marguerite

Three friends and I are planning a trip to the Grand Canyon in early September. We originally planned to stay two nights near the Grand Canyon and three nights in Sedona. Now, however, I have been told by friends that Bryce and Zion are much prettier destinations. Would a trip to all three parks be too ambitious? How much distance between the three parks and what about driving conditions and times? Can we work in a trip to Sedona, too, or is this way too much to do in a week? We like to hike but don't do really strenuous or long hikes.

Thanks in advance to any response to these questions.

Marguerite

placeu2

This exact subject has been hashed, rehashed and hashed some more.

Please do a search of these forums. Start just doing a search of Utah or Arizona if the whole thing is too daunting.

zooey91

I concur that, if a pretty destination is what you desire, Bryce and/or Zion would be better choices than Sedona. Also, I prefer the North Rim of the Grand Canyon to the South (the South Rim is closer to Sedona; the North is closer to Bryce and Zion).

You can definitely do all three parks in one trip (many do), but I'd suggest eliminating one of the three if you only have five nights to play with. However, you could nevertheless spend one night at the Grand Canyon lodge, two nights at Bryce, and two nights at Zion, and have a very nice trip.

WWF could sponsor the battle between Foderites about whether you should eliminate Bryce or Zion if you do want to have just one destination other than the Grand Canyon. But if you really have a "week" and not just five nights, we can call off the fight and you can easily enjoy all three parks.

Finally, going to Sedona as well as the other three parks would seem like too much to do in a week.

bouvier81

I've been to all three, twice: Zion, Bryce and the Grand Canyon. Three years ago in July, we stayed at Bryce for two nights and drove to Zion one of those days. It's about a 45 minute drive between the two. From, Bryce, we went to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, and it was about a 4 hour drive, as I remember it. So in answer to your question, I think you could make them all if you want a taste of everything and don't want to hike all day. I love traveling in Utah and Arizona, because everywhere you drive, there is something to see out your window.

The Grand Canyon is awesome because of its size, but I prefer Zion and Bryce for their beauty and solitude. Especially Bryce, the least crowded of all of them. The sunrise there is beautiful, but the sunset is just as magnificent because of the colors it throws on the hoodoos. The late afternoon and early evening is the best time to walk on some of the trails because the temperature is perfect. We stayed at Ruby's right outside of the park, but I would opt to say in the park if we did it again. If you continue through the park, there is about a 30 minute drive of spectacular scenery that shouldn't be missed. Even an arch, that you will recognize from a lot of photos.

Zion is completely different and shouldn't be missed if you go to Bryce. The drive into the park from the East side includes several tunnels and then a magnificent winding road down a mountain into the valley. Once in the park, there are shuttles that take you further into the valley where you can pick from many different trails (easy to difficult) to walk and see waterfalls and other scenic spots. (I believe you can drive yourself vs. the shuttles, after the summer months.) This would be a beautiful time at Zion and again, I would suggest staying in the lodges they have in the park.

On the way to the Grand Canyon, you pass Lake Powell. I wish we would have had a chance to take a boat out on that lake to go and see Rainbow Bridge. This is the bridge you see on many posters and is a 15 minute walk from the shore where the boat let’s you out.

At the Grand Canyon, we stayed at one of the rim hotels. It was next to the El Toro, but I can't remember the name. We had dinner at the El Toro at sunset, and it was wonderful! We took about a three hour trail walk on the rim. Because of the heat here in July, we didn’t venture the walk down into the canyon because our children were little, but I imagine in September, it would be bearable.

I have never been to Sedona, and can't comment on it, but I've heard it's very pretty. Good Luck on your decisions.

One last suggestion. You may want to purchace a National Park Pass @ https://buy.nationalparks.org/default.asp?ref=nps. Some locations will allow entry for everyone in your car and some it's by family. Anyway, it's good for a year to any park in the country.

Have fun!

bigtyke

Will you ever be getting bac k in this part of the country?

If not, then I would opt for Bryce and Zion instead of Sedona, but otherwise would choose Sedona.

We just got back from two short trips - 2 days in Flagstaff and another of 3 in the Verde Valley. There is plenty to do in that area without doing alot of driving.

ronkala

Bouvier, that was a great reply to Marguerite and it was pretty neat of you to take the time to answer her questions in stead of sending her off to the search box.

travlsolo2

bouvier81 -- Good info; Our trip which is also in early September includes Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Grand Canyon, Sedona, etc. One thing, though -- we couldn't get reservations at anything inside any of the parks, including at Ruby's, and I started trying to get reservations in May. The only location where I got my first choice of lodging was in Springdale (right outside Zion entrance) at the Desert Pearl.
marguerite - be sure to post when you decide on your final itinerary; I'd love to see what you decide.

travlsolo2

oops, forgot. Bouvier -- how far ahead did you make dinner reservations at El Tovar in Grand Canyon? I'd like to do that, too, -- guess I'd have to find out what time sunset is going to be, too!

FAYALA

I was took a tour of the Canyons September last year. I would recommend Bryce and Zion, probably
Bryce more than Zion if you have to choose.
I would recommend Monument Valley or a trip through a slot canyon with a guide (Antelope Canyon was well-worth seeing). I stayed at Lake Powell also, and would have rather spent more time at the Grand Canyon or the other canyons. The food and food service is not the best at the resorts at any of these places--we stayed at each of the resorts at each of these places, my favorite was the log cabins at Bryce Canyon. You can take short walks at all of these places if you don't like to take long hikes, and you still have a lot to see. Sunrise over the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is breathtaking--you can sit and watch the same view which will change right before your eyes--it is the most peaceful, serene place---I want to go back!

sharondi

Great information, Bouvier81.
Marguerite, you will love Zion and Bryce. And you can easily do them both and the Grand Canyon in a week. Save Sedona for another trip. It is 87 miles from Zion to Bryce - about a 2 hr ride.

marguerite

Thanks so much for all of your wonderful replies--so helpful.
Marguerite

utahtea

marguerite,

I agree with your friends, Bryce and Zion are a much more scenic locations than Sedona...and Sedona is scenic.

You don't mention where you are starting or ending this trip.

If you don't mind starting in Phoenix and ending in Las Vegas then you could easily drive though Sedona on the way to the S. Rim of the Grand Canyon. Spend two nights at the S. Rim. Then drive to Bryce and spend one night (and much of the next day) before driving to Zion to spend two nights. The last day is only a 3 hour drive to Las Vegas.

If you don't want to go to the expense of different locations, then it's better to fly in and out of Las Vegas and skip Sedona this trip.

I see sharondi has corrected bouvier81's mistake about 45 minutes between Bryce and Zion. It's 86 miles so if bouvier81 did it in 45 minutes then they had to be driving 100 MPH the whole time....and that just would be to dangerous! It's more like 2 hours between those two parks.

I'd also like to make another correction. Because Lake Powell is so low from years of drought, it's a 1 1/2 mile round trip hike to see Rainbow Bridge from the boat tour so it no longer can be done in 15 minutes.

Utahtea

marguerite

A special thanks to Utahtea, as well as to all who gave such detailed replies. In answer to your question: We are flying from Nashville to Phoenix and returning to Phoenix at the end of the week. Flight has been booked, so no changing that.
Marguerite

utahtea

In that case you might as well at least drive by Sedona on your way to the South Rim. It's only about 150 total extra miles from Phoenix vs Las Vegas so that's not so bad.

You said you are leaving at the end of the week....does that mean this is over the 4th of July weekend? OY! Can you say CROWDS! If this is over the 4th you better start making reservations! Where you can get lodging might dictate what order you do the parks!

Utahtea

marguerite

To Utahtea, Goodness, no, not the Fourth of July! We'll fly to Phoenix Sept 8 and leave on Sept 16. By "end of the week" I meant our week in Arizona.

bouvier81

Okay, maybe it wasn't 45 minutes between Bryce and Zion, but I know it didn't take us 2 hours. (At least I don't think we were driving a 100 MPH!! ) I just figured it on a map and it looks to be around 70 miles by the time you get into Zion Park from Bryce, so it was probably close to an 1 1/2. Sorry, it didn't seem like that long of a drive.

We were able to get reservations to a lodge inside of the Grand Canyon in about March. I was told to keep calling periodically to see if something else opened up and we ended up at the Thunderbird on the rim because of a cancellation. It pays to be persistent.

If I remember correctly, we got the El Tovar dinner reservations the soonest you could make them which I think was about a month ahead. Dinner there lasts about two hours, so if you can figure out when the sun sets, make the reservation appropriately.

I hope you enjoy yourselves. There is so much too see everywhere you drive out there.

justicemoney

Good Site for Sunrise/Sunset data:

http://www.sunrisesunset.com/usa/

travlsolo2

Thanks for the info about El Tovar dinner reservations and being persistent, Bouvier. I'll try calling periodically -- might gt lucky and hit a cancellation. And thanks, Justice, for sunsetsunrise site.

utahtea

So glad to hear it's not over the 4th! September should be really nice. We might even decide to take our vacation in the area at that time too. Just haven't decided yet.

Utahtea