Myer

Last spring my daughter suggested we go on one of “my” trips. Her only requests were that we be away no more than five days including travel and that she see her husband and daughter in the morning before we leave and in the evening when we returning.

I planned a packed 3 day trip to Southwestern Utah flying into and out of Las Vegas.

Lodging
Escalante. Prospector Inn was recommended on this forum. An excellent choice. The room had two queen-size beds, a TV, microwave and refrigerator. It also had a fresh, clean, modern feel to it. The restaurant in the back was very convenient.

Bryce Canyon & Zion. The standard in-park motel rooms. Very convenient, fresh, clean and over-priced. I highly recommend staying in the parks when possible.

On the way from LAS to Escalante we stopped at Valley of Fire State Park (a fun hour but it took over 2 hours to get there from the highway and back onto the highway. We also stopped to drive the Zion Kolob Canyon scenic road. Nice views but if you’re going to be in the main part of Zion I’d skip this. As a result of the stops we drove 2 ½ hours in the dark to Escalante.

Devil’s Garden Escalante – Located 10 miles down the bumpy, dirt Hole-in-the-Rock Road. This was an excellent early morning stop and we spent a couple of hours there. I consider it a grown up Goblin Valley as the rock structures a larger here.

Lower Calf Creek Falls – Located about 30 minutes east of Hole-in-the-Rock Road and you get to drive on the scenic (“Steep Grade and Sharp Curves”) part of Rt 12. For the middle of a hot day this hike is a little too long even though it’s easy with nothing steep. The spectacular 126 foot waterfalls at the end make it worth the effort.

Willis Creek – The hard part is getting there. Located south of Cannonville (about 20 minutes east of Bryce Canyon right on Rt 12). A couple of miles past the visitors center going south of the town the road forks with Cottonwood Rd to the left going to Kodachrome Park and Grosvenor Arch and Skutumpah Road to the right going past Willis Creek. There is now a trailhead sign at the parking lot so finding it is no problem. This road has a few hills and curves with loose sand and ruts. Parts at 5mph and others requiring speed to get up the hill are part of the adventure.

About 100 yards from the trailhead you find yourself walking on the streambed. It’s a very easy hike with nothing difficult and no elevation gain. There’s a small (about 8 feet) waterfall and you either climb/jump down (my daughter) or walk around it (me).

The first two or three slots are unimpressive but by the fourth the slots get narrower and much higher. This is a series of real slot canyons that are easily accessible and easy to walk. At any point you just turn around and walk back. A very good couple of hours.

Bryce Canyon
Sunrise – Sunrise is spectacular at Bryce Point. Don’t miss it.

Navajo Loop/Queen’s Garden – This is a classic hike down into the hoodoos. Unless you have physical issues you must hike down into the canyon. There are many beautiful places but Bryce Canyon is one of a kind. While the hike is not at all difficult you have to hike back up and you’re at 8,000 feet. Drink water periodically even if you don’t feel thirsty. Make sure you have plenty of sunscreen on.

Cascade Falls – on the way from Bryce to Zion we decided to make a stop to see something I hadn’t seen. Located west on Rt 14 just south of Cedar Breaks National Monument (which we didn’t have time to see) this is a fairly short, easy and scenic hike. However, in view of the length of time getting there and the very disappointing view of the waterfall (the hike ends at the top of the waterfall with no possibility of getting a good view) the time could have been better spent in Zion doing the Canyon Overlook hike on the way in the east entrance or some other short hike in the park.

Zion
Angels Landing to Scouts Lookout. On my previous trip to Zion I bypassed this hike. This time I decided to hike up to Scouts Lookout (I know my limitations). The hike is actually very easy as the trail is wide, smooth (mostly paved) and mostly gradual. Since we started at 8:30 it wasn’t too warm on the way up. You’re in elevation (though a lot lower than Bryce Canyon) so oxygen is an issue. Drink lots of water and have sunscreen on. The views from Scout’s Lookout were amazing although photographing it was very difficult due to the bright sun and dark shadows. The hardest part was stopping my daughter from attempting the hike to the very top. It still felt good to get this far.

Riverside Walk – This is a fun, easy walk to the start of the Narrows with the canyon walls providing some shade from the midday sun. The views are spectacular of the canyon walls and river rapids. Taking off the boots and walking in the water was fun though hard on the feet.

Three days is way too short but it’s much better than not going at all. We had a lot of fun.

Photos of the trip are at:

www.travelwalks.com

Select the 2010 trip to Southwest Utah.

There are way too many photos for a three-day trip. Also, since we both kept taking photos of each other, there are too many of us.

spirobulldog

Sounds like a great trip. I prefer people in my pics. My daughter is 16 and still enjoys going with just me or both of us. Hope I get to go with her when she is a little older as well. We just have the one child and I am not looking forward to the thought of her leaving in 3 or 4 years. I like going as a family, but sometimes trips are great just 1 on 1. My daughters favorite trip was a 4 day trip we took to Moab when she was 11. I am really looking forward to Bryce next summer. Devils Garden looks interesting. I keep adding more to my list. Nice Photos.

elnap29

I've been meaning to do a trip report that included Valley Of Fire from our trip in April. I'm wondering which route you took to get there because, for us, the drive was less than 30 min off I-15. We loved it, especially because we were there late in the afternoon when the shadows were long. We enjoyed hiking there until it was nearly dark.

We also enjoy the Kolob section of Zion National Park. I don't think it's a "must-do" if you have limited time to see Zion, but it's something to put on the list if you want to explore the area further.

We've done some hiking and canyoneering in Escalante and plan to go back (although I think my canyoneering days may be over...) and I appreciate the reminder to hike to Lower Calf Creek Falls.

Glad you had an enjoyable trip with your daughter. I'm hoping to get our daughter and son-in-law to join us on one of our yearly trips here one of these days.

Myer

spiro,

It was fun for the two of us to go alone.

At Scouts Lookout she wanted to go the rest of the way to Angels Landing. We had cell service up there and she called her husband who she said told her she's old enough to make her own decisions.

I told her if she went I'd be hanging onto her ankle. I told her it was ok to go if she didn't have parents or a family of her own.

She sulked for a few minutes.

She doesn't normally get up early easily. However, she was always up 5 minutes before the arranged time for each day. In fact, on the last day I decided to move up the wakeup by half an hour. She somehow knew to wake up half an hour earlier. A connection?

Myer

elnap29,

It didn't take too long to get to Valley of Fire on the way from LAS. The problem was getting out the east/north side of the park. It was long, slow and there was road construction.

The reason we stopped at Kolob Canyons was that we were going right by there. It was nice but for most not worth the drive unless you're there (as we were).

It appears my son-in-law has mentioned going to Yellowstone. They've been to Yoseimite. Could I end up back there again?

Dayle

Myer,

I'm glad you and your daughter had a good trip! We are certainly having a gorgeous fall with much warmer than usual temps. Fall colors are peaking this weekend and I'm off to do some photography in the Wasatch!

Re Kolob Canyon section of Zion - there are some great hikes that start up there and go all the way down to the canyon floor. I haven't done the West Rim trail myself, but I have some hard core friends who do it as a day hike - 17 mi!

Myer

Dayle,

Don't get me wrong. The scenic drive was really scenic. And the setting sun made everything look golden. It was too late to do even a short hike and I knew we had a long drive ahead to get to Escalante.

I just don't see making the drive from the main section of Zion to this area.

You have to want to be away from the crowds.

elnap29

We usually spend a week at Zion and sometimes we go to Kolob and sometimes not. It's a lot different than being in Zion Canyon, but the hikes are great and there is a lot of history on these trails that makes it fascinating. You might see old buildings and carvings on the rock walls.

emalloy

Myer,

Thanks for the report and the great pictures! We've been to Valley of Fire a couple of times and If you have to go to Vegas it is worth the trip, great petroglyphs on the hike into Mouse's Tank and also at atl atl rock. I think it only took us a half hour off I-15 too bad you had the holdup in traffic.

Go to Yellowstone again, it is fantastic and will be fun for the whole family.

spirobulldog

I could go to Yellowstone or Yosemite again and again. Kinda like Utah.

utahtea

Great report. We are currently in Utah and might look into the Willis Creek hike.

Utahtea

isabel

Thanks for the report, especially the part about Willis Creek which I haven't seen alot about. I'm planning a trip next summer so hearing about yours is very helpful.

Myer

I've been to Willis Creek twice. The drive there is a bit of an adventure.

It's a flat walk for the most part (you can walk around the little (6-7ft) waterfall).

It's a series of slots separated by very small open areas. The creek is small and you just walk back and forth over it as it meanders.

The first 2-3 slots are not really impressive. By the 4th or 5th they get quite high and interesting.

Each time I've been there I saw one other group. The register at the parking lot usually has a few names for that day.

This year there's a trailhead sign at the parking lot so some people must go there.

An excellent intro to slot canyons requiring very little walking effort.

isabel

Thanks for the added info. Could you explain what you mean by "the drive there is a bit of an adventure"?

Myer

You drive south on the main street in Cannonville past the visitors center.

After about a mile or two there's a fork in the road. The sign says Cottonwood Rd to the left and Skutumpah Rd to the right. You go right.

It's about 10 miles on a dirt road. Most of it is ok. There are two relatively small hills with sand and ruts on them. You have to get up some speed to make it up the road.

I noticed that the left side of the road is in better shape, so I drove up on the wrong side of the road. That's the good thing about roads with no traffic.

The funny thing is that on the way back we came to a bunch of cows and stopped for them to walk off the road. Standing on the road was a mother giving a little one some dinner.

Steep curvery roads normally freak me out but I was ok on this one. So it must have been pretty tame.

The first time I was there we drove past the parking lot and had to back up. Now there's a sign there so you can't miss it.

Tomsd

And BTW: Just checked out a trip report by Meyer - and he also has some very good stuff. see: http://www.travelwalks.com/

I while I/we would love to go back and spend some more time - even camp at Valley of Fire - since you are just leaving Vegas when you come to the turnoff (a half hour or so to the turnoff) - I would suggest you save it for another time, or maybe visit it when you get back to Vegas after this Oct trip - if you have time.

Tomsd

My bad. Accidentially posted here - instead of on the recent thread by Kodi - asking for travel advice.

Good work Myer.