Visiting Utah National parks in August

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A440
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Visiting Utah National parks in August

Post by A440 »

I'm trying to plan a family vacation in August, as we are limited to when everyone can go. I'd like to visit several of Utah's National parks, but wondering how the temperatures/weather in August would be. Too hot for hiking? Too crowded? If so, I may choose another destination and keep Utah on the bucket list for a future visit.
What has been your experience(s)?
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Glockenspiel
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Re: Visiting Utah National parks in August

Post by Glockenspiel »

A440 wrote: Mon Mar 20, 2023 8:40 am I'm trying to plan a family vacation in August, as we are limited to when everyone can go. I'd like to visit several of Utah's National parks, but wondering how the temperatures/weather in August would be. Too hot for hiking? Too crowded? If so, I may choose another destination and keep Utah on the bucket list for a future visit.
What has been your experience(s)?
The parks that are at a lower elevation will likely be in the 90-105 degree temperature range in August. This includes Zion and Arches National Parks. I know Bryce Canyon is at a higher elevation so would be a bit cooler. It's a dry heat though so the humidity is not unbearable.
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Re: Visiting Utah National parks in August

Post by jpelder »

I went to a bunch of parks in the four corners region in mid July about 6 years ago. My experience...

July is monsoon season, especially further South. We got substantial rain at Petrified Forest, Page, the Grand Canyon, Bryce, and Zion. It'll still be going in August, although less than peak. Expect rain most afternoons/evenings at Zion and Bryce Canyon. Same if you hit any parks in Arizona or New Mexico.

As someone from the East/Gulf Coast, the low humidity made the high heat more bearable. I opted for full-coverage with light, loose-fitting clothing.

Zion was nice. Cool at night, warm-hot during the day.
Bryce Canyon was actually cold, especially at night (lows in the 40s). It's at 10,000+ feet, so that's why.
Capital Reef, Arches, and Canyonlands were scorchingly hot in the daytime. Arches was especially hot. It was nice at night.

The trip will be doable if you're all in good shape and stay hydrated/salted/fed. You will want to get up early and aim to be off the trails by 11 AM or noon. Maybe plan on going back out late in the afternoon, or go out stargazing at the parks that allow it. Capital Reef and Canyonlands are both dark sky parks.

As far as crowds go: Zion was packed. Bryce was busy for the rim tour, but the Queen's Garden trail wasn't. We only saw a handful of other people at Capital Reef. Arches was busy (although the Devil's Garden Primitive Loop was pretty sparse after Double-O Arch). There were other people at Grand View Point and Mesa Arch at Canyonlands, but it wasn't packed. I don't know how August crowds will compare to July crowds, but my guess is that they will be similar.
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Re: Visiting Utah National parks in August

Post by White Coat Investor »

A440 wrote: Mon Mar 20, 2023 8:40 am I'm trying to plan a family vacation in August, as we are limited to when everyone can go. I'd like to visit several of Utah's National parks, but wondering how the temperatures/weather in August would be. Too hot for hiking? Too crowded? If so, I may choose another destination and keep Utah on the bucket list for a future visit.
What has been your experience(s)?
Yes.

Yes.

It will be too hot and too crowded. So if you want to come, plan to be crowded and plan to be hot. Some hikes are cooler than others (the Narrows for instance is walking up a river) and Bryce Canyon is at 10,000 feet. You're less likely to die of heatstroke on a short hike. Some hikes are less crowded than others (but there are none listed on this forum that are not absolutely packed in August).

Hiking in Utah is almost never comfortable. You are either too hot or too cold. Often both on the same hike. That's because it's a desert and hikes are often wet. Massive daily temperature fluctuations. Massive annual temperature fluctuations. But it sure beats hiking most other places. That's why so many non-hikers actually do hike when they come to Utah. In all months of the year.
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Watty
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Re: Visiting Utah National parks in August

Post by Watty »

A440 wrote: Mon Mar 20, 2023 8:40 am What has been your experience(s)?
Even before the pandemic the national parks have been very busy especially in June, July and August. With the pandemic a lot of people have not been planning international trips and doing domestic trips instead which has made them even more crowded. Some of the national parks even require reservations to enter the park or hike specific popular trails. Hotels and campsites get fully booked early so your choices of where to stay may be limited.

Parking can also be a big problem and in August it can be common to get to an attraction or trailhead only to find there is no place to park your car.

Most of the national parks though are big and most people stay near the big attractions and within a couple of hundred yards of the main roads. Often you can find a lessor used trail and after a ten minute hike you can be away from most of the crowds.

In some areas rental cars in particular may be harder to find and more expensive than you are used to so book those early. Hertz is in bankruptcy and the new and used car shortages have caused rental car companies to reduce the number of cars that they have.

You are a bit later than ideal to be starting to plan a national park trip so figuring out where you can get good reservations at might be a big factor in deciding where to go. Planning a trip now is far from impossible but it will take some more work to plan it.

Maybe not so much for Utah but if you plan a similar trip somewhere else than also be sure to consider the risk of forest fires which have been bad the last few years. Even if they do not impact the area you are at directly the smoke may be a problem. I was at the Grand Tetons about five years ago and the smoke from a forest fire hundreds of miles away made it so smoky that you could barely see the mountains.

If you want to do a trip in the southwest in August one thing you should plan on doing is getting up and out early, like up before dawn and at the park by sunrise, so that you can do things when it is cooler and before the crowds get too bad. Not all families will be good at doing that.
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Re: Visiting Utah National parks in August

Post by Watty »

White Coat Investor wrote: Mon Mar 20, 2023 9:25 am You're less likely to die of heatstroke on a short hike.
FYI, in case you did not know he is an emergency room doctor in Utah who is an active outdoors person.
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Re: Visiting Utah National parks in August

Post by A440 »

Sounds like this trip may need to wait until I have more time to plan, and/or at least maybe a time when crowds, temps are a better option.
Thank you for all the suggestions and feedback.
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Re: Visiting Utah National parks in August

Post by Watty »

One more thought.

If you are looking for an alternative destination and would be flying you might check to see if you can find good airfares from where you are at to Calgary Canada. I found a really good sale from where I am at so I am planning a trip there in August to see Banff and the Canadian Rockies. I had not really planned on going there but I saw a great deal for direct flights, around $300, which caused me to look into it.

That will also be VERY busy then and the prices are high so I will be staying outside the more desirable Banff and Lake Louise area so my VRBO location will not be ideal but it should be workable for us. It will be far from hot though and likely be on the cool side especially at night so we will need to take warm clothes with us. I have not been there before so it would be hard to really recommend but it might be something to consider as an alternative. You would of course need passports if you go there so that could be a cost and time factor to consider.
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Re: Visiting Utah National parks in August

Post by howard71 »

We stayed in Moab to visit Arches and Canyonlands in late May a couple of years ago. Could not get into Canyonlands because it was closed when we got there unless you had a reservation. Same thing happened with Arches but we finally got in by getting up at 6 AM and visiting early. Next stop was Rocky Mountains NP in Colorado and the results were the same - Reservations required so we went early in the AM the next day. Still could not do much of anything but drive through because the major areas were also checking reservations. When we exited on the other side of the park they wouldn't let us back in to return to our hotel without a reservation. Had to drive over 100 miles, almost back to Denver to get around the mountains.

I think that pretty much spelled the end of my visiting the U.S. National Parks, at least when it's anytime near peak season. Fortunately, I've already visited nearly all of the major ones, some more than once. So I'll leave it to the younger generations to fight the crowds.
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Re: Visiting Utah National parks in August

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Watty wrote: Mon Mar 20, 2023 10:52 am One more thought.

If you are looking for an alternative destination and would be flying you might check to see if you can find good airfares from where you are at to Calgary Canada. I found a really good sale from where I am at so I am planning a trip there in August to see Banff and the Canadian Rockies. I had not really planned on going there but I saw a great deal for direct flights, around $300, which caused me to look into it.

That will also be VERY busy then and the prices are high so I will be staying outside the more desirable Banff and Lake Louise area so my VRBO location will not be ideal but it should be workable for us. It will be far from hot though and likely be on the cool side especially at night so we will need to take warm clothes with us. I have not been there before so it would be hard to really recommend but it might be something to consider as an alternative. You would of course need passports if you go there so that could be a cost and time factor to consider.
Thanks for the thought. Banff and Lake Louise are definitely on the bucket list, hopefully with a scenic train ride included.
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Re: Visiting Utah National parks in August

Post by WhyNotUs »

While we personally frequent Utah in April and October, I would not rule an August trip out as quickly as some. White Coat has started you on a path toward a possible fun trip. Regardless of the time of year but especially when school is out, planning trips to popular National Parks requires lots of planning. However, that can be a fun part of the trip.

If one wanted to go in August trip of say a week. They could tackle Zion first. Getting a reservation at the Zion Lodge at this point may be a challenge but worth checking. If you can't get a room, then look for a place close to the entrance with a pool.

It would be easy to spend a few days there. As was noted, you would want to learn the shuttle system and get out early onto the trails. The Narrows was noted as a good option as the day warms. Walking in water in a slot canyon is different than an exposed trail with big elevation gain. I think you could find enough appropriate hikes to experience the park without risking heat stroke.

Tubing on the VIrgin River or hotel pool would offer afternoon relief. Late in the day you could enjoy a bike ride up the park. There are ebike rentals and since traffic is limited, it is a nice place to bike.

Then you could head to Brice for the other NP experience. I would not go to parks in the Moab area, it is likely to be very hot there.
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Re: Visiting Utah National parks in August

Post by jlawrence01 »

One thing that needs to be addressed is not only will it be hot and crowded during the summer months but you have to consider that you have to give yourself a day or two to adjust to the higher elevations in Utah.
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Re: Visiting Utah National parks in August

Post by Random Musings »

jlawrence01 wrote: Mon Mar 20, 2023 11:46 pm One thing that needs to be addressed is not only will it be hot and crowded during the summer months but you have to consider that you have to give yourself a day or two to adjust to the higher elevations in Utah.
Most of the parks in Utah, besides Bryce, which is about 8-9,000 feet are 7,000 feet or less in almost places where the strong majority visit. If you know how you acclimate to changes in elevation, you will know if these elevations are issues or not. If you haven't been exposed, I would be a little more cautious. Last time we were there, our family was at Cedar Breaks NM after flying in the prior day - elevation around 10,500 feet - no problems, but we've been to those elevations before and we were not doing any strenuous hiking that day.. I've been at higher elevations (12,000+) multiple times and have not experienced any issues before, although by default I have been acclimating a few days before I got to those points which is recommended anyway once you get over 9,000 feet or so. OTOH, if I would go to a location with elevations over 14,000 feet, I would surely be cautious and acclimate for a longer period. You just don't know how your body will react until you experience those elevations, everyone is different. Just make sure you hydrate well and carb up a little more.

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