Need help with our GC trip. This is my first blog ever written, so be patient.Traveling with 3 children, ages 12,11,and 8. Leaving for L.V. on May 30th.
Itinerary is as follows:
Day 1- Fly into Las Vegas-arrive 8:30p.m.
Day 2/3- South Rim-either Maswik or Thunderbird(have reservations at both)
Day 4-To Page for an afternoon Rafting trip,finishes at 5:30. No lodging.
Day 5- To Bryce Canyon Lodge(BCL)
Day 6- ?? Have reservation at BCL
Day 7/8- To Zion Ponderosa Ranch and Resort
Day 9/10- To Las Vegas
Day 11- Fly out 12:30

My questions are
1. Leaving Vegas around 9p.m. Where should we stay heading toward GC about 1-2 hours away?
2. Should we stay in Page or travel toward Bryce after rafting trip and who do we raft with(smooth water)?
3. Day 4- Do we stay in Bryce or venture somewhere else, possibly staying in Zion 3 days?
4. What do you GC family fanatics say we should not miss? Trying to change it up a bit for the 8 year old. She thinks she will get tired of looking at rocks!! We live in Southern flat lands.
5. Any Las Vegas suggestions?

Thanks in advance for your input. I have really enjoyed reading up on this trip of a lifetime for us.

From Las Vegas to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is about 300 miles. About 6 hours drive plus a pit stop or two. Make sure you have plenty of gas at all times. Avoid Hoover Dam unless you wish to see it -- road construction slows traffic in the vicinity of the dam. If you wish to save time, drive south from Las Vegas past Searchlight on 95 and take connector 163 to Laughlin/Bullhead City to Kingman (good pit stop) where you pick up I-40 eastbound. At Williams, take 64 north to Grand Canyon. Important: have plenty of water and insist that your kids drink water. Dehydration can sneak up on you. You say you are leaving Las Vegas at 9 p.m. Not a good idea. Recommend daytime driving. Stay in Las Vegas overnight and get an early start. One night at Grand Canyon is plenty.

cajungal3-

Definitely look over our trip report from 2006. --AND other trip reports, SO helpful--I took notes and printed some reports out for our own trip and they were a godsend.

Agree very much with above recommendation to stay overnight LV just for a night of rest before the long drive to GC next day, plus just safer driving daylight.

More later!

I'd spend at least 2 nights at the Grand Canyon to have one full day.

Driving to Page, doing the float trip and then driving to Bryce is going to be a long day for 3 kids. I'd say spend the night and watch the sunset on Lake Powell.

Actually, I'd recommend not rushing when you leave the Grand Canyon. As you leave Grand Canyon village there are several different views of the grand canyon as you exit at Desert View. With this in mind, you might want to take your time leaving the Grand Canyon, maybe do the Upper Slots Canyon tour just outside of Page, AZ..maybe even do the short hike to Horseshoe Canyon overlook, spend the night in Page and do the morning float trip and then drive to Bryce that night.

I know that they have changed concessioner of the float trip since I did it a few years ago, but I still believe there is only one authorized concessioner. I found this link: http://www.raftthecanyon.com/con_trip_info.cfm

You will probably want to spend at least two nights at Byrce to do a little hiking and drive the scenic drive.

For location and views, I wouldn't stay at Zion Ponderosa Ranch. It's at the east entrance to the park and you really won't see views of Zion from there. If you stay either in the park or Springdale you will not only have fantastic views of the park but you can take the shuttle bus from town to the park for most of the activities you will probably do. From the Ranch you will have to drive though the Zion tunnel and there can be delays because they stop traffic for RV's to go one way thought the tunnel. It's about a 20 minute drive without delays from the Ranch to the Zion canyon.

It's only a three hour drive from Zion to Las Vegas, so if your children are enjoying "the rocks" you might want to spend as much time in Zion as possible before driving to Las Vegas.

Utahtea

Cajungal3, your trip looks great! I agree with utahtea about the things in Page. We have a similar trip planned as yours. We plan to stop at the Vermillion Cliffs, take a Dam tour, and layover 1 night in Page. The next morning, visit Antelope Canyons and head to Bryce. 2 nights in Bryce will allow you to see the sunrise and sunsets as described in other forums. You might look at Zion Park Best Western in Springdale for accomadations. Listed below are some great sights to look at. While in Vegas we are looking at the Excalibur Hotel. It is at the end of the strip and kid friendly. Have fun!

http://www.canyon-country.com/lakepowell/gcdam.htm

http://citrusmilo.com/zionguide/

Thanks guys for your great advice. I missed a day. After we leave the South Rim we spend a night at the North Rim(Lodge) and then on to Page. The Best Western in Springdale was full, so I spent extra for now and booked the Desert Pearl Inn in Springdale. Great link mes3- Hope you have an unforgetable time!!! Any suggestions Utahtea on where to stay around Lake Powell.

If you are just driving looking at rocks, your kids will get bored. Get out and do some major exploration Hike as far as you like down the Canyon, remembering to stop and turn around before you get very tired, because it is harder going back up. Do a helicopter flight if your budget can afford it. Or perhaps even a 1/2 day mule ride. Several good hikes in Bryce and Zion. I think one day at Vegas would be enough. My 14 year old daughter has been hiking with us for about 4 years now in National Parks. Before, we had always taken a Disney type trip. We have seen 11 national parks in the last 4 years and couldn't begin to tell you which one we enjoyed the most. They are all spectacular in their own way. We have done wild cave tours in Carlsbad, floated the Grand Canyon, fished with bears in Alaska, Death Valley, Canyoneering in Arches. We enjoyed the amusement park type trips, but have enjoyed the National Parks probably a little more.

If I were going to Zion, Angels Landing and the Narrows would be at the top of my list. Angels Landing might be a bit much for an 8 year old, depending on how determined and how much fear factor they have, and how comfortable you are with your kids on a 3 foot ledge 1500 feet down. There is just about no way you could be bored on either of those hikes. The narrows is safe as long as flash flooding isn't threatening. You could fall and scrape a knee, but you aren't in any real danger. In Bryce, I would do Queens Garden/Navajo Loop Trail. Might consider a horse ride on Peekaboo Loop. I have not done a mule or horse in any park, so I am not totally for sure what all that involves at the GC or Bryce.

I'd skip the N. Rim because you have enough packed into this short trip. It's really out of the way and a slow drive in and out! For one night most of your time will be driving. You'd be better off enjoying a longer stay at any one of the other parks.

If you do decide to go to the N. Rim, then I'd do it after Page and before Bryce to save yourself 70 miles and 90 minutes of driving time.

Sorry, I can't help with lodging unless you want campground recommendations!

Utahtea

I have altered our itinerary because of your great advice. I was able to change lodging to Page after leaving the South Rim and then onto the N. Rim. That works so much smoother. Thanks Utahtea for your insight. I also changed lodging in Zion from the Ponderosa to the Desert Pearl Inn. I was outraged at the Ponderosa. They charged us a fee to cancel-10%-- so beware!!! I called 60 days out. Thanks again for your input. We are so excited. We did book a morning rafting trip from Page. Still looking for a place to stay in Page and Vegas.

The Luxor generally has decent rates. The Stratosphere has dirt cheap rates. It is a long way from the rest of the action this is reason why it is cheap. The excalibur is normally reasonable and decent for kids.

Your trip sounds fun.

We (Mr. Pickle, our 12 yo son, and I) stayed at the Quality Inn in Page in October. We had a large room with a great view of Lake Powell.

A full breakfast is included in the room rate. Be sure to try the blue cornmeal mush - you might think it looks odd, but it's really good.

Lee Ann