Taking the Kids: Fall road trip – exploring Utah’s Grand Staircase

By Eileen Ogintz, Tribune Content Agency on Oct 1, 2020

With remote school (here is a great geology field trip), college and work, many families are opting for a fall road trip. (Check out our 20 Fall Getaways for 2020, produced with our partners at Family Travel Forum. In these national parks in southern Utah and Arizona, you have many options to stay, from RV parks to cabins to historic lodges that have initiated additional COVID-19 mitigation and cleaning protocols.

(The Lodge at Bryce Canyon is open until Oct. 30, with lodging at the Sunset Lodge available through the end of December, though there will be limited services and additional COVID-19.)

We stayed in a cabin at the KOA Panguitch, Utah, about a half-hour from Bryce and a bit farther to Zion, as we make our way on a two-week road trip from Denver to the Grand Canyon where we opted for the less crowded North Rim in historic cabins. (The season ends Oct. 18, though you can still hike as long as the weather holds. Be forewarned that the Lodge restaurant known for its stellar views is closed, though there is takeout. The South Rim and Grand Canyon lodges are open all year — with limited dining this pandemic year. Even in fall or later, when you can find discounted lodging, it’s best to have reservations.)

If you want to include water fun in your fall getaway, a good stop could be Page, Arizona, north of the Grand Canyon with Lake Powell, the Glen Canyon Dam and Horseshoe Bend, all south of Bryce and Grand Staircase Escalante. We stayed in a comfortable two-bedroom rental at the Lake Powell Motel and Apartments, which has no common lobbies, hallway or elevators. (Antelope Canyon tours currently aren’t being offered.)

So, who gets the prize for counting the most creatures in the Hoodoos?

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(For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com and also follow TakingTheKids on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments. The Kid’s Guide to Philadelphia, the 13th in the kid’s guide series, was published in 2020, with The Kid’s Guide to Camping coming in 2021.)