Joanel

have a choice as to when to go to Zion and Bryce and LV. late april or late sept- early oct. Don't like HOT weather. from what we can tell late sept could still be in the 90's? whereas as late April would be ????

any thoughts.

thanks

jbee

You have a better chance for lower temps in April. This year in Vegas, it was in the 90 - 100 range until Nov. Yuck! It usually stays around or under the 80 degree mark until May or June. This is just Vegas, so Zion and Bryce might be a little cooler- I'm not sure.

utahtea

I think you can still run into some cold weather in late April.

It's probably a big toss up as to which time the weather will better. Late April and late Sept - early Oct. will probably be about the same...and all will depend on the weather gods

BTW, this last Sept - Oct was unseasonally warmer all over the West! Next year it could be the opposite or maybe hotter in April.

Utahtea

travellyn

Bryce might still have snow in April. I'd go in late September and just hike in the mornings at Zion. (I was at Zion in June, and I also hate hot weather. Early morning hikes were fine, even in June.) You may catch some leaves changing if you go in September/October.

MarciaK

We were in Zion, Bryce and LV this year during the first week in October. We could not have asked for better weather. Daytime was in the upper 70's to low 80's and eves were in the 60's at the parks. LV was a little warmer during the day, but evenings were still cool. We thought it was perfect.

suechef

We took our LV/GC/Sedona trip the first two weeks of October and could not have been happier. We spent 1 night in Zion at the Desert Pearl Inn which is absolutely perfect. Check out their website. Springdale is a great little town with alot of good places to eat..don't miss the Bit and Spur or Flannigan's both only open for dinner in Oct...altho Flannigan's has Sunday breakfast (wonderful esp omelet with cream cheese and chives) Weather was great for hiking...warmer (70's) in Zion but that is to be expected with the lower elevation.
Brice was cooler but not by that much (maybe 5 degrees) during the day..we took the horse ride to canyon bottom..a must do even though I am scared ***less of heights I somehow made it and was so glad I did.
BTW the only sour note of the entire trip...I was totally unimpressed with the Bryce Canyon NP Lodge and Cabins..they are lovely rustic looking from the outside but inside resemble and smell like something from the 50's. I can't imagine color coordination can't be achieved in NP rooms. Where do they get this stuff? It was nice to be within walking distance of the rim; however after the luxury at Desert Pearl the NP rooms were a total let down. Food at the Lodge is less than stellar, which is so sad considering at the time many Europeans were visiting. I was sad at the lack of pride in the food and accomodations at this park..to say the food is ghastly is an understatement...steamtable held mishmash..do not be lured into getting their "berry bread pudding" a disaster.
OK enough of my ranting...

The parks are so incredibly different but to me one full day/night at Bryce was enough. I would definately stay in Zion longer; the trails there were more interesting and Springdale is a fun little town. IMHO..but everyone has different views on what they like best. We were also able to visit the N Rim of the GC which is totally worth it.
Have a great time you will be visiting some of the most gorgeous scenery imaginable. I love southern Utah and can't wait to visit more of the parks in that area.

Joanel

when were you actually in zion and bryce? oct or late sept? where else is there to stay near bryce if not at the lodges?

how about zion- any sense of how the cabins are there and the food?

thanks

travellyn

In June, I had breakfast at the lodge in Zion NP, and was not at all impressed. Luckily, we'd been warned that the food wasn't too good. The food at the Bryce lodge was fairly good, but there was a terrible hostess who put people in such a bad mood by the time they sat down that the meal was not as pleasant as it should have been. Both places have lovely, rustic dining rooms.

amyx

I would definately pick April. We were in Zion/Bryce area this year from 10/8 to 10/10, to be exact. While the temperature "sounded" perfect (70 - low 80s for the highs), it felt warmer because we were out and hiking. Even in Bryce where humidity was low, it felt hot hiking the Queens Garden - Navajo loop trail in the sun. No problem in the shade. It was much more humid in Zion, and we had to stay in the hotel from 1 PM to 4 PM. Nothing wrong with that - it was a nice rest to break up the hikes and my husband got to enjoy the pool. IMHO, temperatures in the 60s are ideal for hiking. Living in the Southeast, I have pretty good tolerance for heat, but it's a different story when you are active. All this being said, it was definitely not intolerable. We had a fabulous time. Pictures taken at Bryce were the most stunning.

We were in Vegas earlier this year for a few days around May 10, and the highs were upper 80s to lower 90s.

suechef

Joanel:
We were in Zion Oct 4 and Bryce on Oct 5. From what I understand from talking to local people, it was uncharacteristically warm then for that time of year. I myself thought it was perfect for hiking. Never used our airconditioning in hotel/car and we were out and about from sunup to sundown.
We did choose our hikes based on temperature...did the Lower Emerald Pools hike in the afternoon. Took the Weeping Rocks hike in late am (shaded most of way. Zion is not a problem since alot of the trails do have some shade.
Bryce, on the other hand, is not so shaded and since we opted to ride the horses down the Queen's Garden Trail, they did all the panting!!! We did actually get up at 6:30am for sunrise which is spectacular and not to be missed...I read somewhere on a forum some great advice.."You can sleep when you're dead!" Anyway, lighting is beautiful for pictures at that time and hiking would be great too!
There are many places to stay outside of Bryce NP. Go to brycecanyon.com and lots of choices will pop up for Lodging.
We did laundry at Ruby's, a huge hotel/restaurant complex before you enter park and talked with a guy who was staying there. He said rooms were typical older style but clean. If you go, do try to eat at Harold's restaurant
on 12 just after turnoff from 89 left side about 5 miles before Park entrance. ONly open for dinner; chef is from LV chilling out in SouthUtah. We missed it, thought they were open for lunch. Instead ate lunch at Escobar's in Hatch on our way to North Rim. OK Mexican food, pork in chile verde was great tho.
I did notice how rude the staff at the Dining Room at Bryce were...very curt..server rather indifferent...just not a great place overall for me. The person who was most helpful, was the man stationed at the Canyon Trail Rides
booth. He was a veritable fountain of knowledge about the whole area..great to talk to someone who loves where they live.

kthyrn

Haven't been in April, but late Sept early Oct in Arches and Bryce was great. Warm days and cool mornings and nights, plus the Aspens are starting to turn. I thought it was perfect!