SPRING CAMPING DESTINATIONS
Today I want to talk about places to go camping in the Spring!
This season you will typically see us down south. That is why a lot of my post lately have been surrounded by red rock! March, April, and May is the perfect time to go to the desert areas. Once June hits, the crowds come and so does the heat. I remember camping in Zion once and it being so hot we were all stripping down. My brothers even got out of the tent and tried to catch a small breeze on the picnic table. We learned our lesson there. Spring - Fall - Spring - Fall. :)
It's just starting so if you are looking for a place to go these next few weeks here are some we've been to recently.
Moab & Arches National Park
One of our favorites! This is us in Arches National Park a few weeks back hiking Devils Garden.
The problem with Arches is that there is only 1 campsite about 30 minutes into the park and it's first come first serve. So if you like to drive at night and get in late you have to drive all the way in to find out that it's full. Is it worth the risk? Scott and I have risked it once and it did work out, but the other times we decided to camp at BLM land outside the park as well as some nice sites in Moab. This year however they are doing a lot of construction to make the roads large, and I hope are making a bigger or more campsites, so that campsite is closed this year.
2017 ROAD CLOSURES: During construction, park roads close at 7pm Sunday - Thursday with no closures Friday night or Saturday night. You must be out of the park by 7pm. Roads will reopen at 7:00am. For the latest construction and schedules visit go.nps.gov/archesconstruction
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Goblin Valley:
This place is so perfect for kids. If your kids love playing hide and go seek, climbing, jumping, exploring, and playing in the dirt. You have got to get down there. The hoodoos make the perfect hide and go seek destination. Actually, they're so good just let them run ahead and try to find them. I got scared this last time, because I kept seeing flashes of color but couldn't find Lillian! I finally had to tell her I couldn't handle it and she giggled and came out. Turns out I suck at hind and go seek with a 5 year old. We actually did a fun Easter Egg Hunt down there! Perfect place to hide eggs in all the hoodoos!
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Glen Canyon and Lake Powell National Recreation Area
This was my first year to go through this area, and I fell in love with it. We went the beginning of April, and no one was there. Lake Powell is a big place to go in the summer, but man Spring is just as pretty. We actually stayed in Glen Canyon right after the Hite overlook. It was a primitive site, but it did have a pit toilet, and it was only $12 a night to camp. The views around us were beautiful and open. Our site did have a drop off into the wash that was right next to our site, so we had to keep a closer eye on the kids, but the next day we went hiking down there, so it worked out great! The start of the "trailhead" was at our site! Win win!
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Black Hole:
The Black Hole is actually located between Lake Powell and Natural Bridges. This was a "Fellas Trip" that Scott and his friends went on. They seem to always bring it up when they are together, and Scott is always talking about it. It is definitely one of his top places he has hiked. A "True Adventure" he says. haha There are places you have to jump over ledges to get to the other side, and if you don't make it.... you don't make it. Kind of scary, but exhilarating!
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National Bridges National Monument:
We went here at the Beginning of April as well for the first time. We left Glen Canyon and headed over here. Ha, this was actually our original destination, but we saw Glen Canyon and had to stay. This place was beautiful as well. It only has 1 campground that has around 12 sites. They all seem really nice. They are close to each other, but there are cedar trees that separate you at least. You can't miss the campsite. Everything is off of the 1 main road. The campsite is right after the visitor center. There are 3 Bridges you can hike to, again all along the same loop road. The one we hiked to and the picture below is called Owachomo. Extremely difficult hike....it was .2 miles to get in! ;) So we just pretty much strolled to the Bridge. This park is small compared to other parks, so if you need a place to go for a day or maybe 2, this is nice!
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Zion National Park:
Last, but definitely not least.
Man has this place gotten busy over the last few years. We are defiantly not your typically plan ahead campers. We usually realize the week of where we want to go and just go. This place used to be great for that. NOW... you better plan when you want to go and book it before March. We were actually planning a friends trip and man, everything was already taken- FOR THE WHOLE SUMMER! Now, you can, of course, get BLM land. But I don't think our friends would appreciate us taking them somewhere where there was no running water or even pit toilets. But if you don't mind that, then you can go on the fly! This place, of course, is on everyone's list. Get there!
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If you have any questions about these places and would like more detail on where to camp or sites we like, please let us know down in the comments, and we can help you plan your next adventure!
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