Arches and Canyonlands
Are you looking for a place to stay while visiting Arches and Canyonlands National Parks?
You will be able to stay at the same place to visit both of these as they are not far in distance.
Moab, UT is the place to look for accommodations. Moab has the small town hospitality. The downtown area is comprised of local shops and eateries.
Now onto where to stay…
We were looking to stay in cabins at campgrounds on our trip as that seemed to be more cost effective for us.
Sun Outdoors Canyonlands Gateway was the perfect place for us. Sitting right off of Hwy 191 made it easy access to Arches, Canyonlands, and even Dead Horse Point State Park. It is 7.7 miles from Arches visitor center, 22 miles from Dead Horse Point State Park visitor center, and 22 miles from Canyonlands Island in the Sky visitor center.
At Sun Outdoors Canyonlands Gateway, there are several options for lodging: rv/trailer sites, tent camping sites, or several different style cabins/cottages to choose from. You are surely to find the perfect option for you at this campground. We really enjoyed our stay here. It was easy to find and easy to check in. The campground store had drinks, food, souvenirs, and other camping supplies.
The Cabin
In the cabin we chose, there was a full bed and a bunk bed. There was a small countertop area with a sink. It came with a shower, toilet, and several different other amenities. The shower was small, but that is to be expected in a small cabin. We were just happy to have access to a shower in our cabin.
Capitol Reef National Park
Are you now heading to Capitol Reef National Park? Check out the town of Torrey, UT. This is the perfect spot to find accommodations while visiting Capitol Reef.
Torrey is located on State Route 24 and has a very small population.
Again, we found another campground that suited our needs for a place to stay while visiting the park.
Wonderland RV Park is located on the corner of Byway 24 and Highway 12 in Torrey, UT and 9.9 miles away from the Capitol Reef visitor center. The RV Park is located in a great spot across from a gas station and several different local eateries. At this RV Park, you have the choice of rv sites, tent sites, or cabin options. There is a community bath house and laundry located in the center of the RV park.
We had dinner at Rim Rock Patio. Broken Spur Inn & Steakhouse is located across the street from the RV Park and we noticed a sign advertising hot breakfast buffet, so that solved our question of what to eat for breakfast before hitting the trails at Capitol Reef. It was $9.95 per person when we visited as we were not staying at the Inn. Highly recommend checking it out as the breakfast was delicious and there were many different food items to choose from.
The Cabin
The cabins were newly remodeled, so we personally felt it was the cleanest cabin we stayed in. They have two queen beds, table/chairs, microwave, mini fridge, and a TV in the cabin. Perfect spot for us to get some good sleep.
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
We chose to make a stop between Capitol Reef and Bryce Canyon to explore Escalante for a day. Escalante is a small unique charm city.
We stayed at Canyons of Escalante RV Park which is located on Main Street and made for a perfect location during our stay. There are several stores, restaurants, and a visitor center nearby that you can walk to.
The RV Park has tent sites, cabins, and RV sites. There is a shower house with community showers/bathrooms and a laundry room.
We stayed in a deluxe cabin. There was a queen bed, sleeper sofa, mini fridge, microwave, and a 1/2 bath. The cabins have a courtyard located in the middle of all of them with a picnic shelter and fire pits. The courtyard area was a great spot to eat our dinner. Speaking of dinner… Georgie’s Outdoor Mexican Cafe truck is located at the entrance of the RV park which is just a short walk from the cabins. We really enjoyed the food we got!
Overall, this RV park was perfect for our time in Escalante and we greatly enjoyed our stay there.
Bryce Canyon National Park
On our trip, Bryce Canyon was our next place to explore. While searching for places to stay here we came across Bryce Pioneer Village in Tropic, UT.
Bryce Pioneer Village is 12 miles from Bryce Canyon National Park visitor center which was an easy drive.
There are several accommodations near the park, however Bryce Pioneer Village ended up working out great for us.
The Pioneer Village
There are many different room types to choose from based on what you are looking for- motel rooms, western cabins, family suites, and rv/tent sites. There are two restaurants and an outdoor pool for all guests to enjoy.
We chose a motel room with two double beds. The room was equipped with a tv, mini fridge, microwave, and full bathroom. The room was clean and we enjoyed our stay.
We did not try either of the restaurants on site and did not use the outdoor pool.
Zion National Park
To end the last leg of the trip was visiting Zion National Park. The town of Springdale is the ideal place as you can easily walk to the park entrance which is where the shuttle pick up is. Springdale was such a cute little town to explore. There are lots of events, restaurants, unique shops, etc. Definitely take some time to walk down the streets of the town while you are visiting the park.
We did not end up getting a place booked in Springdale, so we searched for a hotel in La Verkin, UT which is approximately 21 miles from Zion.
We stayed at the Best Western Plus Zion West hotel. The hotel is pretty much just like any hotel; different types of rooms with continental breakfast and other amenities. It was in a good location where you can easily drive to restaurants or a grocery store. The hotel room was clean and had great breakfast. The drive from the hotel to the park was not bad at all, so if you have to venture out a little further from Springdale, check out La Verkin.
Recap
During our research of places to stay along our Utah Mighty 5 Trip, we were looking for affordable and good location spots for accommodations. We went off of reviews and checking through other people’s blogs hoping we made the right decision on places we chose. I can 100% say we really lucked out on perfect places everywhere we stayed along this trip. I hope you find this helpful and have the best Utah Mighty 5 Trip just as we did!
Arches/Canyonlands: Moab, UT
Capitol Reef: Torrey, UT
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument: Escalante City
Bryce Canyon: Bryce Canyon City or Tropic, UT
Zion: Springdale, UT or La Verkin, UT
Links to each place we stayed: