Favorite National Park in Utah (Moab, Bicknell: home, restaurants, estimated)

[eddie cantrell]

Not a national park I know but has anyone been to Goblin Valley somewhere near Hanksville? Is it worth the trip. Also, what about the back road from Bullfrog up to Captial Reef? Will is save me time, is it safe, and what about the first of November, should I expect any snow issues. thanks

[ChrisC]

Originally Posted by eddie cantrell

Not a national park I know but has anyone been to Goblin Valley somewhere near Hanksville? Is it worth the trip. Also, what about the back road from Bullfrog up to Captial Reef? Will is save me time, is it safe, and what about the first of November, should I expect any snow issues. thanks

Goblin Valley state park is a much smaller area than the parks listed. It’s the sort of thing where you can walk around in the small valley and examine all of the weird shaped formations. It’s actually pretty cool, but I wouldn’t put it in the same league as the national parks. I suppose it would depend on you as to whether it’s worth the drive if you were in the area. For me it was. You can also combine it with checking out Temple Mountain and Little Wild Horse Canyon/Bell Canyon (now THAT is cool if you are into hiking--it's a slot canyon) because the are in close proximity. If you take in all three of these and do a bit of hiking around, it’s definitely worth it.

[eddie cantrell]

Originally Posted by ChrisC

Goblin Valley state park is a much smaller area than the parks listed. It’s the sort of thing where you can walk around in the small valley and examine all of the weird shaped formations. It’s actually pretty cool, but I wouldn’t put it in the same league as the national parks. I suppose it would depend on you as to whether it’s worth the drive if you were in the area. For me it was. You can also combine it with checking out Temple Mountain and Little Wild Horse Canyon/Bell Canyon (now THAT is cool if you are into hiking--it's a slot canyon) because the are in close proximity. If you take in all three of these and do a bit of hiking around, it’s definitely worth it.

Thanks Chris

[grannybug]

Wow, asking which is my favorite NP is like asking which is my favorite child! I reluctantly voted Arches because it is just so much a part of me: I love Delicate Arch, Dark Angel, Fiery Furnace, the back country hiking in Eagle Park...also many memories of going there 45+ years ago when some roads weren't paved & there were few people off-season. The night we camped inside the Wolfe cabin (not yet ecologically aware). The time someone's truck caught fire & exploded while my kids & I were hiking Park Ave (sad but interesting--no one hurt). The snowstorm that collapsed the tent my son & his friends were in & they were laughing so hard they couldn't get out. The obligatory stop at the Chow Hound in Green River on the drive down....(Had a great Nacho Supreme there last Sunday coming back from Canyonlands.)
But then, there's Angels' Landing & the West Rim trail in Zion, hiking up West Rim in a fine autumn mist, then camping in icy starry night with a full moon rising about 2 a.m., Weeping Rock, the December trip when there were only 5 campsites in use & the deer came right to our tent, and of course the drive down thru the tunnels....
Bryce is breathtaking, not only the standard hikes but a wonderful bakpack trip I took w/my son & his girlfriend years ago down thru woods where red rock pinnacles were glimpsed thru green trees and we camped by a spring in a big silent meadow & watched the deeer come for water. Then the winds came up &, since we were sleeping outside the tents in order to see the stars, nearly lost our tents & supplies to the windstorm!
Capitol Reef is small enough to be comfortable. The first time I camped there it was just being developed & the campground-in-progress was a newly-harvested alfalfa field, as I remember. The claret cup cactus are beautiful & the drive to Hanksville & then on down to Natural Bridges, the Goosenecks and Muley Point Overlook (incredible sunsets)--all of it wonderful.
Just got back Tues from Canyonlands, Needles area this time. Hate the drive over Elephant Hill but the rest of it was sublime, especially with a full moon. Lovely short trail to the confluence of the Colorado & Green Rivers. The Maze is beautiful but the hiking there is mostly beyond my elderly knees, Island in the Sky is more my present speed.
Now I'm back in Annapolis. Pretty for sure, but I'll take southern Utah anytime. Sorry to ramble so but it is just the most beautiful place on earth, IMO. See it while you can!

[aussie_american]

I've visited all 5 although my visit to Zion was very brief while driving from CA to TX 10 years ago so I haven't really "spent" time there doing more than one hike. The scenery is spectacular and different in each of these parks but I feel like Arches has the best variety - yes it's all red rock and arches but each of them is different and then there's the Fiery Furnace which is like being on another planet. We've done the ranger-guided Fiery Furnace hike twice (lots of good information from the ranger, fun scrambling over rocks and crevices, in and out of a maze of rock fins and every now and then a surprise arch is revealed). We recently did Fiery Furnace again when my husband's brother came to visit and we couldn't get on a tour so we got a back-country permit and did it ourselves - a bit nerve-wracking 'cos we weren't sure we could find our way through the maze on our own, but we did and it was so special to be there without anyone else. I guess I would put Bryce second. We've done the Mossy Trail, Navajo Loop, Queens Garden trail and the the Fairyland Loop trail there as well as every view point along the rim. The colors at Bryce are amazing and the hoodoos so different from anything you'll see anywhere else on the planet, but I guess I wouldn't put it at number one because it doesn't have the variety that Arches has - yes there are lots of trails but in the end you're still looking at hoodoos on each trail. If you can handle an 8.5 mile hike (with approx 1,000ft elevation chenge) then Fairyland Loop is a great way to see the hoodoos from the top and the valley floor without having to deal with any crowds.

We did a 10-day road trip with some friends from Texas in May taking in Arches, Canyonlands, Monument Valley, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef and Goblin Valley State Park. We were amazed at the wealth and variety of scenery we could cover in just 10 days and actually SPEND time in each of these places not just drive-through. Throw in the great mountain scenery here in SLC - the alpine lakes & wildflowers in summer, snow-capped mountains and snowsports in winter and I feel like Utah is the best kept secret in the US!

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by aussie_american

The scenery is spectacular and different in each of these parks but I feel like Arches has the best variety - yes it's all red rock and arches but each of them is different and then there's the Fiery Furnace which is like being on another planet.

That is just about the best analogy I've ever heard for the Fiery Furnace. I can't believe how few people have actually taken the hike. It's truly incredible!

[eddie cantrell]

Originally Posted by Katzpur

This is interesting... Eddie puts Capitol Reef last (with a nice apology) and stycotl puts it first. I'd be interested in a further explanation. I don't even know what Capitol Reef looks like! By the way, guys, you gotta vote in the poll -- especially you, eddie, since you'd be voting for my favorite.

Hey Katz I voted! We are going to attempt to do a whirlwind drive through of the 5 in first of November. Do you have any suggestions? Should I expect good weather, ie no snow covered roads. thanks

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by eddie cantrell

Hey Katz I voted! We are going to attempt to do a whirlwind drive through of the 5 in first of November. Do you have any suggestions? Should I expect good weather, ie no snow covered roads. thanks

You're going to see all five in one trip!?!? That's a lot of driving. You could have bad roads near Bryce since it's so high. Zion and Arches should be nice, and I'm not sure about the other two.

[BlackShoe]

Have made 4 out of 5,missing Capital Reef.Choice was Canyonlands,with Bryce second.Reason for placing Zion lower is that there are just too many people there,too darn crowded.CR more open and short hikes take you away from most of the crowd.Perhaps the experience that clinched Canyonlands was standing quietly alongside a pothole that a few days ago had been a dry hole,now filled with water from a recent rainstorm,and observing the teeming life that had made it their home.

[eddie cantrell]

thanks. It is a long boring story, but we are going to see Zion, Bryce and Capital Reef and then several days later we are going to meet up with friends and take them to Arches and Canyonlands because they have never been. Thanks for all the help, and I will update upon my return.