famtogo

Hoping for some input on our family trip to the American South West in March. We have 2 children aged, 10 and 12, love the outdoors and don't mind driving. We have 14-16 days - this is my tentative itinerary.

Fly in/out Las Vegas

Day 2 Death Valley
Day 3 drive to Zion NP - (6 hours ?)
Day 4 & 5 Zion NP
Day 6 drive to Bryce Canyon NP (4 hours?)
Day 7 & 8 Bryce Canyon
Day 9 drive to Mather Point area - Grand Canyon (6 hours?)
Day 10 and 11 - Grand Canyon
Day 12

This is where I get stuck - I would love to continue East to Mesa Verde but it looks like that's another 7 hours East. Is it worth going there and looking at flying out of Albuquerque even further East still? Or would we be better spending more time in each park and driving back to LV, perhaps through Sedona (which sounds touristy and may not have more to offer than we would already have seen).

One other thing: we do all our travelling by staying in accomodations with self contained cooking facilities - we don't need anything fancy, just clean with a stove and fridge - they seem hard to come by - any recommendations along our route would be greatly appreciated!

Any info/commenst would be recommended.

Michelle

emalloy

Your plan looks good for a start. Unless you are really good at hiking in the snow, two days at Bryce will be overkill. When we have been there in April there was too much snow on the trails to hike without special foot wear.

You might consider stopping in the Page area between Bryce and Grand Canyon. You could take a half day smooth water raft trip down the Colorado from Glen Canyon Dam to Lees Ferry, hike out on the sand to look over at Horseshoe bend, or visit Antelope Canyon.

If you don't want to go all the way to Mesa Verde, go to Walnut Canyon which is just a few miles east of Flagstaff right off I 40. Nice cliff dwellings that the kids would have fun going in to. Or go to Canyon de Chelley, also east of Grand Canyon. Note you will not be able to go to the north rim of GC as it does not open until mid May or so when the roads are clear of snow.

There are also interesting places like Painted Desert/Petrified Forest NP and Meteor Crater not far off I 40 in eastern AZ.

There are nice places to hike in Sedona/Oak Creek Canyon area too.

Do stop at Hoover Dam on the way back to Vegas.

portiaperu

We did a similar itinerary, but over 21 days, flying in and out of LV. We drove a loop through parks in Southeastern Utah into Northeastern Arizona starting and ending in LV. We did not go as far as Mesa Verde, there's so much to see and do in the vicinity of the parks you have listed, both national (NP) and state (SP), and monuments (NM) - so many things to enjoy!

On our trip, in addition to Zion, Bryce, and the Grand Canyon, we visited Arches (NP), Canyon de Chelly (NM), and Monument Valley (NM). At the time of our visit Lake Powell was a major attraction, but I'm not certain if the water situation would make a boat on the lake (with a visit to the beautiful Rainbow Bridge) enjoyable. We didn't visit Death Valley, just not of enough interest to us to drive 150 miles.

Additional parks to consider would be Capital Reef (NP) and Dead Horse Point (SP).

We visited the North Rim of the Grand Canyon - we didn't have a plan beyond seeing the Canyon (wow!) and walking a short trail. We did walk down into Canyon de Chelly - it takes a few hours and is more suitable for children than the Grand Canyon, although others might disagree.

We also did some river rafting which everyone loved, especially the opportunities to swim in the river. We did a tour on horseback at Bryce that was also great fun. A bit commercial and hokey ("cowboys" lead the tour) and everyone gets photographed when you return to the "corral", but my children (now high school and college age) still talk and laugh about the experience!

We finished our trip with a visit to the Hoover Dam, which was an astonishing site and amazing tour.

We stayed at hotels so I don't have any info on the type of facility you are seeking.

Oh, one more note, be certain to take ranger tours at the parks you visit. We took a number of guided tours and the two that stand out in my mind are the Narrows in Zion and the Fiery Furnace in Arches. (This assumes the national parks won't see budget cuts which could reduce services.)

When you are planning, keep in mind that the weather in March averages a low of 36 F and a high of 63 F and several online sites caution about driving conditions due to storms that can last for days during March. Anyone with experience? Our visit was during the summer and our concerns were staying hydrated, heat exhaustion, and excessive sun exposure.

happytrailstoyou

I am also concerned about weather conditions in March.

Adding to what others have said, the drive on 12 from Bryce Canyon City to Torrey is amazingly beautiful and one of my favorites in the US. You could do no better than to use one of your days in Bryce exploring that part of Utah.

HTTY

famtogo

Thank you so much for all the comments, especially regarding the weather. I was totally ignorant of the snow - didn't realize it snowed that far south (we are in Canada). We picked March to take advantage of the school break and assumed that any later would be have unbelievable desert heat - I was expecting more spring/early summer temperatures. Back to the drawing board re: timing but will definitely take your suggestions on side trips in account - sounds like Mesa Verde may not be worth the detour. When would be the best time to travel that area for spring/early summer temps - as our children are young and can easily miss school we had picked the South West as its a place we wouldn't like to go to in the hight heat of summer.

Michael

The high desert usually cools down in the evening, so even June travel is bearable, although maybe not for Death Valley.

portiaperu

We traveled in August due to school and summer camp schedules. It was hot but we didn't mind the heat. We're early risers and would do our most strenuous activities as soon as we could roll everyone out of bed. I don't know that I would visit Death Valley in the summer time; the extreme temperatures would make me concerned about safety. Others may disagree.

We carried camel back hydration packs and never ran out of water.

We would take a break in the afternoon, when our activities permitted, and swim.

This is one of our most memorable family trips. I just took the photo album (I still print and affix in a book!) off the shelf and had a wonderful time recalling the trip. I save park passes, restaurant coasters and menus, postcards, hotel brochures, trail maps, wine labels, park schedules, everything - the book brought me back to the beauty of the Southwest and the fun we had.

Here's a source for average temperatures in the area:

http://www.utah.com/weather/

Guidebooks will also have a chart of average temps and precipitation. I'd consult a few sources to be certain the numbers are correct.

I would imagine that late Spring through early Fall would be a good time to visit the area. Not too hot, not too cold, unless something unusual happens . . . .

emalloy

Temperature is often very elevation related. Zion will probably be very nice in March, Bryce will be quite cool, Death Valley will be hot if mother nature behaves as she usually does.

We often go in late April or early May, and have had mostly nice weather, occasional rain, once had snow at the south rim of GC, which dried up by the next morning and was beautiful. So far we haven't figured out how to influence the weather. The crowds have never been a problem at that time of year, but you do need to look at special events, for example there is Jeep week in Moab sometime in May which fills up most of the lodging in the area.

Bryce is about 9000 ft above sea level, so snow stays quite late there.

Go to www.nps.gov and click on the parks you are interested in visiting. You will find lots of helpful information on lodging, activities, temperatures, etc. Also if you go to more than three parks, pick up an annual National Park pass at the first park you go to. I think it is about $80 and is good for all the parks admission for a year.

Have a great time.

Dayle

famtago,

I would recommend visiting the red rock country either April/May or October.

April/May has a bit higher chance of rain, but we don't really get all that much here. Spring offers wildflowers and wild whitewater on the rivers (unless you choose a float trip).

October is usually better weather as far as precip, but this Oct we had a week solid of heavy rain, unusual.

Nice temps during both these times. After mid-May is too hot and after October, the higher altitude parks (Bryce especially) can have snow. Hwy 12 from Torrey to Boulder goes up to over 10,000 ft. and can have heavy snow. At that time of year, you just have to watch the weather reports for high altitude.

Zion is nice clear thru the year, but can be very cold in the winter at night. Fall colors there are mostly end of Oct/thru Nov.

the time to avoid Moab is during the week before Easter, which varies every year......that's when the Jeef Safari takes place and town is jammed with thousands and thousands of off roads. Trust me, you DO NOT want to be there that week.

Moab has lodging with cooking. There are condos and the Gonzo Inn in town.

I can't think of lodging with cooking in Zion or Springdale, or Bryce. You might try looking at vrbo.com for rentals by owner, but be very careful you know EXACTLY where the cabin (or whatever) might be. Driving too far back and forth in/out of the forest would not be worth it and there are remote cabins all over Utah. Some are huge family lodges and some are smaller places.

Hope this helps!