mtaerie

We will be traveling to SW Utah from March 26th until April 4th. We have never been to this area and want to see the wonders, do some amature photography, relax, hike, horse back ride, and golf. Does it seem reasonable to spend 3 days in the Bryce Canyon area and 6 days in the Zion area to accomplish our goals? What places/sights would you recommend as priorities? Is a 4 wheel drive a good idea? We are thinking of staying at the Stone Canyon Inn in Bryce and the Canyon Vista B&B in Zion-any opinions about these choices? The Desert Pearl Inn was recommended and it looks fabulous but it is a little pricier than we want to spend on this trip. Any information or ideas you could share with me would be appreciated.

Dayle

Hi M,

You are coming out rather early in the season. Bryce will probably still have snow, in which case you will not want to spend more than a day there. Hiking down into the canyon when the trails are icy is not recommended.

Also, as much as I love Zion, I wouldn't recommend spending a whole 6 days there on your first trip to southern Utah. If you are diehard hikers, you could spend that many days hiking/backpacking, but again, it will be early in the year for backpacking.

You can gain a better idea of the possibilities if you scroll back and read the MANY threads on the southern Utah parks and possible loop trips.

Golf would be in St. George, about 45 minutes drive from Zion. It's a big retirement city with many golf courses.

Write back with more questions! With 9 days you can see a lot. I don't know if your dates coincide with Easter week, but if they do - CHANGE YOUR PLANS!!

utahtea

According to the Bryce Canyon website, March in Bryce is their snowiest month. I also tried to find horseback riding in Bryce but it doesn't look like that's available until May. Bryce Canyon NP will be open and sounds like it will be a winter wonderland! Looks like there are plenty of winter activities to do:

http://www.rubysinn.com/winter.html

If you are into those things then 3 days will be excellent.

Six days in Zion will be really relaxing. It can still be cool to cold this time of the year which is good for hiking. I have been at the end of March-beginning of April. You might consider taking a couple night side trip to either Lake Powell or scenic Hwy 12 to Torrey, Utah and Captiol Reef National Park. Both are excellent places for photography. I does look like horseback riding is available in Zion in March.

We camp so I can't help with lodging.

Utahtea

Syv

I agree with other replies. Don't let the talk of SNOW put you off. Still go. My friend brought back photos of Bryce with snow & they were stunning.

6 days in Zion might be a bit much, but yes relaxing. There are many other nice areas close by to see if you want to venture out.

sharondi

There is so much to see in southern Utah - I would probably stay 4 days in Zion, 2 days in Bryce and drive out Route 12 and stay in Boulder or Torrey. We always rent a 4wd vehicle so we can venture wherever we want to. It's great to bring along a copy of the Delorme Utah Gazetteer - it shows all the great backroads and sights off the beaten path. The Canyon Vista B&B is probably great but it's outside of Springdale. It's so nice being in town so you can walk to all the restaurants and shops. Especially if you're staying for awhile. Springdale is such a lovely little town. There are lots of nice little motels and inns in town that are inexpensive. We stayed at the Terrace Brook lodge 2 years ago and it was just fine and very inexpensive. You can see our pictures of our past two trips to this area at www.pbase.com/peterb - just click on the utah galleries. We also have a very long trip report posted back in October if you're interested. Just keep posting questions as you plan your trip and you'll get great information from all the wonderful folks on this forum who love this area and know it well.