Get a AAA map for the states you will be going through. Find a scenic route to your destination. It will be a more enjoyable ride than zooming down the highways way the cars blast by.

Ymmv
John

Have fun. Bryce Canyon is beautiful. Take a short drive to Kodachrome Basin State Park, just east of Bryce Canyon.

Linky to the State Park

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Johnny 3eagles,

Bring drinking water, I would only use hook up water for showering and dishes. Depending on your power cord bring a couple of 15/30 amp connectors and a surge protector, amazing what a power surge/lighting strike can do to the electrics on an rv. Look up checklist for rvs online. Good info there and make sure your tire pressures are spot on.

Have a great time my friend. Enjoy the family. Get the driving out of the way And just enjoy the world.

I loved it out there, so much to see and do. I pray this pandemic doesn't ruin you vacation like it did ours to Alaska!!!!!!!!!!

I've been to Bryce numerous times, beautiful area. I might have missed this but will you have transportation other than the RV.

Bryce is open, Zion opens on May 13th. It's still very quiet here, a lot of out of state plates but not crowds, give it a week.

Stop at Red Canyon, between Panguitch and Bryce. Do the short Pink Ledges hike from the VC parking lot, well worth it. If you have time, do the Mossy Cave section of Bryce, about 10 miles past Bryce, near Tropic.

Some of the other stops mentioned are worthwhile but if you only have a couple of days stick with Bryce.

Get up at the buttcrack of dawn and watch the sunrise in Bryce. And stay at Ruby's so you're close enough to be in the park at the buttcrack of dawn. Love Bryce, one of my favorite places for photography.

Robin Williams once said that "RV" stands for "Ruins Vacation". Good luck my friend.

It is a lot of work prepping and cleaning up afterwards but there's a lot of rewards in between..

Another place in Utah thats cool.. https://www.google.com/search?...mgrc=dZ4i3JKh3yEbwM:

quote:

Originally posted by valkyrie1:
Another place in Utah thats cool.. https://www.google.com/search?...mgrc=dZ4i3JKh3yEbwM:

Cool place..I'm planning a trip motorcycle trip to Utah and may have to add this to my itinerary .

Others have already covered it well. If you want a good burger though, stop at Henries Drive In in Panguitch. Right on Main St

My family did quite a bit of RVing just a few years back. Never made it to the West in the RV but did do Moab, Arches, Bryce on a different trip. What an amazing and beautiful area.

The RV tips here are good. Also consider renting a car if you're going to be in an area for a few days and want to explore. "Breaking camp" and driving the RV short distances isn't fun.

A couple of pictures from the area:

Bryce, May 10th, 2013:


Sunset, Inspiration Pt, Bryce:


Mossy Cave Trail:

A large RV is pretty cumbersome on parts of it, but continuing east on highway 12 is a very spectacular drive. This is where a small car to tow behind it can come in handy.

Thank you all for chiming in! I absolutely took every suggestion and applied it to our trip. This trip was the trip to remember. It took 8 hours to get from Orange County California to Panguitch lake. The RV was ultra useful, we stayed self contained during the drive and did not need to leave for bathroom breaks.

We stayed at Panguitch Lake Resort, which is an amazing full hook up resort on beautiful Panguitch Lake. There are other RV parks around the lake, Aspen Cove is one that is literally right on the water; though much more rustic. PLR offered wifi, but was not useful at all. Their restaurant is open and their people are fantastic!




Second day we rented some razors and headed up the mountains on a guided tour from American ATV in the city of Panguitch.
Main street in Panguitch:

The Guide was great, he know his geography and history of the area. It was a 4 hour guide and totaled 40 miles. Well worth!





Our third day consisted of fishing on Panguitch Lake. With the help with a guide we were able to catch over 50 fish in 6 hours! We kept 15. There were an assortment of different trouts, cutter, rainbow, brown and tigers. We only kept the rainbow. We pan friend in butter with a little salt and pepper and finished with a squeeze of lemon. Best trout ever!



On the fourth day we drove 1.5 hours north to a Marysvalle for a 10 hour white water rafting excursion. On the way from Panguitch you can visit the boyhood home of Butch Cassidy. Great history in these part of the world. Always Rafting in Marysvalle provided the best experience for my family. Had an absolute blast with my family and the guide, Dustin.


Driving back to PLR, we decided to change scenery and booked a KOA in Cannonville in order to be closer to Bryce. This is our backdrop from our site:

This site was tighter and had more campers but had full hookup and we loved the change of scenery.



The following day we drove to Bryce Canyon, it took us about 30 minutes to get to the entrance. Ranger service was limited however there was no fee to enter. Not only that, there was NO ONE around! This was truly a once in a lifetime experience. All of the lookouts were completely empty and only a few people on the trails. Most of the trails were open with the exception of Navajo loop.






We ended the day at Bryce with a restaurant experience. This was the first day that restaurants were allowed to open since shutdown. We dined at Stone Hearth Grille; an incredible restaurant in an absolutely beautiful resort. We dined "al fresco" with this backdrop!


On our way home we visited Las Vegas and drove the strip. What a somber experience. No one was around and the limited people that were there were riding their bikes up and down the strip.

All in all this was truly a great trip for my family and I. A few observations: of the people we encountered 4 had face masks on, everyone was still shaking hands. People are kinder in these parts of the world. No ANNOYING LOUD tourists, except my kids. This was great for the soul!

Looking good. You should take that guy up on the offer to buy it and make it your own!

quote:

Originally posted by Georgeair:
Looking good. You should take that guy up on the offer to buy it and make it your own!

He has way too many toys! Retired fire chief and one of my best buddies!

Wonderful trip report, thank you for taking the time to let us enjoy it with you.

You take good pictures too.

I would suggest Kings Canyon, Sequoia park, North of L.A., when it opens up.
Again,
Great job.

Sounds like you had a WONDERFUL family trip!

quote:

Originally posted by davetruong:
Not only that, there was NO ONE around! This was truly a once in a lifetime experience. All of the lookouts were completely empty and only a few people on the trails.

These experiences are AMAZING and something you can't really plan for; they just happen - for me, it was an ad hoc trip to Mt St Helens after a work trip to the Pac NW in April. I saw a handful of cars over the 6-8 hours and not a single person. It was unbelievably peaceful and something I will remember for ever.