Vacation in Utah (Park City, Alpine, Moab: hotels, prices, activities)

[frogandtoad]

I think it sounds like you've got more than 7 days' worth of stuff on your list already. You want to be able to enjoy it, not just hike and then drive several more hours to the next spot! I'd pick a couple of places (Park City and Moab or whatever) and stick with them so you have a chance to really explore. There's great rafting outside Moab on the Colorado River (up to class III). Great hiking, biking, etc. All equipment can be rented. There are several days' worth of totally different activities there. In park city there is more great hiking, biking but in alpine mountains rather than red rock--a completely different experience. Again, taking it slow, it's enough for at least a couple of days. I don't think you'd get more out of the trip by driving all over the state to experience it. Relax, and explore a couple of places this visit and a couple some other time.

If you do decide to check out SLC and want to be in the mountains, hike Shoreline Trail--it's beautiful and you feel like you're in the middle of nowhere when the start of the trail is right in SLC limits. A nice bike ride up Emigration Canyon, and a visit to Red Butte gardens. Still, if you're already going to be in Park City and you're looking to spend time in mountains, you'd be better off just staying there. Why drive to hike when there is gorgeous hiking right there?

OH, just realized you're into ATV and off-road stuff. I know that's done in Moab (I've seen the rental signs) but that's something I know zero about. I try to avoid noise, engines, etc. in the mountains. I do know it's in Moab though..

[r.santi]

frogandtoad
Yes, all you sad make sense, just trying to get the most from my trip to Utah. I'm not into ATV or off-road that much, just love adventure (hiking, biking, rafting), and I'm not afraid to do or try diffrent things, I believe there is a place for pure hiking in the mountains and place for little noise like ATV.
BTW, in the future I'd like to move to SLC area, I love winter and I LOVE ski.

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by irman

For those who *think* that walking *down* a mountain is easier than walking up, they are incorrect for assuming so.

LOL! I know what you're saying, but I did it, and if I can, anybody can. Granted, I did it a number of years ago, when I was still a spring chicken! It's easier on the heart but tough on the legs and feet. Still, real outdoorsy people might find it fun.

No need for an SUV to go to Guardsman Pass. A regular sedan will do fine, in summer.

You know, I wasn't sure about that. You'd need a car that rode fairly high, though, wouldn't you? As I recall, it was kind of rocky in some places. It's such a gorgeous drive, though. If it would be a safe one in a sedan, I would highly recommend it.

[frogandtoad]

Originally Posted by r.santi

frogandtoad
Yes, all you sad make sense, just trying to get the most from my trip to Utah. I'm not into ATV or off-road that much, just love adventure (hiking, biking, rafting), and I'm not afraid to do or try diffrent things, I believe there is a place for pure hiking in the mountains and place for little noise like ATV.
BTW, in the future I'd like to move to SLC area, I love winter and I LOVE ski.

Sounds like you'd love it here. I do think still that fewer places might be best for your trip. Kind of like people who try to see 5 countries in Europe in a week. They end up spending a lot of time traveling and not so much time enjoying what they went for!

Sounds like you're coming w/the right attitude though and will have fun no matter what.

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by r.santi

Thanks everyone for any input. I'm sure we will chose something, won't be easy with all this great places you recommend.
So far we decided go to (we will be visiting Utah for a week) - Bryce Canyon - hiking, Duck Creek Village and Panguich – ATV (any ATV trails recommended?)...

I have three favorite vacation spots in the world. They are all three as different from one another as it is possible for three places to be: New York City; Venice, Italy; and Bryce Canyon. You've made an excellent choice to spend some of your time in Bryce. Even though there isn't as much to do there as in Arches, for instance, it is one place on earth everyone should see at least once. I could easily go there once every two or three years for the rest of my life.

You haven't said what plans you've made with regards to lodging/accomodations. I would recommend Ruby's Inn as a good place to stay when you're at Bryce. Seriously, there is absolutely nothing to see in Panguitch, and while it's the closest town of any size to Bryce, you won't find a motel there that's as nice as Ruby's Inn, and it's a long enough drive that you might as well spend the time seeing the park. The Bryce Canyon Grand Hotel is new this year. It looks like a gorgeous place, but I couldn't personally recommend it. I'd also recommend Ruby's Inn over the Bryce Canyon Lodge, though.

While you're at Bryce, be sure to hike the Navajo Loop. It's a reasonably easy hike and it's absolutely jaw-dropping beautiful! You will love it. I just wish I could be with you when you first look out over Sunset Point or Sunrise Point. I get cold chills all over just thinking about the beauty.

...then we plan take the scenic byway 12 and go to Moab - off road (renting a Jeep) and see Arches National Park.

Okay, plan on two days in Arches. (As beautiful as Bryce is, you can see most of what you're going to want to see in one full -- but kind of long -- day.) There is SOOOOO much to do in Arches. There are three or four things that I simply wouldn't miss if I were you.

1. Delicate Arch. It's such a well-known natural formation, but no matter how many pictures of it you may have seen, when you see it "in person" it can't help but take your breath away. It's a moderately strenuous hike, but the temperature makes an enormous difference in how easy it is. If the weather is not too hot, it's not bad at all, but if the temperatures are above 90 degrees, it can be a bear of a hike. Regardless, it's worth the huffing and puffing.

2. Fiery Furnace. Personally, I like this hike even more than I like Delicate Arch, even though it's less well-known. Having done both, if I had to choose just one to do again, it would be this one. It's less spectacular in terms of the scenery, but it is truly an experience you will never forget. I can't even quite explain why. You'll just have to trust me on this. Now, this is important: You can only hike Fiery Furnace with a ranger. The reason for this is primarily that if you were to get lost, as would likely be the case, it would take you days to find your way out. Guided hikes leave twice a day and you have to sign up for them in advance. Be sure to do so the minute you arrive in the park.

3. There are several different outfits that take tourists on Hummer rides over the red rock canyons just outside of Moab. I can't even remember the one I've been on (twice), but you should be able to find one quite easily. Tell them that you want to go over Hell's Revenge, preferably at sunset. The drivers are well-experienced and a Hummer is a much safer mode of transportation than any other. Still, your heart will undoubtedly skip a beat when you head what seems to be almost straight up the side of a solid rock mountain. It's an awesome experience.

4. This might take an extra day, but a raft trip on the Westwater range of the Colorado River is one of the funnest things you could ever hope to do. According to the Bureau of Land Management's website, "Westwater Canyon is the first whitewater stretch of the Colorado River in Utah. It is an exceedingly popular trip due to the Canyon's relative proximity to metropolitan areas... its classic desert scenery, and several challenging rapids. Westwater Canyon includes class IV rapids and is therefore only recommended for experienced boaters. As with any remote river segment, Westwater can be a very humbling and dangerous place if not treated with proper respect and ability."

(You don't want to take off on Westwater alone if you're not an "experienced boater" but there are a lot of half-day trips that you can sign up for. I'm not "experienced" at all, but I've done the trip twice.)

Park City it’s a must to see place for us, one day or two we'd like to spend in SLC, Great Salt Lake - Antelope Island sounds good.

I seriously hope you're not disappointed by Park City. It's a fun place, but in all honesty, if you're as outdoorsy as it sounds like you are, you might find it a bit too "touristy" for your tastes. It's got a lot of fun stores and restaurants, but not a lot else. Personally, I prefer Moab and you'll be spending some time there for sure. If you have any interest in seeing Salt Lake City, plan on at least a day and a half to cover what's here. Let us know how much time you plan on being in the city and we'll tell you what to plan on seeing and what to plan on skipping. If you've never been here, I can almost guarantee that you'll be pleasantly surprised by it. Most people are. (Unfortunately, there's a lot of construction going on right now, though. That's the one drawback.) As I already said in another post, I love Antelope Island. If possible, don't do it in the heat of the day but towards evening. It shouldn't take too big of a chunck out of your day but it's really worth seeing.

I know Utah it’s a great place, we want to see as much as possible in 7 days however 7 months will not be enough. Any suggestions/adjustments to my plan are welcome. Once again Thank You. I can’t wait to see UTAH

Well, we can't wait to hear how you liked it so be sure to let us know when your trip is over and you're back home.

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by r.santi

BTW, in the future I'd like to move to SLC area, I love winter and I LOVE ski.

You love winter? Yuck!

[irman]

Originally Posted by Katzpur

It's easier on the heart but tough on the legs and feet.

That is why in Europe where mountain hiking is almost an everyday affair , they give American Tourist a weird look, since the American usually is found to be riding UP and WALKING down.
You can do it, but it is NOT easier overall.

Originally Posted by Katzpur

You'd need a car that rode fairly high, though, wouldn't you?

My car is one of those low nosed Honda Accord units (low nosed, because all those parking stops you see which are damaged, I probably hit them), and we had NO problem at all going over that pass.
May be they cleaned it up right before we came ... ????

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by irman

My car is one of those low nosed Honda Accord units (low nosed, because all those parking stops you see which are damaged, I probably hit them), and we had NO problem at all going over that pass. May be they cleaned it up right before we came ... ????

That's good to hear. I haven't taken that drive in quite a few years, but it was REALLY rocky back then and some of the rocks jutted up pretty high.

[Jen38]

If you are flying into SLC, going over to Park City is very easy and there is a lot to do there. You can even contact All Season Adventures (google them) and they can set up river rafting on the Heber river, Geo caching, biking, hiking, ATV riding, horseback riding etc.. They do it all. Of course for hiking and biking you can do it much cheaper on your own but for the rest you may want to go through them. We just spent a long weekend in PC with a bunch of friends and we used All Seasons for rafting and geo caching and had such a fantastic time. Where are you staying? All of the resorts offer activities as well. You can even find a home to rent for a lot less than they rent for in the winter. We rented one in Deer Crest Estates which was ski in/ski out (although for us it was hike in/hike out cuz it was summer). We even got to see a bear close up!

I would definitely do the Xtreme Zip line at Olympic Park (you have to be 120 lbs. to ride the big one), the alpine slide and the bobsled. Also, you can watch the aerial skiers throw flips into the giant pool everyday.

Two of my favorite restaurants in PC that are not as pricey as the ones on Main Street are Loco Lizard (Mexican) and the Windy Ridge Cafe. You can google both for their addresses. NoName Saloon has some tasty burgers too.

If you want to stay within an hour of PC, you can take Gaurdsman Pass from PC to Cottonwood then head to I 15 South and head to Mt. Tipanogoes. There is a pretty cool cave that you can tour after you hike up the mountain. It's a touristy thing to do but we loved it when we did it before we moved here.
There's also a great little book with Easy Hikes in Salt Lake that you can buy from Amazon and it will give you a ton of ideas, the distance, the difficulty and it will describe what you will see on the hike.

There are also about 3 Hot Springs in the Salt Lake Valley area that you can go to but you have to google them to find their exact locations.

You can go North and go to Antelope Island to see the Great Salt Lake also.

If you want to keep the outdoorsy thing going, Real Salt Lake which is Utah's major league soccer team has games on Aug 8, 15th and 26th at home in their new stadium. It's a great family event. We love to go and the tickets are pretty reasonable. I think you can go on their website and purchase tickets. It's even fun if you're not a huge soccer fan. The stadium is beautiful with the mountain backdrop.

Like someone else mentioned, I would try to stay in a certain vicinity so you have a relaxing although adventurous vacation. Driving all over the state is not so fun especially in this heat. Moab, Zion's, Lake Powell can all be done on another trip, and frankly I don't think I would do any of those in August. It's way too hot! Park City will be beautiful at night. You might want to pull up some of the resort calendars and see if they have any outdoor concerts going on. The Canyons usually have some stuff planned.
Oh! Stein Erikson has a great Sunday brunch too!

Have fun and enjoy your stay!

[eggalegga]

Park City: Alpine Slide & Coaster. The coaster is 10 times more fun than the slide because you can go full speed and not worry about falling off the track.

YouTube video of both rides. Here's a link to the prices.


Here's

Have fun and enjoy your trip whatever you do.