TeamW

Hello! We are headed to a national park this spring (first week of April) and are not sure what is the best option. Last summer we did YNP and GTNP and loved it. Our kids, age 7 and 9, are good hikers and we can do moderate trails without trouble. Any thoughts on the best park to go to in early April for gorgeous scenery and great hikes? We live in the east so we would prefer to head west to really change things up- we thought Zion and Bryce would be a good option but are wondering if the only trails we'll be able to hit are the less-than-exciting ones. Would love to hear some opinions! Thanks!

isabel

I was in both Zion and Bryce last summer and they would be perfect in summer - not sure about early April though. There are plenty of experts on this board who go there frequently and can give better advice, but if you do a search for those parks you'll find a lot of people saying that Bryce will likely still have snow at that time. The views would still be awesome, but if you can't hike down among the hoodoos that takes a lot of the fun out of it. From Bryce we did a day trip to Lower Calf Creek Falls which was a wonderful hike (about 6 miles total) and I think it is at a lower elevation so by April might be OK. Zion is at a lower elevation so I think most of that would be open. The Narrows would probably not be an option at that time of year and that is one of the best. But there are tons of hikes to choose from in Zion. It will be interesting to see what other responses you get but I'm thinking early April is not the best time for that area. The scenery would still be gorgeous and I'm sure you could find some hikes to do.

emalloy

I'd take them to the Moab area and do Arches and Canyonlands. These are very different from GTNP and YNP, but have lots of nice places to hike. Do the ranger led Firey Furnace hike in Arches as well as several others.

InSandy

April is a great time for Zion and Bryce....normally. Weather can always be tricky, but April brings lots of snow melt and green trees and I love that.

If the year is normal then the trails at Bryce will be open but may be muddy. Sometimes the Navaho loop can be closed due to rock fall. But there are other options that are wonderful. Bristlecone pine, Rim trail, Queens' Garden, the peekaboo loop (also can do a horseback trail ride).

Zion you wouldn't have any trouble with any of the main canyon hikes except perhaps the narrows (depending on snow melt.) If the water is low enough for the narrows because snow melt hadn't begun yet, then the water would be cold. You could rent cold water gear and still take it, that would be a great adventure for the kids.

I agree Moab in April is also a great place. Lots to do and see there and less chance the weather would be a factor.

enzian

First week of April 2012 is Jeep Week in Moab. it is crazy and not the time to go for hiking Arches and Canyonlands.

Zion whould be lovely in April and there are plenty of interesting moderate trails, although you likely won't be able to hike the Narrows. The Angel's Landing trail as far as Scout Lookout, and the Observation Point trail as far as Echo Canyon are both beautiful an dvery interesting. And there are several shorter ones.

Zion combines well with Bryce, but have you considered the Grand Canyon South Rim?

TeamW

Thanks everyone! I appreciate your help! After reading the posts, I'm not feeling very confident about booking a trip to Zion and Bryce - sounds like the weather is an unknown variable that can make or break it for us.

Enzian - funny you mention the South Rim - we looked into that but since we only have a week, we thought Zion and Bryce would be enough. Adding the GCNP adds a lot of car time. I know it is gorgeous there and the kids have never been, but thought we should hit that next time instead.

seanmathew

This time you should go for Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. It will take your around about 3-4 hours to see this park. Horse rides are also easily available. All the best

PaulRabe

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park for hiking?
Not the best idea, because there's a grand total of one hiking trail, and it's 3.2 miles long.
http://www.navajonationparks.org/htm...valleyhike.htm
This is highly sacred ground to the Dine (a tribe often called the Navajo), and they have strong feelings about outsiders walking there. You can pay someone to guide you by car, horse, or foot into the area,
http://www.navajonationparks.org/htm...alleytours.htm
but you can't hike there on your own.

I should mention that April is prime time for visiting Big Bend NP. Not as beautiful as Zion or Bryce (indeed, I'd recommend them over BBNP), but there's a lot of desert and mountain hiking. Just so you know all your options.

Placename

Monument Valley is not a good fit for OP's needs.

tomfuller

My vote is for Arches although you might see some snow in a few slot canyons. http://www.hikinginutah.com/park-avenue.htm
Your kids will do fine on the hike out to Delicate Arch unless there is snow or ice on the slickrock sections.

Moongoddess

Don't let Jeep Week scare you away from Moab! I went during Jeep Week in April 2010 and had a marvelous time. The town itself is very busy (and you'd definitely want to book accommodations well in advance), but the parks and the surrounding BLM lands are big enough to absorb all that activity easily. You won't feel too overwhelmed with crowds on the trails.

Another thought: Maybe you could combine Zion with either Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument or Capitol Reef National Park? Grand Staircase-Escalante's only about a 2-hour drive from Zion, and Capitol Reef's about 4 hours away. And they're both supposed to be wonderful hiking parks.

enzian

That is good to know about Jeep Week. My son has gone (with his jeep) a couple of times, and it sounds crazy crowded. Not the hiking trails in the national parks, of course, but in the twonnof Moab itself.

The Southwest parks in April are all about elevation. At Zion, you are in the bottom of the canyon, around 3600 feet. It might rain, but you should't have snow. March is supposed to be rainy month, which brings out the April flowers.

Bryce, on the other hand is above 8000 feet, similar the the Grand Canyon North Rim, which doesn't open until mid-May. The South Rim of the Grand Canyon, however, is at 6800 to 7000 feet, and generally has nice moderate weather for hiking in April. We've been there twice at that time. The second time it did snow on us as we hiked up out of the canyon, but it didn't interfere with hiking and made the canyon even more beautiful.

Maybe you could combine Grand Canyon with Sedona? Or with Zion and not Bryce? I'm not sure how long the drive is, but we drove from North Rim to South in 5 hours, and I think Zion to South Rim would about the same? You could break it up with an overnight at Page and do the smooth water float trip ( half day).

spirobulldog

We are really in the the National Parks. We didn't discover them until our daughter was 10 years old. She is almost 18 and we have been to 29 of them now. You probably started out with the very best one. YNP is hard to beat. Arches is my daughters second favorite. www.deserthighlights.com is the best thing we have done in a NP. It is very safe and your kids would love it and after you do it once, you will want to go again and again. 10 times better than Disney. They are in Moab and operate mainly in that area, but he also does a few trips a year in Oregon and just outside of Vegas.

Not at NP, but a National River. The Buffalo National River has some fantastic waterfalls, hiking, and kayaking on the Buffalo River in Arkansas. It was the first National River for the US. It has the tallest waterfall between the Rocky's and Aplchns. Gloryhole Falls is just outside the park and it is the best small waterfall I have ever seen(and we are waterfall nuts-have even rappelled from several of them).

Guadalupe/Carlsbad Caverns is a great place in spring. Big Bend. Saguaro is on my list to do in spring, but I haven't done that one yet. Everglades/Biscayne/Dry Tortugas/Keyes would be good for that time frame too.

If you go to Moab, don't miss Goblin Valley State Park. You could spend two weeks in Moab on great hikes there.

spirobulldog

I would wait until they are 10 before going to Carlsbad. You can't do the wild cave tour there until age 10 and it is spectacular. They only allow 8 people per week to do it and you need to get your res in about 6 months in advance.

qwovadis

In Spring stayed at the El Tovar and did GC hikes was
awesome with kids. www.gorp.com add visitsedona.com if time
Utah Parks can get cold still early in season.
visitbigbend.com Carlsbad Caverns combo warmer still.

Happy Hunting!

qwovadis

weather2travel.com climate guides may be helpful for planning

WhereAreWe

Big Bend has a wide variety of terrain and hikes but fairly remote. Problem is if you hate it then you're stuck in the middle of nowhere, whereas most of the parks mentioned have something else close by to visit if you get bored. You either love Big Bend or you hate it. Not sure this April would be a great time to visit, they are having a major drought so spring bloom will likely be underwhelming.

I'd suggest flying into Vegas. From there you have several options (Death Valley/Joshua Tree/Mojave, Zion/Bryce/Capital Reef, Moab, Grand Canyon/Sedona). Get some lodging booked at each place now and keep doing research, then as the trip gets closer firm up your plans and cancel whatever you don't need. Maybe that sounds complicated but if you're concerned about snow or cold temps you can just wait until the last minute and go wherever the weather is nicest. You really can't go wrong with any of those park combos.

Moongoddess

Another thought concerning Moab and Jeep Week: if you want to avoid the crowds, consider hiking the Needles section of Canyonlands instead of the Island in the Sky section. Then you could base yourself in Monticello UT and avoid the crowds in Moab, and still do a day trip or two to Arches to see and hike that park.

Married2dan

Two years ago I made my husband and son visit the south rim of the Grand Canyon during our spring break week - the last week in March. Despite a horrible windchill that day, I was thrilled and enjoyed it all. We flew into Las Vegas - cheaper flight, rented a car, and toured the Hoover Dam on the way there. The day after we the Grand Canyon we drove to Meteor Crater. We all loved the trip. My son and my husband were both surprised how much they liked it.
Good luck on your vacation wherever you end up going!

wastle

In April Saguaro National Park (edge of Tucson) and Organ Pipe National Monument are beautiful. Chiricahua and Coronado National Monuments are not far away and there is lots of hiking in plenty of other off the beaten path locations.
This December we've had an unusual amount of rain and that means the wildflowers will be spectacular in March and April.
This will be very different from Yellowstone or Yosemite!