Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
National Park Service and managed by concessionaires. Rates for the park lodges
are controlled by the park service and are not outrageous.
Outside the parks you'll find chain motels, independent mom-and-pop motels,
and a few small bed and breakfasts, often in historic homes. Rates vary, but these
towns are tourist traps, and you are unlikely to find bargains, especially during the
busy summer season.
Expect to pay more for any given type of lodging than you would if it were not
just outside a national park. The further you go from the parks the less expensive
your lodging will be, but resist the temptation and stay in or as close to the parks
as you can afford.
The best—and perhaps only—way to really save money on lodging is to go in
the off season, preferably just before or just after the high season. We recently spent
a week at Zion National Park in late March. The cool, spring weather was perfect
for hiking (except for the one day it snowed and the wind blew at near gale-force
speed), and lodging cost close to half of June or July rates.
Package & Adventure Tours
A number of nationally recognized companies offer tours that include Zion and
Bryce and surrounding areas. In most cases, all you do is pay, and then the out-
fitters arrange everything, including lodging, meals, and transportation. Offerings
range from fairly standard bus tours to luxury adventure vacations, where you
spend your days hiking or biking and your evenings being pampered with gour-
met meals, hot tubs, and first-class hotels. You'll want to contact tour operators as
far in advance as possible, as reservations are required and group sizes are limited.
The adventure tour operators generally specialize in small groups and have trips
for various levels of ability and physical fitness. Trips are offered in a range of price
categories, from basic to luxurious, and are of varying lengths.
For a list of outfitters in Utah, as well as a lot of other useful information and
Web links, contact the
UtahOficeofTourism,
Council Hall, 300 N. State St., Salt
Utah Guides & Outfitters,
www.utah-adventures.com.
In addition to the companies listed below, one well-respected national company
that offers tours to southern Utah's national parks is
TauckTours
(
&
800/788-7885;
www.tauck.com
)
. A good online source for a variety of outdoor adventure trips
offered by various outfitters is
www.adventurefinder.com.
.
