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Southwest/California NP roadtrip advice needed.

Southwest/California NP roadtrip advice needed.

Old Apr 24th, 2017, 04:19 AM
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Southwest/California NP roadtrip advice needed.

Hi. I'm planning to do a roadtrip from San Francisco to either Flagstaff or Phoenix over 12 days this September/October passing through Yosemite, Death Valley, hopefully Zion and Bryce, down past Grand Canyon and then if there is time through Sedona to Phoenix, or if there isn't to Flagstaff. Any advice would greatly be appreciated.

My main questions are:
1). Is this enough time?( I live in Australia and only have sorta one chance to do something like this)

2). Is budgeting 2-3hrs a day enough considering I want to do full day activities such as Half Dome, Grand Canyon hikes?

3). San Francisco is the closest airport from Australia but is it worth it to fly to an airport closer? (preliminary research suggests not)

4).Is going to Zion/Bryce worth it as I only have limited time and it's a lot more driving and would instead be better to drive through Sedona.

5). How is it temperature wise for physical activity like hiking in Sep/Oct.

If you could spare the time to help it would be greatly appreciated.
Jabcham is offline  
Old Apr 24th, 2017, 04:49 AM
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Welcome to Fodors Jabcham,

Sept/Oct is a fine time for travel in this area. I've used this map with chart of distance and times for travel in the Utah/northern Arizona areas that was posted by another fodorite:

http://ohiohickstraveltips.weebly.co...-utah-map.html

1/2. Twelve days is a bit short for the whole trip since you want to hike a bit and the distances between places eats up time just getting there.

3. Which airport to fly into is going to depend in part on where you can find lodging in/near the parks.

If going to Yosemite first makes sense, then fly into SFO, rent a car go to Yosemite spend days there, drive to the nearest airport, drop the car, fly to Las Vegas, rent another car. 4/5 days done.

Drive from Vegas to Zion 1/2 days then Bryce 1 day then North Rim of Grand Canyon 2 days since you want to hike. 8/10 days done. If the 12 days includes travel to/from Oz then back to Vegas and fly home.

4. IMHO Zion/Bryce are much better than Sedona.

5. Temperature will be warm in lower elevations like Zion, cooler at higher elevations, but pretty comfortable over all.

That said I really perfer the views/hiking at the South rim of Grand Canyon. Others will differ, but flying to Vegas works for that also. It would add a bit of driving time though.

Note the trip could be done in the opposite direction too, Grand Canyon and Utah parks first, Yosemite last. See what works best overall in terms of lodging and pace of trip.
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Old Apr 24th, 2017, 04:52 AM
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Thanks very much. On second thoughts I probably agree that it's a bit much. What part would you shorten?
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Old Apr 24th, 2017, 06:24 AM
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Listen to others and read some of the TRs for the area here because you will get as many different opinions as there are posters.

If I had 12 days to travel in the area I would fly into Las Vegas or Salt Lake City even if this involved a change at LAX or SFO. Then I would do a loop through the Utah parks and Grand Canyon.

Depending on which airport you arrive at, perhaps:
Day1. drive to Zion
Day2+3 in Zion drive to Bryce
Day 4 in Bryce sleep in Bryce
Day 5 see sunrise in Bryce drive/hike Capitol Reef
Day 6 drive to Moab
Day 7-9 hike Arches and Canyonlands
Day 10 drive to Grand Canyon via Monument Valley
Day 11 hike in Grand Canyon
Day 12 back airport to fly home

Others will say it is unthinkable to miss Yosemite, but it was not my favorite.
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Old Apr 24th, 2017, 05:32 PM
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You can fly from Flagstaff, via Phoenix, to LAX or SFO. You flight home will leave very late at night so if you time it just right, you can make it the same day. But only American flies the route, and not many flights, so...

Or drive to Phoenix after the Grand Canyon and return the car there. Many more flights from there.

I agree with emalloy that something has to give, and it might as well be Yosemite - time-consuming, one way in one way out. A trade-off for sure, but imho a reasonable one.
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Old Apr 24th, 2017, 05:55 PM
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We love traveling in this area. Here are some photo albums I've posted on Flickr that may give you a more detailed sense of these places:

Monument Valley:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/276859...57632741702094 [because of the dust if you ride into the valley on an open-top Navajo truck, this is definitely a Bring Your Own Face Mask experience; broadly protective sunglasses would also be helpful]

The Grand Canyon, including overhead views taken from a helicopter tour (if you can afford it, I highly recommend doing one of the 55-minute tours):

https://www.flickr.com/photos/276859...57632560721363

Sedona:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/276859...57632778236402

September is a great time for visiting Sedona and the Grand Canyon. (If you want to try walking partway down into the Canyon, it's actually risky to do it much before September.) The latest I've been there is probably around September 20th, and that was perfectly comfortable. I suspect it begins getting pretty chilly at night and maybe even late afternoon as you move into October.

Sedona is scenically stunning, has a wide range of hikes, and also features good accommodations, great eating, and interesting shops. On the other hand, it's a more domesticated, resort-type experience than the other places on your list. There's an Indian cliff dwelling called Montezuma's Castle just off the main Interstate highway nearby, BTW, in case you don't get to see any others. There are also some Anasazi Indian dwellings at Wupatki, which is not far off the highway leading south between the Grand Canyon and Flagstaff:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/276859...57645664286401

Just to further complicate your itinerary choices, I will mention that Mesa Verde, a National Park with a collection of cliff dwellings in far southwest Colorado, is also pretty special:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/276859...57644817864120

Indeed, there's a lot of fantastic things in New Mexico as well. All the more reason to plan a further trip . . . .
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Old Apr 26th, 2017, 04:38 PM
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You should not miss Yosemite, however unless you already have lodging reserved, you might find it dificult to find. Yosemite is booked a year in advance, but there are always cancellations so you just have to check often.

At that time of year you should have no problem leaving the Park via Highway 120 and the Tioga Pass. As you will want to spend a little time in that high area of the Park, I'd suggest staying in Bishop overnight then proceeding to Death Valley. There's a good Best Western in Bishop.

I'm not sure what you mean by this:

"Is budgeting 2-3hrs a day enough considering I want to do full day activities such as Half Dome, Grand Canyon hikes?"

All these areas are many hours drive apart.

After Death Valley (would you be staying overnight), drive to Las Vegas and on to the Grand Canyon.

I don't see any way you can fit Zion and Bryce in. Just not enough time given what you want to do.
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Old Apr 27th, 2017, 09:59 AM
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I wonder if flying into LAX works better?

Night 1 Las Vegas (or Mesquite) in 5 to 6 hours, (longer if you go via Mojave National Preserve..

Night 2& Springdale. LV to Zion is about 3 hours.

Night 4 Kanab Zion to Bryce is 2-3 hours. Try to spend a full day there. You can drive to Kanab (90 minutes) for the following night.

Night 5 Marble Canyon If snow hasn't closed the road, you can get from Kanab to the North Rim in 90 minutes. You may want to do this rather than the South Rim. I'd recommend the next overnight in Marble Canyon/Lee's Ferry.

Night 6 Monument Valley From the North Rim you can head toward Monument Valley via 89A. It is hard to make it by sunset but you might. If you don't get there see the park at sunrise

Night 7-9 Moab. You will want several nights there for Arches and Canyonlands.

Night 10 Torrey if you want a full day at Capitol Reef.

The remaining nights get you to your departure point. I would recommend Hwy 12 which cuts across the north part of Bryce and you could spend another night in Springdale.

From Springdale to LA is a full day's drive. Or you could end in Las Vegas and fly back.

One thing you may want to look at is if it makes sense to book from Australia to Las Vegas r/t..often inexpensive on Southwest. Not sure how car rental prices compare LAX vs LAS
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Old Apr 27th, 2017, 10:54 AM
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From the OP, Yosemite and Grand Canyon are the two places he really wants to see and mentioned activities he is planning to do in each location. So, why miss out Yosemite completely and add in the two locations which were "just if there's time"?
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Old Apr 27th, 2017, 11:21 AM
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Because I'd do what emalloy suggests instead.
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Old Apr 27th, 2017, 11:37 AM
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BTW I agree that I wouldn't substitute Sedona for some of the other Southwest suggestions.
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