First time to Utah
 

Going to Utah in late Oct. Can't do all 5 national parks so need help deciding which ones are best. Parks in the south or parks around Moab?

Depends on what you want to do. What are your interests, who is going etc. Have you searched the various trip reports and queries here--people often have that question. Search first, get some ideas, then come back and let us know your info.

How many days? Flying into where?

Late October runs the risk of snow at Bryce Canyon (same for north rim of the Grand Canyon, which isn't on the list but could be combined with Zion/Bryce). That's not a major concern but you should be aware.

How much time do you have? How far can you hike? Do you like hiking?

For Grand Canyon, be aware that the North Rim closes October 15. The South Rim is open year round.

That is a hard choice. I love them all, but have returned to Moab for Arches and Canyonlands more often.

In the end it depends on the time you have for the trip, what you like to do moat, where you are coming from, and where you can get lodging.

It might help to use this map/chart that was posted here by another fodorite to put things into perspective.

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

North rim of Grand Canyon won't have facilities open, but IF it hasn't snowed, the road in and the views will be open. South rim is open year round.

There are 4 of us all over 65 (two couples) traveling together. We will be flying in from Las Vegas and be there 7 days the last full week in October. We are all still pretty active and can do some easy hiking but nothing too strenuous due to heart condition. We like to go on picnics and do horseback rides and maybe an ATV venture. Are there any cowboy dinner theaters in the area? I would like to know your opinion on your favorite park out of the 5 and why. Is Moab worth trying to squeeze in since it is so far from the southwest corner of state. Need advice on lodging in area. Is there a central location that would be good to stay and go out from there? Thanks for your help.

I believe horseback rides in the parks will be over with at the end of Oct. if you want to do some of these activites, I think Moab is your best bet.

It will of course be the longest drive, but it offers a lot of variety for a weeks stay.

Fall colors will be done except for Zion.

Nearly all restaurants in torrey (Capitol Reef) will be closed. Motels and awesome hikes available!

Bryce may have some snow by then.

Zion will be nice and still busy.

For the end of October and still having things open--Zion is a good bet. Moab will still be humming along and you have 2 parks there (3 if you want to do a day trip to Mesa Verde).

There is not a central place to stay and see each park. You will have to move from park to park or you will be driving constantly. You can't/don't want to drive at night--deer will be all over as well as possible free range cattle. And the days are shorter.

It's a great time to go in terms of temperatures. If you want to do ATV etc, Moab might be more your style.

Again--check out the queries here for info on activities and lodging. All of those questions have been asked and answered. Check out the Moab tourism web site for lists of various activity vendors etc.

Forgot to add--don't think you are going to find cowboy dinner theater that late in the year, but there is one north of Moab that I know of.

Have you read ANY books on the area?
That is my first suggestion.
Start with this one that is very general
Fodor's Utah: with Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches, Capitol Reef & Canyonlands National Parks (Travel Guide)

https://www.amazon.com/Fodors-Utah-C...ravel+Guide%29

Vaga

Horseback rides run the whole month of October in Bryce and Zion so you could do that if you choose. You can also do that in Moab the whole month.

Easy hiking - depends on your definition of easy. Each park has easy trails, it's more a matter of how many and how long can you stretch those out to fill your time.

Zion has some flat/easy stuff, but you could get through all of them in a day or less. The easy stuff at Bryce is basically walking along the rim and looking into the canyon as well as one easy/moderate hike at the south end.

Again, that's a day at most. Arches has a number of short/flat hikes to different arches or rock formations, but again, those can be done in a day or so. I can't speak to Canyonlands or Capitol Reef.

Personally, I would go to Moab. Would you be interested in something like this:
Day 1: Drive to Zion, do the Riverside walk and Lower Emerald Pool then drive to Bryce for an overnight
Day 2: get up for sunrise, check out any overlooks you missed the first day, then drive to Moab
Day 3 - 6: Visit Arches, Canyonlands, Dead Horse State Park and anything else
Day 7: Drive back to Las Vegas

The drive from Vegas to Moab is about 6.5 hours. If you detour through Zion/Bryce, you'll add about 2 hours of driving. You won't do that much more driving but will get to see 2 more parks. If you want it slightly more relaxed, stay in Springdale/Zion the first night, then go to Bryce the next day and continue on to Moab.