Zion & Bryce Camping

I'm heading out to AZ and UT in about 2 weeks and am just getting my gear together.

I will be spending a few days camping in Zion and Bryce with my wife and am not sure what sleeping bags we should bring. I know it will be hot during the days, but it looks like the lows can range from 50's to 70's depending on weather and elevation.

We both have bulky and heavy 30 degree synthetic bags that I would rather not pack since neither of us will be checking a bag. Think we would be good with lightweight 50 or 55 degree bags or would we be better off with the 30s? She hates to be cold so it might be a better idea to play it safe with the 30s.

Any info you guys can give me would be greatly appreciated. Also any other gear suggestions or places to see/hike would be awesome.

Thanks!

You should be fine with the lighter bags. bring a puffy for your wife to wear if she gets too cold at night but it should be plenty warm. No climbing in Bryce but the Fairyland Loop trail is really great.

zion: so much to do but check out The Subway if you can get permits.

Thanks for the info! The Subway looks sick, I'm hoping we can get permits, we will see. We have a week total so we are going to try to fit as much in as possible. Can't wait!

Just spent a few nights near Bryce with my kid. A bit chilly at night, especially for him. If you don't want to bring your heavier bag, consider getting a bag liner. It can heat things up considerably with little added bulk. Good luck!

Thanks Nathan, good idea with the liner!

The 30 will be nice for her for the high elevation areas around Bryce. If you don't plan on camping high don't bring it. At low elevations a bed sheet will be overkill until like 3 AM. It doesn't start cooling down until a few hours after midnight.

I personally run warm so I would bring a light bag and camp as high as possible. I would also suggest looking into a day or 2 in the Escalante area. The slot canyons down Hole in the Rock road are awesome, and Lower Calf Creek falls is 120 feet and runs year round. Pretty impressive in the middle of the desert.

Thanks Chris! Definitely going to add Escalante to the list, Slot Canyon looks awesome. Really appreciate all the info

Some other ideas:

Water Canyon*
Upper Parunuweap/Barracks*
Spooky/Peek-a-boo canyons*
Buckskin Gulch*
Vermillion Cliffs
Coyote Gulch*

• Permits not required for day trips

Great, thanks for the suggestions! I don't really want to deal with the permits so we will definitely be doing lots of day hikes

You might pick up the Kelsey books if you want to do some off-the-beaten path exploring. They're reasonable in price and packed full of details (literally, very little white space):

amazon.com/Technical-Canyon…
amazon.com/Non-Technical-Ca…

Right on, thanks Fossana!

I second calf creek falls. It's a really easy 8ish mile hike with plenty of places to scramble just off the trail. And you can swim under the falls which will be a godsend in mid July.

Nice, that definitely puts it on the list. Any place where we can get in the water or head to some cooler higher elevation will be awesome! Looks like plenty of campgrounds around in the higher elevation as well

Curly kN wrote:I second calf creek falls. It's a really easy 8ish mile hike with plenty of places to scramble just off the trail. And you can swim under the falls which will be a godsend in mid July.

RobG814 wrote:Nice, that definitely puts it on the list. Any place where we can get in the water or head to some cooler higher elevation will be awesome!

Minor clarification: that's Lower Calf Creek Falls. It's 6 miles round trip, and level. The trail starts in the Calf Creek campground. It's well worth the hike, even in our current blistering temperatures. (Start early, carry lots of water, etc. Remember that unlike other areas of the country, the heat in the deserts continues to build during the day, with the daytime high usually occurring 5-6 pm)

Upper Calf Creek is a bit more of a thrash, mostly unmarked/unmaintained trail and trailhead, and looses significant elevation that needs to be regained to get back to your car. Continuing all the way to Lower CCF and out to the campground is possible, but is rough, slow going, and will involve a 150'(?) rappel and car shuttle. There are much better canyoneering options in the summer.

Thanks Marc! Leaving one week from tomorrow, counting down the days!