noellev13

My husband and I are planning a trip during the weekend of Labor day (sept 5, 6, 7,8). I'm not even sure where we should fly in yet. The plan is to fly into "where ever" on Fri night so we have all Sat, Sun, Mon and Tues free and to then take a flight home from "which ever " airport to be home by Wed and back to work by Thurs. I've been looking at tours which would include all driving and lodging but we would have to be on their terms. Is it possible to rent a car and do the GC (some hiking or possible mule ride) and then have enough time to get to Bryce Canyon and see all what it has to offer? We are fit early 30's..just the 2 of us but my husband tends to think I try to cram too much together instead of enjoying something simple ; ). Any suggestions on where to go 1st or where to fly into (we would be coming from St. Louis MO) would be so wonderful. We had planned on only going to the GC and maybe to Sedona but I made the mistake of looking at pics of Bryce Canyon and now I don't know what to do...it is all so beautiful!!!!!

rm_mn

I think the answer is either yes or no. My wife and I spent that much time just at the south rim of the Grand Canyon without hiking down into the canyon. We also took our 2 kids and their spouses for a 4 day exploration that included Grand Canyon, Bryce, and Zion, knowing that it would be a teaser to encourage them to go back to explore more. On the second trip, we flew into Las Vegas and rented a minivan, drove to Grand Canyon and spent the night there. Because our flight was delayed by a medical emergency we got into Las Vegas late and didn't arrive at Grand Canyon until after dark, not what we planned. In the morning we hiked part of the rim trail, a little way down the South Kaibab trail and then headed through Page, AZ on our way to Bryce. We didn't know if we could see Bryce and still make it to the Zion area before dark until we reached Kanab and decided to go for a quick look as the kids might not get to see any of it otherwise. We spent that night and the next in Hurricane, UT, about 20 miles outside Zion and made it back to Las Vegas for out flight home. It isn't what I recommend as it was a whirlwind tour and we didn't get to do as much hiking as we would have preferred at Grand Canyon or Zion and almost nothing but a couple of overlooks at Bryce, but it introduced the kids to a special area.

MichelleY

You could do this 2 ways. Fly to Phoenix, rent a car and take in Sedona, South Rim Grand Canyon and surroundings.

OR

Fly to Las Vegas and do a whirlwind of North Rim Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion. Do able, but quick. I would do the mule ride at Bryce.

Good luck.

MY

Connie

You can easily do north rim and Bryce. I've been to south and north rims and enjoyed the north better--less people, more laid back, better rim trails.

The same company does the mules at GC north rim, Bryce and Zion. She said Bryce was her favorite. It was really awesome and takes you further into the park than you would probably go on foot.

Be aware, the mules love to walk RIGHT ON the rim. It is scary. I remember thinking I was scared enough at Bryce Canyon, just think how scared I would have been at GC.

sharondi

noellev13,
With only 4 full days, you should consider limiting yourself to seeing Bryce and Zion - that way you'll get to see two amazing national parks that are very different and have some time to relax as well. Fly into Las Vegas, rent a vehicle and head straight to Zion NP which is only a short 2 1/2 hr drive. There are lots of great places to stay in the town of Springdale which is practically in the park. Get a nice room at the Desert Pearl or somewhere equally as nice and relax in the hottub, have a nice meal, and relax (as it will probably be late by the time you arrive). Then you'll have 4 full days to spend between Zion and Bryce. Hiking in Bryce is so awesome - here are a few shots from our '07 trip to get you fired up:
http://www.pbase.com/peterb/image/85455386

http://www.pbase.com/peterb/image/85455398

http://www.pbase.com/peterb/image/85494021

We would probably spend the first full day (Sat) in Zion doing some hiking - there are lots of great trails:

Angels Landing:
http://www.pbase.com/peterb/image/34706134
http://www.pbase.com/peterb/image/34706521

Canyon Overlook (a great short hike to do on the way out the east entrance to the park on the way to Bryce:
http://www.pbase.com/peterb/image/85429033
http://www.pbase.com/peterb/image/85429046

Then drive the short 2 hrs over to Bryce spending a full day there hiking and checking out the views from the overlooks. Stay the night in the park if possible, do a sunrise hike and then make your way back to Zion for the last 2 nights. If you have a flight home out of LV that is later than 1pm, you can easily spend your last night in Zion and then drive to the airport that morning. That is what we always do because Las Vegas creeps us out.

If you have your heart set on seeing the Grand Canyon, I'd strongly suggest seeing the South Rim. We love the North Rim because of its solitude, but the views are limited to a much, much smaller area. You could drive the 5 hrs from LV to the south rim, spend a night, head to Bryce for a night and then finish up at Zion but that seems a bit hurried to me. Not relaxing at all. Let us know what you decide.

doug_stallings

The North Rim/Bryce combination is definitely do-able, if a bit rushed. I did a similar trip a couple of years ago. You can take a daytime mule ride at the North Rim (I'm not sure if you can book this in advance). But the real difficulty is that you are going on a very very busy weekend, and you may not find convenient accommodations, which are particularly limited at the North Rim and at Bryce. Zion is easier, and a 4-day trip to Zion and Bryce would be simpler (and you could do a horseback ride instead of a mule ride).

noellev13

It was so kind of all of you to take the time to write to me. Because of your help, my husband and I were able to decide on only Zion and Bryce for our vacation with great excitement!! Sharondi, if you could please provide me with your email..I had a few questions and would be very happy to ask you.. my email is [email protected]
thanks again everyone...you helped make a very confusing and fustrating decision seem suddenly so easy.

Connie

You can and should reserve the mule/horse rides ahead of time.

MichelleY

Noellev: Here is a link to our trip report from last June:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...rip-report.cfm

You will have a great time. This part of our country is beautiful.

MY