European planning a 10-Day road trip to US National Parks
Hey everyone!
I'm a tourist from Europe, and I’m planning a 10/11-day road trip through the US Southwest in April (21.04 - 01.05). We land in LV and rent our campervan there.
I want to visit a minimum of:
- Grand Canyon National Park
- Zion National Park
- Arches National Park
- Bryce Canyon National Park
- Canyonlands National Park
- Capitol Reef National Park (is it worth it?)
I’ll be renting a campervan and would love some advice on camping logistics:
- How far in advance do I need to book campsites? Are last-minute reservations or first-come, first-served sites an option? (this is stressing me out because on recreation.gov and hipcamp some recommended campings look full already)
- Should I drive all the time between different campings or are there parks that can be visited from one camping where I could stay for 3-4 nights and just drive for like 1h one way? Any budget-friendly recommendations?
- Is 10 days too ambitious for this route or can we actually add something? I don’t really grasp how big this area is, so I’m unsure how much time I’ll actually spend driving vs. exploring.
- Is it worth to add Sedona to this list?
- What would you do differently if you were planning this trip?
I’d love to hear from people who have done similar trips. Any must-see stops, hiking recommendations, or general tips would be amazing. Thanks in advance!