Best Trip Planning Site Ever!

  This site has been around since July, 2012 but I found it just a few days ago. Plug in your starting city then add as many stops as you’d like along the way. Pick highways or byways, fix the fuel setting and click on “find places”. With all of the things to chose from you won’t run out of things to see and do. One thing that I’ve found lacking is a good selection of campgrounds. You don’t even have to sign up to use it. Give it a try! - Roadtrippers

Anasazi Heritage Center

  This museum was created when the McPhee Dam was being constructed to preserve information about archeological sites along the Delores River which would eventually be underwater. It also houses many exceptional artifacts from other sites. Included on the grounds are two excavated pueblo sites.

  The museum is all accessible. A very long ADA ramp leads from the parking lot to the entrance door. A back entrance at the employee parking lot may be used if you call ahead and make arrangements. A section of the museum, which is sunk below floor level, is accessed by a small, employee operated lift. One of the pueblo sites can be viewed from the entry ramp. The other is located at the top of a hill, accessed by a 1/2 mile paved trail. While the trail is not extremely steep it is uphill the entire way and because of the elevation it’s difficult to do without help. The view at the top is great but the pueblo ruins are just so-so.

  The parking lot is big enough for large RVs.  Museum
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McPhee Campground - San Juan NF

  Off season, from September to May, McPhee Campground is opened with no services, at a discounted rate . During the summer restrooms and a dump station are available. Most of the sites can be reserved. Some have electric hookups.

  Two sites close to the restrooms are marked as accessible. All of the sites have tables with a single center support making for easy wheelchair access but unevenness of the ground makes many of the sites unsuitable. The ground is hard packed dirt and gravel so it’s fairly easy to wheel around.

  Most of the sites have gravel parking pads with decided slopes and leans. The sites that parallel the road may be best for large RVs. Campground
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Driving Through Southern Utah

   Southern Utah is a wonderland of scenic beauty, a road tripper’s dream with constantly changing vistas and little traffic. We started in St George and traveled along Route 9, US 89, Scenic Byway 12, Route 24, Route 95 and US 191, a total distance of about 400 miles not including the extra miles spent touring the parks. It took us ten days although we could have spent much more time. This route passes through Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Glen Canyon and Natural Bridges. The national parks are the highlights of the trip but it would be a fantastic drive even without them.

Road Conditions – the roads are mostly two lane in good condition but not very smooth. There are plenty of places to pull off to take pictures or enjoy the views. Gear down on the steep sections. There are several long hills with 9 – 10% grades which last for a few miles. Southern Utah is sparsely populated so there may not be cell service along the road. Small towns with gas stations and other services are spaced less than fifty miles apart except for the section of Route 95 which may not have any services from Hanksville to Blanding, a distance of 122 miles.

Camping – campgrounds in the parks fill early and the spaces may not be big enough for large RVs. Make reservations, arrive early in the day, stay at commercial parks or try…

Boondocking – most of the land surrounding the parks is either national forest or BLM land. The
boondocking opportunities are endless and easy to find. I’ve marked some of them with little picnic tables on the map but there are many more.
 
Click on any of the pictures below for a larger image. These are all taken from the main highways not the scenic spur roads that travel  deeper into the national parks.

 

Mule Canyon Ruins

   This small ruin is easily accessed from a turn out on Route 95. It contains the partially reconstructed walls of a kiva, a lookout tower and several dwellings.

   A short paved trail circles the ruins.

  The parking lot has space for RVs along the left side. Ruins

Sand Island BLM Campground

   Sand Island is a great access point for running the San Juan River. The campground is small and in good weather may fill by late afternoon. Petroglyphs are visible along the canyon wall.

   None of the sites are marked as accessible but all have tables with long overhangs. The vault toilets are accessible but may have a short step up to the concrete slab due to erosion. The petroglyphs are easily viewed from your vehicle.

   A few of the spaces are long enough for large RVs. Campground
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Natural Bridges National Monument

  A nine mile loop road has overlooks with short paved trails to good viewpoints of the three bridges. Hiking trails lead to the canyon and the base of each of the bridges.

  The visitor center and theater are accessible. The trails to the first two bridge overlooks, Sipapu and Kachina, are very steep in sections. Wheelchair users will need help to get back up the hills. The trail to the third overlook, Owachomo, is almost level but the railing is made with logs which block the view for wheelchair users. The campground does not have any sites marked as accessible. Both vault toilets are accessible but one has a step up to the concrete base.

  The visitor center has long spaces for RVs. Visitors with trailers or long motorhomes should drop them at this lot because the parking areas at the overlooks are not very big. The campground spaces are limited to 27’ RVs.  Park
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Capitol Reef National Park

  Along with the beautiful scenery and unusual geology of Capitol Reef is the evidence of years of human inhabitation, from petroglyphs left by Freemont People, to orchards and buildings of a small Mormon community who called this fertile, well watered but very isolated valley home. The last resident left in 1968.

  The visitor center is accessible but the sidewalk leading to the entrance is steep. The campground has several sites which are partially accessible and close to the restrooms. The Gifford Farmhouse is not accessible due to steps. The school house is not accessible due to steps. The parking lot at the petroglyphs site has usable curb cuts. The boardwalk is accessible and viewing for the petroglyphs is very good.

   Campsites are first come/first serve so an early arrival is necessary to get a site. Most sites are small but there are some large enough for big RVs. Visiting the historical sites and driving the scenic park road are best done in a car or small RV. The visitor center lot is very small with no room for large RV parking. The farmhouse lot is very small too. The scenic drive ( the only part of the park that has an entrance fee) is narrow and twisty. Vehicles over 27’ are barred from the unpaved sections. Park

Anasazi State Park Museum

  The little town of Boulder, Utah contains the ruins of a small Anasazi farming village which has been partially excavated. The village was occupied for about 50 years and may have housed a couple hundred people. A short trail circles the ruins. A six room replica has been constructed to give visitors a better idea of the living conditions of the Anasazi.

  The museum is accessible. The trail to the ruins is paved but very steep in sections. The trail to the replica is loose gravel and hard to push along. The doorways are too narrow for wheelchair access.

  The parking lot has long RV spaces.  Museum
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Hole-in-the-Rock Escalante Heritage Center

   In 1879 a group of Mormons left Escalante to travel 200 miles and establish a community in San Juan County. The journey took six months. Two of those months were spent creating a road down the cliffs which stood 2000 feet above the Colorado River so that the river could be crossed. The story of this monumental task is told at this small interpretive site located on the outskirts of Escalante. A visitor center is in the process of being created but for now interpretive signs and a wagon do a good job of telling the story.

   Everything is accessible.

   RVs can be parked lengthwise along the car spaces. Center
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