital Reef National Park. Dump station is provided for RV use.

[Smjayhawk]

If you are planning on being in the Mesa Verde, Telluride, Ouray area, might I suggest camping in one central location and making some day trips. While we tend to stay at state or national parks, we found an outstanding private park just outside Delores, CO called Priest Gulch Campground. Get reservations early enough and you may get a spot right on the Delores River. While it is commercial, it is also a great place to stay.

[bozbie]

Welcome to camp at our place in Grand Jct, Co. to plan the So. utah / Colorado part. We were BLM rangers in So.Utah / Colo. years ago. Now retired. Ditto mountains still snowy in April /May. Good Hot springs though…Honenweep Natl. Mon. Is a must see if in the Four Courners.

[Shiny]

We live in Montrose and I think you made a wise decision to reduce risk for bad weather in the San Juans that time of year.

You just need to plan a 2nd trip to this area in June or July... or late September/early October to tour the mountains.

Ridgway State Park is a good "home base" for day trips. Others have shared some "gems", all of which are a "do-able" day trip from Ridgway SP.

I share recommendations to visit Telluride via the Dallas Divide. The San Miguel Canyon to Telluride is striking. Ouray is a fun and beautiful tourist town. Jeep tours from Ouray are worth the cost. Yankee Boy Basin is gorgeous. Side-trips up forest service roads usually lead to great scenery.

The Cimmarons are special IMO - Owl Creek Pass up to Silverjack reservoir is awesome. Black Canyon National Park and the Colorado Monument are worth seeing. A day trip to Crested Butte and then looping back across Kebler Pass to Paonia is another eyeball-popper. The forest and lakes on the Grand Mesa will surprise you.. several nice forest service campgrounds up there.

Make it happen !!!

[Jill]

We are currently enjoying this trip thanks to everyone's input. So I want to follow up with a progress report on what we have ended up doing.

Kodachrome - 3 nights. We loved this stop and enjoyed all of the recommended hikes (Angel's Palace, Panorama Point, Shakespeare Arch) plus some of the others. We had site A51 which had fabulous rock views.

Escalante - 2 nights. Stayed at the Petrified Forest state park. The park trail is a must. And the part described as ‘Very Strenuous’ has the best rocks and really isn’t that difficult. An absolute must is going to Georgie’s food truck on the west side of town and ordering the blue corn enchiladas. Other stuff was good too but that was the best!

Capitol Reef - 3 nights. We ended up staying at the Wonderland RV Park a mile east of Torrey but wouldn’t stay there again. The park was fine and the sites were nice and wide with pretty trees but the glare of the Days Inn across the street was annoying. We loved all the recommended hikes and also loved the Grand Wash. Oh and the first maybe 20 miles of the drive from Escalante to Capitol Reef was so beautiful!

Moab - 4 nights. We stayed at Sun Outdoors Canyonland Gateway (formerly Archview RV Park). We were lucky to get an outside row otherwise the sites could be incredibly tight to get in and out of. I liked that we could get to everything we wanted to see without going through the congestion of Moab. Next time if booking early enough I would stay at Portal RV. Arches was amazing. Had a 4pm reservation which turned out to be a great thing as the park was emptying out so we never had a problem with parking, and got some great late afternoon lighting for pictures. Had a picnic dinner at sunset - it was awesome! Next day we were driving by at 5pm when they stopped taking fees - no lines to get in so we went again and picked the few things we were unable to do. Arches is now my new hands down favorite park. Liked Islands in the Sky and Dead Horse parks but weren’t so excited about them. Best hikes outside of Arches were Grandstaff Canyon on 128 east of 191 and Corona Arch on 790. Both were wonderful! Trailhead Cafe and ‘The Donut Shop’ in Moab were both really good.

Mancos Colorado (near Durango) 4 nights. We only planned to stay a couple nights but we liked the town and park so much (Riverland RV) we added a couple nights. Got a site backing on to the river and it was such a nice change after all the rock and blowing sand (lots of really high winds!). Loved Durango, the drive to Silverton, and of course Mesa Verde.

That’s it for now. Tomorrow we head to Hovenweep then Monument Valley area. It’s been a few years since we have been able to do an exploration trip such as this and we are really enjoying it!

[MVA]

Jill,

This is a great, well detailed review of your travels that will be helpful to others that plan similar itineraries.

thanks

[Jill]

And now an update for the remainder of the trip...

Hovenweep - 2 nights. This was one of our favorite stops despite the heat and the snow gnats that gave us tons of itchy bites. It was great to be able to walk up to the ruins. The trail that goes down into the canyon (not the loop trail) had a very cool almost slot canyon at the beginning. The campground filled early the day we got there but was empty the day we left. Many thanks to whoever recommended this!

Monument Valley - 4 nights. Stayed at Gouldings and would do so again. Did their 3.5 hour tour and would highly recommend it.

Page - 4 nights. This was probably our least favorite stop of the trip. With Lake Powell being so low, and it was super hot, windy, and dusty, and our AC had issues. So to be fair we can't blame it on the campground (Wahweap RV) or the area. It was hard to find somewhere to cool off but we were able to put our camp chairs in the river at Marble Canyon and that was great. We missed Antelope Canyon because we couldn't leave our dog in the hot truck or trailer that long.

Grand Canyon - 2 nights. We made a last minute decision to see the South Rim. Being a long weekend it was impossible to get a reservation anywhere so we boondocked on Coconino Rim Rd. It was the perfect location for viewing the sites and avoiding the crowds. Also the night sky was probably the best we've ever seen.

Flagstaff - 3 nights. We stayed here (at Woody Mountain CG) just because we always wanted to see Flagstaff. Went to Walnut Canyon National Monument and it was spectacular. They had a beautiful trail that went right up to the many many cliff dwellings. We hadn't heard of the park before and definitely consider it a must see if you like exploring ruins. We also went to Sedona. Last time we were there was 30 years ago. It was still beautiful, but the crowds in the parks, in the town - everywhere, ruined it for us.

And now we are ready to head home. Once again thanks for all the input received here. It really helped shape this fabulous trip!