First "extended" trip, last minute planning...

[DaveandKarin]

Not a great combination, admitted. My wife and I are planning a trip from the Cincinnati area to Southern Utah (Brice, Moab, etc). Time frame is end of April through May. This wasn't planned month in advance so obviously the National and State Parks are booked. I'm seeking advice on where we might park the Ollie to stage trips into the parks and surrounding beautiful area.

Thank you for any words of advice!

Dave

[topgun2]

From what I've heard - there is a ton of boondocking in and around that area.  You might go on over to YouTube and type in the search box something like Moab boondocking.

Good luck!

Bill

[CnC]

Campendium and Campendium360 provide insight to those near the National Parks.  Go to https://www.campendium.com/national-parks and then you can use the "near" filter to find those close to the "real deal."

Charlie.

[John E Davies]

Dave, are you OK with gravel and rough back roads? Do you have rock protection? Do you mind dust?

That early in the season, camping is all about elevation. The lower desert attractions are perfect that time of year, but the USFS sites up high and anything up on the Colorado Plateau will most likely still be snowed in.  Make sure you have maps that include topgraphic features (elevation contours). You cannot rely on cell phones, you need a stand alone navigator that is better than your lame factory nav system. I use an iPad Mini 6 loaded with several mapping programs. If that sounds agreeable, search the forum, we have discussed this many times.

I really love the Moab area, my wife and I have specified in our wills that our ashes be distributed near the White Rim Road (Arches). If you want to drive that road, it requires a back country permit and you may not be able to acquire one, unless your dates are very flexible. You would need a short wheelbase 4wd rental, ATVs are not allowed. Mountain bikes are OK.

https://www.nps.gov/cany/planyourvisit/whiterimroad.htm

White Crack CG milepost 39 is the one to pick!!! White Rim pics from 2013.

John Davies

Spokane WA

 

[John E Davies]

An example of the GAIA Topo map layer, zoomed out and then way in at Moab. 
 

 

 

John Davies

Spokane WA

 

[DaveandKarin]

Thanks John! Beautiful photos!!

[DaveandKarin]

Seriously, amazing!!  ...We're going to look into what you've sent! Thank you!

Dave

[Guest]

6 hours ago, John E Davies said:

You would need a short wheelbase 4wd rental, ATVs are not allowed. Mountain bikes are OK.

Agree John! On our list to mountain bikes! 
Kirk

 

[SteveCr]

7 hours ago, DaveandKarin said:

Not a great combination, admitted. My wife and I are planning a trip from the Cincinnati area to Southern Utah (Brice, Moab, etc). Time frame is end of April through May. This wasn't planned month in advance so obviously the National and State Parks are booked. I'm seeking advice on where we might park the Ollie to stage trips into the parks and surrounding beautiful area.

Thank you for any words of advice!

Dave

 

Planning sites like Hipcamp are great to find private land sites at ok cost. Below is an example of a small place we stayed just outside the gates of Monument Valley. It is the backyard of a Native American family.

Around Moab we stayed on BLM campsites along the river....first come first serve....boondocking. I believe we paid $10/night.

 

 

[John E Davies]

Be very aware that almost all Native American reservations prohibit having any firearm in your vehicle or trailer, even if empty and locked up. This also applies to Indian buildings on a through State or Federal highway, for example a gas station convenience store. Be careful, don’t walk in to pay while carrying a concealed pistol.

I avoid reservations for this reason, if I did find myself on one, I would be sure to secure them really well inside the Ollie and not drive recklessly!

John Davies

Spokane WA

[SteveCr]

This site will list the many BLM campsites around Moab. You can make multiple alternative plans. We camped at Goldbar on hwy 279. It was a side of the road along the river. Across the road was a very nice hiking trail that led to some special arches. At one point the trail went up a 12 foot alum ladder!

[ADKCamper]

A couple of things we have discovered about first-come/first-serve BLM campgrounds...

• In some cases (we encountered this with some of the smaller sites along the Colorado River near Moab) you might want to pull over at the entrance first and walk the campground looking for open site(s) and sufficient space for a trailer turn-around before you drive in. This should not be a problem with larger / more open sites.
• For the BLM areas that charge a (usually small) fee and have identified sites - just because there is a "ticket stub" hanging on the site's post doesn't necessarily mean the site is currently occupied. Some campers will leave the site in the morning without taking down their stub from the clip on the post, even though that stub is now "expired". Check the actual dates written on the ticket stub.

[mossemi]

This link is to a member who has sold their Oliver, but they were based around Salt Lake City, Utah.  Read the post "Seeing Ollie in the Best Possible Light" for Utah camping inspiration.

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/profile/807-davids/content/

Mossey