I've come up with an aggressive itinerary for the week of Thanksgiving and am looking for any tips anyone can provide that will help me be successful with this trip, since there is a lot to be covered in an 8 day period, where some locations can have sketchy weather in November.

I do have a few disclaimers for those of you who will question my sanity!

1. This is a repeat visit to Zion & Grand Canyon.
2. This is November & it will be cold so hiking will be limited except for Death Valley.
3. We are 2 adults who have a history of traveling on full itineraries.

The plan:
Day 1 - Fly to Las Vegas. Arrive 5:30pm. Stay in Las Vegas.

Day 2 - Leave early, drive to Death Valley (2 hrs) & tour Death Valley NP. Stay at Furnace Creek Inn.

Day 3 - Most of day in Death Valley. Leave in afternoon to drive back to Las Vegas. Stay at Venetian.

Day 4 - Leave early, drive to Great Basin NP in Baker, Nevada (286 miles). See what we can for a while (Wheeler Peak is already closed) then drive to Zion NP (187 miles). Stay at Desert Pearl Inn in Springdale, UT.

Day 5 - Spend all day in Zion NP. Stay at Desert Pearl Inn.

Day 6 - Leave early, drive to Bryce NP (76 miles / 2hrs). Spend all day in Bryce. Stay at Ruby's Inn.

Day 7 - Leave early, drive to South Rim Grand Canyon (5.5 hrs). Stay in Tusayan, AZ (all lodging inside park is full).

Day 8 - Spend some time at GC, drive to Las Vegas (5.5 hrs) for a 6pm flight.

Thanks in advance for any tips, suggestions, corrections for times, etc.

We have made a similar tour (except that we did it in opposite direction), so I can assure you that your trip is absolutely doable. Driving through the beautiful desert landscape is a pleasure. A full day for Zion and for Bryce Canyon is plenty and gives you much time for exploring and relaxing.
Why not hiking? Even when it is cold it will be agreeable because of the low humidity.
Some tips for Death Valley:
- Try to be at the Sand Dunes just before sunset. The light will be incredible. And at sunrise, be at Zabriskie Point - it is just 3 minutes from Furnace Creek Inn (by car). IMO, Devil's Golf Course and Badwater are most spectacular in Death Valley. Take your swimsuit to swim in the wonderfully heated pool at Furnace Creek Inn. And try the rattlesnake sausage for breakfast.

Thanks Traveller1959. We are definitely planning on hiking but I meant that we won't be hiking as much as we would earlier in the season due to snow on trails at parks such as Bryce & Great Basin. Did your similiar trip include Great Basin? Do you have any tips on it? I've found limited posts on the park.

No, this is the only place from you itinerary where we haven't been so far.

Hi N,

It sounds like you already have res at the Desert Pearl? I hope so, because Thanksgiving week at Zion is extremely popular.

Sounds like a fast, but good trip.

Couple questions:

Why stay in Las Vegas the first night? You could start driving towards Death Valley, stay in Pahrump, and be much closer the next day. It's at least 2 hours from LV just to the edge of the park, and at least another hour to the interior near Furnace Creek. The park is huge, so your hiking time will be pretty limited if you try to drive and see everything.

Why Great Basin NP? That's a park I'd love to go myself, but not in late November. Mapquest shows the fastest route from LV to be almost 6 hours, and that take I-15 past St. George. So, you'd drive all that way just to look at it, and then drive back to St. George to get to Zion. I'm all for driving a lot, but this seems like a huge waste of time for just a look around at Great Basin.

I'd skip Great Basin this time around, and add more time at Death Valley, or another location in the Zion-Bryce-Grand Canyon loop.

Great Basin NP has two things going for it. The hike to the Bristlecone Pines or the summit, and the caves at the lower elevation. The caves are not worth a 286 mile drive, and the upper area is probably not accessible.

Thanks for your feedback!

Dayle - Yes, I have reservations for our time at Desert Pearl in Springdale already so we are all set there.

Weasel - Here are answers to your questions:
1. We are planning on staying in LV the night we arrive for a couple of reasons. One is that we are traveling from the east coast and my experience has been that flights this time of year often have weather related delays so I didn't want plan to be able to get a couple of hours of driving time in on the first night when it is possible we may not even arrive and get a rental car and get out of the city until 8pm. It just seems a bit unpredictable. We will have nearly 2 full days though considering we will leave very early the next day and won't leave to drive back to LV until the evening of the next day. What do you think of the road conditions driving them at night?

2. About Great Basin - I called and talked to some folks at the visitor's center and found out that it is only 4 hours from LV to Great Basin (not 6 as Mapquest suggests). The best route according to the visitor's center folks is not on I15 but is on 93 out of LV. I specifically asked about the amount of time I would have there and was told that it would be worthwhile. Also I found out today that the summit is still open even though the park site has said it is closed (although it may not be in another week). I don't think I will ever actually plan a trip just to visit Great Basin so if I can drive 4 extra hours out of the week to spend 6 hours at the park, I think it will be worthwhile. Plus I've already been to Zion & GC so I'm ok with sacrificing some time there to be able to spend some time in an area I've never been. Do you have any suggestions of how my time would best be spent at Great Basin? Any specific trails or hikes that you could advise of?

With the storm that has roared in from the Pacific, the upper part of Great Basin may now be closed. The sotrm may be hiiting it as I am speaking. So do a last minute check.

Michael - Thanks for the weather info. I hadn't heard about the storm yet. I will definitely make some calls before heading to the park.

We went to Great Basin 2 summers ago in late July. I loved it! We camped. It snowed, hailed, there was lightening, it was fantastic! It's a vertical park on the Eastern Side of the mountains, so there is much to do at various elevations and the views are spectacular. It is probably the least used National Park. My husband has been hiking there many times; this was my first visit. The caves were fascinating. Because of the uncertainty of the weather, I am sure you could simply ask the rangers their recommendations when you get there.

We go to Death Valley almost every year and...I just noticed the date of your post!! Yikes!

Er...so how was your trip?

elnap29 - We had an incredible trip, thanks for asking! I posted a trip report if you are interested.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34909879