Madison or Bridge Bay w/2720sl

[Bill]

If you go to Bryce, check out Ruby's. It's right at the entrance to the park, clean, full hookups, and the sites are reasonably big. We've been to Bryce several times, camped at Ruby's twice, and were very pleased.

You might consider Ruby's for Zion, too, though it is about 70 miles away. Perhaps too far for a daily commute. But I recall that we stayed somewhere on the southwest side of Zion, and weren't terribly thrilled. And because we arrived from the east side, we had to buy a escort pass for the TM.

Bill

[Lesherp]

I just love this forum. I have wanted to visit the parks in Utah for a long time and now thanks to all of you have a better idea what all to see and where to stay. We are planning to go to AZ later this winter and I am wondering if we might do Utah on the way back home. How early can one find the weather there pleasant?

Any additional information about places to camp and see in either state would be appreciated. We prefer camping in rustic settings over spa type parks and are set up for boondocking. We will be down there for a while and like to swim, play tennis and probably will have to wash cloths every once and a while so places with a few amenities will be needed occasionally. I have looked at Ruby’s and Zion Canyon Campground & RV park sites and they look great.

Originally Posted by Lesherp

I just love this forum. I have wanted to visit the parks in Utah for a long time and now thanks to all of you have a better idea what all to see and where to stay. We are planning to go to AZ later this winter and I am wondering if we might do Utah on the way back home. How early can one find the weather there pleasant?

I've always thought that Spring and Fall were the best times to visit southern Utah. April to mid June and September through mid-October. Summer gets hot in canyon country with the exception of Bryce which is at 8500 feet so it can be cool except in summer.

In the Phoenix area, you might check out McDowell Mountain Regional Park. Dry camping in a beautiful desert setting. We drove through it once to check it out but Bill can tell you more since this is in his back yard.

Keith

[MudDog]

We've stayed at Ruby's a couple of times and enjoyed it. I forget what month it was, but it got down to 19 degrees one of the nights we were there.

On our latest trip (last week), we drove by Ruby's and the campground was closed for the season. I believe the campground is only open from April 1 thru October 30th each year. With the higher elevation at Bryce, a lot of the local businesses shut down for the season.

Bill - we lucked out on the tunnel escort. Max width without escort is 7'10". TM lists at 7'7" + 5 inches for awning and lights. The guy that measured went to the back and measured at the bumper...he didn't measure the awning and let us thru.

[scrubjaysnest]

We stayed at Red Canyon in 2010, a USFS CG within 20 miles of Bryce it was much nicer than the CG's at Bryce. They have showers at Red Canyon and nice views from the CG.
We used the internet at Ruby's while doing laundry there.


As for the east route into Zion, we avoided it because of the escort fee and the construction.

Originally Posted by scrubjaysnest

We stayed at Red Canyon in 2010, a USFS CG within 20 miles of Bryce it was much nicer than the CG's at Bryce. They have showers at Red Canyon and nice views from the CG.:

shhhhhhh! That's one of our secret destinations. If everyone finds out about it, we'll never get in. .

[Bill]

Originally Posted by Bluegrass

In the Phoenix area, you might check out McDowell Mountain Regional Park. Dry camping in a beautiful desert setting. We drove through it once to check it out but Bill can tell you more since this is in his back yard.

Keith

Keith is exactly right. If you are going to be in the greater Phoenix area, and especially if you are willing or want to dry camp, MMRP is a wonderful place. As he said, beautiful desert setting, snuggled up against the base of the McDowell Mountains. Lots of well maintained hiking trails in the McDowells, with difficulty ranging from none (flat ground) to strenuous (but not severe). From MMRP, you are close to the Superstition Mountains (Lost Dutchman Gold Mine), and Lost Dutchman State Park also has a very nice dry-camping area at the base of those mountains. And if you take the Apache Trail (Rte 88) east from the Superstitions, you'll have an incredibly gorgeous (and exciting!) drive out to four of the big lakes in this area. Rent kayaks, small-to-large power boats, or houseboats. On the Apache Trail, there is another good dry-camping area in the fabled village of Tortilla Flat on Rte 88, very near Canyon Lake.

By the way, this entire desert area is great for geo-caching, if that excites you.

For whatever reason, the Phoenix area doesn't seem to be big on commercial full-hookup campgrounds, though there are a few. But well-maintained city/county/state dry campgrounds are all over the place. All of these places are way too hot to enjoy in the summer, but in the winter the weather is perfect for getting outside. And in the unlikely event that it rains (yes, it rains occasionally, even in the desert), you are within easy driving distance of several towns, including Scottsdale, Phoenix, Carefree/Cave Creek, and Fountain Hills, all with good food, MANY museums, gardens, theaters, and so forth. By the way, leave your jacket and tie at home. This is cowboy country.

I won't go on any more, but if you would like more info or suggestions, you could PM me, or Scottie Dogs, who signs in from Gold Canyon, AZ, just down the road, or any of the other members from the Valley of the Sun (greater Phoenix).

Bill