KarenInFla

Does anyone know how long it takes to drive between the three parks (we'll be traveling in spring)? The plan is to fly into Vegas and drive out to GC, then Bryce, next Zion, and back to Vegas (not all in one day, obviously!). Are there any particular routes you'd recommend that offer good scenery?

Myer

I was there in June and did it in a different order.

Bryce to Zion is about 80 miles or so but it takes almost 2 hours. Traffic into Zion could add to that.

For GC is it North or South Rim?

I don't know about North but South is about a 300 mile drive and about 5 1/2 hours or so.

If you're going to the South Rim, you've got to plan for about 2 1/2 hours in the middle of the day (high sun) for a few sights outside of Page, AZ (check my trip report and photos).

No need to go into Page.

Antelope Canyon (Lower). About 10 minutes East of Route 89 just below Page off Route 98.
Horseshoe Bend. Free and right off Route 89 just below Page
The Best Dam View. Off Route 89 just above Page and free.

KarenInFla

Thanks, Myer, for all the great info. We can't wait!

claire_bluesky

Karen,

I was just there but wasn't really watching the clock most of the time, so I only have estimates EXCEPT the Zion to Vegas trip since we had a flight to make. A couple of tips on that: First, remember when you go back to LV, you will gain an hour. We planned plenty of time, we thought, leaving Springdale three and one-half hours prior to our flight. That was exactly right if nothing goes wrong. The airport traffic was very heavy and the whole airport was very crowded. The security lines, about five of them for Delta, snaked around and around.

We had our boarding passes printed out (at our hotel) already, and used curbside baggage check. DH took the rental car back as dd and I took care of the baggage. We flew Delta and they require baggage check 30 minutes prior to flight. They also require you to be at your gate 15 minutes prior to flight. In the end, we had time to grab a coffee and pastry at Starbucks, but I had to carry them onto the plane. DH arrived about ten minutes before boarding.

We were given new boarding passes at baggage check-in, but DH didn't have his since he was returning the rental car. The printed out boarding pass was fine in its place. We met at Starbucks.

Also, if you haven't been to the airport, we had to take a shuttle to the rental car agency. It appears that all of them are in the same place.

runnersmom

We drove from Vegas to GC in mid April.We went to the southern rim because the north was not open yet.It was cold at the top of the canyon but when we hiked down it was in the 80's. We did not go to Bryce and Zion because we were told by our AAA travel person the roads might be closed due to weather. We chose to go to Sedona instead and then back to Vegas to fly home. Sedona was amazing! I want to go back. And the drive down from Flagstaff on 89 was beautiful!