Posted by Scott Borger on December 18, 2006 at 3:41 AM
I'm planning a trip to UT to visit a few specific destinations in Zion, Bryce, Arches and Canyonlands NPs. I only have 6 days to drive out, explore and then drive back. Given that I'm traveling all the way to Zion, are there any “must see†places in other national parks/other places along the way? (I understand that there are hundreds of great places, but do any specific places stick out from the rest?) I may be willing to sacrifice time in the other NP’s to visit a few other places. Also, for those of you who are familiar with the Utah NP;s in winter conditions, I have the following questions…
-Are the lakes/streams in Zion frozen (esp. the subway and archangel cascades)?
-Good places to car camp at any of the 4 NP's
-Google map suggests that Denver to Zion takes 9.5 hours. Is this accurate?
-Are there any road/park closures that may affect my travels?
-Light fades quickly after sunset in Dec. Are trails well marked for hiking back at night?
-When traveling from Bryce to Moab, is it faster to take highways 15 and 70 or hwy 12 and 24 (to 70)?
Best Times to shoot the following (sunrise/sunset):
-Zion (Subway, Archangel cascades)
-Arches (Delicate Arch, North Window, Landscape Arch)
For those of you who took time to answer any/all of my Q's, thank you very much for your time. I really appreciate your feedback.
You are covering a lot of ground in just six days. You might be better off focusing a little tighter in one area. There is southeast Utah and southwest Utah, either of which will fill up more than six days each. One of my personal favorite parks is Capitol Reef because it is great country with less crowds, but at this time of the year you shouldn't have too much trouble where ever you go.
Michael
Posted by Adam Kavalunas on December 18, 2006 at 11:48 AM
Like Michael, I would suggest pick one region a focus on it. It will take all of 9 hours to get to Zion from Denver. If you pick Zion, I hear they got some snow right now. Left fork of North Creek(Subway) wont be frozen. Although on some cold nights i'm assuming there is a little ice build up on spots. The subway will be best mid day, but you have to start hiking at or before sunrise to get there. You wont have any foliage at the cascades unfortunately which is best mid morning. Bryce is obviously a sunrise location. With snow it can be magical, one of the best sunrises on the planet. You can always stop by Canyonlands on your way home and do Mesa Arch at Sunrise. Can't really help too much with Arches, dont really care for it myself, but i do know the windows in a sunrise shot. Good luck, and dont try to cram too much in.
Posted by Les Barstow on December 18, 2006 at 3:15 PM
9.5 sounds about right to Zion, provided there's not a snowstorm to slow you down. I agree with other assessments; 6 days is pretty minimal to see all that's on your list.
Re: roads - if it's snowing, I-70 is not always a good road; ditto UT-12 over Boulder Mountain. Otherwise, only the top half of the Bryce Canyon road is closed; as always, check with the park rangers if you're planning on going off the pavement. You might want to leave word with someone where you'll be going if it's not a well-travelled area; at this time of year, you don't want to go missing for too long.
Re: trail markings - the route to the Subway is very poorly marked; be very sure to get a good sense of where the path leads back out of the canyon when you climb down, it's not a sure thing, and you don't want to overshoot.
Re: Bryce to Moab - it is probably faster to take I-15 to I-70, but I never do so; the drive up UT-12 and Hwy 24 is spectacular at any time of the year, and you get to go through some of Capitol Reef NP to boot.
Re: Arches - see my website for an Arches photo guide, but Delicate is for sunsets, Landscape for sunrise, and the Windows either (through the Windows to Turret is a sunrise picture, head-on Windows shot from the parking lot side is sunset).
I don't know that I can recommend must see places since there's way too many. You really can't go wrong. I'll try to answer some of your other questions:
-Are the lakes/streams in Zion frozen (esp. the subway and archangel cascades)?
Not usually, but on very cold days/nights they can get a layer of ice over them.
-Good places to car camp at any of the 4 NP's
Thew only places to car camp inside Zion, Bryce, and Arches are the park campground. There are a number of places to camp on BLM and Forest Service lands outside the parks though.
In Canyonlands it will really depend on where you're going. There's a lot of primitive camping in the Needles and Maze districts but not on Island In The Sky (although there's some great camping spots right off the road leading into it).
-Are there any road/park closures that may affect my travels?
In Canyonlands, sometimes (dirt roads, not paved ones). The other 3 are usually open year round with possibly temporary closures in Bryce during storms.
-Light fades quickly after sunset in Dec. Are trails well marked for hiking back at night?
Depends on the trail. I wouldn't try to hike down Angel's Landing on a dark icy night.
-When traveling from Bryce to Moab, is it faster to take highways 15 and 70 or hwy 12 and 24 (to 70)?
The most scenic route is to take 12 to 24, then 24 to Hanksville, then 95 to Blanding, and up 191 to Moab. It's certainly not the shortest but it's a pretty amazing drive.
Guy
Posted by bill meikle on December 18, 2006 at 7:07 PM
And watch out for deer on the roads at dusk and dawn, they can be hard to see and quite numerous at times. Recently a mail truck hit a cow in Utah, killed it and caught fire destroying the mail.
Bill
Posted by Adam Kavalunas on December 18, 2006 at 7:46 PM
Correction to Guy's statement: there is camping in Island in the Sky, the Willow Flat Campground just before you reach Green River Overlook. There is also a nice spot to camp near Zion between Rockville and Virgin on the south side of the road. Look for a large area of cottonwoods between the road and river, you can see the camping spots from the road.
Posted by Bret Edge on December 18, 2006 at 10:06 PM
Arches:
Most of the potholes containing water are frozen. The smaller creeks have a layer of ice over them in all but the most exposed areas. Trails in the park are generally well marked and easy to follow, even in complete darkness. Always bring a headlamp, though. The official campground is open and usually has plenty of sites available this time of year. Alternatively, you can drive into the Salt Valley or Cache Valley and find some nice, free campsites. The 4WD road between Devil's Garden and Balanced Rock is currently closed.
Delicate Arch - sunset, though sunrise is nice this time of year from the viewpoint. The standard composition of DA w/ La Sals in BG is not good this time of year due to most of the arch being lit on the back side while the front is in shadow.
North Window - sunrise. Some snow still on ground around Turret Arch.
Landscape Arch - sunrise. Trail under arch has been closed for years & it is quite difficult to find a striking composition now.
Canyonlands - Shafer Trail and Long Canyon Road are not passable due to ice and snow. Main road to Island in the Sky is open. Campground is open and should have plenty of sites. Also, as Guy mentioned, there are some nice campsites along the road on the way into the park.
Let me know if you plan to visit the Moab area and don't mind some company. I don't know when you are planning to visit but if I'm not working I'm always up for a hike. Hope you have a great trip.
Posted by Kalin Wilson on December 18, 2006 at 10:55 PM
Horseshoe canyon, part of Canyonland NP, gets very little traffic, should be accessible unless there is deep snow (the road is pretty level), has car camping right at the trailhead, and has some very cool petroglyphs. The canyon runs mostly NE-SW so early morning and late afternoon light on the walls might be nice. Last time I was there deer and other wildlife were prevalent.
http://www.nps.gov/cany/planyourvisit/horseshoecanyon.htm
Have fun!
Posted by Lars Jensen on December 21, 2006 at 12:15 PM
I visited most of these areas not too long ago on a quick road trip, I tend to be someone who tries to see a lot in a little bit of time.
Discussion
9 replies-Are the lakes/streams in Zion frozen (esp. the subway and archangel cascades)?
-Good places to car camp at any of the 4 NP's
-Google map suggests that Denver to Zion takes 9.5 hours. Is this accurate?
-Are there any road/park closures that may affect my travels?
-Light fades quickly after sunset in Dec. Are trails well marked for hiking back at night?
-When traveling from Bryce to Moab, is it faster to take highways 15 and 70 or hwy 12 and 24 (to 70)?
Best Times to shoot the following (sunrise/sunset):
-Zion (Subway, Archangel cascades)
-Arches (Delicate Arch, North Window, Landscape Arch)
For those of you who took time to answer any/all of my Q's, thank you very much for your time. I really appreciate your feedback.
Michael
Re: roads - if it's snowing, I-70 is not always a good road; ditto UT-12 over Boulder Mountain. Otherwise, only the top half of the Bryce Canyon road is closed; as always, check with the park rangers if you're planning on going off the pavement. You might want to leave word with someone where you'll be going if it's not a well-travelled area; at this time of year, you don't want to go missing for too long.
Re: trail markings - the route to the Subway is very poorly marked; be very sure to get a good sense of where the path leads back out of the canyon when you climb down, it's not a sure thing, and you don't want to overshoot.
Re: Bryce to Moab - it is probably faster to take I-15 to I-70, but I never do so; the drive up UT-12 and Hwy 24 is spectacular at any time of the year, and you get to go through some of Capitol Reef NP to boot.
Re: Arches - see my website for an Arches photo guide, but Delicate is for sunsets, Landscape for sunrise, and the Windows either (through the Windows to Turret is a sunrise picture, head-on Windows shot from the parking lot side is sunset).
-Are the lakes/streams in Zion frozen (esp. the subway and archangel cascades)?
Not usually, but on very cold days/nights they can get a layer of ice over them.
-Good places to car camp at any of the 4 NP's
Thew only places to car camp inside Zion, Bryce, and Arches are the park campground. There are a number of places to camp on BLM and Forest Service lands outside the parks though.
In Canyonlands it will really depend on where you're going. There's a lot of primitive camping in the Needles and Maze districts but not on Island In The Sky (although there's some great camping spots right off the road leading into it).
-Are there any road/park closures that may affect my travels?
In Canyonlands, sometimes (dirt roads, not paved ones). The other 3 are usually open year round with possibly temporary closures in Bryce during storms.
-Light fades quickly after sunset in Dec. Are trails well marked for hiking back at night?
Depends on the trail. I wouldn't try to hike down Angel's Landing on a dark icy night.
-When traveling from Bryce to Moab, is it faster to take highways 15 and 70 or hwy 12 and 24 (to 70)?
The most scenic route is to take 12 to 24, then 24 to Hanksville, then 95 to Blanding, and up 191 to Moab. It's certainly not the shortest but it's a pretty amazing drive.
Guy
Bill
Most of the potholes containing water are frozen. The smaller creeks have a layer of ice over them in all but the most exposed areas. Trails in the park are generally well marked and easy to follow, even in complete darkness. Always bring a headlamp, though. The official campground is open and usually has plenty of sites available this time of year. Alternatively, you can drive into the Salt Valley or Cache Valley and find some nice, free campsites. The 4WD road between Devil's Garden and Balanced Rock is currently closed.
Delicate Arch - sunset, though sunrise is nice this time of year from the viewpoint. The standard composition of DA w/ La Sals in BG is not good this time of year due to most of the arch being lit on the back side while the front is in shadow.
North Window - sunrise. Some snow still on ground around Turret Arch.
Landscape Arch - sunrise. Trail under arch has been closed for years & it is quite difficult to find a striking composition now.
Canyonlands - Shafer Trail and Long Canyon Road are not passable due to ice and snow. Main road to Island in the Sky is open. Campground is open and should have plenty of sites. Also, as Guy mentioned, there are some nice campsites along the road on the way into the park.
Let me know if you plan to visit the Moab area and don't mind some company. I don't know when you are planning to visit but if I'm not working I'm always up for a hike. Hope you have a great trip.
http://www.nps.gov/cany/planyourvisit/horseshoecanyon.htm
Have fun!
There isn't a whole lot of logistical information, but here are my pictures including a couple places in the area that I did not hear you mention (Dead Horse Point, Horseshoe Bend):
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jensenl/visuals/album/2006/crosscountry/
Note there are more pictures for each area linked at the bottom of the page.