Questions for Zion National Park and others in Southern Utah

tikal

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Hello everyone:

We have a family trip coming up soon to go to Zion National Park from the Houston area with a stop over near Gallup, NM.

Any suggestion about the route to take from the Gallup, NM area to the Zion National Park. The camping site at Zion are already booked up so we are looking at alternate campsites such as a nearby state park or the sites run by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). After Zion we would like to visit Bryce and depending on our time maybe Arches and Canyolands.

Any suggestions and sharing of your experience would be appreciated.
 

VeeDubTDI

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I can't really answer your questions, but I've been to both Zion and Bryce, and both are spectacular! If you don't have one already, buy an annual National Park pass, as entrance fees add up quickly, especially if you plan on hitting several of the parks out west.

Enjoy the road trip, and please post pictures. :cool:
 

JSWTDI09

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I can't really answer your questions, but I've been to both Zion and Bryce, and both are spectacular! If you don't have one already, buy an annual National Park pass, as entrance fees add up quickly, especially if you plan on hitting several of the parks out west.

Enjoy the road trip, and please post pictures. :cool:
I couldn't agree more. Bryce and Zion are both amazing and what I find even more amazing is the fact that they are relatively close together, but they are so completely different in scenery. You wouldn't even guess that they were in the same state.
As for the annual pass, they are great. However, what is even better ... once you hit 62 years old, you can then get a lifetime pass for only $10. I bought mine on my 62nd birthday (but I won't tell you how long ago that was:)). We use it regularly.

Have Fun!

Don
 

VeeDubTDI

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Yeah my dad picked up a lifetime pass a few years ago. $10 is a great deal!

I've been buying an annual pass ever year just to support the parks, even if I don't have plans to visit any of them. Unfortunately, I didn't bring it with me to the Outer Banks a couple of weeks ago, and I had to pay to get into the Wright Brothers Museum in Kill Devil Hills. :eek:
 

DerekG

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Do you have any interest is stopping by the Grand Canyon on the way to Zion? It isn't too far out of the way and amazing if you haven't seen it before. If you do I would check out the south rim and then take 64 over to Cameron and then 89 to Bitter Springs and switch to 89a through Marble Canyon and Jacob Lake before getting back on 89 in kanab UT.

If you don't do the Grand Canyon then use the fastest route google maps gives you from Gallop to Zion which I think is through Page. It's a nice pretty drive past Lake Powell and there are some cool rock/sandstone formations no too far from there i.e. " The Wave" and Coyote Buttes.

As for camping in/near Zion I don't really know...we stayed in a hotel in Zion when we were there.

Either way I definitely agree with VeeDub...both Zion and Bryce are awesome as well as Arches and Capital Reef. Canyon Lands is the only national park in UT that I haven't been to but I have heard great things about it.
 

jhax

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Go to the BLM site or the national forest site to look for land boundaries. You are allowed to camp anywhere on national forest/blm land so long as you are camping 300 ft from the center of the road. I took a trip from Golden, CO to Las Vegas without using interstates last year and I passed through Dixie National forest. I do remember seeing campers and tents pitched on the sides of the main paved road. Watch out for deer if you travel through dixie, I was hit by one in my travels.

Justin
 

tikal

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Thanks all for sharing all this good information. I just went to recreation.gov and made a reservation for a site at the Panguitch Lake North Campground in the Dixie National Forest which is somewhat between Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks. I will probably buy the annual pass at Zion.
 

Airpizz6

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Not sure what route you will taking but there is a good chance you'll be using US 89. That will take you across the Colorado River on the Glen Canyon Dam at the foot of Lake Powell. Well worth a stop and like Lake Mead to the southwest, it is operated by the National Park Service. You can pick up an annual pass there. Will be much quicker than doing so at Zion.
 
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