South West USA road trip: 2 weeks from Las Vegas by motorhome

We travelled in October as three adults in a Cruise America C-25. It didn't take long to see why motorhome holidays in the USA work so well in this part of the country. Here's our route, our favourite stops and the things we'd want to know before doing it again.

Route: Las Vegas – Zion National Park – Bryce Canyon – Page & Lake Powell – Monument Valley – Grand Canyon – Sedona – Las Vegas

Duration: 2 Weeks in October

Motorhome: Cruise America C-25 with 3 Adults

Two weeks worked well for this loop, but I wouldn't add many more stops. Distances in the USA are huge, and the national parks deserve more than a quick photo from the car park.

After an early flight, we landed in Las Vegas and soon realised this city is unlike anywhere else. Lights, noise, enormous hotels: everything feels slightly over the top, which is exactly what makes it so entertaining. We found some food, but jet lag soon won and we headed to bed.

My tip: don't plan to collect your motorhome straight after a long-haul flight. Many US rental companies require international customers to spend their first night in the USA before collection anyway. Check your rental company's conditions when you book.

Jet lag had me awake at 5.15am, but this was the day we'd been waiting for: camper collection. After breakfast, we took an Uber to the Cruise America depot and picked up our C-25. For three adults, it gave us plenty of space without feeling unnecessarily big.

First job: groceries. One Walmart shop and $270 (roughly £200) later, the fridge and cupboards were full and we were ready to go. Then we set off towards Zion National Park.

Driving an American motorhome takes a little getting used to. The vehicles are generally larger than UK campervans, but US roads are often wider too. The bigger change for British drivers is driving on the right, so take your time during those first few miles.

We reached our first campground later than planned. Traffic was partly to blame. We'd also crossed from Nevada into Utah and lost an hour to the time-zone change. That evening we cooked together, played games and lit our first campfire. It was exactly how I'd imagined our motorhome tour of the USA.

Waking up close to Zion showed us one of the big advantages of travelling by motorhome. Instead of driving in from a distant hotel, you're already in the landscape and can start exploring early.

Zion has everything you'd hope for from the American South West: tall red cliffs, deep canyons and some fantastic hiking trails. The park can get very busy, so check the current shuttle arrangements, road access and parking before you go. If you want to do a hike that needs a permit, arrange it separately and in advance.

For us, camping close to the parks turned out to be one of the best things about the whole trip.

From Zion, we continued to Bryce Canyon. The two parks aren't far apart, yet the landscape changes completely.

Bryce is known for its hoodoos, thousands of narrow rock spires rising from the canyon floor. They look impressive from the rim, but walking down between them gives you a completely different perspective.

When to go

October was a great time for our trip, with fewer crowds than in summer. Just don't assume desert scenery means it will always be hot. Bryce Canyon sits at high altitude and temperatures can drop sharply, especially overnight.

CamperDays tip: even in a warm month, pack layers and a proper jumper for the evenings at Bryce.

Next, we drove to Page, close to the Arizona–Utah border. It's a handy base for exploring Lake Powell, Horseshoe Bend and the slot canyons around Antelope Canyon. Page also gave us a chance to stock up before heading deeper into the South West.

CamperDays tip: Antelope Canyon is on Navajo Nation land and can only be visited on an authorised guided tour. Popular time slots sell out, so don't leave it until the morning you arrive.

Few places look more like the classic American road trip than Monument Valley. The sandstone buttes rising from the desert are instantly recognisable from films and photos. Seeing them from your own camper is something else, though.

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park lies within the Navajo Nation rather than being a US national park, so different rules and entrance arrangements apply.

Can you drive your motorhome through the valley?

Check your rental agreement before taking a motorhome onto unpaved roads, as many US rental companies restrict where their vehicles can go. If yours isn't allowed on a particular road, book an authorised tour instead of risking your insurance cover.

→ link to Route 66 by camper

Then came one of the biggest moments of our South West USA road trip: the Grand Canyon. You've seen the photos countless times, but they don't really prepare you for the scale of it. We stayed nearby and spent our time walking between viewpoints and simply taking it all in.

This is another place where a motorhome pays off. Staying close to the park means you can watch sunrise or sunset without a long drive back to a hotel afterwards.

CamperDays tip: national park campgrounds are popular. Book the campsites that matter most to your itinerary well in advance, rather than hoping to find a pitch when you turn up.

Before returning to Las Vegas, we stopped in Sedona. The red-rock landscape continues here, but the atmosphere is quite different from the Grand Canyon. There are plenty of hiking trails and viewpoints, and it's a good place to slow down for a day or two.

After so many headline national parks, Sedona was a relaxed final stop before the bright lights of Las Vegas.

And suddenly, our two weeks were over. We had to return the motorhome by 11am, so we packed our bags, filled up the tank and took care of the return checks before heading to the depot. Everything went smoothly, and the handover took less than ten minutes.

Then we swapped the motorhome for a Las Vegas hotel with a view of the Sphere. The room was comfortable, but there were no campfires and no starry skies. By this point, we were definitely Team Camper.

That evening we wandered along the Strip, watched the Bellagio fountains and discovered that neither blackjack nor roulette was going to pay for our next road trip.

Would I travel through the South West by motorhome again? Absolutely. The biggest advantage is being able to stay close to the national parks. You can start hiking earlier, watch the sunset without a long drive afterwards and spend your evenings outside under clear night skies.

A few things are worth knowing before you go:

• Book key campgrounds early. National park campsites fill up quickly.

• Be realistic about driving distances. Two weeks is enough for this loop, but don't keep adding stops.

• Check your mileage allowance. US rental packages differ, and extra miles can add to the cost.

• Know your vehicle's dimensions. American motorhomes can be much larger than the campervans you're used to in the UK.

• Check rental restrictions. Your rental agreement may exclude unpaved roads and certain areas.

• Pack for all temperatures. Desert heat and cold nights at altitude can happen on the same trip.

• Plan your fuel stops. Petrol stations can be far apart in remote areas.

The freedom to change your plans is one of the best things about motorhome holidays in the USA. Still, I'd book anything that would seriously disrupt the trip if you missed it, especially popular campgrounds, permits and tours.

Our trip focused entirely on the South West rather than the Pacific coast. If you have more than two weeks, though, you could turn it into a longer West Coast USA road trip, combining San Francisco, Los Angeles and the California coast with Las Vegas and the national parks.

For two weeks, I'd stick with the loop from Las Vegas. Zion, Bryce Canyon, Monument Valley, the Grand Canyon and Sedona already give you plenty of variety without spending your whole holiday behind the wheel.

That's what made this trip so memorable. We didn't just visit the national parks. By camping close to them, it felt like we were properly travelling through the American South West.

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