Cacafuego

So my wife and I both happen to have a week of vacation we need to burn off in October. We were thinking of hitting Vegas and some nature areas around, like the Canyon and Zion.

I was thinking 3 nights in Vegas and 4 nights traveling around, particularly to the Grand Canyon.

The thing I'm having the toughest time is figuring out where to sleep. In the second week of October the Canyon inns all seem to be totally booked already, and even Holiday Inn in Flagstaff want $200/night. I was thinking we could either rent a small 2-person camper (we did that for three weeks around Australia and it was great), but most seem like ripoffs. Car camping would be an option too -I found a gesture place that rents gear (we'd probably take our small subzero sleeping bags but rent the rest), but Im having a tough time figuring out where we'd camp. If the hotels are any measure the Canyon National Park campgrounds will be totally full, and I don't know where else would be good to camp. Plus we'd like to travel around a bit and see a few things.

Anyone put together a similar itinerary that worked for them? We're pretty flexible, and just want to have a good time. And have any comments about the sleeping situation?

Thanks!

Cacafuego

I suppose I probably should have tagged this "Arizona"

cferrb

Have you researched Williams, AZ. It's close to the entrance for the park and has a lot of motels/hotels.

emalloy

Keep trying for in park lodging at GC. People make plans a year in advance and then find they can't go at the last minute. Call and keep calling every day. In the mean time, make a reservation at Cameron Trading Post, east of the canyon on 89 near the junction with 64 which becomes the road along the rim and IMO the prettiest approach to the canyon. I'm pretty sure you can cancel without penalty there up to a day or two before the trip. The trading post itself has every tacky and non tacky thing you would expect in a southwestern gift shop, but it also has an ok place to eat and our room was fine, looked over a garden, some rooms look over the little Colorado river too, and it was quite reasonable.

If you do decide to do the camping thing, you can pick up a small tent at many places in the area, even some Wallmarts, and then donate it to Goodwill or Salvation Army or Boy/Girl Scouts when you leave for about what you would pay for a rental and not have to deal with returning it on the way back.

Have a great trip!

isabel

You also mentioned Zion - the town of Springdale is where most people stay to visit Zion and there were a lot of motels there, many with vacancies in August (the Zion lodge was full at that time) so I'm pretty sure you could find something there. If you can't find anything at the South Rim you could consider spending a couple of nights in Kanab Ut or Page Az and do the north rim as a day trip - not ideal but certainly doable as a day trip from either of those towns. Kanab would be on the way from Zion. Or you could do Bryce and Zion instead of grand canyon and Zion.

Placename

Are you looking at accomodations on the National Park Service website? Are you looking for accmodations in Tusayan?

You could also visit Death Valley.

utahtea

Motel room no vacancy's doesn't mean there won't be any campsites available. I just check Mather Campground for the South Rim of the Grand Canyon at www.recreation.gov and there are 160 tent sites available and plenty of RV sites for the first three weeks of October. Weekends might be harder to find with an RV, but there are still plenty now. There are camper showers at the S. Rim.

Watchman Campground in Zion has a lot less sites available. South campground in Zion is a first come, first serve campground. If you get there early enough in the day, you should be able to get a tent site. There are no camp showers at Zion, but you can go just outside the park and pay for showers at the Zion Canyon Campground in Springdale. Springdale might be a good place to look for lodging. The town sites right at the gate of Zion and you have the same beautiful views of Zion from town as you do from the two campgrounds in Zion.

For lodging and campsites, if you don't' find what you want now, keep checking. People are always canceling!
Utahtea

Cacafuego

Thanks guys.

I guess partly I was trying to get a handle on where people were generally staying when they took a 4-5 day trip around the various nature parks and cool things east of Vegas. We're flexible, but when I did some research into places to stay around the South Rim of the GC I wasn't finding much luck.

Actually the Cemeron Trading Post was booked for each set of days I checked, but I found a 2-day period they're free so we might stay there.

Thanks for the suggestion on where to look for camping sites, utahtea. Good to know that we have that option.

Any suggestions on peoples' FAVORITE places to visit in this general area? I'd like to hit 2 or three places over a 4-5 day period having started from LV, but spend enough time in each place to feel like we went there, and didn't just pass through.

Thanks

emalloy

Unless you do a lot of hiking, for Grand Canyon, you could do one and a half days and feel like you have seen it nicely. Be sure to see sunset and sunrise (being in the park helps for this). Also, do some walking along the rim trail and use the shuttle that you can hop on and off at stops along the way if you tire, and try to get down below the rim a bit on Bright Angel or Kaibab trails. Call for in park lodging it really does free up as you get closer to the trip and the openings often don't get posted on the web site.

If you leave Vegas fairly early in the morning, you can stop at Hoover Dam and then be in the park before sundown. Spend the night and the next day and then aim for Zion or Bryce. It is only a 3 hour drive from Zion back to Vegas. They are very different from each other, Bryce you are at the top and can climb down into, Zion you are down in and can climb up from, Both are worth a vist.

utahtea

emalloy gave you good advise. If you can squeeze in 5 days then I'd recommend both Bryce and Zion.

Utahtea