After 5 weeks in Colorado, we were ready for a road trip! We headed south and landed in Hurricane, Utah, about 10 miles from St. George, and close to the Utah/Nevada/Arizona border.
We had planned to spend 2-3 weeks in the area, hoping to snag a spot at one of a couple of state parks in the area. But the area was busy with Jeep rallies, bike rallies and a few other events, and we couldn’t get a long reservation. We opted for an RV Park in Hurricane for a week, then another week at Sand Hollow State Park.
WillowWind RV Park is in the town of Hurricane, and was probably one of the nicest parks we have stayed at in our 16 months on the road. The streets are paved and curbed, all the sites are concrete pads, and most of them have a grass yard and at least one tree for shade. There is a newer section of the park where trees are smaller and the yard is decorative rock instead.
Most of the sites are back-in, as was ours, and with the size of our Jeep, we had to angle park to get off the street. However, there was overflow parking just across the street from us, so it usually wasn’t a problem just to leave the Jeep there.
The Park is very well maintained, with workers out every day, trimming yards, blowing leaves and cleaning streets. The laundry facilities were clean and adequate in size and even had a commercial sized washer and dryer for comforters and such.
Across the main highway was a great grocery store and the post office, and the town had ample restaurants for a small place. And of course, St. George was only a 15 minute drive. If your experience with St. George is an I-15 drive-though on your way to Las Vegas, do yourself a favor and stop for a few days. Very nice city, very clean and lots to do!
One of the main reasons for staying in the area was our desire to visit Zion National Park. We had made one very fast ‘pass-through’ several years ago, but really wanted to spend a day there. Because they don’t allow dogs on hiking trails, we sought out a Doggy Day Care. [name] was a jewel of a find – they were a family business, and had such a good facility, with open yard playing (no kenneling all day), and separate areas for small and large dogs. We opted to leave Mac overnight, as their weekend hours would have prevented us from a full day at Zion.
So, up early and off we went to check-in at Zion. The other motive for going was I (Alowetta) turned 62 earlier that week and I was very anxious to purchase my ‘final’ annual pass for national parks. Providing I never lose the thing, I will not have to purchase one again!!
Our day at Zion included several bus rides (during most months of the year, you cannot drive t he full park – you must ride shuttles to areas), and lots of hiking. It was beautiful, strenuous and exhausting by the end of the day (ok, I’m old and out of shape). But 6 miles of trails, a delightful dinner at the Lodge and an evening drive back was well worth the trip!
Zion is about a 45 minute drive from Hurricane, and even in the off months, RVs are discouraged from driving the Park. In fact, there is one road they are prohibited from taking – the old tunnel road that goes out and west toward Kanab, Utah. Do your homework before you go.
