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Yeah, I thought of that too. I was thinking about just buying a tent after landing, then I realized we'd also need sleeping bags and pillows and maybe more. I've seen some camp sites with yurts and tipis. You'd still need sleeping bags and pillows, but it would eliminate the need for a tent. I've found Ruby's Inn Campground (near Bryce Canyon) has tipis and Goosebury Mesa Yurts (near Zion) has two yurts. Or there are cabins at different places.
You see quite a few Rental RVs in Colorado during the summer. They aren't cheap but do provide some convenience. The only issue is not all of the cool roads are RV passable. You also need to plan ahead on where you will camp with it and get reservations. It is difficult on Thurs-Sunday getting a walk up camping spot in Colorado - especially at the popular spots. You are pretty attached to the camper as well - difficult to run into town for things, etc. But they are really easy on the family - and especially in bad weather.
If you went to Pike's Peak you probably would have wanted to hit Estes Park as well. Maybe you intended to when mentioning the area but figured I should mention it just in case.
Fire Canyon in the Valley of Fire State Park is a poor man's wave. Not as majestic, no line though...
Can't speak for the north rim, but my wife and I camped for a week at the south rim and could have easily done another week. There are a lot of great hikes and things to do. Couldn't imagine going to a place so majestic and looking at it for 10 minutes and turning around.
I was there this past year and I tend to agree with you - the views don't change that much once you are 'there'. I would spend longer if I was planning on hiking down/up or trying to photograph at sunset/sunrise time. My body hates heights so a couple hours there was plenty. My BIL from South Africa would have spent 10 hours there. Different strokes, etc.
Good call. I stayed at Valley of Fire til sunset to get the ideal pictures of the wave. I was pretty nervous driving out of there with zero lights in any direction and going over hills with no idea what was waiting for me on the other side. GPS didn't work out there as a special bonus.
Six hours. They pick us up at 8;30am from our hotel. Asked for 10% off and they gave it to me.
Not bad at all.Fire Canyon in the Valley of Fire State Park is a poor man's wave. Not as majestic, no line though...
See this is my suggestion (and as a Colorado native who looks up at Pikes Peak every day). I would start in Colorado Springs and see--not drive-to Pikes Peak--drive to Denver (there is just is a ton to do there) and then go up to Rocky Mountain National Park and spend a night in Estes Park--just one of my favorite places in Colorado. You can then choose to go North to Yellowstone or go west into Utah, I would start central and work out but I may be bias about my love for Colorado for the past 48 years.
Why waste budget on panty-waist things like education and national parks when we can build more missiles and fighter jets?
The funny thing is the yearly passes really aren't changing. So instead of $20-$25 to enter a park you're paying $70. But for $85 (I think) you can get a yearly pass that covers all national parks. I don't know that the park service will really even make more money since quite a few people will probably turn away.
I can't imagine it will stop any of the regulars/locals. Most of us get annual passes anyway if we're going to the parks more than once or twice a year. I bet the people who are from out of country will pay the extra since they're already paying a lot to be here. My guess is it's mostly the people who aren't local to any parks and go as a half-day side trip on their vacation who might start skipping them. Even that might not stop many people thinking about it. $70 for a family of 4 for half a day isn't all that major.Does that mean there will be less people at the parks when I go?
The Pikes Peak train is pretty fun for a visit (better than driving) and not too expensive.
I was at Bryce and Zion a few weeks back and probably 50-60% of the people I saw were Asian tourists coming in on giant busses. I don't think this is stopping them.
Are you hell bent on Yellowstone and the Tetons? I would concentrate on Colorado and Utah as there is so much varied awesome scenery to see between the two states and IMO, these are the 2 most scenic states in the country. I just think you will get to see much more staying in this area vs heading north to Yellowstone and the Tetons. You could do a round trip loop in and out from Denver or better yet fly into either Denver or Las Vegas then fly out from the other.
Never been to Yellowstone but IMO, Bryce and Zion both >>> Grand Teton. Not that the latter isn't cool, but I liked the Utah parks better personally. Depends what you're into, though.
Personally, I don't think it sounds like too much, but these things come down to how active you want to be, how the travelers tolerate a lot of windshield time and what else is going on in each area besides scenery. For instance, I wouldn't subject my kids to that itinerary without having some diversion (pool etc) that wasn't scenery or hiking on some days.
Northern Cali, up thru Washington state is gorgeous. Richardson Grove state Park in CA has the redwoods, and is beautiful camping. Smith River is another great park with camping, up near the Oregon Border.
This book is an awesome resource. Highly highly recommend for your trip. It has been invaluable in my planning process.
Moab is my favorite place I've ever been to. I would definitely not recommend cutting the Utah parks. For me, nothing beats the anticpation I start to feel as I drive into Moab from the north on 191, and it seems like the red rock starts to come up from out of the ground.
I'm leaning towards keeping the whole itinerary. It may be a lot, but as a one time thing, I think I'd rather plan too much and have to scale back during the trip rather than not plan enough and regret it.
Yeah, we missed the boat on the in-park lodge, but I doubt we would've done that anyway. We're staying in a yurt in Page, glamping in Zion, an airstream in Escalante, and a hippie-commune / yoga retreat in Moab. Should be an interesting trip.
Great stuff! Thanks!
Reminds me of The Beehive in Acadia NP (didnt make it all the way on that one either).
The Narrows is spectacular and aside from being long and wet, is a must do - I wasn't trying to talk you out of it at all. The canyoneering around Escalante is more dry, and can involve rappels, and more technical descending/ascending, which makes having a guide pretty important. It is far less crowded, and gives you the feeling that you are really exploring. Not better, just very cool in its own way. If you are canyoned out after Horseshoe and the Narrows, there isn't much else to do in the Escalante area besides Calf Creek, which also has a pretty nice campground although there is a boatload of dispersed (free) camping in the area.Great stuff! Thanks!
Not sure I can do Angels Landing.
I thought The Narrows was the quintessential canyoneering hike/trip? You like Escursions of Escalante better?
Trump and stuff 
