• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

Bryce Canyon, Utah

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
  • Start date Start date
G

Guest

Guest
The co-pilot and I are planning on visiting Bryce Canyon in Utah in late June, very exciting stuff. We've got 12 days set aside to get there and back. Planning for 3 days around the park. Neither of us have ever been there before, or Utah for that matter. We'll be bringing the tent and gear. We're expecting to tent on the way there and back but looking to motel it while we're in the park. I'm hoping some people can chime in on places to stay and routes or sites not to miss while we're there or on the way there and back.
 
I think there's one hotel just outside the park. Nothing else nearby. No cities around. Panguitch has hotels, 25 miles away.

It's not a big park, but it's a nice one.

Go hiking down amongst the hoodoos, it's great. Trails of different lengths and difficulties. From the road, it's pretty to look at, but you can see it all in a few hours.

You have to see it on a clear day at the crack of dawn, beautiful.

Take time to see Kodachrome Basin, it's cool too.
 
Last edited:
Rosemary and I have been to Bryce Canyon several times. We liked to stay in a little town called Tropic, it's only a few miles away from the Canyon.

There is accommodation there, our favourite place was the Bullberry Inn B&B. http://bullberryinn.com/

Tripadvisor has some more places to stay there as well. http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Hotels-g57154-Tropic_Utah-Hotels.html

Pretty sure there is a hotel/motel in town too.

Oh, and by the way... Bryce Canyon is amazing!:cool: We'll need to talk about your trip over a nice cold growler.:)
 
Great info so far guys. I've been looking at that exact town as well Glenn. Now for roads in Utah so far I've seen Hwy #72 that comes down to Hwy #12 both look amazing but that only covers the last afternoon. I see there's the "Extraterrestrail Hwy" in Nevada, sounds interesting.
 
azr said:
Great info so far guys. I've been looking at that exact town as well Glenn. Now for roads in Utah so far I've seen Hwy #72 that comes down to Hwy #12 both look amazing but that only covers the last afternoon. I see there's the "Extraterrestrail Hwy" in Nevada, sounds interesting.
Click to expand...

Ha ha! Back in my 'pirate' days we rode that ET highway in Nevada. If you do it, make sure you have lots of gas as it is a looong way between fill ups!
Glenn-et_zps1070312e.jpg


Halfway along the highway is where Area 51 is located. There is a tiny settlement called Rachel that is near the entrance location to Area 51. There is a seriously gungy tavern/convenience store/tourist trap there. According to my wife the washroom there could only be described as 'incredibly scary'!:eek:
Glenn-et2_zps77f05814.jpg


Not much scenery at all on the highway either, its the type of road you ride just to say you've done it.
 
Open invitation to stay here on the way there and back Rob if you come down through this area...

Hwy 95 South from Coeur d'Alene is an open road and an ok ride. Hwy 55 is a great ride down through the canyon from McCall.
 
Those are fantastic photo's Glenn! you even look a little 'Gazooish' in the one pic. I hear what you're saying about putting that highway down as a notch in your belt. I'm thinking there's no real way 'scenic' way to get across Nevada. Hwy #50 is probably about the same 'belt notch' as #375 I'm guessing. I figure we'll do a loop for the whole trip, down WA, OR, CA then up UT, WY, MT or something like that??
 
Wallowgreen said:
Open invitation to stay here on the way there and back Rob if you come down through this area...

Hwy 95 South from Coeur d'Alene is an open road and an ok ride. Hwy 55 is a great ride down through the canyon from McCall.
Click to expand...


Sure appreciate the offer again. And you bet if we wind up coming your way up or down we'll take you up on it. Nothing like a cheap shower!
 
Well the more I research this trip the more I start to thing "holy cow that's a LONG way". I'm pretty sure it will take too long to get there and back to enjoy any amount of time in the park itself. We've only got 12 days maximum for this trip. Think we're going to have to organize something closer in the Northwest. If I was riding single, no problem, but double up with the co-pilot can't exactly do long days, at least not 3 in a row. How long did it take you to get down there double up Glenn?
 
azr said:
How long did it take you to get down there double up Glenn?
Click to expand...

We didn't double from Victoria, I rode to Las Vegas and Rosemary flew there. From Vegas we went to the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Arches NP, then on to Bryce Canyon. Hmm, maybe that could be an option for you as well. Otherwise, I think you could expect it to take 4 days to Bryce Canyon, without any side trips.
 
I could do Vancouver to Zion in two days, but it is no fun! I agree with Glenn. Budget four days each way two-up.

You can still see much of Bryce in four days.
 
4 days in Bryce will most defiantly be enough, I'm just worried that 4 days each way won't actually be enough. I'll start mapping things out more precisely and see where it gets us.
 
BigD_83 said:
I could do Vancouver to Zion in two days, but it is no fun! I agree with Glenn. Budget four days each way two-up.

You can still see much of Bryce in four days.
Click to expand...


You've actually done that trip? I know google map shows 19 hrs approx.
 
There are a lot of great places to ride around there. A little further East, Escalante and Grand Staircase has some phenominal riding.
 
tkent02 said:
There are a lot of great places to ride around there. A little further East, Escalante and Grand Staircase has some phenominal riding.
Click to expand...

Not to mention the ride from Bryce Canyon to Zion NP approaching from the east. Outrageous scenery! One of the most picturesque rides I've ever done!:cool:
 
azr said:
You've actually done that trip? I know google map shows 19 hrs approx.
Click to expand...
Yup. It was over Christmas and New Year's two years ago as the last leg of our Western State National Park trip. We'd go back in a heartbeat.
 
I've done both Bryce and Zion. We spent 4 days at Zion hiking around including an overnight backpack trip. We had planned to spend 3 days hiking Bryce, but spent a day there hiking, felt like we'd seen almost all of it, and went back to Zion. Both places are amazing and well worth the trip, I'm just suggesting spending less time in Bryce as 3 days seems like a lot.

disclaimer: I live in Utah during the winter, did the trips in spring and drove a car so Fatigue was not a factor
 
I've been to Bryce a few times and while it is quite stunning, you can hike around most of it in a day. You mentioned Hwy 12. Well worth the drive from Bryce through Escalante, Boulder and over to Torrey. It puts you right near Capitol Reef Park which has become one of our favourite parks for hiking and mountain biking.

View from Hwy 12. with Capitol Reef in the distance.
P5100439E_zpsac873710.jpg


If you hang a right at Boulder along 1668?? (Boulder - Bull Frog Rd.) it's paved for a while and you're treated to not much traffic and great scenery. It does however turn to good gravel and if you continue, depending on conditions of the day, you'll be able to get to Capitol Reef through the back door. Where 1668 meets 1670?? (Notom Rd.) you turn left towards Hwy 24 and Capitol Reef. That stretch will be good gravel but might be very washboardy. I wouldn't really recommend that route riding 2 up but you'll have to make a judgement call depending on the day. The paved part however I recommend, just turn around and go back to Hwy 12 when you're ready, it's not far IIRC. Just a cautionary note, if it at all looks like rain stay on the pavement or you'll be parked for 2 days waiting for the road to dry out. It can get that slimy.

View along 1668 just east of Boulder.
P5100432_zps4b36f867.jpg


Further along 1668 if you're really brave. Once you're down you're at Notom Rd.
P5100427E_zps6bae4b23.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top