1st family trip south west- grand canyon & ??
 

I am planning my families 1st trip to south west and actually 1st trip to national park. I have read tons of great info on this board- can anyone give me suggestions on the following:
We are a family of 4- 2 kids who will be 9 & 11 and due to schedules we will be going in August of 2008 for 10 days. ( I am trying to plan out early since this area is so new to us) We are coming from the east coast. Grand Canyon is a must- would like Bryce and Zion- how about Sedona and Page??
Family is active- but with that said have never really been on a real "active outdoors" vacation. Our vacations have been Mexico, Caribbean, Disney , New England beaches and New York.
Any suggestion/route would be greatly appreciated.

Michelle look into the day mule ride into the canyon. My Mom, my daughters (they were about 12 & 13,)and I went right after tax season (April 16). We all really enjoyed it and my "active outdoors" consists of hikes, etc during the day and at least a 4 star hotel to sleep at night :) I did make reservations 6 months in advance, but it has quite some time since we went. Have fun, Karen

Hi Karen!
I will look into the day mule ride- sounds like fun.
thanks

Sedona is gorgeous and radical enough to engage kids and adults. Kids would really enjoy Slide Rock State Park in Oak Creek Canyon of Sedona area (look it up on a map)! Take water shoes, though, as the rocks are slippery. Also there are some great swimming holes in Sedona and short enough hikes.
Our daughter loved Sedona and the Pink Jeep Tour was fun, too.
Another kid favorite is the float trip on the Colorado River out of Page. We booked ours through Grand Canyon Nat'l Park but you could book it on your own. No white water; just incredible scenery.

Zion and Bryce are my favorites, but our kids didn't go with us. Wonderful easy hikes. Beautiful!

You're on the right track to plan early. If you plan to stay in the Parks, you will need to reserve early. Recommend the Grand Canyon, Page/Boat tour of lake/canyons and Antelope Slot Canyon Tour, Moab (2 full days) for Arches Nat'l Park, Canyonlands Park and Dead Horse State Park. When you add in driving time and a 'down' day for catch up where weather or other things dictate, it just about finishes your ability to see what's out here. You will never see it all but this should be an exploration trip to see some great sights and figure out what you want to see on your next trip. Don't miss Mesa Verde, if possible, and don't worry about the kids - they will love it.

PS: I now live in Colorado and love for relatives/friends to come out and see the SW. My sister is coming out in early June and we'll take about 13 days to see Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Colorado Nat'l Monument, Arches Nat'l Park, Canyonlands, Dead Horse Point State Park, Capitol Reef Nat'l Park, Bryce Nat'l Park, Antelope Slot Canyon Tour (Page), Canyon de Chelly, Mesa Verde, time permitting, Chaco Canyon, Mesa Verde and Great Sand Dunes. That's a whole lot to cram into 13 days but we can do it if the weather permits. If we have to pass something by, will have her come back for another visit. Caan't wait to get on the road again.

Fly into Las Vegas, NV. If you arrive early enought in the day, drive the 5 hours to Grand Canyon. Spend at least 2 nights or 3 if you take the mule trip down into the canyon or hike part way. With your short time, I'd skip Sedona and concentrate on the National Parks...they are national parks for a reason!

The float trip on the Colorado River out of Page will probably be a big hit with your kids. Spend one or two nights in Page. If you spend two nights you can also do the short hike to Horseshoe Bend and the Upper Antelope Slot canyon tour.

Two nights at Bryce and two more in Zion. Just outside of Zion, in Springdale, Utah you can rent intertubes to go tubing down the Virgin River. While you are outside the park, you can see the beautiful sandstone walls of Zion.

Lots of great hiking, but it's hot so plan on hiking early morning or late afternoon. Because it's usually dry heat, always carry lots of water and I like to bring my misty-mate. http://www.mistymate.com/mmp16.html (I've got to buy some stock in this company since I'm always recommending them!)

Utahtea

Thanks everyone for all your great suggestions! I will look into them more and post any additional questions.

I forgot to give you the link to my pictures of the area: http://www.utahtea.lithium.com/pages...ation.list.htm

also another good website is: http://www.so-utah.com/

Happy planning ;)

Utahtea

The mule trips have a number of restrictions, and unless very tall, your 9yo probably won't be tall enough. You can find the restrictions and more info on the trips and lodging in the park at the south rim at www.grandcanyonlodges.com. north rim info is at www.grandcanyonnorthrim.com.

Be sure and check out the park service websites for each park you plan to visit. Go to the main site www.nps.gov and you'll find links to all of them. Your kids are the right ages for http://www.nps.gov/webrangers/, the park service's special website for kids, to help get them interested in the parks.

Thanks again- Utahtea- LOVE your pictures, thanks for sharing! Can't wait to show my kids.

The more I research the harder it seams to narrow down our choices.

A definite is the Grand Canyon,Bryce, Zion- then I am thinking Page and Sedona?? If we fly into Vegas I will probably try and get an early flight and stay one night- maybe able to squeeze in 10 nights and 11 days?

If you have to skip out on something, skip Sedona instead of Page. Although I love Sedona, Lake Powell (Page) is one of my favorite spots for water activities and it's incredible there. Think of the Grand Canyon filled with blue green waters! We went kayaking there for 5 hours and because the water level has been lower than what it normally is, new canyons to explore have appeared. Take a look at pics from last year. This includes horseshoe bend, and the boat trip to rainbow bridge and I think Antelope canyon and antelope point. The kayaking wasn't much especially for 5 hours. It was really heavenly. We stopped at one of the many empty beaches and had a swim!

share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AbMXLFmzctWLE7A

Maria
Thanks for the suggestions- your pictures were great! We will go to Paige for sure!!

No problem michelle. if you like, I also did a trip report recently on our April trip to Utah with pictures. If you click on my name, you should see it. The Narrows hike is one your kids will just love.

Oh, and set your calendar to book grand canyone (Bright Angel and El Tovar are at the closest to the rim - front and center). I think the park service allows you to book a year ahead of time - could be sooner but it will really make a HUGE difference staying in the park at Grand Canyon. Bryce too but for Zion, Springdale is alot more fun, IMHO. Same with Lake Powell. Staying in Page is fine. You don't need to be at Wahweap Marina to enjoy the place. Here's the link to where we booked our kayaking tour. You can rent the kayaks and go on your own but it's better to do the tour because they would know better where to go. It's quite inexpensive for a 5 hour kayak tour too. I had expected to pay MUCH more. http://www.twinfinn.com/Kayak_Rental...k_rentals.html

I also recommend Utahtea's itinerary, flying into and out of Las Vegas. Don't waste too much time there, however (though it can be fun). I also suggest forgetting Sedona and spending more time in southern Utah. You can even consider heading north out of Vegas on I-15 (toward St. George) and going to the northern rim of the Grand canyon instead of the southern rim. It's higher and cooler (significant in August), and they have mule rides there too.