Arizona/Utah - Itinerary Help
 

We are trying to organize a trip in the Southwest for March. In some respects this is not the ideal time for some areas as we have been told it can be cold, windy, and snow at some locations.

We would appreciate any suggestions on whether this is a reasonable itinerary for a reasonably active family.

08 Mar - Tucson/Arrive - Hotel: Embassy Suites Paloma
09 Mar - Tucson - Saguaro NP - Hotel: Embassy Suites Paloma
10 Mar - Tucson - Saguaro NP - Hotel: Embassy Suites Paloma
11 Mar - Sedona - Hotel: Boots and Saddles
12 Mar - Sedona - Hotel: Boots and Saddles
13 Mar - Sedona - Hotel: Boots and Saddles
14 Mar - Grand Canyon - Hotel: El Tovar
15 Mar - Zion NP - Springdale - Hotel: Desert Pearl Inn
16 Mar - Zion NP - Springdale - Hotel: Desert Pearl Inn
17 Mar - Zion NP - Springdale - Hotel: Desert Pearl Inn
18 Mar - Bryce NP - Rubys Inn
19 Mar - Capitol Reef NP - Torrey - Hotel: Best Western
20 Mar - Capitol Reef NP - Torrey - Hotel: Best Western
21 Mar - Arches NP - Moab - Hotel: Best Western Canyonlands
22 Mar - Arches NP - Moab - Hotel: Best Western Canyonlands
23 Mar - Canyonland NP - Moab - Hotel: Best Western Canyonlands
24 Mar - Monument Valley - Hotel: Gouldings
25 Mar - Monument Valley - Hotel: Gouldings
26 Mar - Canyon de Chelly - Hotel: Best Western
27 Mar - Canyon de Chelly - Hotel: Best Western

From Canyon de Chelly we will drive back to Phoenix for a flight home.

Looks nice to me. I think a day in Grand Canyon is fine, unless you really want to hike down into it a long way. And Bryce weather may not be good, so a day there might be all right. Otherwise, I would take a day off of Monument Valley and add it to Bryce. For some reason, Monument Valley is my least favorite places we have visited in Arizona/Utah/Four Corners area

http://www.photoworks.com/members/Spirobulldog

click on "view all" for our photos including Zion, Arches, Canyonlands,Monument Valley/Valley of the Gods(which is in Mesa Verde File), Grand Canyon

I haven't been to Canyon De Chelly, but I would probably go for the Thunderbird Lodge. In Moab and Torrey there are several good looking B&B's. we did like you and just stayed at a typical motel/hotel. I would probably go for Zion Lodge in Zion, but a lot of people like Desert Pearl, so they must be doing a lot right there. I just prefer "in the park" at the historic lodges, you should at least eat a meal there. We like Whiptail Grill in Zion. Don't expect much at Goulding for lodging or dining. But certainly, worth going for a day and a night, but I would be tempted to cut one day out at Monument Valley unless you are horseback riding or something like that. Just north of Monument Valley is a good B&B- Valley of the Gods. Right near it is Moki Dugway, Goosenecks of the San Juan, and Muley Point Overlook. All within just a few miles of each other and all 4 are nice attractions. I would try and stay a night or 2 at Valley of the Gods if it is available.

I mentioned in another post www.deserhighlights.com
Canyoneering is an awesome experience, that rates up there with rafting the Grand Canyon in my book. I would do Angels Landing and The Narrows while @ Zion. Natural Bridges National Monument is a good place is about an hour off the beaten track. I would like to have been there at night, as it is the darkest spot in the US. Stars are amazing in Utah and Arizona when you are away from any city for 40 or 50 miles.

Utahtea, Dayle, Meyer and Debit, along with several others have great ideas and have a lot more experience than I do at these places. I am sure they will give good imput here as well.

One more thing, We did a flyover of Canyonlands with Slick Rock air, which was nice. Helicopter tour of Grand Canyon is nice as well, if you can work those into your budget. You just get to see a lot more from the air, in a short amount of time, and it gives a different perspective of things.

Sorry, I meant to add Goblin Valley and Dead Horse Point to my lest as well. Buy a Park Pass to save yourself some money.

Spirobulldog. Thank you for the great input.

I agree with spiro that it looks good ... only change I'd consider is your hotel in Chinle (Canyon de Chelly) ... the one you picked is OK but I like two others better. The Holiday Inn Express is newer and nicer and has a free breakfast. The Thunderbird Lodge is older but in a better location and has more 'local color'. I would choose either of them over the Junction Best Western, which I've stayed at a couple of times, if the price is comparable.

I would think you might want 2 nights in the Grand Canyon, so you have one full day there.

We love Sedona but have not been to the other places on your list.

Are you flying into Phoenix or do you have an open jaw ticket? Everyone loves Tucson but it seems to be a bit out of your way. This is a really long trip though--you are lucky to be able to take so much time to see the area. Our friends met us at the Grand Canyon in March 2007. They flew into LV and did Zion and Bryce before meeting us. They did have snow in Bryce. We drove into the Grand Canyon in snow but then had great clear skies after that.

Always,

Sedona is not my favorite, I prefer the National Parks, so my recommendation would be to take a day from Sedona and add it to Moab.

Be advised that if you plan to drive the scenic byway Hys 12 in March you may very well encounter snow going over Boulder Mountain on the way to Capitol Reef. Be sure to check the weather reports a day or so in advance of making that drive.

Do you have to go in March? April would be better. Also, make sure you are not doing this during Easter week!

Line me up with the "Sedona ain't so hot" crowd. It 's a gorgeous setting, but just too "new agey" and no enough real desert or canyon for me.

Definitely worth a drive through, but.....

In some respects this is not the ideal time for some areas as we have been told it can be cold, windy, and snow at some locations."

It's too early in the year in my opinion except for the Southern Arizona destinations. Zion might be OK but would be better in late April or May.

I do agree with Superlicious about being early. But if March is your only option, you will still probably enjoy it. Is that your only option????

We are hikers so we really enjoyed Sedona. The town of Sedona is not impressive. We were there before the big fires they had but we were very impressed with the fabulous red rock canyon views that we had on our hikes.

We were in Sedona in February so I think March would be fine for Sedona and the Grand Canyon.

I'll join the anti-sedona crowd. I also prefer the National Parks and I agree with Dayle to take a day away from Sedona and give it to Moab. You mentioned two days in Canyonlands, do you plan too visit the Island in the Sky district and the Needles District?

We've hit nice weather days and also snow in Zion in February. We've hit snow in Flagstaff and Sedona in mid-March. Come prepared for all kinds of weather and weather conditions!

Utahtea

When you get to Monument Valley you will be close to Bluff, Utah. I have a blog with a lot of information about this area, check it out you should might want to take a short hike to one of the many ruins there.
http://reddirtdawg.blogspot.com/

Not sure you need 2 days at Saguaro. I would add another day elsewhere or hike somewhere else for that day. Saguaro is nice and there are 2 sections so conceivably you could spend a couple days there, but it doesn't quite compare to some of the other parks you'll see later on.

Never been to Monument Valley but from what I understand, you are pretty restricted in where you can go. I don't think I would allot 2 days there either. Perhaps you could add another day to Moab or somewhere around Phoenix like the Superstitions?

Big thumbs up, Always on the Road, for the Desert Pearl Inn - lovely place. I would also recommend Red Cliffs Lodge, a few miles outside of Moab, on the Colorado. Gorgeous place.
I'm another one who doesn't like Sedona all that much - but it is a restful place and we enjoyed Red Rock State Park.
If you wanted to add anything else to your trip (!) - which, by the way, sounds wonderful - you could drive up over the Superstition Mountains, from Phoenix, to Petrified Forest NP and also Meteor Crater.
If, when at Monument Valley, you decide to drive through the Valley of the Gods, bear in mind that it's a dirt track and very, very windy - best with a 4x4 (which we didn't have!) - it doesn't look very far on the map, but it took us 2 hours for the 15 miles!! Then, just as you think you're 'back on the road', you have Moki Dugway to contend with!
Have a great time!

Thanks to everyone for the very helpful suggestions.

We are pretty much tied to the March period and will hope the weather is kind.

One of the problems we discovered early on is that there is something happening in Moab on 20 March that has filled up almost all of the available rooms.

I am not too surprised by the thoughts on Sedona and Saguaro. Are there some other areas or places that we should consider in those areas?

We hope to spend most of the time on the day we would head to Monument Valley in the Moab area and then drive in the afternoon to MV. That way we have one day at MV.

Canyon de Chelly sounded interesting but we also only want to spend one day there so would like to find some things to do on the day we drive between the two places as the drive is not all that long.

Thanks again. AOTR

Spend an extra day at the rim and maybe one in Flagstaff at Sunset Crater to replace some Saguaro/Sedona time. You could also swing through Petrified Forest National Park on a day trip.

If it were me, I would add also time at Bryce. It is small but 2 sunsets and sunrises, or a chance at a second if the first one is rained or clouded out are twice as much heaven. Take the trail ride one day, hike the next, visit Kodachrome State Basin

When we were there in June the road at Valley of the Gods was in perfect condition and it wasn't windy at all. It took us less than 30 minutes the second time we drove it. I let my 13 year old daughter drive for about a mile and we didn't meet a single car the entire length of it. It is 10 miles long or so. It is a dirt road and I have read many accounts of how it can be bad after a thunderstorm. It is just a typical dirt road. I don't see how it could be any more windy there than at Monument Valley just down the road. It is basically a mini Monument Valley.

Hi spirobulldog - were you in a 4x4? We didn't do the Monument Valley road, ironically, because it wasn't paved, but we did Valley of the Gods and, although perhaps 'windy' isn't the right word to use, it was very bumpy in a saloon car and it did take us 2 hours! It was in June, same as you, and dry. We didn't regret doing it though! http://www.francesjane.com/usa16.html

Where I live at, we are used to dirt roads. From the looks of your pictures the roads looked fine to me. We were not in a 4x4, just a standard rental. Nice photos, a lot of the same that I took. Did you miss the Goosenecks? We really thought those were something.

Wildblueyonder,

I decided to look at all of your pics.

Mercy, you covered a lot of ground in 3 weeks. I would say you saw a lot of the highlights of the USA, some of which I haven't seen. Nice trip!

We stayed in monument valley in late September for 2 nights and really enjoyed it. As you said this gives a whole day there, I'm guessing the day length is about same as Spetember so 12 hours daylight ish. The sunrise and sunsets were some of the most spectacular we saw as you actually see the sun not just the colour effects on the rocks as in the canyons. Its worth a very short drive in the morning to get a good angle for sunrise behind the buttes. Despite what we'd read here we were pleasantly surprised with the food at Gouldings, wholesome and reasonably priced. We stayed 2 night GC and 3 in Bryce just to be sure of having enough time and we could have stayed longer in hindsight. You are doing a lot more miles in your 3 weeks than we did but each to there own.
Hilary,

spirobulldog - you looked at ALL of my photos - wow! Yes, it was a great trip. We always planned to drive right across the USA and this was to celebrate (!) my hub being 60. But I still think we cheated, because we flew between NYC and Chicago!! We'd already covered most of Arizona, Utah parks, Vegas (yick), San Fran, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Glacier and the Pacific NW on a previous couple of trips. We're suckers for long road trips, but are getting old now, so next year we're going to Hawaii for 2 weeks loafing around!

As for Valley of the Gods, I think my hub was probably being very cautious as he was afraid of damaging the hire car (don't think we were covered for unpaved roads) and there were lots of ruts and big stones! It was beautiful though, wish I were there now - freezing here!

AlwaysOnTheRoad,
What a wonderful trip you have planned! I'm a little jealous. It looks like you did your homework and came up with a great itinerary.

I really love Tucson and Saguaro NP so I wouldn't suggest changing that at all. Your family will really enjoy the Sonoran Desert Museum - http://www.desertmuseum.org/ - it's an amazing place. Highly recommend it.

I agree with others that 3 nights in Sedona is too many (for me, anyways). You might consider adding a night to the Grand Canyon - it's certainly worth it. You might also enjoy a visit to the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab - http://www.bestfriends.org/. Quite an incredible place.

We never have any trouble finding things to do and sights to amuse us in Utah. Goblins State Park is a really fun place -http://www.pbase.com/peterb/image/21330430 - and there are lots of interesting stops along Route 12.

I would recommend getting the Delorme Utah Gazetteer. It's an invaluable resource and will help you find some great off the beaten path sites like the Devil's Garden (off Hole in the Rock Road just outside of Escalante) -http://www.pbase.com/peterb/image/85698056.

Even if you don't change a single detail of your itinerary, you'll have an incredible trip.

Always,

You didn't mention your interests.

I agree about the town of Sedona. However, the setting can't be beat.

Last year I spent 3 days in Sedona and it was great. was only in the town to eat dinner.

I was on the go from morning until evening. I did several easy to moderate hikes each day.

Boynton Canyon Vista
Bell Rock
Cathedral Rock
Broken Arrow

They were all very scenic relatively easy hikes.

On the other hand. Capitol Reef was not one of my favorites.

I would rather go to Willis Creek that's about 10 miles south of Cannonville that about 15 miles east of Bryce Canyon.

Lower Calf Creek Falls near Escalante is spectacular.

Devil's Garden Escalante and/or Goblin valley are a lot of fun (I describe devil's Garden as a gronw up version of Goblin Valley).

Moab is great. Arches, Canyonlands, I hike around Fisher Towrs and saw some rock climbers way up.

Easily 3-4 days there.

You can see my photos at:

www.travelwalks.com

There are 2 utah trips.

A suggestion; instead of 2 nights
at the Best Western in Torrey, spend the first of those 2 in at the Boulder Mountain Inn in Boulder instead. It is a fine place to stay and the Hell's Backbone Grill is on site and is an outstanding restaurant especially considering that it is in the middle of nowhere.

Here's their respective websites:

BML

http://www.boulder-utah.com/

HBG

http://www.hellsbackbonegrill.com/

This will allow you a more leisurely pace from Bryce so you can visit the Devil's Garden and take the hike into Lower Calf Creek Falls which I highly suggest.

It is only a short drive from Boulder to Torrey which will give you a full day at Capitol Reef which sharondi like a lot contrary to what appears to be popular opinion. If you don't take the time to hike there than I can see that it might not be as impressive as some of the other parks. To each their own.

In Torrey you'll want to eat at Cafe Diablo or Rim Rock Restaurant. We've eaten at both and they are both very good. Cafe Diablo makes their own desserts on site and they are delish.

sharondi linked to a couple of images but here's one to our trip report...you might find it useful.

http://www.pbase.com/peterb/utah_tr

There are other Utah image galleries from previous trips (among other things) on the main page here:

www.pbase/peterb

We love the Utah and the Colorado Plateau and look forward to returning. You'll have a great trip no matter what.

The Boulder Mountain Inn is a fine place to stay but Boulder is at 8500 feet. We were there in that area in mid-May and ran into a snowstorm that lasted several days.

Mid-March will still be winter up there. You would be taking a chance of becoming stranded if a storm came through. The road over to Torrey goes even higher in elevation and it's a long way around if you have to backtrack. Go there later in the year.

Because of the bad weather, we stayed in Torrey at the Wonderland Inn for a night instead of camping in Capitol Reef. The Wonderland is a nice place with a very good restaurant and a fabulous indoor pool.

One night in Torrey should be enough. There's not a lot to see in Capitol Reef unless you have 4 wheel drive and want to explore the back country.

Once again - thanks to everyone.

Our interests are in hiking. The family is good for easy-moderate hikes of a couple of hours in duration.

We will have a four wheel drive.

I did manage to break a bone in my foot two days ago in Santiago, Chile before making it to Easter Island. Bummer.