travelottie

The Boulder Mountain Lodge web site lists Grand Escalante, Capitol Reef NP, and Bryce NP.
I'm considering driving from Las Vegas, touring the above listed parks, leaving Zion for last, and then returning to Las Vegas.

Could someone please comment:
- does this itinerary and direction of travel make sense (first week in Nov.)?
- Would it be convenient to have Boulder Lodge as a base, returning each night, after touring the above listed parks? OR
- would it be better to stay overnight in the vicinity of each park?
Thank you, Travelottie

utahtea

Boulder, Utah to Bryce is 72 miles but will take close to two hours to drive one way. That really kills a lot of time and will make it very hard to do sunrises and sunsets in Bryce.

Boulder, Utah to Capitol Reef is 45 miles over Boulder Pass so plan on 1 1/2 to drive one way.

I think I would stay in the three different locations. Besides the driving, you will get more chances to see the two national parks if you are in the area.

Utahtea

Dayle

Hi Travelottie,

I second Utahtea's advice. The drive from Capital Reef to Bryce via Hwy12 is slow and very scenic. There are also some awesome hikes and side roads along the way, like Calf Creek Falls, Escalante River hike, and Devil's Backbone. It's slow going with all the photo ops.

The Boulder Mtn Lodge is very nice. A little pricey. It books up fast so make your reservations far in advance.

Have fun!

Moonstone1

We're staying at the BML in September, but we're planning to hike in the Boulder & Escalante area, not run up and back to Bryce. I agree that plan would wear on you over time.

As an aside - if you had to choose between day hikes around the Waterpocket Fold (say Muley Twist area) or along the Hole in the Rock Road (Peek-a-Boo & Spooky gulches), which would you choose? Or if you have an even better choice in the area what would it be?

travelottie

Thank you all for the detailed responses. I will start looking at accomodations for each park.

One more question. Does the direction of travel make a difference? I'll be leaving from and returning to Las Vegas. Would you leave Zion for last, considering we're going in late Oct./early Nov.? Most itineraries I've seen start in Zion, any good reason for this?

utahtea

I think most people start at Zion because it's close to Las Vegas. I prefer to save it for last because it's one of my favorite parks.

Bryce is at the highest elevation so you might want to go there first to make sure the weather doesn't turn bad on you. Zion is at the lowest elevation so it should be a little warmer than the rest of the places.

Utahtea

sharondi

I'm wondering how many nights you have. It would be great if you could stay a night in Bryce and 1 or 2 nights in Boulder, Torrey and Springdale. We love leaving Zion for last because the park and town are so wonderful and it's an easy 3 hr drive to LV. We've left Springdale at 9am to make an afternoon flight home. The Boulder Mtn Lodge is great and the restaurant, Hell's Backbone Grill, is special. Great food and great people. You should definitely stay there if you can.

travelottie

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.
The information has been very informative and helpful in making my plans.

I'll leave Zion for last (based on weather, elevation, and ease of return to LV) and spend several days at each of the other parks. Now I can start looking for accomodations.

Any suggested driving routes Las Vegas to Bryce?
Travelottie

utahtea

Fastest route would probably be I-15 and cut across Hwy 20 and then south on Hwy 89 to Hwy 12.

IMHO, the most scenic route would be though Zion. I never get tired of driving that route.

The other alternative would be to take I-15 to Cedar City and then take Hwy 14 across to Hwy 89 or if you have a lot of time, you might consider a stop at Cedar Breaks and then take Hwy 143 past Panguitch Lake to Panguitch.

Utahtea