Advice Wanted - Grand Canyons, Zion, Bryce Canyon

**BillnGA** · 11-25-2013, 11:15

This coming summer I'm planning on taking a family trip back west and visiting some of the National Parks. There are 7 of us in our family (me, the wife, and 5 kiddos). I'm searching for any information / personal experiences / advice from folks who might have hammock camped at:

Grand Canyon
Zion National Park
Bryce Canyon

Is hammock camping even an option at these places? Are certain campsites better than others?

Thanks.
Bill

**rktodd** · 11-25-2013, 12:09

My wife and I hit all the Utah national parks this past September but didn't hammock camp. All I can offer is, Zion's campground definitely has trees suitable for hanging but, we did not see one hammock anywhere. Don't know if that means it's not allowed, or we just didn't see any. Bryce Canyon campground is also in a wooded area but didn't get close enough to see any of the campers. The north rim of the Grand Canyon has primitive camping but again we didn't see any hammocks. We just drove down there for a one day trip from Zion.

Sorry, that's not much info to offer but it's all I got

**Vincethebutcher** · 11-25-2013, 12:59

I have no experience there. Im slooowly in the process of planning a bike tour though these areas. But i had a buddy that worked in Zion for a summer. Ill ask him, but from what ive talked to him about already it doesnt sound like hammocking is a very good option out there. If you brought those portable hammock stands, i forget the name i think its a UK company. But that would be a sure fire way to be able to hammock. I think they are around $100-$120 a piece. Hope this helps, ill ask my buddy and see what he knows.

**sullythehiker** · 11-25-2013, 13:54

You could buy a stand or just build one. I have seen several diffent DIY versions of stands listed on here...

https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...=Hammock+stand

https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...=Hammock+stand

These are just two i found fairly quickly. Before you spend a lot of money on a pre-made one you should look into making your own.

**oldpappy** · 11-25-2013, 14:04

For that size a group I'd say you need a tent/pop-up or travel trailer for a base station with hammocks and hammock stands along for use as practical. For Bryce I used the KOA, Zion was a nice wooded campground, and I was disappointed with Grand Canyon CG (too crowded).
Summers are hot and crowded - May and Sept were good months.

**nuttysquirrel** · 11-25-2013, 14:42

Originally Posted by BillnGA

This coming summer I'm planning on taking a family trip back west and visiting some of the National Parks. There are 7 of us in our family (me, the wife, and 5 kiddos). I'm searching for any information / personal experiences / advice from folks who might have hammock camped at:

Grand Canyon
Zion National Park
Bryce Canyon

Is hammock camping even an option at these places? Are certain campsites better than others?

Thanks.
Bill

if you look around you will allways find trees( or other anchor)on a two week trip to canyonlands i never once slept on the ground.

**BillnGA** · 11-26-2013, 08:23

Thanks for the input. I pulled up a bunch of photos online of campgrounds and they looked like they had some trees. Hopefully they would have enought for our fam.

I like the ideas about hammock stands. But due to the length of the trip (3-4 weeks), bringing several hammock stands just isn't feasible. Plus, between he wife and two teenage daughters, there is barely enough room in the family wagon for my small duffle/pack.

**dkurfiss** · 11-26-2013, 08:49

My suggestion is to determine if you/the family are more impressed looking up or looking down

Yeah I know makes no sense but here is the story.

I went to the Grand Canyon with family and was the most bored person in the world. I was not at all impressed standing on the rim looking down. Just another hole in the ground to me.

Our next stop was Zion. I am calmly driving along, I look up, and stop right in the middle of the road. I was so impressed by the size of the walls and view of them we spent hours there.

When we all got to talking about what we like and what we did not like everything I like was an upward view. I bet if we had went to the bottom of the Grand Canyon I would have been very impressed.

If you have time try to go see the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. It was one of the most beautiful places I have seen on earth. http://parks.nv.gov/parks/valley-of-fire-state-park/

**Kapang!** · 11-26-2013, 10:35

Don't pass up Arches and Canyonlands. If you're not going that far north, then don't miss Goblin Valley and Kodachrome.

**BillnGA** · 11-26-2013, 13:46

I grew up in Western Colorado and spent some time around Moab and Arches. Love those places. Unfortunately, due to time, I don't think we'll be able to hit Arches this trip. So many places....so little time.