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I like your Vegas>Antelope Canyon>Bryce>Zion option. Fly into Vegas and drive to Page. Spend the night, visit Antelope Canyon, then head to Bryce. Watch sunset there, spend the night, get up for sunrise the next morning, hike/drive around the park. Spend another night, if you like. Drive to Zion and spend a night or two there, then back to Vegas.
Lee Ann |
This is what I would do:
Day 1: Drive to Grand Canyon North or South Rim, stay there overnight Day 2: Drive to Antelope Canyon, take the mid-day tour, then drive to Bryce and stay there overnight Day 3: hike in Bryce all morning, leave by mid-afternoon for Zion and overnight there Day 4-5: day hikes in Zion Day 6: drive to Vegas and fly home Basically the same itinerary as ElendilPickle's above, with the addition of the Grand Canyon. Why did I include the Grand Canyon? Because the North Rim is sort of on the way to Page (South Rim is totally different route but actually adds less time than going to the North Rim) - and there's just no way you'd make it to Page and Antelope Canyon in time to do a mid-day tour. Why rush if you won't get there until mid to late afternoon when the light isn't really ideal anyway? Spend a night at the Grand Canyon, leave in time to get to Antelope Canyon for the mid-day tour, then head to Bryce. You'll have time to do a little bit of hiking there before sunset. Plenty of time to hike after watching sunrise the next day. And with 2 full days plus part of another day at Zion, you don't have to rush to leave Bryce. Depending on when you fly out of Vegas, you could even do some hiking on your last day. If you have an early flight, you're probably better off staying in St. George or maybe even Las Vegas itself for the last night. Drive time from Vegas directly to Page is 4.5 hours. Vegas to North Rim is 4:45, Vegas to South Rim is 4.5 hours. North Rim to Page is 3 hours, South Rim to Page is 2.5 hours. Page to Bryce is 2.5 hours. Bryce to Zion is 1.5 hours. And finally, Zion to Vegas is 2:45. Give yourself at least 15 minutes to get from Page to Antelope Canyon, maybe 30 minutes to be safe. |
Hmmm....that's an interesting idea to go to the Grand Canyon first. Even though we've already been there, I like the idea of breaking up the long drive to Page, even if it just means enjoying sunset and/or sunrise at the GC. I'm just afraid in mid-October we might not make it in time to see the sunset as we have to allow time to get our luggage and rent a car. Along those lines though, is there any other place to stop between Vegas and Page that would be worthwhile?
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Keep in mind the North Rim lodging and visitor center closes after October 15th. The road in would likely still be open for awhile after that, but if you're arriving anytime after 10/15 you wouldn't be able to stay there overnight.
Kanab or Flagstaff would be decent overnights on the way to Page. My preference would be Flagstaff - you could go to the observatory at night. Next day you could drive through Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument and Wupatki National Monument as they are both on the way to Page. Or you could drive up into the San Francisco Peaks and see the fall colors. Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park is not too far from Kanab. You could also go right past Pipe Springs National Monument on the way to Kanab, depending on which route you take. |
What ever happened to the road near Page that collapsed?
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click the update
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While researching your wonderful suggestions, I found the website for "Best Friends Sanctuary" in Kanab. If I can convince my husband to volunteer with me for a day, I think I'm going to revise my itinerary as follows:
Day 1 Fly into LV and drive to Kanab to spend the night. I was hoping to get there in time to take a tour, but the last tour is at 2:30, and with losing an hour between Nevada and Utah, that might be pushing it. Day 2 Tour and volunteer at Best Friends Sanctuary, which would end about 4:00. We could then either spend another night in Kanab or drive to Page and spend the night there. Hwy 89 looks like a nice drive. Hwy 89A looks good too, but a longer drive Day 3 Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon Drive to Bryce Day 4 Willis Creek Canyon?? Overnight Bryce Day 5 Zion Day 6 Zion Day 7 Zion Day 8 Vegas and home I have already booked cabins in the parks at Zion and Bryce. What do you think??? Thanks, Laurie |
Laurie -
Best Friends Animal Sanctuary is an amazing place - the location in Angel Canyon is stunning. It is well worth your time. Kanab is a cute little town - we stayed at Aiken's Lodge which was reasonably priced and clean, a bit old and outdated but fine for a night or two. Great food at the Rocking V Café. The rest of your trip looks good. Enjoy! |
Once you're in the area why don't you spend a night at the Amangiri Resort? LOL.
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It looks like you added a couple days to your itinerary which will help.
Best Friends is nice, beautiful setting for sure. I don't know that I would devote as much time to it as you have. I did a volunteer shift there and it was ok but nothing amazing - basically we got a tour and orientation, then went out and did our shift. They do allow you to pick what you want to do (or at least they did back then). We didn't want to spend an afternoon cleaning up since we have enough of that at home, so we chose to 'socialize' cats. In other words, we sat in various group housing areas and pet the cats lol. Some were great, others were scared but the basic idea is to get them used to being around people so they can be adoptable, or just have a better life than being scared of humans all the time. We only did any afternoon shift, not sure if they allow you to volunteer all day or just the morning or afternoon. If you're determined to do it, this is what I would do: Day 1 - drive to Page Day 2- Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe, meander over to Best Friends and stay there overnight Day 3 - volunteer in the morning, then go to Bryce The reason I would do it this way instead of the way you had posted is: day 1 you will have plenty of time and daylight to get to Page - if you just drive to Kanab you'll be sitting there going "now what?". IF you make some stops on the way to Kanab it makes more sense but even then, you probably have time to get to Page. Day 2 you can take your time, adjust to the time zone change and not rush to get anywhere. Then on Day 3, you will be much closer to Bryce when you finish up, whereas if you stay in Page you would have another 1:45 to drive to get there. Overall the same amount of driving, but my way seems like a more efficient use of your time and dayligh....but your way would still work if you want to do it that way. |
Funny that originally I was stopping in Kanab to break up the long drive to Page, but now I see that your plan probably makes more sense so we can drive Hwy 89 more leisurely and take in the sites. Since we will be driving 89 from LV to Page, would it be worth it to drive 89A from Page to Kanab so we can experience both scenic roads? I'm also considering just doing the tour at Best Friends and possibly coming back at a later date to volunteer with my daughter, who is a huge animal lover. That way we can take a later tour of the facility.
Thanks so much for all your input. This really is information that you just can't get from guidebooks alone. Laurie |
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