Grand Canyon National Park North Rim

When last I wrote, we had camped in a great boondocking spot just north of Grand Canyon National Park. We only spent part of one day exploring the North Rim. I know it sounds really bad to be in such a beautiful area and spend so little time, but neither of us is in hiking shape so we are restricted to views from the top.

    We drove about 10 miles from camp to the park entrance and proceded to the visitor center parking lot. From there we made the short hike out to Bright Angel Point. The photo below is a panorama, thanks to Google Photos of view from there.

If you wish to get to the other side and don't feel up to the 21-mile hike, there is another way.

We stayed in the truck and drove to the various overlooks. Pictures are worth 1,000 words, or so they say, so here come the photos.

I am so sorry that this post is so late and so rushed now. Hope to do better next time. Until then, we are C&L On The Road.

Boondocking at the North Rim

After leaving our boondocking location near Zion National Park, we headed toward the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.

Zion National Park

From Brice Canyon, we traveled to a boondocking area on BLM-managed land located between Mt. Carmel Junction and Zion National Park. Our campsite was located at the end of forest road 71 in a large clear area. Although the campsite was next to and above state Rt. 9, road noise was tolerable. We stayed for about a week before moving on. Coordinates were approximately 37.260297 -112.77024.

On to Bryce Canyon

After our visit to Capital Reef National Park, we headed west and south toward Bryce Canyon. Along the way, we stopped for gas at a place I thought only existed in the old Burl Ives song. Big Rock Candy Mountain. It is indeed a real place with a restaurant, cabins, and rafting trips.

Fremont Granary Site

We arrived at the entrance of Capital Reef National Park in the late afternoon. Not wanting to risk failing to find a campsite in the park, I turned around and drove about three miles back to a parking area we passed. What we found was a pleasant surprise.

Capital Reef National Park

Approximately 150 miles west of Blanding Utah, beyond the Glen Canyon Recreation Area, lies Capital Reef National Park.

Canyonlands National Park

Canyonlands National Park was the second destination in our quest to visit all the National Parks in Utah. Being only about 25 miles from our campsite, the northern, Island in the Sky area is where we spent the morning. In typical Moab fashion, there is Jeep access into the canyon as well as the hiking and biking trails found in all national parks.

Arches National Park

Double Arch

It was my intention to write one blog post named The Utah Five and cover all five of the national parks in Utah. After visiting all five, I decided that due to the unique features of each, they all deserved their own post. There is no particular reason I am showing you Arches first other than it was the first one we visited. That trend will continue.

Blanding Utah

After leaving the Moab area, we traveled south a few miles to Blanding Utah and the Recapture Recreation area. This is another BLM area that allows free camping and just happens to have a small lake.

Moab Utah

We went to Moab because there are two National Parks in the area. Both Arches and Canyonlands are near Moab and will be covered in another post.