Minimum 14 days / ideal duration 21 days
Here we present “our” ideal itinerary for winter, alternatively also for spring and fall. It is also perfect for our winter specials.
We have planned the following route tightly and have not built in any buffers for double overnight stays or longer excursions, simply because we find it difficult to accommodate personal preferences and priorities here. The route therefore represents a minimum amount of travel time, so to speak, and should be filled with plenty of buffer time in order to really get to know the country and nature and not miss out on rest and relaxation during the trip.
Day 1
Our service naturally includes pick-up at the hotel or directly at the airport. Pick-up on the day of arrival is no problem. After a briefing, which will take about an hour, we always recommend stocking up on supplies in Las Vegas for the trip. Depending on your arrival, your first overnight stay will be at the Oasis RV Park at the southern end of Las Vegas Blvd (The Strip). It is beautifully located, offers full hook-ups and ideal access to all freeways, shopping and shopping facilities.
Alternatively, we recommend driving 45 minutes to the Valley of Fire State Park. The Atlatl Campground there is beautifully situated between the typical red sandstone cliffs and is ideal for familiarizing yourself with the motorhome.
Day 2
Continue to Zion National Park. Spend the night in one of the campgrounds at the south entrance (Watchman or South). You should reserve this site in advance as it is always full at this time of year. Alternatively, the private Zion Canyon RV Park is right next door. All 3 sites have the advantage that you can leave your motorhome parked if you want to explore the park. This saves you having to drive up in the morning and search for the scarce RV parking spaces at the Visitor Center.
The route is easily doable and you should easily get there in 2 hours, so you can spend the time visiting the visitor center and going on a short hike. A shuttle bus will also take you into the park from there. If none of the campsites are available, there is the free option of the BLM Hurricane Cliff in Virgin, about 15 minutes southwest of the park entrance.
A buffer day would be a good idea if you want to do a longer hike. You can find a good page describing the most beautiful and popular hikes here: https://www.earthtrekkers.com/10-best-zion-hikes/
Another nice alternative not far from Zion NP in Hurricane is Sand Hollow State Park. The Westside Campground on the lake, which even has full hook-up sites, is the ideal place to let your feet dangle. You can also hire water sports equipment within walking distance and spend a day on the lake. Or, what we can only recommend: Hire an ATV and explore the seemingly endless expanses of Southern Utah. The Southern Utah Adventure Center in Hurricane offers well-maintained vehicles and can help you plan a suitable route. https://southernutahadventurecenter.com
To the north are the Torquerville Falls, an oasis in the desert. They can only be reached via a fairly long mountain road and require a four-wheel drive vehicle. It is correspondingly quiet there. However, the waterfalls are a wonderful place for swimming, jumping off the rocks and having a picnic in nature.
Day 3
Either spend the night in Zion NP (or a buffer day here) or continue to Bryce. Spend the night at one of the beautiful campgrounds in the park or outside the park at the private campground (Rubys’ Inn) to the right of the entrance.
Tip: Be sure to plan one of the hikes on offer in the park, as this is the only way to discover the true canyon.
Tip: In Bryce you also have the opportunity to go on a horseback ride into the canyon and immerse yourself in the Wild West.
Day 4
Continue back to Kanab and then east to Page. Here you can also make a stopover at the Coral Pink Sanddunes. Overnight stay at the campground in the park or at the very nice Dark Skies RV Park.
There are many excursion destinations and attractions in the area around Page, so it’s definitely worth spending a second night here. But first of all, the great marina on Lake Powell and the beach near the campground invite you to linger. There is a great new campground at the Antelope Point Marina. Boats, jet skis and other “water toys” can also be hired there. Various boat tours are also offered on Lake Powell, some of which take you to parts of Antelope Canyon by sea.
The Lone Rock Beach Campground is a little more rustic but unforgettable, with no amenities but camping right on the beach. It’s best to google the campground and look at the pictures, that says more than our explanation ☺
GRANER tip: We can only recommend a tour through the Lower Antelope Canyon. Unfortunately, these are not free and there are only two providers who share the narrow canyon – but a visit and the pictures you can take there are unforgettable. You are divided into small groups and learn a lot about the canyon, and the guides also help you take great pictures of famous photo motifs. We were recently in the canyon with Ken’s Tours and can only recommend it despite the crowds, which remain justified. Booking is essential.
Side trip/buffer day
From Page, you can also take a detour to Monument Valley to the east. Unfortunately, if you don’t take a jeep or horseback ride here, you can’t really immerse yourself in the valley and its Native American history. All you can do is enjoy the (breathtaking) view from the visitor center. So you should think about whether you want to do something here. But if you do, you should plan a horseback ride or a jeep tour, otherwise you might be disappointed. There are no hiking trails etc. in the valley itself.
Overnight stay in the evening in the Gooseneck State Park to the northeast (optional visit and detour to National Bridges NM).
Spending the night at the campground will be a unique experience. You’ll be right on the edge of the canyon without water or electricity, but with the most beautiful starry sky you can imagine.
Day 5
Today we’re off to the Grand Canyon! Drive via the #89 (short detour at Horseshoe Bend) and then continue via the #64, visit and drive the Rim Route with the free shuttle bus. Stops at the viewpoints and “aahhhhh” enjoy the view!
If you are early, you may still be able to get one of the coveted spots at the Desert View Campground (no reservations possible). Another great campground is the Mather Campground in Grand Canyon Village. However, this should be reserved in advance as it is probably one of the most popular campgrounds in the southwest.
Alternatively, we know of a beautiful campground just two miles from the southern entrance to the Grand Canyon: a Forrest Service Campground called “Ten-X”, which is really good value, large, spacious and simply pure nature. Most of the RV sites are in the shade of large trees. We love this place because it is rarely fully booked, even in summer.
You can camp for free at the Grand Canyon on the Cococino Rim Road.
GRANER tip: An unforgettable but expensive memory could be a helicopter flight over the canyon! But we would do this from Las Vegas. For only a tenth of the price: Visit the I-MAX Theater today, almost as impressive as a flight! All our tenants have been thrilled so far.
Day 6
Continue south towards Williams.
Tip: In Wiliams there is the Bearizona Wildlife Park directly on the #66 where you can also drive through the enclosures in a motorhome. Either spend the night here (depending on when you leave the Grand Canyon) or drive on to Sedona. Spend the night there either at the Manzanita Campground just outside the city or at the Rancho Sedona RV Park.
The small town of Sedona…
…nestles decoratively between the rust-red boulders of Red Rock State Park and the lush, canyon-like valley of Oak Creek.
The sandstone monoliths in particular, which produce changing shades of color depending on the sunlight, are what make the landscape so attractive.
The place has been one of the American New Age strongholds since 1980. Some gurus had identified it as the power point of our planet – a place where energy just pours out of the earth. A supermarket of spiritual fitness programs has spread here.
Tip: Schnebly Hill Rd. At the traffic lights, turn left over the bridge to Schnebly Hill Rd and then left again until you reach the dirt road. Then take a short hike in the rocky landscape.
Tip: Tlaquepaque Village. Strolling and shopping, sitting and looking. This open-air shopping center looks as if a Mexican film is about to be shot here. A recreated Mexican village (1973) with stores and restaurants.
In Sedona you can take a tour with the pink jeeps, a great experience, breathtaking scenery and great photo opportunities. Possibly an alternative or additional hike in Red Rock SP.
Day 7
Continue via Phoenix to Lost Dutchman SP. A great campsite in the middle of nature.
Day 8
Today we’re off to Tucson to one of our favorite campgrounds, the Gilbert Ray Campground in Saguaro National Park West. It is really beautiful and so quiet, secluded and the pitches are so far apart that you can often see the otherwise very shy coyotes walking past the motorhome through the park.
A day visit to the Sonoran and Desert Museum and the adjoining Saguaro National Park is also worthwhile. Flight demonstrations with birds take place and a house for native animal species is open to visitors. Free ranger-guided tours of the cactus gardens are also offered at regular intervals at the National Park Visitor Center. A visit is worthwhile in any case.
Day 9
Continue to the east of Tucson to Cactus Forest Drive and the Colossal Caves, a huge cave system east of the city. The campground of the same name is beautifully situated there.
Well located in the city for all excursions (near the Pima Air Museum), there is also an inexpensive RV park. If you want to spend more time in Tucson, this is an alternative: https://crazyhorservcampgrounds.com.
The Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson is worth a visit if you are an airplane fan and are good on foot. It’s incredible what you can see there.
The visit to a former nuclear missile silo south of Tucson is also really impressive. Admission is $10.50 and includes a one-hour guided tour of what used to be the most secret place in the USA, the Titan Missile Museum.
Also recommended, especially for hiking, is the area around Sabino Canyon northeast of Tucson.
If you want to go horseback riding, we recommend it here in Tucson. You are in the best hands with the Houstons. They guide you in small groups (we were traveling alone at the time) through the Saguaro National Park: https://www.tucsonhorsebackriding.com
If you ask, you can stand in the Houstons’ yard and spend the night there.
Side trip (buffer day)
About an hour’s drive away is the famous western town of Tombstone, one of the most famous western towns in America. The historic Allen Street invites you to stroll and linger.
Shoot-outs also take place in the afternoon. The cemetery at the entrance to the town (Boothill Graveyard) shows the graves from the Wild West era and is worth a short stop with its original gravestones. The RV Park in the former Shootout Arena in the city center is ideal for a cheap overnight stay, especially if you want to wander through the city’s saloons in the evening.
Day 10
Drive west to Organ Pipes Cactus NM near the Mexican border. Overnight stay at the beautifully situated Alamo Canyon Campground.
Alternatively, without an overnight stay, take freeways #8 and #10 to Yuma and continue towards Joshua Tree NP. However, with a driving distance of approx. 350 miles, you should reckon with a driving time of approx. 6-7 hours.
Day 11
Drive to Joshua Tree NP and spend the night at the beautiful Jumbo Rocks CG.
Day 12
Via Barstow and Baker, we head to Tecopa to the natural hot springs, where you can take a wonderful dip. We then continue into Death Valley. Visit Badwater and then continue to the Furnace Creek Visitor Center and spend the night at the campground there.
Day 13
Visit Death Valley and then drive to Las Vegas via Pahrump.
Alternative route suggestion
As an alternative to driving via the Organ Pipe and Yuma, you can also return from Tucson to Phoenix and from there take the route to Kingman via Wickenburg. On the way to Kingman, you can take the detour via historic Route #66 through Seligman and to the Grand Canyon Caverns, a huge cave system. The campground of the same name is also located directly adjacent to it.
Then drive on the #40 first to Kingman. About 10 miles before Kingman (Blake Ranch Road exit) is one of the largest truck stops in the USA. It’s worth stopping here for a cheap fill-up and the food at the Iron Skillet (the specialty here is dishes served in cast-iron pans) is good and inexpensive.
Then it’s on to Oatman via the #10 (part of the historic Route 66). Oatman is an authentic old gold mining town, where even wild donkeys still beg for food (carrots) in the middle of town!
GRANER Note:
The atmosphere in Oatman is really great. And – there’s nowhere better to buy Native American jewelry than here in this remote little village. We recommend the small store of the (real) Indian Yellowhammer!
Tip: If you manage to be there at 13:30 or 15:30: The local shopkeepers then do a Wild West Shootout with lots of powder and afterwards you can have your photo taken with such a “cowboy”, a small donation (for a good cause) is gladly given.
After visiting the small town, continue to Lake Havasu and spend the night at one of the great spots directly on the lake: Lake Havasu State Park, Cattail Cove SP, River Island SP or Buckskin Mountain SP. Incidentally, Lake Havasu City is home to the London Bridge, which was shipped stone by stone from London and rebuilt here.
Afterwards, continue into Joshua Tree NP where you will rejoin the original route.
Conclusion
We hope you can do something with our tour and that you like it too. However, this should not be seen as a “non plus ultra”, but rather as a “framework” for your own and further planning.
Please let us know if we can help you with the detailed planning or the reservation of the campgrounds. Of course, we will be happy to answer any further questions you may have and are always ready to hear your feedback!
Fundamentals
We are absolute nature lovers and therefore always recommend the natural state campgrounds because they are often located in the most beautiful natural surroundings and are usually very spacious. Full hook-ups, i.e. water, sewage and electricity connections for motorhomes, are rarely found there. However, such campgrounds almost always have showers and a dump station where you can empty your waste water tank and fill your fresh water tank. Therefore, such full hook-ups are not really necessary when passing through. We have also installed two batteries in this motorhome for the living area so that you won’t have any power problems, even if you want to stay somewhere for two nights.
The Campedium app is a great way to search for free pitches in the countryside (dry camping or boondocking is sometimes permitted, but never in the parks). Here you can always find a good option while traveling if there is nothing left at the selected campgrounds. But be careful: some access roads are not suitable for every vehicle. It’s best to familiarize yourself with the app and its homepage beforehand.
We’re not really fans of pre-reserved campgrounds, because they limit you far too much. But unfortunately it is now almost impossible, especially in the high season, to get hold of your favorite without a reservation. In some areas, the search for an alternative quickly turns into an odyssey. We have highlighted the relevant places for you in the elaboration.
