Hello! Please give me some advice on the best place to visit in Utah. We'll be driving from LA, have been to GC (South Rim) two years ago. We have only 7 days, don't want to do 'too much' driving, we would like to have a relaxing trip. Since we'll be going during Thanksgiving, we can't go to GC North Rim, where else can we go? Thanks.

I would go to Zion and Bryce. Bryce might be colder because it's at a much higher elevation. We've been to Zion in early December and it's a good time to do hikes because it's so much cooler during the day than the hot summer.

You might also want to visit Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada and Snow Canyon State Park just north of St. George if you want to go to other places that are on the way.

Utahtea

Ok Utahtea you sound like you know what your talking about. I need your help!My husband wants me to plan this trip coming up Thanksgiving driving from Colorado to Las Vegas and wants to stop at Byrce,Zion, and the North Rim Grand Canyon. Which route shall we go and how many nights do you think we should stay in each place? We also have a 3 year old traveling with us. So we won't do any of the heavy hikes and planning on doing some. My husband wants to get some mountain biking rides in too. We have from Nov. 20-25 Need to be in Vegas on the 25th. Hotels are available at that time. I called the Desert Pearl, Flannagans, Cliffrose and Majestic Views Lodge all available. I was thinking drive from Denver to Glenwood Springs or Grand Junction and then head to Bryce or Grand Canyon???
HELP Thanks! Donna

Utahtea is expert in this area and will have good advice. I have lived in the area in the past and my family still lives there so let me put in my 6 cents (inflation, you know)too. First, the bad news. At that time of year, it is almost 100% certain you will not be able to go to the North Rim. The roads close with the first serious snow and do not open again until the snows melt around the 1st of June.

That's OK though because the alternatives are great. My advice for the route would be I-70 west to Utah 24 west of Green River. Utah 24 southwest through Hanksville to Utah 12. Utah 12 southwest to Bryce Canyon with, maybe, a short stopover at Calf Creek. I join many others in thinking that Utah-12 is among the top 5 in U.S. (not including Alaska) scenic routes. Depending on where in Colorado you are coming from, you can get to Bryce in one hard day or two easy days, also depending on weather conditions. I'd stay overnight at Bryce and catch a sunset and sunrise over the canyon, then continue on U-12 to its terminus at US-89. From there, its a fairly short drive south to Utah-9 and on into Zion Canyon. You can see a fair amount of Zion in one day but two or three are better.

Then, if you are out of time, you can make a straight shot down I-15 to Las Vegas (about 3.5-4 hours from Zion) or, if you have the time, you can cutoff of I-15 south of Mesquite and make a short side trip to visit the Valley of Fire State Park.

On the way from Zion to Las Vegas, you'll pass through a little corner of Arizona through the Virgin River Gorge which also has spectacular scenery.

Have a great trip.

donna,

You have 5 days to get from Denver to Las Vegas.

If you stop in Glenwood Springs and want to make Bryce the second night then you are going to have a VERY long day in the car on the second day. It's 620 miles from Denver to Bryce.

I would suggest making it all the way to Moab, Utah on Nov. 20th If your husband wants to mountain bike then this is the best place to do that! It's a mountain bike meca. From Denver to Moab, Utah is 350 miles. I would get off I-70 at Cisco and come in on scenic Hwy 128 to Moab. Spend two nights here so you and your daughter can go see Arches National Park while your husband is mountain biking.

On Nov. 22 I would drive back to I-70 and then follow dwooddon's advise. Take Hwy 24 to Hanksville. Take some time to stretch your legs in Capitol Reef National Park before heading to Torrey and down scenic Hwy 12 to Bryce. From Moab to Bryce is 265 miles but these back roads will take longer to drive than the first day where you will be on the interstate most of the time.

On Nov. 23 spend most of the day in Bryce and then drive the 86 miles to Zion National.

Bryce is going to be colder and you will have to pay more attention to your daughter because you are up on the canyon rim looking down vs Zion where you are in the canyon looking up.

If you don't have to be in Vegas until the 25th you could spend two nights in Zion. It's only 165 miles from Zion to Las Vegas so you could be there in three hours. It's a fast drive because most of it is on I-15.

As dwooddon has mentioned the N. Rim of the Grand Canyon is now closed for the winter and will not open until Mid-May 2004.

Here is a great website for information on Utah.

http://www.so-utah.com/
Utahtea

listen to Utahtea, definately knows what's going on??? Thanks for your trip reccomendations before!! Thanks Utahtea!!!

A note for holiday visitors. Zion is a major destination for Thanksgiving for Utah and Nevada people. If you will be there prior to the actual 4 day holiday, you should still be able to get reservations. If for Thanksgiving holiday - hurry!

Hello,

We recently stayed in Springdale at the Desert Pearl Inn and had a wonderful time. The shuttle service was brilliant - you can leave your car at the hotel for the duration of your stay at Zion, I don't know how frequent the service is during autumn though, check the website. We also went on the horse riding trip in Bryce, it was an experience we will treasure forever.

By the way - thanks UtahTea for your generous advice given out in these pages, it certainly helped our make our vacation from England this summer to be a real success. The only problem I have now is earning enough money to come back again!

Thanks for everyone's advice, seems like Valley of the Fire and Snow Canyon State Park is another place to stop by. I'll check it out. Thanks.