mcshabs

We are planning a trip from Chicago to Utah's National Parks and possibly the Grand Canyon leaving March 19 and heading home March 28. My husband and I have 6 kids, ages range from 15 to 6. I have done a little research but thought I'd check to see if anyone had must do places to see and stay for a family like ours.
We were thinking Zion, Bryce, Arches. Considering Moab?
Also thinking about seeing Page, AZ and the Grand Canyon?
Can we do that in 9 days?
And where should we fly into and out of?
Any hotels or accommodations that are a must?
Am really open to hearing any suggestions or advice anyone would be willing to offer.

Thanks so much in advance.

janisj

just a quick comment - leaving for dinner . . >>And where should we fly into and out of?

Dayle

Also, if this is during spring break/Easter week, you better be prepared for huge crowds. Better get your reservations made NOW!

Everyone does the same trip. You will learn a lot by using the search box and reading others' trip reports. About all that varies is the number in the family, the ages, and the days available. Everyone wants to see it all in anything from 3 to 14 days. Some things are possible and others just are not.

db6040

Parts of Bryce Canyon sit at 9,000 feet high. It gets very cold there and could be wintry in March. If it is, it could be really beautiful but the roads might be dangerous. Las Vegas or Salt Lake city could work for places to fly into. We usually use Las Vegas. How you divide the days will be up to you but as a general guideline the following number of days are good for each park: Zion: 3, Bryce: 1-2, Moab: 3 (AT LEAST), Grand Canyon 1-2, Page:2, Capitol Reef/Torrey: 1-2. With 9 days, I might rule out the Grand Canyon and Page (save them for another trip) and focus on Zion/Bryce/Moab and an overnight in the middle at Torrey.

StantonHyde

If you click on my user name, you will my trip reports for all the Utah National Parks with kids. (not all in one trip, we live in Salt Lake, so we go down south for weekend trips) But info on where to stay, what to do etc.

emalloy

Check out this map site that another poster here put up several years ago.

http://ohiohickstraveltips.weebly.co...-utah-map.html

Scroll down to the chart of times and distances between some of your desired places.

As mentioned flying in/out of Vegas is often less expensive than using other cities especially when you include a drop off fee, and with 6 kids you will need to look at both airfare and large vehicle costs. We often decide where we want to visit this time based on where we can fly in/out.

One loop might be: Vegas to South rim of Grand Canyon (North rim will probably not be open) to Monument Valley to Moab for Arches and Canyonlands then back through Capitol Reef to Bryce then Zion and back to Vegas. Of course this could be done in the opposite direction.

Look for lodging now