Well, if you skip Natural Bridges then you be missing seeing the natural bridges there. With the pace you're moving on this trip I'd skip it.

I'd also skip the Valley of Fire so you can arrive at Zion earlier and maybe have time to hike up to Scout's Overlook or Angel's Landing.

Also, unless you have some time for hiking, then Capitol Reef won't take much time to drive through.

Of all the wonders you'll see Zion, Bryce and Arches are the 'most wondrous' so anything you can do to to arrange more time in those places would be a good idea. This isn't to say that the other places aren't worthy of visiting but, given your time frame you shouldn't delude yourself into thinking that you can do justice to everything on your list

Like others who've responded I think you are going to have a sore backside from all the driving but it can be done.

Our new plan:

Saturday: Arriving early morning = From Vegas, sleeping in Springdale
Valley Of Fire State Park (just a stop, not hiking)
Zion National Park til dark

~Sunday: Spingdale to Bryce
Zion Nationl Park til afternoon
Bryce Canyon til dark

~Monday: Bryce to Torrey
Bryce until afternoon
Capitol Reef

~Tuesday: Torrey to Moab
Capitol Reef (horseback in morning)
Goblin Valley
Sightsee in and around Moab til dark

~Wednesday: Moab
Canyoneering tour
Arches National Park

~Thursday: Moab to Cedar City
In and around Moab early morning
Head to Cedar City
Cedar Breaks until dark

~Friday: Cedar City to Las Vegas
Cathedral Gorge State Park
E.T. Highway
Vegas until we pass out

Leaving Saturday morning.

I think this works much better than the first idea, it gives us more time in Bryce. A lot of driving but I don;t mind it on vacations. I hate driving when I am at home.

Thanks for all the suggestions and assistance. Keep brining them!

I'll post how the trip went when we get back.

I'm looking forward to your trip report.

Have lots of water handy.
It looks like temps in Sringdale will be around 100 F when you arrive. It might be cooler up at Bryce but Moab will be as hot or hotter than Springdale.

Anyone ever done this: www.utahcanyons.com/slots.htm

The company says they start at Hole in the Rock Road.

jedivader, I never have but will soon. Are you thinking of hiking to Peek-a-Boo slot with the guide? Save your self $160 and go without. From what I've read, Peek-a-Boo and Spooky are very popular and I plan to explore it late Sept. Link shows a description and directions: http://www.utahcanyons.com/hiking/peekaboospooky.htm

With your time table I would skip Valley of Fire, Gobblin Valley, Cedar Breaks and ET Highway (but I've already said that) and spend the time in Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches and Canyonlands. Even taking the time to drive though these parks takes time away from the more magnificent ones.

Utahtea

Any suggestions on good local places to eat (Utah food/local cuisine)in/around Bryce, Torrey, Cedar City?

I only have experience with Torrey.

Cafe Diablo...I'll be dining there myself in a couple of weeks gt;)

I planned on stopping by Diablo, I found that online and it seemed kinda cool.

I'm going to try the rattlesnake cakes.

We are back, got back late last night. Had a good time and did almost everything we set out to do. I'll post my entire trip report within the next day or two. Thanks for all the help!!

Trip Report:

Saturday: Arrived Vegas, drove to Springdale. Before entering Zion, had a couple of beers at Zion Brewing Company. Went to Zion and walked a few miles in the Virgin River narrows. Had dinner at Zion Noodle Company. Good pizza and lot's of Utah beer on tap. Only complaint is they only take cash.

Sunday: went back into Zion and did some of the overlooks and hiked to the Lower Emerald Pool (waste of time). We found Zion to be a major let-down. After doing the Lower Emerald we decided to move on. Headed to Bryce. Got to Bryce...not much in that town! Drove the entire scenic drive and stopped at some of the overlooks. It started to storm so we got some dinner and went back to the hotel to wait it out. The storm cleared and we headed back to Bryce. We did a 3.5 mile hike into the ampitheater, that was awesome. Bryce was very cool, nothing I have ever seen looked like it. After we finished Bryce, went back to the Ruby's area and looked around. Didn't like this area too much, very touristy.

Monday: Left Bryce for Torrey. Stopped a few places along the way to take pictures. Hiked the Calf Creek Falls trail, well worth the three miles it took to get to it. I was hoping to take a dip but since there had been so much rain on and off the past few days, the water was very murky. Well, as we headed back, the sky opened up with a thunderstorm. We walked, jogged and ran back three miles to our car in 45 minutes. Pretty scary with lightening flying around. Made it to Torrey and the weather there was perfect. We tried to get lunch but most places did not open until 5pm. I wanted to try the rattlesnake cakes at Cafe Diablo, instead my wife almost stepped on a snake. since they were not open, we went to Brink's Burgers. Kinda pricey but food was good. headed to Capital Reef and did a scenic drive and then hiked about 2 miles or so in Grand Wash into the narrows. Guess what??....the sky looked like it was going to open again. It didn't thankfully. Got back to the car and did some more scenic driving and stops. We really liked Cap Reef.

Tuesday: We had done everything we wated to do in Cap Reef, so we left for Moab. We stopped in Hanksville to see the gas station in a rock, we went to Goblin Valley (awesome) and continued to Moab. Got to Moab and went into Arches. Did a few trails and overlooks. very, very major let-down with Arches. neither of us were impressed with this park. After you've seen one arch/bridge, you've seen them all. After a few hours in the park, headed into town. Went to Moab Brewing for happy hour ($2.50 beer and 15 cent wings). Went back into the park for sunset at the delicate arch but were turned away by multiple park rangers with lights flashing. They said there was flooding but we think someone got hurt. There hadn't been rain in a day or two, plus, earlier people were talking about how they had hiked that area. So we did sunset in another part of the park.

Wednesday: Went on a canyoneering trip from 8am-2pm. We went into the Lasal Mountains and rappelled waterfalls. After the trip, got lunch at Zax Pizza. Good food and good people. Spent the rest of the afternoon in Canyonlands. Had a few beers before bed at Eddie McStiff's. Sad to find out that they no longer brew onsite.

Thursday: Left Moab. Stoped at the Copper Ridge dinosaur tracks then headed to Cedar City. Got to Cedar City and had lunch at The Pizza Factory. The pizza was great. Not much to do in Cedar City. Of course, it started to rain again. We went to Cedar Breaks and took what pictures we could through the rain and fog. Crashed at the hotel because we were exhausted from the driving.

Friday: Left Cedar City. Stopped by the Old Irontown Ruins and headed towards the E.T. Highway. Well, as some of you know, I never found the E.T. sign. Onward to Vegas. Got to Vegas and since we could not check in until 3pm, we went to Ellis Island Casino & Brewery which was on the same block and had $1 beers. Had lunch at the hotel mexican place and then checked and and crashed for a bit. That night, went to a show called "Dirty". It sucked....don't see it. Then, to hit one more brewery, we went to Main Street Casino & Brewery at 2am for a beer and also a cheese steak. Again, the food was good. Also, before the show we went to find Hart & Huntington tattoo parlor...smaller than it seems on TV.

Saturday: Before we left town, we wanted to try and add one more brewery to our list, the Monte Carlo. Got to the hotel and a bartender told me that they are no longer in business and have yet to remove signs. Crap!

Went to the airport to head home.

We had a good time and did everything we wanted to do. We didn't feel rushed and were actually ahead of schedule. I am glad that we didn't go with the original plan to head down towards Natural Bridges/Blanding area. That would have been cutting it tight.

Everyone we met in Utah was nice. We saw wild turkey, tons of deer, jackrabbits and elk.

I think we've had enough of rock, sandstone and arches for a while.

Off to ireland!

I am going to post reviews of the hotels on Tripadvisor if anyone is interested. Almost all of the hotels we stayed in were outstanding.

Could you please post this trip report under a different heading that titles it as a Trip Report? Thanks.

I tend to agree with you about Lower Emerald Pools in Zion. After getting to the Loawer Pools I continued on up to the Middle and upper Pools. Much nicer.

Also, too bad you didn't stop near the East Entrance and do the Canyon Overlook.

Do you remember which hike you did at Bryce. I was there for 2 days (since it was the cause of the trip in the first place). The first day I hiked down Navajo Loop and up Queen's garden. Then I drove to a few lookouts and off to find Grosvenor Arch.

The second day I did the same thing but tacked the beginning of the closed side (upper) of Navajo Loop, Peek-A-Boo Train and the closed side (loower) of Navajo Loop into the middle. That was a very full day of hiking.

Do you have any photos you could post somewhere? I'm interested in seeing Capitol Reef, Arches and Canyonland.

Thanks for the report. Looks like this is rain time.

Myer,

Posted a seperate trip report, accidently did it twice.

I thinkg the hike we did in Bryce was the Navajo/Queen. I know we walked through Wall Street which had just opened back up after a rock fall. and ended up seeing the Queen at the end of the hike.

OH my goodness my jaw just dropped when I read that Zion was a major letdown for you :0, we couldn't get enough of it--
but travelling is a very personal thing I guess!
Your mention of the 'cash only' at Zion Noodle made me laugh (altho at the time it wasn't funny as we were tired and hungry).. I waited a very LONG time in the line to order and unfortunately did not notice/know the no credit card policy until was pretty much at the counter

Glad you enjoyed Bryce and also Capitol Reef which a lot of ppl miss but was one of our absolute favorites, and so uncrowded too.

I'll be posting some picks on my webshots soon, I'll let you know when they are up.

There was hardly anyone at Cap Reef and we actually were not looking forward to this park too much. I think it is very underrated!

http://goodtimes.webshots.com/album/560552126AoIOIh

webshots link to my Utah pics, only have a few so far.

Am I the only one having trouble with the photo link?

Sorry, it was working yesterday.

Try this one:
http://community.webshots.com/user/jedivader13

Haven't put too many up yet.

The thing visitors need to remember is that our national parks are all about nature. Weather, conditions, etc. can - and usually do - vary hugely between season and even year-to year!

Visiting the southern UT area in the suumer will be a completely different experience than visiting in the other seasons. If you have the opportunity, the best times to visit are May and October. Nicest temps, less precip, wildflowers in May and some parks have fall colors in October.

This last year, was a year of EXTREME dought, especially in southern UT. So, the walk to Emerald Pools in Zion could be disappointing. If you do this same walk in April, you will not only have large, clear pools of water and a waterfall off the upper pools, but you can also have waterfalls coming off the canyon walls at several points throughout the canyon. Awesome!

Summer visitors (July - early Sept) need to expect thunderstorms, lightening and possible flash floods. After all, these are some of the major forces that formed these parks. June has fewer thunderstorms.

Winter means bare trees, snow on the red rocks at higher elevations like Bryce. Very beautiful, not so great for hiking. Zion is cold but usually no snow in the canyon, just at the higher parts of the park. It's actually a very popular place for Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.