Utah's National Parks RV Vacation Itinerary

Pick up your motorhome from our Salt Lake City location.

You’ll start out from Salt Lake City by driving south on I-15/US -89S, Beck Street and continue to go south on Interstate 15 until you get to Exit 40, towards Kolob Canyons. Turn left onto E. Kolob Canyon Road to Zion National Park. You can camp tonight at Zion Canyon Campground and RV Resort, which is just a short hop from the main entrance of Zion National Park.

This is about a four-hour drive from Salt Lake City so you may want to break up the driving with a stop at Fishlake National Forest along the way. There are several eating establishments within a close distance of the campground if you choose to make this a night to dine out.

Zion is the first of Utah’s national parks, complete with sandstone cliffs, huge waterfalls and a lush landscape. Take your time to enjoy watching more than 207 different types of birds that fly through here every year. You can spend the night here and start out the next morning exploring this gorgeous park by free shuttle bus. Take a tour of the park and enjoy park ranger talks at the visitor center as well as in key places in this gorgeous park. Get your park map and guide in advance and plan your trip through this amazing and diverse landscape.

You should definitely consider buying a National Park Pass as this admits you to each of the National Parks without having to pay each time, saving you both time and money. Seniors (age 62 or older) get a lifetime pass for only $10.00 per person.

Drive through Zion National Park to the east entrance (or exit) and you will only be about 100 miles from your next stop, Bryce Canyon National Park. You will find it just off Utah Route 63. Here you can enjoy camping at Bryce Canyon RV Park, which offers several pull through RV sites. Their full service hookups are complete with electricity, water, sewer and your own fire pit and picnic table. They provide restrooms, hot showers and a guest laundry for those staying in this natural environment surrounded by a Ponderosa Pine Forest.

When you have enjoyed Bryce Canyon to your heart’s content, you will begin traveling a 112-mile north and east route to Capitol Reef National Park. You will see splashes of color here unlike anywhere else on earth. There is the contrast of the red Entrada and the white Navajo sandstones, plus a huge rip in the earth’s crust, which make for some surreal landscapes.

Capitol Reef National Park contains ancient rock art petroglyphs which tell the tales of the early Fremont people, indigenous to this area. Large fruit orchards of more than 2500 fruit trees remain in Fruita inside the park, from an early pioneer Mormon settlement.

After a day or two at Capitol Reef, you will begin your journey farther east and north to the Moab area, home of Arches National Park. There are 50 sites in the Arches’ Devils Garden campground, which you must reserve ahead of time. If you wish or need to camp outside the park, there are several more options in Moab. You will want to settle in where you can park your RV for a few nights in Moab, possibly at the KOA Campground, located closest to both Arches National Park and Canyonlands. You may want to stay several nights here before you head back to Salt Lake City.

Check out the KOA Campground’s site and the Moab site to see the many things you may want to do in this unique area. There are many possibilities, including mountain biking, golfing, canyoneering and rock climbing, as well as some of the most incredible views of the night sky anywhere. You can stay here for several days while you visit some of the most incredible sandstone and rock formations anywhere on earth.

Witness unbelievable balancing acts of giant rocks, natural stone arches and hundreds of soaring pinnacles, fins and other amazing formations of red rocks in Arches National Park.  Bring your camera and hiking boots here for lots of trails, inspiring sunsets and a wealth of history and culture.

These two parks are only 25 miles apart and if you have chosen to stay in Moab, you can easily gain access to each of these unique parks less than about a half hour from there. Canyonlands is more of a wilderness park, formed of countless canyons and buttes, carved out by the Colorado river and its tributaries.

These rivers divide the park into four distinct districts, named the Island in the Sky, the Needles, the Maze and the rivers themselves. Well-worth spending at least a day or two here, you will be treated to a primitive desert atmosphere, with many sightseeing and high-adventure opportunities.

This year is the fiftieth anniversary of Canyonlands National Park, so there are special events occurring throughout this year. Check out all that is happening here at Utah’s largest national park.

For all your Utah adventures, check out the weather ahead of time and pack appropriate gear, including plenty of water bottles, which you will want to keep refilled. Here is a site for lots of travel information, maps and data about Utah’s weather so you can travel prepared.

Return your motorhome to our Salt Lake City location.