Our favorite RV campground in Springdale is Zion Canyon Campground and RV Resort. The same campground we stayed in 2021. Its location just outside the park and availability of river-side campsites make it our favorite place to stay.
Last year we hiked Zion’s two most popular trails – the Narrows and Angels Landing. So this trip we wanted to explore some of the other trails:
We used our Starlink internet during our stay and it worked well with an unobstructed northward view of the sky. Zion Canyon Campground is still rebuilding their main lodge and have added cabins. They should be finished by 2023. We had a torrential rain storm blow through the 29th afternoon and we worried about flash flooding. We imagine the Narrows hikers might have some serious issues. Fortunately, we did not hear about anyone having trouble. Most of this squall hit downriver.
We had a great time – late September is a great time to visit Zion since it’s starting to cool down. The park is still busy and the shuttle is still taking full loads into the park mid-day. Hiking early can help quite a bit with less crowding on the trails. But by 10am, the traffic entering the main entrance is backed up and parking is scarce.
In September 2021, we took our first RV trip out of California to St. George Utah & Zion National Park. It was such a great trip, we decided to visit southern Utah again in 2022 to explore the many places we missed. Utah is a RV and hiker’s paradise with so many diverse and amazing national & state parks. It’ll take years to see all that Utah offers.
Oceanside>Vegas>Zion>Bryce>Kanab
26 Sept 2022 – Thousand Trails, Las Vegas We bought a Thousand Trails Camping Pass during our Yosemite Trip in July 2022. So we stopped for a one-night layover at their location in Las Vegas. The annual membership allows us to stay at any Thousand Trails campground in the southwest region at no additional cost. Driving 6 hours from Oceanside to Las Vegas is the longest single-day trek we’ve done so far. After a food & fuel break in Barstow, driving a few more hours to Vegas was no problem. We would not hesitate driving this distance again, although heavy traffic in Riverside between the 215 to 15 & in Vegas can be challenging. Thousand Trails Las Vegas is east of the Strip in central Vegas (see map below). It was busy for a Monday & looks like a popular campground. Sites are pretty close together with relatively narrow roads & turns. Site 112 was a level, loose gravel site with full hookups & only one neighbor. This location is the only Thousand Trails RV park between SoCal and Utah and we were glad to find a vacancy on our route.
27 Sep – Oct 1 2022: Springdale, Utah – Zion National Park After one-night in Vegas, we drove to Springdale, the gateway into Zion National Park south. We booked a full-hookup, riverside site for 4 nights at Zion Canyon Campground & RV Resort where we stayed last year. A fantastic location that’s 1/2mi from the entrance to Zion National Park.
Emerald Pools Trail – popular trail near Zion Lodge that treks up to three pools – Lower, Middle, Upper – fed by one waterfall. Pools were small due to the low water level this late in the season.
Zion Canyon Overlook Trail – short popular hike just east of the Zion Tunnel. Great short hike along a mid-canyon trail that ends is a panoramic view of Zion Canyon. Bring plenty of water since none is available anywhere close.
Shelf Canyon Trail – slot canyon trail near Zion Canyon Overlook Trail – looked blocked by recent rockfall(s) so we didn’t make it very far.
Lower Pine Creek Waterfall Trail – lesser known trail that end at a waterfall, a short hike that requires scrambling along the creek bed.
The Narrows Trail is still our favorite hike but it was great to explore other parts of Zion NP. Each of these trails have unique aspects, different terrain & scenery. There are plenty of Zion trails to still to explore, especially the eastern trails.
Driving from Zion to Bryce Canyon The second leg of our trip was to Bryce Canyon and there are a couple routes from Springdale. The shortest route (~1.5hr 75mi) takes you on the winding scenic road through Zion National Park. This route has the historic 1.1mi Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel with a maximum height clearance of 13ft. Taller RVs have to take the longer route around the west side of Zion NP through Hurricane than north on the 15. Towing Howie (~10ft tall, ~3400lbs) with our Tacoma to 8000ft is always a concern since it struggles on long inclines. But since Springdale/Zion is already at 4000ft, the additional 4000ft climb to Bryce was doable. So we took this winding eastbound route on UT-9E through Zion National Park & its mile-long tunnel. For a $15 ‘toll’, they stop oncoming traffic between 8am-7pm – these hours vary seasonally. Towing Howie was a piece-of-cake without any high transmission temperatures issues. It’s a beautiful scenic drive & we were tempted to pull over many times.
Leg 2 Bryce Canyon: 01 – 05 Oct 2022 We booked 4 nights at Ruby’s Inn, an RV resort a few miles outside the park entrance. It’s a huge, full-amenities RV and hotel resort that’s a town in itself – Bryce Canyon City. We reserved a full-hookup, pull-through site that was rustic, in a grove of trees, beautiful but extremely uneven. We repositioned a few time to find the flattest section and it still required 4.5″ to level Howie. The new section of RV sites numbered in the 200s are more spacious, flatter, with fewer trees. If you want more room with more open-sky (for Starlink), definitely consider booking one of theses unshaded sites.
Bryce Canyon National Park has uniquely spectacular vistas. Photos cannot do it justice & capture the wonder of this place. Hikes into Bryce Canyon:
Near Tropic, a nearby town, we hiked the Mossy Cave Trail. After the hike and lunch, we took the scenic drive through Bryce Canyon.
Bryce Canyon is an amazing place with some great hikes. Most take you down into the canyon, which can be vertically challenging. If you are visiting Zion National Park, adding Bryce Canyon to your itinerary is a must. Bryce Canyon was the high point for me this trip.
Leg 3 Kanab: 05-08 Oct 2022 To be honest, after all the hikes and driving, by the time we arrived at Kanab, we were tired. Although retired a few years now, I find it hard to sit & relax by the RV when there are so many unexplored places to see & photograph. But we shortened our 4 night stay to 3 at Kanab RV Corral. Since we shortened our visit by a day and arrived fairly early Wednesday. We spent the afternoon hiking to the Sand Caves just north of town. We also entered the lottery for a Friday permit to hike the Wave. We didn’t get selected so we drove to the north rim of the Grand Canyon. It’s about 75mi south of Kanab but a great drive for fall colors. We had a great day exploring the north rim & enjoyed the panoramic canyon view at the lodge restaurant. We wanted to continue exploring so we drove Cape Royal Road to all the viewpoints. Another high-point was photographing sunset at Cape Royal/Angels Window, although the drive back to Kanab in the dark was challenging.
We wanted to make Day 2 of our drive home shorter so that meant driving further from Kanab Day 1. Stopping at Thousand Trails Las Vegas again would make the Day 2 drive home 6hrs or more. So we opted to stop in Las Vegas to fuel and take a break then continue to Barstow. We stayed at the Barstow/Yermo KOA in 2021 and found it to be an acceptable stopping point from Zion-Utah to Oceanside. So we reserved a pull-thru spot this trip. The site assigned to us this trip was a lot nicer than last year’s. We had trees shading our site and the restrooms were much closer & cleaner.
My brother typically visits SoCal in August and we celebrate his birthday. Since he and his wife just bought a home, we thought we’d make the trip north to checkout their new place. It’s a 1000+mi road trip north so we opted for a ~2hr plane ride versus a 2-3 day road trip (each way) towing Howie. Gas is getting cheaper but still over $5/gal and the San Joaquin Valley is over 100°F this August. Plus we enjoy Portland so we planned to spend a few days there after visiting family. We’d need to take two weeks to make it worth the drive. So this tripped, we scouted places in the Bend-La Pine area for our next visit in Howie. I was hoping to do some street photography while in Portland but didn’t find much time or desire to wander. Downtown is really different and we missed the weekend farmer’s market. We did visit a few landmarks like the International Rose Test Garden, Hoyt Arboretum, and Voodoo Donuts. But our best day in Portland was exploring the coast at Cannon Beach, Haystack Rock and Tillamook Creamery.
Oregon Coast Day-Trip: Haystack Rock, Tillamook Creamery
For our drive back to Portland, we took the south Mt Hood route – highways 97 & 26, stopping at Smith Rock and Trillian Lake along the way. Smith Rock has been a place I’ve wanted to visit for quite awhile. I didn’t realize it was so close to Bend so it was an easy detour as we drove that direction towards Portland.
The Crooked River Trail is an easy hike especially when compared to Misery Ridge & River Trail which takes you to the top of Misery Ridge. Although it was getting hot by noon, there were trees offering shade along the trail. The Smith Rock valley and cliffs reminded us of Utah, specifically Zion. Like Zion, it is very popular with rock climbers and we spotted several as we made our way down the trail. It’s a great, easy hike once you get down into the valley. The start and end incline is pretty steep but short, only 321ft.
Trillian Lake
Trillian Lake is only ~2mi off Highway 26 so a short and easy detour. It is an extremely busy lake especially on Sunday with a lot of swimmers, kayakers, and paddle boarders (kayaks & paddle-boards are available for rent btw). But we found parking since it was late in the day (~6 pm) and wanted to use our $5 day pass (bought online). There is a campground here and it would be a wonderful place to stay with a RV. The weather was clear so Mt Hood was reflected in the lake. I’m sure with a morning calm the reflection would be even better. But late in the day was okay since I found a calm section near the dam. We did not hike the lake loop, just to the southern trail to the ‘dam’. We wanted to arrive in Portland before dark (>9pm) and it was a few hours away.
We always enjoy visiting Oregon particularly Central Oregon where my brother moved 30+yrs ago. There is so much to see and do outdoors around Bend. Now that we are retired, enjoying a RV lifestyle. We can really appreciate places like La Pine, away from the urban sprawl of southern California.
There are an amazing amount of places to see and trails to hike under a hour’s drive from Bend-La Pine. Just 15mins from La Pine is Newberry National Volcanic Monument with Paulina Lake and Big Obsidian Flow. We did the short hike to Obsidian Flow before having lunch at East Lake. The photos will never do this place justice. Very short hike with steep metal stairs at the beginning then an easy trail with benches and lookouts along the way.
Since we flew into Portland, we had a 3 hour drive to Bend. We chose the 84 eastbound along the Columbia River since we enjoy this beautiful scenic drive. We spent a few hours hiking to the top of Multnomah Falls before continuing eastward. Like Vernal Falls in Yosemite, the hike to the top of the falls is a continuous climb upward. The trail leads away from the falls but has beautiful views of the Columbia River. The trail is partially paved then compacted dirt and wide enough for two-way traffic in most sections. Reaching the summit, you drop down into the river bed and can enjoy soaking your feet in the cold water before it falls 542ft.
From May 24 through Sept 5 of this year, Multnomah Falls requires a timed permit that limits the amount of people here. We were fortunate to use our cell phone (there is reception in the parking lot) and get the last 1pm ticket. The tickets have a hourly entry window. You also need a separate permit to drive the ‘waterfall corridor’ along US 30 Historic Highway.
After two-days in Yosemite Valley, we spent our third day on Yosemite’s Tioga Road. The drive takes you to higher elevations than Yosemite Valley so it’s much cooler. The only challenges were the 20-30min road construction delays at places along the road. These significantly slowed our progress exploring this part of Yosemite. But this area is much less crowded and a lot cooler so definitely a nice change from the past two days & worth the trouble. Olmsted Point is a must-stop along the Tioga Road. It’s a viewpoint with a spacious parking lot, docents (the day we stopped), and an easy trail. A short hike will take you to breath-taking views of Tenaya Valley & the northside of Halfdome.
A mile down the road from Olmstead Point is Sunrise Lakes Trailhead & Tenaya Lake, Yosemite National Park’s largest lake. Unlike Mirror Lake, Tenaya Lake water level was not low and refreshingly cold. A 0.35mi hike from the parking lot took us to a rocky beach where we waded & enjoyed the beautiful lake-view. A great place for a packed lunch picnic.
The hike to Soda Springs is an easy hike through Tuolumne Meadows over the Tuolumne River. The Soda Springs ‘cabin’ is an opened-roof square surrounding small, rust-colored carbonated springs. There is a field of carbonate bog surrounding the multiple springs and cabin. There is also the Parsons Memorial Lodge nearby with information and history of the area. A fun easy hike through the meadow with panoramic views of the surrounding mountains. Marmots live under the Tuolumne River bridge and Flycatcher birds nest in the tree by the lodge.
The iconic Yosemite Valley is always a great place to visit. With national park visitation so popular, we are glad they’ve implemented the 3-day pass ($2) requirement. Fortunately, we were able to take advantage of our July pass somewhat last-minute, booking our campsites just a month before traveling.
July can be hot in Yosemite with 95-100°F mid-day temperatures. Starting hikes early, picking shaded trails, and bringing plenty of water and sunscreen can help make the experience enjoyable. The free shuttle buses stop frequently but many riders do not comply with the mandatory mask mandate. So we chose to drive & bike to the trails and lodge for lunch. Parking becomes scarce by noon so biking around Yosemite Valley, once you find a parking spot, is an ideal way to see the place.
Because of the heat, we picked shorter hikes – Day 1: Mirror Lake, which we mostly biked to, was pretty low but Half Dome was reflecting in the pools.
and Day 2: Mist Trail to Vernal Falls, a somewhat challenging 4mi hike because of the 1279ft elevation gain and 600+ often slippery steps. Like Angel’s Landing in Zion, this is a must-do especially during summer since many waterfalls are low flowing. This was one of the few falls in late July to have a decent flow. In Spring, this waterfall is normally much fuller with mist showering the trail & hikers. Here is the website that tells you what the flow rate is: Should I Hike the Mist Trail Today? (yosemitehikes.com) This one is worth the hard upward effort but, like Angels Landing, crowded by noon.
Bass Lake at Yosemite RV Resort is ~372mi from Oceanside, CA. So after a 1-night stop in Bakersfield, we arrived at Bass Lake at ~2pm 15 Jul 2022 – it was 95°F.
Bass Lake RV Resort Map, site 67
Bass Lake at Yosemite RV Resort has both a members-only section and public campsites (RV & tent). The campground is on the lake’s eastern slope so many sites are terraces, especially the non-member sites. We were assigned site 67, a terraced campsite where backing in was a bit of a challenge. It is angled on a curve section of road (see campsite map), and sloped, making the wdh hitch disconnect difficult. Once unhitched and leveled, we cranked up the AC and relaxed in Howie until it cooled down. The wooded campground is beautiful with a short quarter mile hike to the lake. So our 1st evening we did the short hike on the Willow Creek trail to the lake. Mosquito repellent is a necessity and bear spray an extra precaution although the trail is short and well-traveled.
Most of the eastern shore of Bass Lake is private property and marinas. The northern and western shores are US Dept of Agriculture (USDA) property with several primitive campgrounds & day-use beaches. Parking on the shoreline street does not appear subject to the $10 day use fee. On Saturday, we stopped to rent a boat at the Bass Lake Marina but everything was booked so we reserved a pontoon boat for 8am Sunday. Next, we drove the west side of the lake and enjoyed some time soaking in the cool water. Having passed the lakeside Forks Resort cafe earlier, we went back for lunch on their shaded outdoor patio. Turns out we could have rented a boat here. So if Bass Lake Boat Rentals (basslakeboatrentals.com) has nothing available, check around.
Tripadvisor highly recommended the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad Moonlight Special. They serve BBQ before taking passengers on a 100+yr old steam engine ride through the forest, stopping for a campfire sing-along. It was a fun time and the starlit train ride back was memorable.
The Bass Lake Boat Rentals and Watersports marina was adjacent our campground so easy to get to by 7:15am. They recommend arriving well before your rental time so the line queue, paperwork & orientation does not take time from your rental window. Their pontoon boats are very similar to one we rented at Big Bear Lake so orientation went quickly. The lake gets really busy by late morning so boating early, when the lake is glassy, is a more relaxing, pleasurable experience. As we pulled out, a fisherman caught & released a good size bass right by the marina’s dock. The lake is long and narrow so great for water-skiing. I fished near the dam as recommended by the marina host but didn’t have a nibble. Bass Lake was an enjoyable stop on our way to Yosemite.
During our stay in Maui and Kauai 23 Apr – 03 May 2022, when not hiking or in the pool, we enjoyed the beach and ocean to stay cool. The ocean in Hawaii is always inviting, clearer & warmer then southern California. Just north of our Kaanapali Hotel is a popular snorkeling & cliff-jumping spot, Black Rock Beach. Turtles are common and visibility is better in this partially protected cove. In April, the Trade Winds can blow pretty hard especially in the afternoon, stirring up the waves and water so clarity goes down. We also took the Teralani snorkeling charter to get to some of the best snorkeling areas, the secluded Honolua and Namalu Bays. These areas are beach-accessible but snorkeling off a catamaran is way easier & it’s an awesome, scenic sail to get there. Not to mention food and open-bar.
