1/2 day each Zion/Arches
 

I know, a half day for these is not going to get us much, but we are driving back from the West Coast and want to at least get a taste of these National Parks.

It will be the beginning of August so I know it will be hot. We will be arriving to each of these locations the night before and staying at hotels in Springdale and Moab. We would like to get an early start. We plan to leave around 1:00, because of the heat and to get to our next stop before too late.

We will be with our four children 5-14, so nothing too strenuous. Any recommendations on what not to miss, or the best trails to take for a short day?

Thanks!!

Half a day is better than nothing! Our family visited both of those places last August and really enjoyed them.

My suggestions:

In Zion, I would take the shuttle around the valley to see all you can on that loop. There is a very short hike to the Weeping Rock which your kids should enjoy. Small amounts of water drips down on you which is nice and refreshing and the view from the rock is beautiful. I'm sure your kids would enjoy walking in the Narrows, even briefly, as it is very refreshing on a hot day, beautiful and fun. You should wear good river shoes or old tennies you can discard afterwards for this.

At Arches we drove around quite a bit as you can see quite a lot that way. We did short easy hikes to several arches whose names now escape me. My kids were able to climb up quite a bit under several of the arches and really enjoyed them. Many people highly recommended the hike to Delicate Arch early in the morning (or late in the afternoon) before it gets too hot, but we weren't able to do it this trip. Something to go back for!

Be sure to carry plenty of water especially at Arches as there is very little shade there. It is definitely worth a visit, however.

Hope this helps!

In Zion ride the free shuttle buses all the way to Temple of Sinawava. This is the last stop before the shuttle buses return to the Visitor Center. Take the easy 2 mile Riverside walk. If you wear shoes you can get wet, you can walk a little ways down the narrows hike. You have to cross the river first. If you still have time, Weeping Rock is fun too.

Which route are you taking to Moab?

If you get up early enough before it gets hot you might try either the hike to Delicate Arch which is 3 miles round trip or to Landscape arch which is 2 miles round trip. In Arches you can spend half a day just going to the scenic overlooks and stopping at each one. Take the short little walk to Double Arch and the Windows.

When you leave Arches take scenic Hwy 128 which follows the Colorado River for a long time and then you cross the river and head up to Cisco and I-70. This is a really scenic drive that doesn't take you out of your way. At the Moab end the canyon walls are very close together and it gets wider and wider until you cross the river.

Utahtea

Thanks for the great tips and suggestions!

We will be coming to Moab from Zion. I believe we are taking 70 to 191. From Arches it is on to Denver. We had planned on just going back on 191 to 70. We will look into 128. It sounds like a beautiful drive. My husband likes to stick to the freeways but he might be interested in this.

Thanks again.

Hwy 191 isn't a freeway either. From Moab to I-70 on Hwy 191 is about 31 miles. From Moab to I-70 on Hwy 128 is about 45 miles. Hwy 128 has more curves in it than Hwy 191 but it's a good road.

You can read more about it.

http://www.milebymile.com/main/Unite...el_guides.html


http://www.byways.org/browse/byways/2013/photos.html

Utahtea

Hi lip6,

You've gotten some great advice from Kathryn and Utahtea. I'm so glad you're still stopping because you WILL experience a lot in just 1/2 day. And we often travel like that, seeing more things but less time at each, then often returning on subsequent trips.

And YES! Be sure to take 128 to I70 as Utahtea suggested, its awesome! We'd been to the area a few times but hadn't heard of it until Utahtea, and it was a great addition to the experience!