Reader Participation Day: California, or Utah, For A National Park Trek?

Published Date

July 21, 2010

Utah, or California, which state beckons you for a national park tour? Top photo of Arches National Park by Kurt Repanshek, bottom photo of Half Dome by QT Luong, www.terragalleria.com/parks, used with permission.

If you had the option of either traveling to Utah for a swing through its national parks, or to California to sample its national parks, which would you choose?

True, California has Yosemite and Sequoia and Lassen Volcanic and Redwood just to name four, and overall more national parks than Utah. But Utah has Arches and Canyonlands and Zion, wonders that frame a red-rock landscape like none other in the world.

To help you decide, here's a breakdown of the national parks (just parks, not seashores, monuments, preserves, etc.) in those states:

California

Yosemite National Park
Sequoia National Park
Kings Canyon National Park
Death Valley National Park
Lassen Volcanic National Park
Channel Islands National Park
Joshua Tree National Park

Utah

Arches National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park
Canyonlands National Park
Capitol Reef National Park
Zion National Park

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Visiting the Parks

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Comments

Submitted by admin on July 21, 2010 - 4:50pm.

I have a CA trip on my bucket list. I must say I have done several trips to Utah and it does make for a great road trip.At Zion the narrows is a great hike I also would suggest North Rim of the Grand Canyon as a side trip from Zion or Bryce. North rim has less people than the south rim But is closed part of the year so plan ahead. I also Loved Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was an incredible drive from Capital Reef down to Bryce.
Dave

Submitted by deanhicks on July 21, 2010 - 7:28pm.

Have been to both states. Lassen,Yosemite,Sequoia,Kings Canyon,Red Woods.Also several of the areas in San Francisco.

In Utah it's Bryce,Zion,Canyonlands,Arches,Capital Reef,Cedar Breaks,Natural Bridges. And add Dead Horse Sate Park.

My vote is Utah. I love em all.........

Can't wait to retire to began those monthly trips to HOPEFULLY all of the National Parks.

Submitted by y_p_w on July 21, 2010 - 11:57pm.

RangerLady:
y_p_w, be careful with that. It is actualyl illegal to transfer alcohol into Utah from another state. I really doubt anyone enforces it since all of us here at Capitol Reef do it, but you never know when someone might be having a bad day and will want to cite!

I wasn't aware of that, and I even checked out the Utah alcohol control website before I went. I just looked around some more, and apparently that is technically the case that bringing in alcohol is usually illegal. There are some exceptions, but they seemed obscure (like inheriting alcoholic beverages from an estate) and which also required a license and/or fee. The other one is bringing in less than 2 liters of liquor if completing an international flight; I think this is the federal duty-free limit which Utah probably doesn't want to mess with.

I'm thinking one of the primary points would be right at Page, Arizona, where they've got a WalMart SuperCenter that has an extensive collection of beer, and I think liquor. I mean - you've got people going boating in Lake Powell, with Page a popular supply point, and then crossing into Utah via roads or waterways. Still - law enforcement at Glen Canyon NRA is NPS, and I don't imagine they're citing people for merely having alcohol without being severely intoxicated and/or controlling a boat when drinking.

Submitted by Ilex_Opaca on July 22, 2010 - 8:39am.

y_p_w,

The issue with the law is that if you didn't buy it in Utah then you didn't pay UT taxes on it. UT really wants you to pay their state taxes on the alcohol before you cross state lines with it. The rangers here checked into that and no one can tell them how to pay those taxes, so every one pretty much turns a blind eye to it. We all do it when we head into Grand Junction, CO for groceries and bring back wine and other goodies.

Submitted by Lee Dalton on July 22, 2010 - 9:21am.

Actually, I think if you check laws in most states you'll find it's illegal to import not only liquor but virtually anything else as well. It's probably one of those "just in case" laws used to nail people who transport huge quantities of things to avoid higher taxes in one state. Try buying a car in one state and see if they nail you for taxes at home when you try to get license plates.

A few years ago, if you lived in Utah but worked in Arizona, Arizona required that you have both Utah and Arizona license plates on your car. I hope that has changed, but at the time the Arizona legislature didn't like Utah for some reason. Maybe because they were jealous of Utah's scenery.

Submitted by y_p_w on July 22, 2010 - 9:34am.

I found the exceptions:

http://le.utah.gov/~code/TITLE32A/htm/32A12_021200.htm

2 liters if purchased outside of the US and that has passed through US customs is the first category. Moving to Utah seems to be another, but apparently with state approval and fees. Then there's up to 2 liters of 288 oz of beer if purchased on a military base (who thought that up?).

Apparently the Utah Highway Patrol is sending officers outside the state to look for people with Utah plates and buying beer around major holidays. They do this from unmarked cars with different plates. It doesn't seem like they're targeting out of state drivers though. One piece of advice in their comments section was to not stop at the first place across the border, since that's where these undercover stings are typically set up. One lawyer says this is primarily for revenue purposes as you suggested.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/49869570-76/fireworks-utah-reynolds-be...

Submitted by admin on July 22, 2010 - 2:46pm.

I'm from California, but I keep returning to visit the parks of Utah.

Submitted by admin on July 22, 2010 - 3:18pm.

Utah has no beaches? How about Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon NRA. My first visit to Yosemite was this spring and it was incredibly beautiful, but Utah gets my vote.

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