I will be at Bryce Canyon the second weekend of September (2010).

In-park lodging and all of Ruby's (all 3) are fully booked as of now.

While I will now start calling every day for those cancellations, I'd like to make a list of potential backup motels.

Any recommendations?

We stayed at the Bryce View Lodge. It's owned by Ruby's and is across the street from that establishment. It's less expensive and you get to use the pool and other amenities at Ruby's, so it worked well for our family.

Lee Ann

I cannot give any specifics, but check out lodging in Tropic. You will probably luck out and get in the park, but weekends will be tougher than weekdays.

Totally just a thought, but I am debating on renting an RV and camping on our trip there in 2011 instead of lodges. I won't save an money, but this sound fun to me. I would like to stay one night at Goblin Valley and I don't really like tent camping.

Bryce View Lodge is part of the Ruby's empire and it's fully booked.

This weekend I'll start daily calls to in-park lodge and Ruby's.

Sorry Myer, but you won't get my room -- I'm not about to cancel!!

I stayed at the Bryce Canyon Pines motel about 5 miles away. Good restaurant & indoor pool.

laurib,

I made a reservation at the Bryce Canyon Pines just yesterday.

Now that I have that I'll start calling everyday for in-park or Ruby's cancellations.

I think it's a bit early for people and tours to cancel rooms. Those usually happen in the last month.

But I'll start now anyway.

We arrive in LAS in mid-afternoon and leave immediately for Escalante.

On the first day we'll do as much of Devil's Garden Escalante, Lower Calf Creek Falls and Willis Creek slot canyon.

If it's starting to get a bit late maybe we'll go to Grosvenor Arch as it's very close to Willis Creek (though both require dirt road driving.

If by some miracle it's still quite early we'll go to Bryce Canyon and do the Navajo Loop / Queen's Garden hike and then watch the sun go down.

On day two we'll watch sunrise at Bryce Point and do the above hikes if we didn't on day one.

If we did the hikes on day one we may leave immediately for Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend and Paria Rimrocks before making our way to Zion.

Or we'll spend some time exploring the Cedar Breaks area. There's a waterfall and slot canyon in that area.

It would be nice to do the Canyon Overlook hike on the way into Zion from the east but that depends on the state of the road construction.

Depending on how things go and the construction, we may be coming down 15 and approaching Zion from the west. Maybe we'll go to Kolob scenic drive off Rte 15.

Maybe we'll do the Riverside Walk early in the evening of day two. Depends on the time. And our condition.

On day three I'd like to do Angel's Landing until Scout's Lookout. Last time I was there I didn't go near it. I have no ambitions to go any farther.

If we are able we could also do the Emerald Pools hike and then start our drive back to LAS for a flight home the next day.

Depending on the time and light maybe stop in Valley of Fire for an hour on the way back to LAS. Maybe not.

Three hectic days with my daughter and then we'll need a vacation to rest.

Tell me a little about the waterfall and slot canyon @ Cedar Breaks. I haven't read anything about them.

spiro,

They're not actually in Cedar Breaks but in the area.

The waterfalls in Cascade Falls. Along Rte 14 about 25 miles east of Cedar City. About 2/3 of the way to the 89 junction. I think the trail will be closed most of this summer for maintenance work but should be open by the time we're there in mid-Sept. This is in the Dixie Forest 435-865-3700.

There are two slots right in/near Kanarravile on I-15 just south of Cedar City. We would take Spring Creek as the water is lower or not their. BLM 435-586-2401

Apparently there's another one called Kanarraville Falls that's somewhat more dramatic and definitely has you walking in water. There's a water fall somewhere in there. I didn't pay much attention to this one after I learned that you are in water at least ankle deep and possibly higher.

This mini trip has several options depending how we do on day one and what the Zion road construction is like. If we skip the east entrance we'll probably spend a bit more time in this area for Spring Creek and Kolob Fingers. Otherwise maybe just Cascade Falls as it's closer to Rte 89 and then Canyon Overlook on the way into Zion.

A friend is going next week and staying at Bryce Canyon Inn...

Caribbean,

Thanks.
I believe BC Inn is in Tropic.

I'd really like to get much closer.

Myer,
Do you have the latest Fodors Zion/Bryce Book? It is a small thin book. There are only about 5 or 6 quotes in it. I have one and you have two. I just noticed it a couple of days ago in the bookstore.

spiro,

Yes, I saw it at B&N about three weeks ago. I never received any notice from Fodors so I sent them an email.

They sent me another one of their travel books.

We stayed at the Bryce Canyon Inn and liked it. Tropic is not that far away and I would really recommend the Mossy Cave hike which has its trailhead on the f=road between Tropic and the park.

bigtyke,

While I'd like to stay closer to Bryce so that we can make the sunrise at Bryce Point the next day, we'll be coming from the east so Mossy Cave does look interesting. We'll probably be coming from Willis Crook (and possibly Grosvenor Arch) just below Cannonville.

I've got several options in mind depending upon how much we do that day so if it's a bit late in the day this is a good option and we'll leave Navajo Loop / Queen's Garden for the next morning.

Thanks for the idea.

I told my daughter she'll have to work on her conditioning. I hope she takes me seriously.

I meant Willis Creek. Not Crook.

Any thoughts on how hard it might be to get a tent site in Bryce Canyon in mid to late September?

FYI, we just returned last week and stayed inside the park @ the lodges @ both Bryce and Zion (trip report to follow!). When I started planning (late), at first everything was booked solid. I started looking late at night and started finding availability one night at a time. I grabbed the one nighters as they opened up and ended up piecing together all the nights I needed. The cancellation policy is liberal, so nothing lost if you don't get all the nights you want or decide to go elsewhere. You mentioned sunrise and sunset --- both fantastic and short stroll from cliff-side cabins @ Bryce. Good luck and I hope you get your rooms.

Looking forward to your report!!