Hello, My husband and I will be doing a 2 week roadtrip in October of 2025. We will fly into and out of Las Vegas, doing a loop to include Sedona, Grand Canyon, Page/Antelope, Bryce and Zion. We are pretty healthy and up for moderate activity - 3 mile walks on mild/mild-moderate terrain. My husband is not a big fan of heights with sheer drops so needs options. We prefer a slower paced itinerary, so we can get to know a place rather than doing drive-by tourism. We ride e-bikes and are up for some water activities. We appreciate off the beaten track. Typically we rent AirBnB but we appreciate special or unique locations for glamping, inns, hotels or lodges. Natural beauty is important to us. Questions: Does this itinerary fit our travel style and is it doable? Do you have any specific suggestions for lodging, activities, restaurants, stops along the way? Anything you would definitely add or subtract?

Day 1: Fly into LV, rent car, drive to Boulder City, see Hoover Dam - overnight Boulder City - lodging suggestion?

Day 2-4: Sedona: Red Rock Crossing, Chapel of Holy Cross, Pink Jeep tour, Tlaquepaque - Possible self catering.

Day 5-6: Grand Canyon: Stay in Park. Rim Trail and Trail of Time. Geology Museum, e-bikes

Day 7-8: Page - Possible self catering. Guided Upper Antelope Canyon Tour, Rent Boat on Lake Powell or Float Trip on Colorado River

Day 9-10: Bryce Canyon: Stay in park? Outside the park? Scenic driving loop with frequent stops. Short hikes - Mossy cave, Queen's garden, portion of Rim Trail. We'd like to do a star gazing/night tour if this is an option here or Zion, E-bikes

Day 11-13: Zion. Stay in Park. Zion Human HIstory Museum, Pa'Rus Trail, Riverside Walk, Court of Patriarchs, Emerald Pools. e-bikes
I am considering adding on 1 or 2 days to include Monument Valley between the GC and Page. Thoughts on this. 2 weeks is generally our comfort zone for travel unless just staying in 2 or 3 bases. We don't enjoy constant hopping or 1 night stays. My inclination is to hold off on this and do it later with a Mesa Verde, Arches, Capitol Reef loop.

You are doing a loop, so consider doing in either direction based on availability of lodging in,near the parks. Check the school schedule for Utah and avoid the October break time when the parks will be mobbed.

We have stayed in most of the in park options at Grand Canyon and I prefer the ones near the rim. elTovar is the nicest and also more costly, Thunderbird and Kachina are more like chain hotels and Bright Angel cabins are historic which means small. You anre paying for the location annd the anbility to walk to the view ant sunset and sunrise without driving when it is dark annd the elk and deer play in the road. Yavapai and Maswick are set back farther from the rim and are also basic motels.

Have a great trip

Thank you. I was actually able to book at Bright Angel. I know they are basic cabins, but for the small time we will be in our room, I couldn't justify the price at El Tovar. Have you stayed in Bryce or Zion. I can get into the lodge at Zion, but am thinking I may book at Zion Canyon B & B which is a 5 minute walk from the shuttle and has e-bikes available. I can't get into Bryce for both nights we need, so I am opting for self catering. There are some cabins about a 5 min drive. I'll keep checking. We like to do a mix of self catering and other lodging when on the road because we get really sick of eating at restaurants. Thanks again for your suggestion.

Bright Angel is fine -- you can always walk over to El Tovar for a meal.

Re Zion . . . The B&B is likely fine. But having stayed at the Lodge it really is special. - The rooms are well maintained and comfy. But its mostly the setting - sitting on your patio or balcony looking straight up the canyon walls, being a minute's walk from the restaurant/cafe/beer garden etc

I agree with janisj . We have stayed at the cabins at Bright Angel, Zion and Bryce. Another advantage to staying at Bright Angel is that you. Can park your car right outside the room and walk to most of the sights in the area quickly, if you want to do dinner in elTovar, make a reservation ahead. The rooms at Zion and Bryce are a bit bigger than BA. Bring a small bottle of shampoo and moisturizer if you care.

Deer visited right outside our little deck at Zion after the day folks left.

If you keep calling for the second night in the park, you aer likely to get one since people tie them up a tear ahead then cancel as time gets close.

Good advice on Bryce. I'll keep trying for the lodges at both Zion and Bryce. I called Zion because although it said they had availability it wouldn't allow me to book. The reason this happened is because I would have to switch rooms each night. That does not interest me. I will probably book Zion Canyon B&B. I will also keep trying Bryce to see if the second nigh opens up. My alternatives are Stone Canyon Inn or the Under Canvas Glamping. It would be a splurge but also a unique experience. Reviewers rave over the views and location. Has anyone ever been to either Stone or Under Canvas? Thank you.

I'd still book the Zion Lodge. You are staying almost 10 months from now and there is bound to be many cancellations between now and then and you would not have to move rooms. Plus the cancellation policy at the Lodge is very generous:

"Cancellations

• Reservations may be modified or canceled up to 48 hours (2 days) prior to your arrival; after that date, the deposit is non-refundable."

You would have to put up a one night deposit but it is fully protected. Depending on the B&B's policies, I'd actually book both the Lodge and the B&B and wait a few months to decide which.

Thank you Janisj.

We like to eat at Elote Cafe on our trips to Sedona.

I stayed in the new section at Maswik last year and have to say the rooms were nice. Bright Angel is right on the rim though. The Tavern at Yavapai was a good casual option with decent food.

I've eaten at Stone Canyon but haven't stayed there. I can recommend Bryce Country Cabins. Keep in mind it will be cold at night.

If you can't get into Zion Lodge, Springdale itself is also quite scenic, just not as much as the park.

If you're thinking of a future Four Corners trip, I'd do Monument Valley then and also spend some time exploring from Bluff and stay at Bluff Dwellings. We're going back to Bluff next month.

At Zion I actually prefer to stay in the town of Springdale, immediately outside of the park. My go-to place is Cable Mountain lodge which is located next to the pedestrian entrance to the park.

Recommendations - we stayed at Desert Pearl in Springdale and in the lodge at Bryce. Sounds like a terrific trip!

For Zion, it's Cable Mountain Lodge for the win. At Bryce--I love the good ole Ruby's Inn,. In Page, if you want to do self-catering, try the Lake Powell Motel. Nice rooms with kitchen and big living rooms. Bryce is the best place for star gazing. If you can do a boat tour on Lake Powell to Rainbow Bridge, it is really a cool trip!

StantonHyde Lake Powell Motel looks like a great option. Thank you for your advice.

Another vote for Cable Mountain Lodge if it's in the budget

I also have only stayed in Springdale for Zion. Marriott has aquired the La Quinta and it is now "Red Cliffs Lodge Zion" at 3x the price and with no breakfast, boo.

Yes, October is very popular there, since weather has cooled down a bit.

We were lucky to get the cabins in Bryce.

Hello,

We went in June 2022 and we stayed at Cable Mountain Lodge in Zion, the Lodge at Bryce, and HI Express in Page. You can see my reviews here within my TR (the TR also has details of what we did on our trip)
yk + family 10-day trip to Zion/Bryce/Page/Grand Canyon North Rim/Vegas

The Cable Mountain Lodge is expensive, but worth every penny due to its location and also the comfort. You can walk directly into the park and therefore no need to wait for the shuttle. Regarding the lodge at Bryce, it's pretty basic but we love the fact that we can just easily walk out to the rim for sunrise and sunset.

We took a boat cruise on Lake Powell which we enjoyed very much.

Finally, we haven't been to Boulder City yet but we are heading there next month to visit Lake Mead/Hoover Dam. We will be staying at the Best Western in Boulder City. Reviews on TA are rather mixed. I will report back after our trip!

Happy Planning!