Tour of the Grand Circle USA .HELP!

Old Apr 22nd, 2017, 08:58 AM
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Tour of the Grand Circle USA .HELP!

Planning to go with my husband to The Grand Circle to see all the different canyons and rock formations. Is it too hot in June? We are 70 but good walkers but rather afraid of walking in the heat! How long do you suggest will it take us to see it? Is 17 days enough? Could you suggest us the route to take. We were thinking to start from Las Vegas. We want to see Antelope canyon does one have to buy the ticket in advance? Does it have to be in a tour? Could you help us with names of hotels on the way please. Thanks
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Old Apr 22nd, 2017, 10:48 AM
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What is the Grand Circle? Is this some kind of travel agent term?
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Old Apr 22nd, 2017, 11:11 AM
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There is a tour company with that name too. However you seem to be traveling independent. Confusing terminology.
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Old Apr 22nd, 2017, 11:28 AM
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http://www.us-parks.com/roadtrip/the...road-trip.html

If you don't know what it is, I think it's safe to say you don't need to post on the thread.
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Old Apr 22nd, 2017, 12:30 PM
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Here is a map with a list of distances and times that was posted a while ago by another fodorite. I've found it helpful for planning.

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

I would expect it to be quite hot in some of the parks in June. We usually go in April/May or Sept/October. The weather is warm but not oppressively hot in most of the parks.

If you click my name and scroll down to the Trip Reports you can find some routes that we've taken.
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Old Apr 22nd, 2017, 12:40 PM
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I should have added that we've used Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Phoenix and Denver as places to fly into, Salt Lake City is another that I always check. If you use one of the sites like Kayak or Travelocity to check on flights, be aware that Southwest often has better rates and is not listed on them. I use their Low Fare Calendar tab to look for the lowest day of the month to fly in or out when comparing to other airlines.

We decide on which based on air fare, car rental costs and which makes sense in terms of what we want to focus on and if we can get lodging in one of the more popular parks.

Phoenix and Denver tend to have higher costs for rental cars and sometimes lower air fare.

We like to stay in the parks where possible, so make those reservations ahead. If you go to www.nps.gov and enter which park you are interested in you will find a link to lodging.
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Old Apr 22nd, 2017, 02:19 PM
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NewbE+1

June can go either way. Also depends on location, it won't be so hot up a the North Rim which is at altitude, or Bryce Canyon, but Zion can start to get toasty. If it's hot, you'll want to do walks in the morning and evening, or stick to places that tend to be shady. You can also do your driving between stops in the middle of the day.

Hotels are going to have early check out and late checkin anyways.

Two of my favorite places to stay along the way are not in the parks, including Kanab (Best Friends is you can snag it) and Cliff Dwellers Lodge at the base of the Vermillion Cliffs. I added a night between the rims of the GC just to stay a night there. Great restaurant even if you aren't spending the night. If you want to spend the night at Monument Valley, that one books up way ahead of time. For Arches and Capitol Reef, there are no lodges, you would have to camp. For Arches, you stay in Moab, and for Capitol Reef, the closest town is Torrey.

For Zion a lot of people prefer to stay in Springdale (myself included). For the Grand Canyon, I've stayed in Williams when the park itself was either too full or too pricey. It may even be too late to get in park rooms on many dates.

For lodging in park the best way to be sure you're on the direct booking website is to click through a link or call the phone number from the National Park website. There are lots of "fake" booking agencies out there.

I have not been to Antelope Canyon. There are slot canyons you can see for free elsewhere, eg in the vicinity of Arches and Capitol Reef. I did enjoy Monument Valley,though.
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Old Apr 22nd, 2017, 03:03 PM
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You have to do Antelope Canyon with a tour; it's easy to just park at the entrance and sign up for the next one that's available.

Lee Ann
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Old Apr 22nd, 2017, 06:33 PM
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What is the Grand Circle? It is what it implies.
Start at Zion, continue north, clockwise, through all parks to Arches at Moab. Then south to Needles and then to Grand Canyon and back up to Zion area. There are many parks en route. I've been to all of them - my guess is 20 parks? (Includes Hovenweep - will be back there -3rd time in about 2-3 weeks. Have to locate the Anasazi solar calendar they used to mark summer solstice).

Antelope Canyon - be prepared for masses of tourist. At times, it is like a subway train in that slot.

NewbE+1
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Old Apr 22nd, 2017, 06:35 PM
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What is the Grand Circle? It is what it implies.
Start at Zion, continue north, clockwise, through all parks to Arches at Moab. Then south to Needles and then to Grand Canyon and back up to Zion area. There are many parks en route. I've been to all of them - my guess is 20 parks? (Includes Hovenweep - will be back there -3rd time in about 2-3 weeks. Have to locate the Anasazi solar calendar they used to mark summer solstice).

Antelope Canyon - be prepared for masses of tourist. At times, it is like a subway train in that slot.

NewbE+1
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Old Apr 22nd, 2017, 07:49 PM
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I've done it twice - once in June, once in October, plus a few shorter visits to Utah. Utah is blessed with unbelievably beautiful places! Weather is hit or miss. We had significant snow in Bryce on June 6. Beautiful but tough to get around. We didn't find it particularly hot in June but we had been to the hotter places first. Just avoid walking during mid day on hot days. Mornings and late afternoons are much cooler and you'll be ok. Drink lots of water as the air is very dry.

We fly in/out of Salt Lake. I'm no longer permitted to go to Vegas. Bad things happen while I'm there (9/11 and a death in my immediate family). SLC is a good airport and SLC is kind of fun. The Salt Lake and area are very fun and interesting to see.

Lodging will be difficult in the parks at this late date but you might get lucky. Check often. Our last minute trips to the area we stay in Best Western hotels right outside the parks if nothing available inside. It's ok but adds driving time and rarely saves money. Moab (for Arches and Canyonlands, plus Dead Horse Point) has plenty of hotels and Torrey, near Capitol Reef, has a few. Don't short change your stay at Cap Reef - I loved it and we just didn't have enough time to enjoy it.

The North Rim will likely be sold out. But don't miss it. It's my very favorite place on earth. Keep checking for cancellations and scoop anything up. It's very far from anywhere. Zion is spectacular - use the bus system well (if running in June). It's great but you need to plan so you have enough water and snacks. It has improved traffic immeasurably! We've stayed in the towns to the west and east of Zion, and inside the park. Do it all! It's very different in all locations of the park. Gorgeous.

Grand Escalante - Staircase is gorgeous but very little infrastructure to visit it. Cedar Breaks might be the best view? Visit Bears Ears, the newest National Monument before it loses its designation. Natural Bridges was better than expected - make a day of it, too. It's an easy day trip and another beautiful place.

If you can, Dinosaur Park was excellent!! We also added Pueblo NP in SW Colorado last time. Very interesting, loved it.

We added a night in Glen Canyon or Lake Powell between Monument Valley (which we didn't enjoy much because the road was in horrific shape. Almost impossible to drive and enjoy). But if you have time, add a night. It's a pretty area.

Give yourself plenty of time for the long drives and the excellent parks. Beware that Arizona doesn't do daylight savings time so the time might change on route 89 a few times while driving between Lake Powell, the North Rim and Kanab.

June is also a great time to visit Colorado? Lots of great national and state parks and it's stunningly beautiful. Two excellent states to spend a few weeks! We've had great national parks trips to both.

Have a great time!!
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Old Apr 22nd, 2017, 07:58 PM
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I loved Hovenweep.

I had to speed up my loop after Monument Valley, coming down with the flu or something similar spent a miserable night at the Holiday Inn in Kayenta (not a beauty spot), then took me two more days to finally get back home.

I agree I like Capitol Reef also, Torrey doesn't have a lot of options, take what you can get.
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Old Apr 23rd, 2017, 04:48 PM
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But it's safe to say the term "Grand Circle" is not a nationally recognized term.
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Old Apr 23rd, 2017, 06:31 PM
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The only Grand Circle I've heard of is a European waterways company aimed at seniors.
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Old Apr 23rd, 2017, 06:46 PM
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There is a series of videos on YouTube relating to The Grand Circle.
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Old Apr 23rd, 2017, 08:04 PM
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In my opinion the North Rim Grand Canyon is far more attractive than the south rim because: 1) FAR, FAR less tourists and 2) closer to the river and 1,000 feet higher. Point Sublime is the absolute best view of the canyon. Need 4-wheel drive vehicle.

Christabir is correct: Lodging IN the park is very difficult to reserve. However rustic Kaibab Lodge is just outside the border. Next is Jacob Lake about 50 miles from the border. Of course the town Kanab has extensive facilities. That is about 70 miles from the border. Google all.

Best part is that the land before the park is BLM. Camp anywhere - free.

Mijb - Hovenweep. The Cajon group building design marks both occurrences of summer/winter solstices and equinoxes. Amazing how they were able to design that arrangement of building. Alas, there is only one pictograph in that entire complex.

Vaga
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Old Apr 24th, 2017, 12:16 AM
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I may have used this site for trip planning. They also have a section on slot canyons

http://www.americansouthwest.net/iti...nd-circle.html

And if you're into photography, this series is good,although some of the info is dated and should be double checked before going off the beaten path (eg you don't really want to go to Colorado City Az)

https://www.amazon.com/Photographing.../dp/0916189120
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Old Apr 24th, 2017, 09:38 AM
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For those just getting acquainted with the term "Grand Circle"...it was originated by the railroad companies back in the early days of the 20th century. http://highroads.az.aaa.com/article/grand-circle
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Old Apr 25th, 2017, 08:57 AM
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Thank you all for your help! I am new to this sight so it was quite remarkable to get so many answers. The idea of our holiday is to fly to Las Vegas to hire a car and travel to The Grand Canyon and to carry on seeing all the interesting places up to Salt Lake City and go back to Las Vegas. Do you think 17 days are enough? Which places are "must"? Where should we walk and where should we drive through? We are 70 . But love walking . Just we are not used to walk in the high temperatures... so do you think we should go in October?
Thank you all for your help!
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Old Apr 25th, 2017, 09:04 AM
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October is popular for Moab/Arches part. You can run into early winter, in the colder elevations, and the North Rim could be closed. I think June will mostly be okay. You don't need to walk if it's hot. It may not be.
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