Hi all. I am in the beginning stages of planning a winter trip though the southwest, and am having a heck of a time figuring out how long it would take me to drive from Sedona to Zion NP. The preferred plan is to leave from Sedona, stop at the Grand Canyon, then continue on to Zion. I appreciate the help!

Hi, we did this trip the other way around. It's a very personal thing, but my two strongest observations are: Spend more time at Zion than at Grand Canyon and spend more time at Bryce than at Grand Canyon. There is no doubt Grand Canyon is the biggest, but that certainly doesn't make it the most interesting, accessible or memorable. Remember to book your Canyon accomodation well in advance. Dining at the National Park Lodges is a distinctly unmemorable experience, but the lodges themselves are fine and an interesting change from nondescript motel rooms. Flagstaff is an ok coffee stop on the route. We took some track shortcuts which certainly made the long trip more interesting - if not actually much shorter - but do remember that desert dust gets everywhere - specially under the rear tailgate of an SUV. Pack your clothes carefully if you go off tarmac. If I remember rightly we did the trip between each place in a day. The leg to Sedona being the longest. But ending up in Sedona in the evening light was a treat in itself. Have fun!

Hi -- have not driven between the two areas, but have visited both within the past two years. Just wanted to say that i agree with Andrew, plan to spend more time at Zion than Grand Canyon. Zion has a great variety of trails from easy to difficult. Fantastic scenery. Bryce is nice however hiking is more difficult; few easy trails. In Sedona we stayed at Canyon Villa Inn -- pricey but defintely worth it!!! Hotels in Zion and Bryce are very inexpensive especially in the winter.

Recently drove from the South Rim to Zion. There are two choices of routes. The route throug Kanab Utah travels at lower elevations which might be a consideration for you in the winter. I found the times estimated in Mapquest or Yahoo maps to be approximately correct. I can't imagine driving from Sedona to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon to Zion in one day. It is possible, but I wouldn't do all that driving and spend such a short amount of time at the Grand Canyon. Of course this is personal preference, but since a couple of other people expressed a preference for Zion you should know that that is not everyone's opinion. There is no place - no place -like the Grand Canyon. If you are interested in walking, there are many trails along the rim and you can, on a day trip, go into the canyon for a couple of miles with great rewards. Zion is extremely beautiful and we spent five days there as opposed to three at the G.C. I wish I had spent more at the G.C. (However, another thing to consider is that the winter weather at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is likely to be much colder that Zion and there is a much greater possibility of snow at the Grand Canyon.)

It is around 360 miles via the Canyon. You will be lucky if you average 50 mph so trip is going to take close to 8 hours. You are not going to be able to spend much time at Gr. Canyon

Topping, to see if anyone knows how long it takes to get from Sedona to Zion WITHOUT stopping at the Grand Canyon.

Judyrem,

It is 285 miles from Sedona to Zion and it will probably take about 5 1/2 hours to drive without stopping.

Utahtea

Thank you Utahtea, you are wealth of information. I am so excited about my trip to LV, GC, Sedona, Zion & Bryce. I read amost everything you write. Is the driving 2 lanes and mountainous? I have never been to the Southwest, and I am eagerly awaitung this trip! Judy

Hi Judy,

I'll try to give you an idea of what the roads are like.

It's been years since I drove from Las Vegas down Hwy 93 to Kingman but I remember driving thought a beautiful canyon and then it should be pretty flat into Kingman.

I-40 is pretty straight and not much elevation change. This will be the only road that isn't 2 lanes.

Hwy 89A down to Sedona is a little windy but not really a mountain type road.

Hwy 89 north out of Flagstaff starts you out at the mountain foothills. Then you level off and it's a pretty straight drive to about 30 miles south of Page, AZ and then you climb up a pass with some awesome views going up and then coming back down into the Glen Canyon Recreational Area.

From Lake Powell to the Zion tunnel is rolling hills that you go up and down but not really mountains.

After you go thought the Zion Tunnel you will be treated to some switchbacks with beautiful views of Zion canyon as you work you way down to the canyon floor. The rest of the roads in Zion are in the canyon.

I'm not sure how you are getting to Bryce. Going back though the Zion Tunnel will be the fastest. You won't hit any mountain roads until you enter Bryce Canyon itself.

Let me know if there are other places you need to know about. All these roads are very nice to travel on. We are in an old motorhome and we feel EVERY bump in the road...LOL!

Utahtea

Thanks Utahtea, you are a gem! Sounds like a decent drive. When we drove from Lake Tahoe to Yosemite, we ended up stopping to see the wonderful views quite often. I am sure it will happen on this trip too.
I think that we will try to do Bryce from Springdale as a day trip. If not, I can always come back >g<? Judy

We have done Bryce as a day trip from Zion. That shouldn't be a problem.

Utahtea