Go to Southeast Utah! We’ve spent 60 days exploring the area. The West is vast! We know to get to interesting places; it can be an all-day adventure. We pack our hiking gear, layers of clothing, good food and drinks. Without a doubt, it is one of our favorite areas in the country.
October Weather
We recommend Southeast Utah in October because kids are in school, there are fewer tourists and the weather is outstanding. It’s likely to be very dry with cool evenings and mornings and warm days. Late in the month, at higher elevations, you can get a little snow.
Campgrounds and Service
There are several RV Campgrounds, similar in pricing between Monticello and Bluff Utah off UT-191. Be aware that there is little cell or wi-fi service South of Blanding. Each town has plenty of other services, groceries, fuel, restaurants, and some hotels in the area. Full-service auto garages, hardware stores, and building supply stores are also available. We even found the welder we needed for some quick repair work.
Each of these towns, Bluff, Blanding, and Monticello were calm and quiet with nice friendly helpful people.
Adventure Monticello (pop. 2,750)
Adventure in this area is everywhere! The highlight for us was a 27-mile float down the San Juan River. We’ll cover that as we work south from Monticello. Mountain View RV Campground in Monticello is basic, everything worked perfectly. It’s owned and operated by a hard-working lady and her husband. He is a Sheriff’s Deputy who, of course, has an abundance of accurate info about the area.
- Drive 45 minutes to the top of Abajo Peak, 11,369’, take S South Creek Rd. W. It’s an easy trail through the Aspens to the Radio towers, beautiful view and there is a lot more to do! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abajo_Peak
- Visit Lloyds Lake for Rainbow Trout, at sunrise if you’re an early riser or sunset if you’re like me. It’s just West of town and at dawn or dusk you should see plenty of deer. They are abundant in the area, always drive carefully and be on the lookout. There are a lot of them! At dusk, take the 2.3-mile trail counterclockwise to catch the sun setting across the lake, behind Abajo Peak. That’s a back pocket day! https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/utah/lloyds-lake-loop
- From Monticello, it’s just a 30-minute drive to Newspaper Rock. UT-191 North, turn left on 211 is easy route but I prefer taking 101 West out of town, then left on 101. Guess why? Adventure! There’s more that way! https://www.visitutah.com/places-to-go/parks-outdoors/bears-ears-national-monument/newspaper-rock-and-the-indian-creek-scenic-byway
- Food! For groceries, we shopped Blue Mountain 64 W Center St.
More in Blanding (pop. 4,000)
Blanding is a little more town and we found more great adventure with hidden gems. Here we stayed at Blue Mountain RV & Trading. Everything was exactly as advertised, good, clean working camp right on UT-191, road noise was no issue. Quick access to all directions.
- Take a fun and winding drive one hour to Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah’s first, 1908. Head South, then West on UT-95. There are three bridges, Kachina, Owachomo and Sipapu, named in honor of the Puebloans who lived there. The area offers easy, very interesting hikes, camping and it’s a designated “International Dark Sky Park” (IDSP). We really enjoyed hiking down to and beyond Sipapu Bridge with a staircase and a few ladders. It’s an easy hike, and a half day to a full day of adventure. https://www.darksky.org/, https://www.nps.gov/nabr/index.htm
- Now, head South, then East on UT-262 an hour from Blanding to Hovenweep National Monument (1923). Once you’re out on 262, keep an eye out for Wild Horses and the cattle roam free. Enjoy the Camping and Hiking trails. We hiked the Horseshoe and Hackberry Trail which is the perimeter rim trail. Flat and easy, 1.4 miles, 60 minutes. We saw a couple of small Rattlesnakes. They will usually alert you. Hovenweep was once home to 2,500 people and includes six ruined villages built between A.D. 1200 and 1300. https://www.nps.gov/hove/planyourvisit/visitor-center.htm
- A great friend recommended Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum right in town. We were impressed. They have the largest collection of Ancestral Puebloan pottery in the Four Corners Region and a Puebloan village on site. The pottery is beautiful and in exceptional condition. We spent approximately 2 hours, it was quiet, and it wasn’t crowded. https://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/edge-of-the-cedars/
- Food! Pretty good grocery at Clarks, 820 S Main St. We also had a good dinner at Homestead Steak House, 121 East Center St.
Bluff and the San Juan River (pop. 250)
Way down in the SE corner is a little, growing, town, Bluff. We were there to meet an old friend who had been visiting and exploring the area for the last 10 years. I was more excited to see her than Bluff, or the river, she is special! This area is remote, there is little cell or Wi-Fi service. We stayed briefly at Cadillac Ranch RV Park. It has a great location but while we were there the Wi-Fi was not strong enough. Give them a call https://cadillacranchrvparkutah.com/
- The three of us took an epic boat ride we’ll never forget. March-October, Wild Expeditions offers river trips of 8 hrs. to 10 days on the San Juan River to ancient Puebloan ruins, petroglyphs, and gold miners’ cabins. We saw many birds, wild donkeys, and Bighorn Sheep. The day trip was 27 miles through towering canyon walls through ancient land full of amazing history. A tasty lunch was provided by our Navajo guide. https://www.riversandruins.com/tour-category/san-juan-river-trips?gclid=Cj0KCQjwy5maBhDdARIsAMxrkw2bN97y8_VzoKwzQjHZ-3TfpFeYZtQrBF0rqedJIBRCl7OYqZdVMEMaAuBWEALw_wcB
- You can split a day visiting Goosenecks State Park and driving through Valley of the Gods.
- Goosenecks has the amazing view of the San Juan River. Here you’ll see 300 million years of geological activity where the river carves its way through the desert, 1,000 feet below. It’s a Don’t Miss! Only $5 to visit, $10 for overnight camping on the edge! You can Boondock or just take a bumpy ride through Valley of the Gods for free and enjoy the many red sandstone rock formations. Please keep an eye out for The Lady in the Bathtub!
- Food! I can recommend the restaurant Comb Ridge at 409 Main St. I hadn’t ever had Bison Short Ribs before. These ribs were amazazing! They were so good, I’m pretty sure I’ll never experience that moment again. We also had good food at Cottonwood Steakhouse, 409 W Main St., Dukes, dinner only, 701 West Main, and Twin Rocks, easy to find at 913 Navajo Twins Dr. Bluff is very small, so you’ll drive through and see them all in 5 minutes.
Nearby
Don’t forget, it’s October, catch the local High School Football game Friday Night, excellent value!
To the North you’ll also find National Parks, Canyonlands and Arches as well as the Four-Wheel Drive Mecca of Moab. It is the largest town along UT-191 South of I-70, (pop. 5,500). Stay tuned for that info, we loved it of course!
Just an hour South, is the “Museum of the Creator”, Monument Valley that is still a Top 10 location for me. That’s another story for another day. Here’s the preview! https://navajonationparks.org/tribal-parks/monument-valley/
