hannadot

Hi,

My husband and I are a young couple coming from abroad, and are trying to squeeze as much as possible into our trip to Vegas:

Day 1: arrive 10am; Hoover Dam, drive to Sedona
Day 2: Sedona and Grand Canyon "touristy" stuff
Day 3: Hike the Grand Canyon, drive back to Vegas
Day 4: personal event in Vegas; drive to Bryce area in the early evening
Day 5: short hike at Bryce in the morning, longer hike in Zion in the afternoon, see a show in Vegas at night
Day 6: Day in Vegas- Red Rock Canyon, see the city sights (Bellagio, etc)
Day 7: Drive through Death Valley. Drive most of the way north to Yosemite.
Day 8-9: Yosemite
Day 10-11: Kings Canyon and Sequoia. Drive back to Vegas to sleep.
Day 12: Anything left in Vegas we want to do. Fly out that night.

Are we leaving enough time for Zion? Will August in Zion be too hot to hike in the afternoon? Should we skip Bryce and spend more time at Zion? Should we skip Sedona to make room for Bryce? Are 4 full days a good amount of time for the Californian part of the trip, given our time limitations?

We like hiking and want to see it all, even though we know we aren't spending enough time in any one place, as this will probably be our only opportunity to ever go out west. Also, we don't care about the Vegas scene much but the one show we did want to see is only available the night of Day 5- quite inconvenient as we will be in the city the day before!

Thanks in advance for your help!

utahtea

That is a packed filled trip and you have plenty of driving ahead of you!!!!

Bryce and Zion are so different it would be hard for anyone to know which you would like better. Sedona is a beautiful area, but Zion and Bryce are National Parks for a reason. Sedona is to civilized for my liking so I'd choose the parks over Sedona, but I'm sure others will like Sedona better. Ultimately it will have to be your choice.

Just so you know, Las Vegas to Bryce is a 4 hour drive. Zion to Las Vegas is a 3 hour drive.

August can be hot in Zion but it's a dry heat. Carry plenty of water.

Utahtea

spirobulldog

I hope you like to drive and don't mind really not seeing anything. Each place you mention really requires 2 days at a minimum. These are amazing places. I would cut it down to only about 2 of them. Just an afternoon in Zion would be like getting a bucket of popcorn at the movies and only eating one popped kernel.

qwovadis

classic.mapquest.com

distances out west are VAST

you are WAY to crammed just be touring the inside of your car

for me a round robin to grandcanyontours.com visitsedona.com

hang a left up to Bryce Arches antelopecanyon.com Zion back to

Vegas... make more time for yosemite.com leg or forget it.

Very touristy in august will be hot and chock a block...

Myer

I'm a believer in working with what you have. If that's what you have then let's see if we can make some constructive suggestions.

Yes, you will be driving. But you already know that. You've probably come a long way and want to get a taste of as much as possible.

Day 2-3. I would leave in GC for a quick view but cut the hike somewhat. In my opinion the scenery around Sedona is beautiful. Hike Boyonton Canyon Vista (not the full Boynton Canyon) and near Bell Rock. Go and see sunset at the Crescent Moon Picnic Area (the view of Cathedral Rock across Oak Creek).

For Bryce. Get up very early in the morning for a spectacular sunrise at Bryce Point. Have a snack breakfast with you and then hike Navajo Loop down into the Hoodoos and Queens Garden back up. That will give you a good taste of Bryce. Go to the Natural bridge viewpoint as that's really the only one that's different. You've already seen Sunset Point (start of Navajo Loop) and Sunrise Point (end of Queen's Garden). These two are only a half mile apart so picking up toy car isn't too bad.

For Zion I would steal a day from somewhere. The afternoon hike on day 5 can be Canyon Overlook. It's on the way in from Bryce at the East entrance to Zion. You should even have time for a late afternoon or early evening hike. Something like Riverside Walk or Emerald Pools.

I don't know when you're going so don't know how long the days are going to be.

For that second day in Zion you probably don't need a whole day. Start about 8AM and hike Angel's Landing as far as you'd like to go.

I just reread your post and there's a scheduling conflict because of a show you want to see in LV.

Those are my opinions. Maybe not others'.

Maybe you can be creative and redo the days around those that are fixed.

Since you have an event in LV on Day 4 and a show in LV the evening of Day 5, maybe the sights closer to LV can fit in the morning and afternoon of Day 5.

Shanti

If I were you, I'd prioritize among these locations and drop at least a couple of them. I'd skip Sedona to give more time to the Grand Canyon. And I'd choose either Zion or Bryce but not try to visit both with the amount of time that you have.

Or you could just stay in Las Vegas on days 4 and 5 and leave for California on day 6.

I'm conflicted about Yosemite. It's ridiculously crowded in August, and so far this year the crowds have been really bad. If you do go, I'd recommend spending time in the high country, away from most of the crowds.

hannadot

Thanks for all the suggestions, especially Myer!

Ok, what if we cut out Sedona + Grand Canyon and go to the GC North Rim instead? I'm debating if I'll feel cheated if I don't go to the "regular" South Rim. But that way, we'll have a little more time to do Zion + Bryce + GC North. The other option is skip Bryce, and just stick to Zion on Day 5 and not mess with personal commitments on Day 4.

For the CA part: Should we skip Sequoia and Kings to get in more of Yosemite? Or you think it will be too crowded to enjoy more of anyway?

Kay2

Some of these folks have visited these areas more times than I have, but I love hearing of foreign visitors going to the national parks and not just the cities and Disney, so I will give my ideas. I do not know all the driving distances, so I won't try to be too specific. I also like to hike and sightsee/tourist. Depending on your travel dates, Utah may be hot and Yosemite may be extremely crowded.

Day 1: arrive 10am; Hoover Dam (must you see?) drive to north rim of Grand Canyon. Yes, the south rim is better known and more developed, but it is the same canyon and the north rim will have fewer people. Yes, I think Sedona red rocks are beautiful, the other areas are different, but grander scale.

Day 2: Grand Canyon and on to Zion or Bryce
Day 3: Hike Zion or Bryce, drive back to Vegas
Day 4: personal event in Vegas; see city sights
Day 5: Red Rock in the morning (OK to me, but not in the league of the other parks, see a show in Vegas at night
Day 6: Drive through Death Valley. Drive most of the way north to Yosemite.
Day 7-8: Yosemite. Try to get into the valley EARLY to avoid some of the worst of the traffic. Staying in the valley is the best way to minimize this.
Day 9-10: Kings Canyon and Sequoia
Day 11: Drive back to Vegas.
Day 12: Anything left in Vegas we want to do. Fly out that night.

If you don't go back to Vegas for Day 4, then you can fit both Bryce and Zion in before the show on Day 5.

Myer

Do not skip Bryce or Zion.

Zion is Beautiful while Bryce is one of a kind.

As I wrote, you don't need a lot of time in Bryce to get a feel for it. It's less than 2 hours from Zion. Get there late in the evening (watch out for animals on the road then). You should do fine in half a day or slightly more.

Sunrise (don't miss it) and the Navajo / Queens Garden hike is only a few hours.

The problem with Yosemite isn't the number of people in the Valley. It's the traffic in and out and possibly getting around caused by that.

If you are in the valley and select places the shuttle covers you're fine. Of course the shuttle gets stuck in traffic too.

Unfortunately Glacier Point is a major star attraction (this year will probably have water falls into Sept so even more so this year). The views to the valley and water falls are amazing. Maybe consider hiking Sentinel Dome but the parking there (on Glacier Road a mile or two before the end) will also be bad.

I hate to recommend it but they have a shuttle tour (why they charge for this is beyond me but that whole traffic thing grates on me since I was just there of Fathers Day weekend).

It might pay for you to take that tour since parking at Glacier Point is impossible unless you're there very early or late.

I think the views from Glacier Point or Washburn Pt are best in the afternoon when the sun isn't in your face. Maybe get there very early to park, do one of several hikes and then sit around and take in the view for a while.

I didn't find the traffic bad there. It moved. Just no place to park. Try on the side of the road.

Of course, that black bear we saw just befor Washburn Pt caused a problem but bears are special and have special status. That's ok. And you get to see it too!!!

I'm not a fan of GC. To me when you compare it to the other sights it falls way short. Just a bowl. I guess if you were to hike down and hour it will look different. But still. . . .

We stopped at Valley of Fire on our way from LV last Sept on a trip with my daughter. Not bad but really doesn't compare to the other sights. Just very convenient to LV.

Jean

I agree with Myer about the GC. For me, look over the edge, look left, look right, and I'm done. Many years ago, I did hike to the bottom and back out, and I will say it was much more interesting and ... yes, different. But that was a 5-day trip in itself. I really think the best view of the GC is from a jetliner at 30,000 feet. It's the only way you can truly appreciate the "grandness" of the canyon.

I'm also not a fan of Las Vegas, but I understand how visitors "just want to see it." And you have a personal reason for going there. In August, though ... really not my idea of fun. Ditto the drive to anywhere in California from Las Vegas, especially Death Valley. If you must fly in and out of Las Vegas, I'd probably skip California altogether rather than make that drive twice. I think Yosemite/Sequoia/Kings Canyon are better seen as part of a trip just to California.

hannadot

Ok, I've rearranged the schedule and here's what it looks like now:

Day 1: drive towards Yosemite
Day 2-5: Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon
Day 6: Vegas
Day 7-10: Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon North Rim
Day 11: back to Vegas and fly out

I know, still not enough time in each place, but at least it's more time, and more focused and a little less driving. Please again keep in mind that there IS no "separate trip"- this is our one trip out to the Western US!

With 4 days each in Cali and Utah, what's the best way to split our time between the parks? And any suggestions where to base ourselves in each location? I was thinking Kanab, UT; haven't figured out CA yet.

Thanks!

Shanti

If you mean August as in next week and not next year - maybe you'll get lucky and find a last minute cancellation for Yosemite. But there aren't that many places to stay there relative to the huge number of people who visit, so everything in the park itself will be booked. But you can keep checking for a last minute opening.

You may have to split up your time between the California parks based on when you can find an available room anywhere near Yosemite and work around that. If I were you, I'd start scouring the internet to see what's available anywhere near Yosemite for the days you can be there.

Good luck!

utahtea

Shanti is right, you will have a hard time finding lodging at this late date unless you run across a cancellation. You might have to arrange the trip according to what lodging you can find and when. I like your new plan, but think it might be a little heavy on the California by one day.

If you can arrange lodging for the Utah part, I'd do Bryce, N. Rim and Zion in that order. Then you only have a 3 hour drive from Zion to Las Vegas. If you are coming from the N. Rim your drive time can vary by an hour or so depending on how many people are on the road and if you get stuck behind an RV leaving the N. Rim.

Utahtea

janisj

For Yosemite you need to stay in the Valley --and getting rooms will be REALLY difficult. Staying outside the park will involve 1.5-2 hour drives each way just to get to the Valley and then you'd have bumper to bumper traffic in the Valley itself.

Shanti

They will have a very long drive if they stay outside the valley, but it's not like they can reschedule and come back another time. This is their only opportunity to go to Yosemite. Maybe they'll luck out and find a cancellation, but I wouldn't expect that to happen. If there's nothing in the valley - well, there's nothing in the valley. So they'll either have to drive a long distance or not go. And if it were my only opportunity to see Yosemite, I'd drive that much to see it.

spirobulldog

I just don't like trips like this where you are checking stuff off a list and not truly experiencing it. Yeah, I saw the Grand Canyon my first time and was there for 3 or 4 hours. I thought that was the way you did National Parks. I have since almost always stayed multiple days at them and have enjoyed it far far more. I later did a short rafting trip down the GC and really felt like that I got a much better feeling of the place.

Yes, the proposed iten. can be done, but I think for Yosemite it would be a shame not to give the valley a full day, Maripossa Grove the better part of a day and stop at Glacier Point, see Tuolomne area, see Hetch Hetchy. And really one day should be spent doing a hike if you are in decent shape. Like Panorama Trail, Mist Trail, or something of that nature.
In Zion, I would hike Angels Landing, The Narrows, maybe the rim trail, maybe Emerald Pool. That would take 2-3 days. You could do Bryce in a full day, but we spent 2 nights there and spent 2.5 days. I would for sure hike navajo loop/queens garden. I wouldn't do much in Death Valley in the summer, but we spent 2 full days there. I imagine that Red Rock Canyon would be very hot too. It is a nice place to see and offers some good hiking.

I would stick with just California or just Utah. Both is gonna just be a lot of time in the car.

We spent 4 days in Yosemite last May and I didn't even begin to touch the place. Can't wait to go back. I could spend a week in Sequoia doing the things I would like to do.

Myer

I keep thinking I should go back to Yosemite and see more and then that foul taste in my mouth resurfaces and I stop thinking about it.

hannadot,

Several years ago I saw a picture in a book. I found out it was Bryce and planned my first trip there. I figured that would be my one and only trip to that area.

Two years later I planned a trip to southern Utah with a friend and because he hadn't seen Bryce I added it to the end of the trip.

Then last year my daughter suggested we go on "one of my trips". Last September we went and only had 3 days. I squeezed in a lot but to do it I wanted to go to places I've been to for familiarity. Easier to get a lot done in a short period of time when you've been there.

You are a young couple. I know you're coming from a long way. We were a lot younger on our first trip to Europe. I had no idea it would become habit-forming.

If you enjoy yourselves you'll somehow figure out how to do it again. Maybe it will take a while. Don't count it out.

charnees

It is possible to just take a quick day trip into Yosemite Valley. We just did it in early July. Coming from LV, drive north on Hiway 395 to Lee Vining. Stay in Lakeview Lodge. They have motel rooms and also small cabins that are newly remodeled and quite nice. Eat dinner at the Mono Lodge about 5 miles north of town if you like more gourmet style food.

Early the next morning, head back to the south end of town and take the Tioga Pass Road, which will take you up to 9500 feet in the high mountains, through stunning scenery, and back down the other side and into the valley. With stops for views and photos along the way, it took about 2 hours, I think.

The valley will be full of traffic, especially on the way in and out. But you can tour the valley and falls, hike to Vernal Falls and back, and then leave the valley by way of the road to Wawona. If you have time, cut off of that road and drive to Glacier Point to see the view (about 45 minutes from the junction, I think), then back down and out of the park on #49. Then go down towards the west on # 41 to Fresno, stay overnight, and then connect to #180 into Sequoia/Kings Canyon.

You have to come out of there the same way you went in, as you cannot get a road from the park back over the mountains to the east. It's too much wilderness. So you would then have to go back to Fresno and south to Bakersfield and then east to LV. So it will probably require another night's stay in Fresno unless you are willing to drive late into the night.

charnees

BTW, Lee Vining is on Mono Lake, which nearly dried up because Los Angeles was draining too much water out of it. Due to efforts of conservationists the lake is getting more water in it. There are odd mineral formations around the lake, kind of like stalagmites in caves. There is a visitors' center just north of town. You can walk along a trail to get close to some of the formations.

Shanti

Excuse me for changing the subject for a bit but - charnees, you like Lakeview Lodge? I'm probably going that way in October but had read mixed reviews about Lakeview Lodge and was tending towards staying in June Lake instead. But if Lakeview Lodge is nice, I'll start rethinking that one.