As others have said, Moab and the nearby parks are amazing. Still my favorite place Ive visited. We were there in 1991 and again in 2001 so a long time ago. No crowds in those days in Arches and Canyonlands even in the peak summer months. A different story these days Im sure. You will love it.
I'll be on a SW USA trip during the same time period, though it'll be in Navajo country in the four corners region. I've traveled Utah and Arizona extensively over the last decade and have some tips:
Zion National Park: I'll leave out tips on the classic hikes at Zion in the main canyon (Angel's Landing, Observation Point, Narrows) since there is plenty of information out there about those. The key is to catch the earliest shuttles, you won't feel the crowds as much then. What many miss is that there are three other areas of Zion that are absolutely worth exploring:
Kolob Canyons: This is located off I-15 and is an incredible area of Zion. The best short hike I have ever done is located here, the South Fork of Taylor Creek. Cannot recommend this trail enough.
East Canyon: I recommend Many Pools "off-trail" hike, absolutely incredible and very lonely.
Kolob Terrace: I recommend the Northgate Peaks trail at the Wildcat Canyon trailhead, it is absolutely beautiful and uncrowded.
I would recommend any of those three areas over Cedar Breaks, which will be mostly snow still in May.
Bryce Canyon:
Hike the Fairyland Loop trail in the park.
We found Kodachrome Basin State Park near Cannonville to be worth the visit, I think we hiked the Angel's Palace trail. Great BBQ at IDK BBQ nearby.
There is also Willis Creek slot canyon nearby (feet will get wet), absolutely worth it.
Capitol Reef:
The drive between Bryce and Capitol Reef on UT-12 is mindblowing, one of the prettiest highways you'll ever drive.
Look up the Burr trail in Grand Staircase Escalante and Capitol Reef, absolutely worth making it to the steep windy section, Headquarter Canyon was a great trail.
Inside the park, don't forget to get some pie! It sells out fast but is delicious. Cohab Canyon, Grand Wash, all great trails.
Moab:
The best hike I've found in all of Canyonlands/Arches is the Chesler Park/Joint Trail loop. Druid Arch is cool too. I prefer Needles District over Island in the Sky and both over Arches.
128 east along the river is beautiful, plenty of camping and rock climbing, Fisher Towers is beautiful (biggest climb I've done). 145 is fun too, pushed my car to the limits.
Grand Canyon:
Given your other travels, I hope you're visiting the North Rim instead of the South Rim. Much quieter, the lodge is my favorite in the NPS and the hikes are great!
Have a great trip!
OMG... this such a pointless discussion. I did not say anything was stunted. I said its been a perfectly normal spring with a normal leaf out. What I also said is that the trees usually go in spurts of spring growth with the warmer periods. Pretty obvious to anyone who has ever experienced a spring at this latitude. And regardless of rain... the trees that @Meatyorologist was talking about being stunted will fill out with the next warm period. How is this even a debate?
This year so far. When you eliminate the major outliers in each direction, there has only been one actual warm month across the board, February. And it wasn't nearly the torch that some Nino Februarys have been.
January, March, and April were pretty close to normal overall across the lowlands.
Jan
BLI: -2.2
SEA: -1.2
Seattle city: -.5
OLM: 1.8
PDX: -1.6
Downtown Portland: -2.2
Battle Ground: -1.2
SLE: -.2
EUG: 1.9
Feb
BLI: .4
SEA: .3
Seattle city: 1.6
OLM: 2.0
PDX: 2.1
Downtown Portland: .5
Battle Ground: 1.9
SLE: 1.1
EUG: 2.8
Mar
BLI: -1.1
SEA: 0.0
Seattle city: 1.0
OLM: 1.3
PDX: 1.7
Downtown Portland: 0.0
Battle Ground: .4
SLE: -.6
EUG: .4
Apr
BLI: -2.1
SEA: -1.0
Seattle city: .1
OLM: .4
PDX: 1.6
Downtown Portland: .1
Battle Ground: 0.0
SLE: -.1
EUG: .5
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