Planning: RV Road Trip to AZ and UT National Parks

[JudahMcB]

Looking for some trip planning advice for an epic 7-day Arizona & Utah RV roadtrip in June with the family (5 kids ages 17, 15, 13, 10 and 9). I’ve spent a few months reading TR’s to build the general outline. We plan to start and end the trip in LAS and hope to either spend shabbat in LAS and leave on Sunday or leave LAS in the middle of the week and spend shabbat in PHX.

My kids are mildly adventurous but I feel like they will get bored if all we do is hike a different national park every day - unless the parks really vary greatly. Any suggestions for unusual or interesting stops along the way to keep them interested would be great.

Day 1

• Las Vegas - pick up RV (will get a late start since we need to pick up the RV, return car rental and buy supplies for the trip)
• Hoover Dam Tour
• Stay in RV park in Kingman

Day 2

• Bearizona Wildlife Park (the kids love animals)
• Slide Rock State Park - swimming, water slide
• Sedona Pink Jeep Tour
• Lowell Observatory (night) - only if we are not exhausted at this point
• Stay in RV park in Flagstaff

Day 3

• Grand Canyon South Rim - possible bike tour. (yes, I know, many people say GC is overrated but can’t go to that part of the US and just skip GC)
• Stay at Trailer Village RV Park in Grand Canyon

Day 4

• Antelope Canyon tour
• Lake Powell - rent a boat, fishing, jetski
• Stay at RV park near Page

Day 5

• Coral Pink Sand Dunes
• Zion National Park - not sure if we are up for The Narrows hike. Will be a gametime decision. If not then probably Emerald Pools Trail.
• Stay at Zion River Resort or Watchman Campground in Zion

Day 6

• Bryce Canyon National Park - Queen's Garden/Navajo Loop hike.
  Valley of Fire
• Return to Las Vegas

I plan to ask questions about specific sites in their appropriate threads, but I have some general questions below:

• Any glaring issues with the proposed itinerary? Are there any must-do’s that I’m missing? Would you recommend a completely different route?
• Are there any road access issues with a 30’-32’ long RV for this itinerary? I am aware of the Mt. Carmel Tunnel near Zion. Any other route that may prove difficult with a large RV?

[Dawie]

Lowell is amazing at night if you are at all interested in astronomy
If your kids like Animals, Grand Canyon Deer Farm might be up their alley
Slide Rock is overrated, crowded although it is an experience (not sure where you would park the RV there)
Grand Canyon is NOT overrated especially if done right - (stay away from crowded areas and go to Shoshone Point or Lipan Point where you have magnificent views and privacy) Hike down to Ooh-ah Point...
Day4 make sure to stop at  Horsheshoe Bend and Glen Canyon Dam (although once you see Hoover......)
Switch Bryce and Zion
Zion is on the way to Vegas, Bryce is the other direction
Dunes are right off (10min) the road to Bryce, you can do them on the way

[JudahMcB]

Thanks! This is really good advice.

If your kids like Animals, Grand Canyon Deer Farm might be up their alley

How does it compare with Bearizona and Out of Africa? It looks like a smaller park but more hands on touching animals?

Day4 make sure to stop at  Horsheshoe Bend and Glen Canyon Dam (although once you see Hoover......)

Horseshoe Bend was on my list but crossed off because it seems like the parking lot fills up early and it's impossible to park an RV (Google Maps street view of the parking lot from 05/2018 looks packed!). There might be a shuttle I can take from Page but is it worth it after just coming from GC and going to Bryce and Zion the next day? 

[Dawie]

Thanks! This is really good advice.
How does it compare with Bearizona and Out of Africa? It looks like a smaller park but more hands on touching animals?
Horseshoe Bend was on my list but crossed off because it seems like the parking lot fills up early and it's impossible to park an RV (Google Maps street view of the parking lot from 05/2018 looks packed!). There might be a shuttle I can take from Page but is it worth it after just coming from GC and going to Bryce and Zion the next day?

yes, Smaller park and more hands one (its a glorified farm with "exotic" animals)
There are good times to go to Horseshoe Bends and not such good times, the good times might be packed, but you can park across the street as well, if i'm not mistaken, and when i was there, there were plenty of RV's (and if you look in the google maps you will see plenty of RV's ).
Interesting though Sunset is generally not a good time to go because  the sun will be in your eyes, but if there are clouds you will get a spectacular view when the sun goes behind the clouds
And totally worth the stop (it's not a long stop) you;d be hard pressed to spend more than an Hour there
Have fun driving the RV up Antelope Pass...

[KSMH]

In case your looking for 1, I have a America The Beautiful Pass for Rental/Sale. If interested PM.

[JudahMcB]

In case your looking for 1, I have a America The Beautiful Pass for Rental/Sale. If interested PM.

This summer I will have a 4th Grader so free pass! https://everykidoutdoors.gov

[KSMH]

This summer I will have a 4th Grader so free pass! https://everykidoutdoors.gov

Oh wow, nice, never saw this, enjoy!

[MosheD]

This summer I will have a 4th Grader so free pass! https://everykidoutdoors.gov

The whole fam gets free pass or you just need one to enter park?

[JudahMcB]

The whole fam gets free pass or you just need one to enter park?

If you visit a site that charges entrance fees per person - The pass admits all children under 16 and up to three adults for free.
If your group visits a site that charges vehicle entrance fees - The pass admits all children under 16 and all adults in up to one passenger vehicle.
https://everykidoutdoors.gov/rules.htm

[Dawie]

If you visit a site that charges entrance fees per person - The pass admits all children under 16 and up to three adults for free.
If your group visits a site that charges vehicle entrance fees - The pass admits all children under 16 and all adults in up to one passenger vehicle.
https://everykidoutdoors.gov/rules.htm

and you need to have the 4th grader in the car too....

[BarryLincoln]

Paging @PBaruch

[ORS]

How many people would you bring to a Minyan for this trip?  I know it is not your original post but you are hitting many spots on my bucket list and our family (from the NY area and loves hiking) strongly prefers vacation with a Minyan.  I have 4 kids 13 - 20 and bring 4 men to a minyan (after memorial day).  Curious if that is remotely interesting to you.
Please email you if you would like to discuss.

[flyingace]

How many people would you bring to a Minyan for this trip?  I know it is not your original post but you are hitting many spots on my bucket list and our family (from the NY area and loves hiking) strongly prefers vacation with a Minyan.  I have 4 kids 13 - 20 and bring 4 men to a minyan (after memorial day).  Curious if that is remotely interesting to you.
Please email you if you would like to discuss.

Don't know if your timing is flexible or not...During bein hazmanim your chances of a minyan in those places is quite high.

[PBaruch]

yes, Smaller park and more hands one (its a glorified farm with "exotic" animals)
There are good times to go to Horseshoe Bends and not such good times, the good times might be packed, but you can park across the street as well, if i'm not mistaken, and when i was there, there were plenty of RV's (and if you look in the google maps you will see plenty of RV's ).
Interesting though Sunset is generally not a good time to go because  the sun will be in your eyes, but if there are clouds you will get a spectacular view when the sun goes behind the clouds
And totally worth the stop (it's not a long stop) you;d be hard pressed to spend more than an Hour there
Have fun driving the RV up Antelope Pass...

I drove a 32 foot RV to the parking lot at Antelope Canyon.  No issues there.

Likewise, when we stopped by, plenty of parking at Horseshoe Canyon - we didn't do the hike though because of the extreme heat when we went.  I personally would not recommend this trip in the heat of the summer.

[aarony]

  We visited in the heat of the summer and I would not skip it unless there are specific health issues.  The important thing is to follow the guidelines for hiking in these areas during the heat.  Always carry plenty of water for each person(water backpack preferably), wear light clothing, pace yourself, try to avoid any strenuous activity during the hottest part of the day etc.  we had 35 people in our group for 10 days, ages 2- 60 and we had no issues from the heat . 

This site may be helpful for horseshoe bend.

https://horseshoebend.com/parking-lot-reopens/

[Dawie]

I drove a 32 foot RV to the parking lot at Antelope Canyon.  No issues there.

Likewise, when we stopped by, plenty of parking at Horseshoe Canyon - we didn't do the hike though because of the extreme heat when we went.  I personally would not recommend this trip in the heat of the summer.

what hike? it's a 20 minute short walk from the lot to the rim

[PBaruch]

what hike? it's a 20 minute short walk from the lot to the rim

After we parked the RV and stepped outside, it felt like an oven outside.  We were all overheated from the beginning of the day and decided to skip it.  I know it wasn't such a long hike. 

[JudahMcB]

Looking for some trip planning advice for an epic 7-day Arizona & Utah RV roadtrip in June .....

Never did take this road trip in 2020 due to the pandemic. I'm now booked to do it this January without the RV. Mostly the same itinerary but doing it in reverse (LAS to Zion, Bryce, Page, GC and ending in PHX). Skipping anything water related and being flexible because there could be bad weather.

Questions regarding visiting Antelope Canyon in the winter: does anyone have any experience / suggestion what time of day to visit for optimal viewing in January? Also, is it worth spending the extra money for upper canyon vs. lower canyon knowing that we won't see any sun rays in the winter?

Has anyone done Antelope X canyon and how does it compare to upper/lower antelope canyon?  Antelope X canyon tour will cost about $200 for my entire family. Lower canyon will cost about $350 and upper canyon will be about $500. If there's not much of a difference in the winter I might opt for Antelope X.

[PBaruch]

Never did take this road trip in 2020 due to the pandemic. I'm now booked to do it this January without the RV. Mostly the same itinerary but doing it in reverse (LAS to Zion, Bryce, Page, GC and ending in PHX). Skipping anything water related and being flexible because there could be bad weather.

Questions regarding visiting Antelope Canyon in the winter: does anyone have any experience / suggestion what time of day to visit for optimal viewing in January? Also, is it worth spending the extra money for upper canyon vs. lower canyon knowing that we won't see any sun rays in the winter?

Has anyone done Antelope X canyon and how does it compare to upper/lower antelope canyon?  Antelope X canyon tour will cost about $200 for my entire family. Lower canyon will cost about $350 and upper canyon will be about $500. If there's not much of a difference in the winter I might opt for Antelope X.

We visited both upper and lower Antelope Canyon during the summer.  You can only see sunbeams during certain hours in spring or summer.  I cannot say if it is otherwise worthwhile for you to go, but we enjoyed both.  It's in my TR here:

https://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=64756.0