7 days in southern Utah
 

Me and my Wife are planning 7 days in Southern Utah in July. I realize it is hot at this time but that is fine. Flying from Chicago and into Las Vegas. We have never seen anything in this state but have done lots of reading. We would like to hike some trails and do sightseeing. Thought about doing a horse ride but not sure where we should do this. Is their a central town we could stay, where we could drive to different Canyon areas or is better to stay near the different parks as we travel. We are not sure where we are driving to so looking for advice on the best places to visit. One stop is the Grand Canyon. What others should I go to and where should we stay?

There's lots of great info in this recent thread:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...parks-loop.cfm

There are others too. You should do some reading and then decide which parks you want to go to. In 7 days, you should concentrate just on two or three. In July, I would want to stay high to keep cool.

I'd visit Zion, Bryce, and North Rim Grand Canyon.
Perhaps 1 night North Rim GC, 2 nights Bryce and 3 nights Zion. Many people do spend their nights and Zion and then day-trip to Bryce, but it would not be my preference. We also prefer to stay in the lodging in the parks because we enjoy hiking, but there are options outside the parks also. You could do North Rim as a day trip if you stay somewhere like Kanab.

All total it's only about 120 miles to go to the S. Rim instead of the N. Rim of the Grand Canyon and add Bryce and Zion. By doing the S. Rim you do a circle and you also get to see beautiful Lake Powell and much more of the South West landscape. By doing the N. Rim you do a lot of back tracking. If this is your first time to the Grand Canyon I highly recommend the S. Rim but I know that others prefer the N. Rim because it's less crowded and a little higher elevation will make it cooler.

I would move to different locations to see the park the three different parks. If you only want to have stay in two places then stay at the Grand Canyon and make Zion your base for Bryce Canyon. In Zion or nearby Springdale you are in the canyon and can enjoy views were ever you look. At Bryce your lodging will be in a forested area and you need to go to the rim to see the views.

With only 7 days the S. Rim, Bryce and Zion will give you the best bang for your time.

Utahtea

Here is a link to our trip report from last June:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...rip-report.cfm

Try to stay in the park at GC- North Rim and Bryce. Any extra driving/daytripping will use up your site seeing time.

We loved this trip.

MY

Listen to Utahtea - she is the expert for this part of the US. Her advice is always spot-on.

MY

Thanks for all the great feedback. This realy has helped. We have decided to go to the south rim because we have never been to the canyon. We will stay at the canyon for this visit so looking for suggestions on where we should stay. We will then move to Zion and visit other areas from this location. Will need lodging in Zion, wich sites we must visit, hiking trails we need go on, and horseback riding that is good. Thanks again.

Try to get lodging inside the park. Check on line but if they say they are all full, take the number for Xanterra and call and keep calling. People really do reserve a year ahead and then cancel when the time gets close. Staying in the park means you get to see the sunrise and sunset and don't waste time on the road. The lodging inside Zion is also preferred, but not as important as at GC since there are places to stay very close to Zion which are very nice and don't involve a 40 minute drive.

Try to stay at Bryce also. It is 2 hrs. from Zion, plus the mule ride there is very fun. We stayed in the park at Bryce.

Keep checking at S. Rim and other parks by calling, every day if you have to to get in.

MY

Sleep over in Bryce for one night.

To me, the attraction of Bryce starts with sunrise at Bryce Point. Probably the only way to experience that is to sleep in park or very close.

Also, take at least a short hike down into the hoodoos. Navajo Loop down and either the other side of the Loop going up or join to Queen's Garden for the hike back up.

The only other viewpoint that's different from what you'll see above is Natural Bridge.

I think that with efficient sight-seeing you can easily do unrushed visits to GC South Rim, Page (Antelope Canyon & Horseshoe Bend), Bryce and Zion in a week.

I did that 2 years ago.

I started in Las Vegas, drove to Bryce for a couple of days (I even took a few hours and drove to Grosvenor Arch) and then back to Zion (could have spent another day in Zion).

On the way to GC South I stopped in Page for a few hours for Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon (two spectacular highlights).

From GC I drove down to Sedona for a few days of day hikes and returned home from Phoenix.

My least favorite was GC (probably my fault). Zion is beautiful but Bryce is one of a kind.

Thanks Myer for the feedback. Sounds like Bryce is very nice. Just trying to figure how many days I should spend at each area. We want to get the best bang for the buck. With 7 days available should we spend two in the Grand Canyon and the rest in Zion and Bryce. Also working on lodging. Must I stay inside the parks. Were trying to have a great trip and not go broke with the lodging.

In park lodging doesn't have to be expensive. There are different options in each park.

Go to Xanterra.com and check out the various options at each of Bryce, Zion & GC.

If your days aren't available, book some nearby that you can cancel. Then start calling Xanterra (not online) every day to get those who cancel.

The tour companies book many room well in advance. Then they cancel what they don't need within the last month. You want to get them if you don't already have them.

If you can't get lodging in Zion then try finding lodging in Springdale, Utah which is at the entrance to the park and right across the river from the Zion campgrounds. You get pretty much the same beautiful views in Springdale as you do at the campgrounds.

Utahtea

bone,

For Zion, I would recommend hiking very, very early. Then spend the afternoon perhaps hiking the Narrows (in the water and shade) or tubing down the Virgin River! Zion wll be in the 100's.

The best option for horseback riding in the area is to go with the Ruby's wrangler's at Bryce. They do a ride around the canyon, but not down into the canyon. Skip that one! If you are serious riders, take their all day ride. You trailer out from the park and ride up to the top of one of the mountains and down the other side. Great ride and awesome scenery. Lunch is included. There is also a half day ride in Red Canyon that's pretty good too.

Don't ride in Zion. Boring!

Take a wide brim hat, sunscreen and 3 times the water you think you need. Seriously.