tuscanlifeedit

Hi
I had a recent thread where I asked about Yosemite in early November, and was referred to Zion and Bryce. Reading further, we've decided to visit these Utah national parks. I could use some help planning a dividing up our days.

We would like to leave home around November 1, 2017 and spend no more than 8 nights, 7 would be better.

We will fly in and out of Las Vegas.

I would normally not visit Las Vegas, but I'm tempted to stay a couple of nights to see the closer natural and scenic attractions, and to eat in a top restaurant.

I would love suggestions on how to divide up our time.

Hang20

We flew in and out of Las Vegas to visit the Utah parks. We went into Las Vegas and headed up to Capital Reef, Grand Staircase Escalante, Bryce, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon then on to Zion. We next went back to Las Vegas and saw the Hoover Dam. There is a lot to do in Zion, if you are only doing these two parks, I would spend more of my days there then Bryce. You can search my name on the Utah forum and see my trip report. We were there in the summer and not all of these parks will be open in November. Other times I have been on business to Las Vegas and visited Sedona, AZ, the Hoover Dam and a state park, maybe Ring of Fire? I am not a Vegas fan but if you have never been it is something to see. Enjoy your trip.

tuscanlifeedit

Thanks, Hang20.

I will read your trip report, for sure.

About early November openings: I checked and will check again, but this doesn't seem to be an issue. We don't camp or really hike, and I haven't read anything about closings.

I've read that the approach to Zion in best viewed from the direction of Bryce. I assumed that because of that it would be best to do Bryce Canyon NP first, but that's a bit of a drive from Las Vegas.

RVvagabond

Since you have time, these are my recommended area books available at Amazon: Amazon has free APP for their e-books

1. Fodor's Utah: with Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches, Capitol Reef & Canyonlands National Parks About 325 pages
3. Overall touring guide of southern Utah Parks consists of two books: > Zion to Escalante, Utah < and > Escalante Utah to Moab Utah< . Both cover all parks from Zion to Arches in detail. Available in E-book and print.
4. Hiking (serious): All areas: Use author name: > Michael R. Kelsey.< He has a host of hiking books each about 300 pages in small print. I have most all of time. Caution: Hiking directions are not suited for amateur hikers.
5 . Hiking: > Wow Utah Canyon Country < –Very well illustrated. About 440 pages. My favorite for family hikes.
6 . Backroad 4-wheel driving: > Canyonland National Park Favorite Jeep Roads and Hiking Trails

Dayle

The Utah Natl Parks are open year round, 24 hrs a day. Except for Arches this year where road construction is happening.

With a week, I would do Zion, Bryce, and Hwy 12, Capitol Reef.
The mix would really depend on how much you like hiking, photography, or if you want to do some other activities such as a horseback ride or ATV adventure.

Personally, I would never waste a moment in LV at the expense of time in the beauty of the Four Corners region. One night there is enough to splurge at a restaurant and see what it's about.

Note that southern Utah has some amazing restaurants in some tiny towns that you would not expect. Most of these have been mentioned here many times: Hell's Backbone Grill, Boulder; Cafe Diablo, Torrey; and several very good places in Springdale, UT outside Zion.

tuscanlifeedit

Dayle, that is great information and very helpful.

Photography is the main pursuit. I really can't hike. I am forced my physical issues to move slowly and carefully, but that's OK with me. My husband is happy if he can take a million pictures.

We both really love good food. I will do some research on dining in the parks' proximity. Wish the search engine here worked better.

I was getting concerned about spending hotel money on LV, where I would never ever normally go, but I can live with 1 night. Very helpful.

So, for an old lady with slight physical limitations, accompanied by a photographer, how might your suggest dividing our time?

Thanks

Dayle

tuscanlifeedit,

You and I have been on Fodor's for a long time! I've always appreciated your input on Bella Italia so I am happy to return the favor. I've lived half my life now in Utah and traveled to the Natl Parks many times as a kid with my parents. Happy times!

Zion has several easy and relatively flat walks you can do with your husband. The Riverwalk and the Paria Trail would be easiest. Plenty of spots to sit and just soak in the amazing scenery while he takes pictures.

Bryce has a paved path all along the rim to the various viewpoints and again many benches and handy logs to sit and admire the view.
Bryce is high altitude so just go slowly, you will feel it. The nice part is you can drive right to most of the viewpoints and just enjoy. It's special to hike down into the canyon and among the hoodoos, but you may need to let your husband go while you do something else for 2 or 3 hours.

A nice stop between Bryce and Escalante would be Kodachrome Basin St. Park. Lots of good photo ops and flat walking.

Hwy 12 is just plain awesome scenery. Take your time and stop as much as you want to take pictures.

Devil's Garden in the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument is also a pretty easy spot to walk around. Great photo ops, but does tend to have a fair number of people and lots of kids running and climbing around on the rocks.

Capitol Reef Natl Park is full of great scenery whether you hike or not! Take the "scenic drive" past the Gifford Farm House and campground. Explore the historic buildings, and be sure to walk the boardwalk along the Escalante River to see the petroglyphs. Great rock art and lots of it!

If 1 night must be at LV, then with 6 left, I would:

2 nts Zion
1 nt Bryce
1 nt Boulder
1 nt Torrey (Capitol Reef)

Springdale right outside of Zion has many lodging options.
My favorite places to eat: Zion Pizza and Noodle, Switchback Grill. Others like Spotted Dog, Bit n' Spur (Mexican), Oscar's, Cafe Solei, many others are good too.

Bryce, lodge inside the park, Ruby's, or Grand Best Western are about the only choices. Don't expect great food, but hey, it's only one night.....

Boulder, stay at Boulder Mountain Lodge. Lovely bird refuge on the property.

Torrey, several decent choices. My favorite B&B, Sky Ridge Inn, has new owners who are running it like their motel across the street (Broken Spur) and I no longer recommend it. Too bad, because it used to be wonderful. Plenty of places to choose from in town and just outside. Cafe Diablo is nice for lunch or dinner, but unfortunately, it will be closed in Nov.

Since your trip is in November, call now for reservations. November can still be quite popular, especially for Zion and Boulder. Torrey will be very quiet and not a lot of restaurant options open during off season, but again, it's only one night. Bryce will have snow, so take appropriate clothing and footwear!
Parka, warm layers, hat, gloves for Bryce. Lower altitudes could be tee shirt weather.

Pay attention to current weather reports. Hwy 12 between Boulder and Torrey goes over Boulder Mountain, summit altitude is 10,000 ft. so you don't want to drive in a snowstorm.

You will love this visit!

Dayle

Oops, you still have 1 nt. Add a night to Zion, or spend a night in St. George before returning to LV. Snow Canyon in St. George is also a beautiful spot. You could also stop at the Kolob Canyon section of Zion as you drive south on I15 back to LV. Spectacular and very different from the Zion Canyon.

Nelson

Unbeatable advice from Dayle.

One minor addition: a few miles outside of Springdale is the well-preserved ghost town of Grafton. The bicycle scene from .Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was filmed there. It's photogenic and worth a visit.

The cemetery is an interesting window into the times. Several wives buried alongside their husband. One stone that says "Killed by Indians", which catches your eye. But when you look around you see most people who died young were from disease or childbirth, not hostile Indians.

I think a night in Vegas is a good idea, even if not your kind of place (like me). But we have fun there. Bellagio and The Venetian are amazing. Note that most hotels allow smoking. If that bothers you (like me) then seek out a non-smoking joint. Signature at MGM Grand is a good option.

Have a great trip.

OO

Dale's advice is terrific. I love both Zion and Bryce, but we are hikers, and Zion has a huge array of trails so we spent more time there, and it has become our favorite park. I only wanted to add that we stayed in the park at the Lodge on one trip, and outside the park at Cliffrose on another. Although Cliffrose was the better appointed, we absolutely loved staying within the park. The moon rising above the park casting moonlight on the canyon walls was spectacular, as was early morning, sitting out on one of the benches before the crowds arrived, enjoying the solitude and the spectacular scenery all around. There are also some small cabin type structures complete with front porches which looked nice. You are starting your planning early so I'd try to reserve something within the park if possible.

Bryce has spectacular formations. The parks are relatively close to each other, but ever so different! There we did not plan far enough ahead to stay within the park, and stayed instead at Ruby's, which was fine, but again, I would have preferred to have been in the park.

We also went in November, Thanksgiving week. It was cold (we were living in FL at the time so that's relative) but very pleasant and sunny. One trip we awoke in the morning to find a light dusting of snow all around us in Zion, giving new dimensions and photo ops to the beauty of the park.

We too flew into and out of Las Vegas. I had never been, didn't think I would like it, and sure enough, did not. One night was more than enough. The next trip we picked up the car and headed straight out.

Have a wonderful trip! You are in for a real treat!

Dayle

Tscanlifedit,,

The paved trail along the Virgin River, part nearest Springdale, is called the Parus trail.

Dayle

November is a nice time to visit Zion because that is fall color time at that altitude. Bryce aspens will be bare by then, Capitol Reef might be a mixture.

Remember to watch out for wildlife on the roads at all times of the day, not just night.

sharondi

Great suggestion from Dayle to spend the week in Zion, Bryce and Route 12 to Capitol Reef - I was going to suggest exactly that! Here is a link to our 2007 trip report which outlines our adventures doing exactly this trip. As mentioned, there are some great places to stay and dine - no need to spend time in Las Vegas. We've visited this area 8 times in the past dozen years and never tire of the scenery and cultural sites.
You will see that we do a good deal of hiking but there are lots of incredible things to see and do that don't require hiking. Bryce and Zion have paved walkways that provide access to incredible views - great for photographers. I highly recommend staying in the park at Bryce - keep calling for a reservation. In Zion, although staying in the park is nice, the accommodations in Springdale are much nicer and far more comfortable.
I would suggest making a reservation at Boulder Mountain Lodge in Boulder, Utah and a reservation at their on-site restaurant, Hell's Backbone Grill....unique and delicious! Have fun planning and don't hesitate to ask questions. Also, if you click on my log in name, you'll find lots of other information and other trip reports from southern Utah and the four corners region.

http://www.pbase.com/peterb/utah_tr

emalloy

Good advice so far. Do check to see if you can stay in Bryce and Zion and since this will be a sort of loop, it would not matter which you did first. Or look in Springdale for Zion or Ruby's for Bryce.

Perhaps Vegas to Zion then over to 12 Cap. Reef then Bryce and back to Vegas. Or Vegas to Bryce to 12 Cap Reef to Zion to Vegas. Or some other combination that works for the lodging/flight times etc.

It is about 3 hours drive from Vegas to Zion, so if you got your car before noon you could be in the park before dark. If you fly in in the afternoon, I would book a hotel in Vegas for the first night and head up to the parks in the morning. Driving after dark on unfamiliar roads is unwise, animals like deer, elk, antelope sometimes are in the area and daylight hours are short in November.

On the way between Vegas and Zion a short way east of I-15 is Valley of Fire State Park which should provide some spectacular photos. Also about a half hour west of Vegas is Red Rock Canyon, also very nice.

If don't already have one and you are old enough, get a National Park Senior Pass for $10. It lets you and others in your car into all the parks for free

Have a fantastic trip.

RVvagabond

Dayle is correct ref: Boulder Mt hotel. It is the absolute premier lodging in the area that translates to a couple of $$. There are cheaper options in that town.

However, regardless - visit Anasazi Museum in town that preserves an ancient Indian culture. Inspect their pit house - how Indians lived in the ancient times before the advent of above surface housing (cut stones). Very interesting.
https://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/anasazi/


Note: Parus tail in Zion. As I recall this is also the horse trail and they have the right of way.

Vaga

RVvagabond

Forgot:
Boulder Mountain has splendid overlooks. However, it is at 11,300 feet. Depending on Global Warming, Sun Solar flares and the Russians, a snow storm will close that route.

Don't despair as Burr Road, out of Boulder, travels east of that mountain an a lower elevation. Your lodging will inform you if that road is suitable to travel. We've on it many times - it was not paved at that time. Very scenic.

Vaga