Camping in the South West US

The Southwest: Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and even up into the southwest corner of Colorado offer some of the best camping and site seeing in the United States. It's canyons are beautiful and one of a kind. They go from the large, like the Grand Canyon, all the way down to the smaller and more intricate like Zion, or Bryce Canyon. Each park has it's own unique rock formations that inspire artists to paint and photographers to take photographs.

Probably the most unknown is Canyon Deche in Arizona. Located on a Navajo reservation this canyons campground is free to all visitors. All you need is a tent. The scenery is beautiful, making the small hike into the canyon an easy one, where visitors will enjoy the sites of the red canyon walls that have embedded in them old Indian villages from centuries ago.

The most known in the area is The Grand Canyon, which offers camping on either the top of the canyon or down below where a river runs through the center, which is only a days hike from the top and well worth it: the views are spectacular. Up above visitors can take tours that take them to just about any part of the canyon so get your cameras ready. The sights are awe-inspiring.

One of the smaller parks in the area, located in Utah is Arches National offering visitors sites that they won't be able to see anywhere else in the world. The parks main attraction, a large arch is only a three and a half mile hike from the road, making it easy to get to. Make sure to bring some water, because it can get pretty hot. The other trails in the park, range in length from three miles to ten, but all the major (large) arches can be hiked to without much effort.

In Arizona can be found one of the smaller canyons, Zion Canyon located in Zion National. A river runs through the canyon and the campgrounds, making the visit to the park cool and peaceful. Hiking trails are everywhere and usually lead to a waterfall, big or small. If visitors like they can hike up the river and go swimming.

Also located in Arizona is Bryce Canyon, which is the most unique canyon of the entire area. Large pillars of red rock jut up to the sky like large monoliths. The hiking is great and if visitors like they can hike into the canyon for a two-day hike and sleep with a view from the canyon floor of the entire park.

A quick place just to stop by while going from one campground to another is Four Corners, which is located on the exact play where New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado meet. It's worth the stop just to take a few photographs.

In Colorado, not far from Four Corners sits Mesa Verde, an almost magical place. The national park offers many tours of ancient Indian pueblos, which were dug into the canyon walls themselves. Camping is done on the flat plateau on top of the canyons. It's well worth the trip if you're in the area.

All together the Southwest offers some of the best site seeing and camping in the U.S. And the best thing about it all is that the canyons and national parks are only about a four to six mile drive from on another, making it easy to get from one to the other. In total, to see all the above-mentioned parks visitors will need only two weeks to see them all.