Zion and Grand Canyon Camp Spots

[midniteT4Rtrail]

Hey everyone. I'm taking the family to the Grand Canyon and Zion for spring break this April. We are looking for suggestions for great camping spots with not so many people. I'll be pulling a CVT trailer so not looking for anything challenging as we will be traveling solo. I've seen some BLM near Zion of The Smithsonian Hwy but would like to see what else is out there. Thanks

 

[Tim nash]

I know there’s a camp site you can get to at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, but you have to get a permit from the natives there and you can drive down camp and then out the next day can’t for the life of me remember what it’s called but I plan on doing that at the end of April, my trip is April 19th to May 5th and will be hitting Zion and the canyon as well at some point

 

[Tim nash]

I would be interested in some neat spots in Zion though

 

[A-Aron]

This is my stomping grounds ^^^ how many days are you going to be in Utah.. what age kids?? I can totally hook you up with some camping places and sites.

 

[midniteT4Rtrail]

This is my stomping grounds ^^^ how many days are you going to be in Utah.. what age kids?? I can totally hook you up with some camping places and sites.

Thank you. We are leaving the Bay Area on the 4/21 and should be in Bryce 4/24 or 4/25.

I have 2 kids, 18 and 14. Any suggestions would be great

 

[A-Aron]

I'll put together a few recommendations and post them, I'm guessing you're looking for "primitive" or "free" campsites.. not campgrounds.. right?

 

[FireMedicPQ1]

I'd suggest the North Rim of the GC. There are some areas that are accessible and not too difficult. You can camp on the edge of the canyon on some of these points and waking up on the edge of the canyon is quite spectacular. You will need a backcountry permit, but there are generally no crowds because most folks want to stay on pavement.

 

[A-Aron]

The tuweep area (permits required) is a no trailers area.. also, quite remote and they have the worst road conditions in 10 yrs, quite beautiful though. Whitmore canyon is also very popular, remote, and really bad roads right now as well. The "North Rim" national park and Grand Canyon highway are closed until memorial day. the best viewpoint on pavement is likely to be Horseshoe Bend near Page,AZ from above and Lee's ferry from down inside, unless you make the trek to the South rim.

Expect to see snow and have chili nights while you're at Bryce Canyon.. but soon as you drop down to Zion things should get much warmer. If I were going from Bryce Canyon to Zion and then South to the Grand Canyon I would leave Bryce and go down highway 89 until the highway 14 junction down cedar Canyon then go down I-15 from cedar city.. down to Toquerville and then over to Zion. I would then drive through Zion back to highway 89 and go south through Kanab toward the grand canyon. That is the all payment play it safe route anyway.. with no backtracking and beautiful views the whole way. A lot of the backcountry routes are still going to have snow on them there was six to eight feet in a lot of areas when I was up there last week.

 

[midniteT4Rtrail]

I'll put together a few recommendations and post them, I'm guessing you're looking for "primitive" or "free" campsites.. not campgrounds.. right?

Thanks. I’m not opposed to a campground if it’s ideal or necessary. But trying to get more primitive if possible

 

[midniteT4Rtrail]

The tuweep area (permits required) is a no trailers area.. also, quite remote and they have the worst road conditions in 10 yrs, quite beautiful though. Whitmore canyon is also very popular, remote, and really bad roads right now as well. The "North Rim" national park and Grand Canyon highway are closed until memorial day. the best viewpoint on pavement is likely to be Horseshoe Bend near Page,AZ from above and Lee's ferry from down inside, unless you make the trek to the South rim.

Expect to see snow and have chili nights while you're at Bryce Canyon.. but soon as you drop down to Zion things should get much warmer. If I were going from Bryce Canyon to Zion and then South to the Grand Canyon I would leave Bryce and go down highway 89 until the highway 14 junction down cedar Canyon then go down I-15 from cedar city.. down to Toquerville and then over to Zion. I would then drive through Zion back to highway 89 and go south through Kanab toward the grand canyon. That is the all payment play it safe route anyway.. with no backtracking and beautiful views the whole way. A lot of the backcountry routes are still going to have snow on them there was six to eight feet in a lot of areas when I was up there last week.

Super helpful. Our trip is still 3 weeks away so hopefully things warm up a tad.

 

[A-Aron]

Super helpful. Our trip is still 3 weeks away so hopefully things warm up a tad.

I've got a bunch of spots marked on a map I need to update I'll send you in the next few days so you can finalize any plans you're making. Let me know if you have any questions!

 

[midniteT4Rtrail]

I've got a bunch of spots marked on a map I need to update I'll send you in the next few days so you can finalize any plans you're making. Let me know if you have any questions!

Will do. [emoji1306]

 

[A-Aron]

Will do. [emoji1306]

Alrighty.. here are SOME camping and POI spots.. I haven't camped at all of them.. but there should be info in the descriptions of most of them. I'd recommend opening them in Google earth first before you put them into your mapping program and doing a little research. Also, check out Official Travel Site of Kane County for some additional info on stuff around the Kanab/Lake Powell area.

Good luck and I look forward to pictures and a full trip report! haha!

 

[A-Aron]

How did the trip go? I'd love to hear what worked out for you so I can pass info along to others!

 

[goldfish]

Alrighty.. here are SOME camping and POI spots.. I haven't camped at all of them.. but there should be info in the descriptions of most of them. I'd recommend opening them in Google earth first before you put them into your mapping program and doing a little research. Also, check out Official Travel Site of Kane County for some additional info on stuff around the Kanab/Lake Powell area.

Good luck and I look forward to pictures and a full trip report! haha!

A-Aron - thanks for posting this! I'm working on a trip route over the end of December and first week of January and will certainly check out some of your recommendations!

We're making a trip from Northern California, down through Death Valley, Valley of Fire, Zion, Bryce, and the Grand Canyon. Knowing that the North Rim will be closed, we're looking to do some dispersed camping along the South Rim. Any recommendations down there? We'll be traveling in a reasonably capable rig, but as we'll be solo I don't want to push my luck too much :-) Any tips much appreciated!

 

[A-Aron]

A-Aron - thanks for posting this! I'm working on a trip route over the end of December and first week of January and will certainly check out some of your recommendations!

We're making a trip from Northern California, down through Death Valley, Valley of Fire, Zion, Bryce, and the Grand Canyon. Knowing that the North Rim will be closed, we're looking to do some dispersed camping along the South Rim. Any recommendations down there? We'll be traveling in a reasonably capable rig, but as we'll be solo I don't want to push my luck too much :-) Any tips much appreciated!

South rim is pretty commercialized and there isn't much dispersed camping that I'm aware of.. but there are still some great places you can access the grand canyon this time of year. I'd check out Badger Creek Overlook (dispersed camping about 1.5 miles off pavement on the north rim.. and at a much lower elevation), also, White Pocket in the Vermillion cliffs Natl Monument is an epic area to visit with dispersed camping as well, I have GPS coordinates and track recordings and pictures if you're interested for both areas. You can find good camping in some areas of the national Forest nearish to the South rim.. I'd check out the ioverlander app for suggestions in that area.

 

[A-Aron]

South rim is pretty commercialized and there isn't much dispersed camping that I'm aware of.. but there are still some great places you can access the grand canyon this time of year. I'd check out Badger Creek Overlook (dispersed camping about 1.5 miles off pavement on the north rim.. and at a much lower elevation), also, White Pocket in the Vermillion cliffs Natl Monument is an epic area to visit with dispersed camping as well, I have GPS coordinates and track recordings and pictures if you're interested for both areas. You can find good camping in some areas of the national Forest nearish to the South rim.. I'd check out the ioverlander app for suggestions in that area.

Also, I can help on the hwy 89 side of things as well, tons to see and do, if you wanna DM me a rough itinerary of areas you need camping spots for... I can make some solid recommendations

 

[Norcalocal]

There's some really great spots between Zion & Bryce in the Red Canyon area. This location was really great: 37°46'8.28"N 112°15'14.27"W

 

[JP-SLC]

Alrighty.. here are SOME camping and POI spots.. I haven't camped at all of them.. but there should be info in the descriptions of most of them. I'd recommend opening them in Google earth first before you put them into your mapping program and doing a little research. Also, check out Official Travel Site of Kane County for some additional info on stuff around the Kanab/Lake Powell area.

Good luck and I look forward to pictures and a full trip report! haha!

Thanks Aaron for the great info. I just moved to St George and am still getting the lay of the land. This info is a great place to start!