I think it was back in 2024 there was a thread on a road trip through some of the SW parks and the OP had a map of about 20 or so places to stop.

I've been hunting through several threads and can't seem to find that jpeg image of the map.

Did anyone save it?

Thanks

No, but I’d Que on Moab, Utah. It’s kinda the center of most.

I don't think that was that me, Greg, as I didn't post any maps. But I did go through Zion, Bryce, Arches and later Smokey Mountain.

In 2025 I took a more northerly route and hit Yellowstone and the Bad Lands.

If you don't already have one, buy a Lifetime Senior pass. We bought ours as soon as we were eligible at 62 and have saved multiples of the cost in park entry fees.

I did the utah "Mighty 5" about 10yrs ago with a couple friends. Going west to east its Zion, Bryce, Capital Reef, canyonlands and Arches. Took 10 days and one of the best trips of my life. We threw in a few stops escalante too. Highly recommend it.

Between the Nat. Parks, Nat.monumets. State parks and Nat. Forrest . You have
A lot of awesome travels ahead of you.
Mountains, high deserts, low deserts , beaches .

We had eight great years of camping.we usually
Spent three days minimum but a lot of four day trips.


Keep a journal, you will be glad you did.



Park rangers are the best friends , they
Can provide almost all the info you will need
to insure a pleasant experience.

A couple of places that aren't National Parks that are worth seeing are Antelope Canyon and Monument Valley.

quote:

Originally posted by Appliance Brad:
If you don't already have one, buy a Lifetime Senior pass. We bought ours as soon as we were eligible at 62 and have saved multiples of the cost in park entry fees.

This for sure. We're not old enough to qualify, but my MIL is and has saved a ton of money over the years with that pass. If you have a 4th grader, they also qualify for a free pass during their 4th grade year that will get your whole car into national parks/seashores/etc. for free. We did that with all four of our kids, but now we're out of kids so we'll be paying full price going forward. Even at $80/year we still usually get our money out of it.

One thing to consider is that National Parks today are not what they were in 2004. They're more developed and more accessible, and as a result they're insanely crowded, especially the big name ones. If you're older or have mobility issues, they're going to be the easier places to get around, but the congestion has been a huge turnoff for us. We tend to gravitate towards remote national monuments or forests, or better yet wilderness areas when possible. They're harder to get to, and require more effort to get back into and experience, but it's worth it for the solitude and freedom to enjoy it as you wish. The last few times I've been in a National Park we got stuck in traffic jams and literally got shoved out of the way by bus loads of elderly Asian tourists at the overlooks. A lot of the trails were closed, and our dog wasn't allowed to go anywhere. It just wasn't a great experience.

In contrast, I can go to a National Forest wilderness area and hike for a few days and see maybe ten other people the whole time, all of whom are doing the same thing I'm doing...putting in the effort to enjoy the outdoors and respecting the environment while they're doing it. There's no permits, no entry fees, and the scenery is just as beautiful and you appreciate it more because you had to work to earn it.

I realize that's not an option for everybody, but there is also a middle ground with some of the national monuments and less popular national parks. Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah is one that we really enjoyed. It's pretty remote and not terribly crowded, but it's beautiful and pretty accessible, while also providing some pretty adventurous trails if you're up for it. The Grand Staircase area northeast of Bryce Canyon is another one that has some phenomenal scenery without all the crowds. The North Rim of the Grand Canyon and the Kaibab Plateau was pretty nice, too...maybe not quite as awe-inspiring with the views as the South Rim, but it felt more remote and relaxing. There has been a big fire since we were there, though, so I'm not sure how much it's changed. We also enjoyed Mesa Verde...again, not so awe-inspiring with the views, but historically interesting and not overly crowded, with a nice big campground.

I live near Zion N.P. and have been to all National Parks in Utah, many Monuments. You can't overlook the state parks, some are just amazing. 92fstech mentioned a couple of areas that are less visited, he's right. I'll be happy to answer any ?? you have, give some tips if wanted.

Yes, state parks are great. Coral Pink Sand in UT and Valley of Fire about an hour east of Las Vegas on I-15 (so on the route to Zion) are fantastic.

As regards Zion. It’s beautiful, so much so you’ll be damned lucky to see any of it. I was there 2nd week of October on a Sunday, very crowded.

It’s very worth seeing just schedule your trip for an off peak period. This advice will cover nearly all of the crown jewels as well. There is a fine line between weather and services being shut down, especially at altitude.

We were going way prior to all this Have to make an appointment business.

Plus we always went during the week days and avoided the week end crowds.

All we had was a long bed super cab F-250.
I worked wonderfully for up to nine days.

But we were young flexible and spontaneous.

My wife and I have been to several Utah sites. We visited Zion and Bryce in summer about 10 years ago. Crowded but not the obnoxious crowds of the past few years. Beautiful parks with excellent hiking. We visited Arches in November about 8 years ago, it's great not dealing with large crowds. One thing to keep in mind, the NPS has instituted a reservation system during the tourist season. Tickets can be hard to get as I found out when visiting Acadia a couple of years ago.

We camped and visited Cathedral Valley in Capital Reef 5 years ago. It wasn't crowded and in fact we had a campground to ourselves. It's a long drive on dirt roads. We were in Subarus and had no problems.

It's a Utah state park but Dead Horse Point has some excellent views and nice hikes. We stayed in yurts. One great element was no light pollution, we could see the Milky Way.

Utah is a beautiful state with a lot to offer.

My wife and I just visited Zion and Bryce last Spring. Both parks are stunning!! I highly recommend staying at the lodges inside both parks. Once at the lodges you can walk to most hiking trails or in the case of Zion you take the free shuttles to all sites. The lodge is rustic with no TV but the scenery is stunning. Food is very good in the restaurant! You will need to make reservations early or keep calling as many times people cancel and you can score a room!

Speaking of scoring a room at a booked up lodge at a park. It was a family trip, Yellowstone in July. I would just book a room the day of, usually call about noon, around the edges of the park.

We were at the Old Faithful geyser hanging out. I tried the reservation line for the Old Faithful Inn, about noon. The guy said they just had a cancellation, would I like it? I said yes, walked to the front desk 30 minutes later to check in. Most real reservations there are made 9+ months prior, but life happens. People need to change plans for a number of reasons.