Have you latched onto the emerging sport of technical canyoneering? If so, you already know the joys of squeezing through impossibly slender openings between boulders, rappelling down slickrock and swimming an icy cold stream at the bottom of a canyon. With all that adventure happening in the great outdoors, why ruin it with a long drive to a faraway hotel room? RV camping to your canyoneering adventures puts you close to the action and ready to face the day well-rested.

Best RV Camping/Canyoneering Destinations

The massive, colorful canyons of Utah’s Zion National Park are the perfect playground for experienced canyoneering enthusiasts. There are also well-maintained RV campgrounds within the Park, and several just outside the Park’s boundaries. Use this National Parks Service web page to find the campground closest to your day’s planned adventures, and be sure to make reservations wherever allowed.

Have a hankering to negotiate awesome slot canyons in Arizona? The Oak Creek Canyon/PumphouseWash/James Canyon formations just south of Flagstaff are a magnet for climbers well-versed in sliding over wet boulders and rappelling a sheer rock face. There are many RV campgrounds in the Sedona/Oak Creek Canyon area. Plan to stay several days; this mountain paradise is filled with canyoneering possibilities.

The Adirondacks High Peaks Area surrounding Lake Placid New York is a good place to get your ropes wet if you’re newer to canyoneering. With forty-six peaks above four thousand feet, there are plenty of boulders, canyons and streams to traverse. The Adirondack Camping Association has a fantastic website that allows you to search the six million acre Adirondack wilderness for the perfect motorhome campground.

A favorite California canyoneering expedition is to navigate Allison Gulch in the San Gabriel Mountains all the way up to the Allison Mine. Located north of Azusa, CA, the scenery is spectacular and the RV camping wonderful at campgrounds like Camp Williams Resort on the banks of the San Gabriel River.

No canyoneering discussion would be complete without mentioning the grandest adventure of all, Arizona’s Grand Canyon. You may find yourself sleeping on the banks of the Colorado while in the backcountry, but a comfortable RV in a full-service campground allows well-deserved rest at the end of the trail. Railside RV Park in Williams, AZ offers a free shuttle in and out of the National Park as one of its many amenities.

Don’t spend your vacation climbing the walls at home! Pack your gear and explore one of America’s amazing canyons. With the comfort and convenience of RV camping, you’ll save your energy for the challenge of your canyoneering adventures.

This article was written by Joe Laing of El Monte RV, your source for RV rentals throughout the United States. For other great RV camping vacation ideas see Monty’s Musings RV Camping Blog