Dohlice

Hello! We've just decided to go to Arches. We're flying into Salt Lake City on a Saturday morning and out of Las Vegas on Sunday the weekend after. We had originally planned to fly from Salt Lake City to Vegas, but I see it's 4.5 hours between Moab and SLC. Now I think it will be better to just drive the whole way to Vegas. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to see in between? On a previous trip we've seen the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon, Bryce and Zion. When flying we planned to spend Sat eve through Wed night in Moab. Then leave Thurs and be in Vegas that night. Now we might fly in on Friday and spend a day along the way somewhere. The long drive doesn't bother us but since we'll be on the ground it would be nice to take the opportunity to see something else. We absolutely love Bryce and could happily spend a day there, but is there someplace else wonderful that you would recommend? We are most interested in hiking and, of course, breathtaking scenery. We have no interest in any city of any kind!

owlwoman

Hi, We're doing the same trip, leaving June 1, into SLC, directly to Moab and spending 4 nights (Fri,Sat,Sun,Monday), then heading to Torrey for a night to see Capitol Reef, then to Boulder for 2 nights,(already have reservations at the restaurant there) where we'll take our time on Rt. 12 then do Bryce. The last two nights are in Springdale to see Zion, then off to Las Vegas. I've been doing a lot of research on this site and trip advisor, plus http://www.brycecanyoncountry.com/index.html and http://www.scenicbyway12.com/ which give a lot of good info. In Moab we're planning a doing a day jeep/rafting trip through Canyonlands park through a local tour company.

We're similar as we've already seen the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Monument Valley, etc.

Hope this gives you some ideas and any Utahins out there that read this, we're open to suggestion as to what else we should not miss on this trip.

We're very excited to explore the Utah Parks!

Dohlice

Wow, that really is similar. I definitely want to do rafting - not sure if I'll tell my husband in advance or not. I'll check into Capital Reef. He's been to more places than I have but I don't want to just repeat everything he's already seen without checking into new things. Bryce is absolutley beautiful. I'll look at your links. Where are you getting your car from? I check Hertz and it looks like a steep drop off charge but not too much more than the flights would have cost us. Do you feel like you're spending enough time around Moab? Can't decide if we need to add that extra day or make do with our time.

owlwoman

We're renting from Hertz and yes, it is pricey (almost same amount as both our plane tickets from NYC) as we wanted to rent a 4x4. Checked all other rental outfits, no one else had a 4x4 available for p/u SLC, drop off LAS, the cars were not that much less. Oh well, it's only money.

If we had more time, I think another day in Moab would not hurt, there seems to be plenty to do around there.

utahtea

If you haven't driven Scenic Hwy 12 between Captiol Reef and Bryce, then this is a destination in it's self! Capitol Reef is the undiscovered jewel in the National Park system and plenty of wonderful scenery and hiking. You might even want to plan a couple days for the trip between Moab and Las Vegas, but keep in mind there's plenty to do in Moab for a week!

The only other options I could think of would be driving I-70 between Green River and Fremont Jct. to see the scenic San Rafael Swell. You could also stop at the Kolob Canyon section of Zion just off I-15. On the way there is also Snow Canyon State Park just a few miles north of St. George and Valley of Fire State park in Nevada before Las Vegas.

Utahtea

Dohlice

Thank you! I'll look into all of these. Right now we're thinking of leaving Moab mid-day getting somewhere to check in late evening and spending the whole next day. Capitol Reef is in the lead. So we would have 1 evening and 2.5 days in Moab. 1 full day and night...somewhere and 2.5 days in Vegas.

Dohlice

I think my driving times were way off, too. I must be using too many different online directions. Torrey is not nearly as far from Moab as I thought it was. Now I'm thinking we might be able to leave Moab in the early afternoon and see Goblins on the way and then spend the night in Torrey. Do some hiking in Capitol Reef. Then maybe drive the scenic route and spend the night somewhere near Escalante or Bryce. It wouldn't save much time but it would give us a chance to drive 12 and still get to Vegas fairly early.

Dayle

Hi Dohlice,

Moab to Torrey takes about 2.5 hours without any stops. Hwy 12 is awesome. Your plan sounds good, although you can never have enough time in Moab!

Dohlice

Thanks. That driving time really makes me happy as it means we can really have a full 2.5 days for Moab. That's down from my original 4 days, but these trips really take on a life of their own! I'm thinking that will give us 1 full day for Arches, one full day for hiking around Moab, maybe some easy mountain biking or a jeep tour. Now I think we'll have time to do a half day raft trip or a boat ride by Canyonlands. I'll have to do some more research and ask some rafting questions. And I think we'll be in Vegas for my birthday!