DebCarroll

We are taking a short trip West over Columbus Day weekend this year. Our boys will be 4, 8 and 10 at the time of travel. We'd like to see Grand Canyon and Bryce, but Maybe Zion instead of one of those? We can manage a few hours of easy hiking with the kids--nothing too strenuous for the little guy. Thinking about flying to Phoenix from the East coast on Friday night, spending the night with friends in Scottsdale. Driving to Sedona Saturday morning and spending the day, drive to GC in the afternoon. See GC Sunday, head to Bryce Sunday night or Monday morning (is there somewhere to stop on the way? It's a looong drive with 3 kids!) spend Monday & Tuesday at Bryce, drive to Salt Lake City Tuesday afternoon, fly out Wednesday morning. So...we are flexible on everything--airports, places to visit--all of it. Just looking for best possible 4-day itinerary (+2 travel days) we can muster. Would rather take our time and enjoy than do a drive-by at anything. If that means we should spend 4 days in one park, tell me! Thanks so much in advance!

like_2travel

"Would rather take our time and enjoy than do a drive-by..."

That's a LOT of time in the car. Minimum 4-5 hours in a car each day doesn't sound like fun at any age. (Are we there yet?). Distances are a lot farther out west compared to the East Coast. And jet lag. With 3 kids. Ouch.

I would fly in/out of Vegas. Spend first night in Vegas. Head to Zion Saturday morning, enjoy Zion and spend the night there. Plenty of hotels and family friendly restaurants in Springdale. Head to Bryce on Sunday, spending Sunday afternoon/night & part of Monday there. Fewer hotels to choose from, so book now. Head back to Vegas Monday afternoon, spend Monday night in Vegas.

Is the Grand Canyon a must-do? Otherwise, I would definitely skip it this trip and spend the extra day exploring Bryce or Zion. Sat/Sun at Zion, Mon/Tue at Bryce & return to Vegas.

But if Grand Canyon is a must..

The Grand Canyon National Park is pretty far, on Tuesday recommend a day trip to the Grand Canyon Skywalk instead. Much horter drive, you get the photo of the canyon, check it off the bucket list, etc.

We did Bryce/Zion/Grand Canyon over a week-long spring break trip with kids ages 5 & 8. They enjoyed Bryce/Zion a lot, we did Emerald Pools at Zion, the narrows, a nearby ghost town, had picnics, & hiked several trails at Bryce. Family favorite was Bryce, especially around sunset. We also explored some nearby state parks. Horseback rides, etc. They earned Jr Ranger badges which was a highlight of their trip.

In Vegas, BLM red rocks is close by, as is Valley of Fire which is really, really beautiful.

My advice, map out your itinerary with Google Maps and play around with different possibilities.

Save GC & Sedona for a Spring Break week - there's plenty of things to do in just those two places to fill a week.

DebCarroll

Thank you, like_2travel--that is SUPER helpful. Your suggestion to tackle Bryce/Zion and go in & out of Vegas makes good sense. We actually don't need to fly out until Wednesday--with that in mind, should we add more time at Red Rocks, etc.? And do you have any recs for family friendly places to stay? Thanks!

StantonHyde

In Zion, the best family friendly places to stay are Cable Mountain Lodge or the Desert Pearl. In Bryce--stay at Ruby's Inn or the Best Western there is fine too. At Zion, the pool is outside for both places--might be closed in October. At Ruby's the pool is indoors and is awesome.

If you click on my user name you will see my trip reports to Zion and Bryce with kids.

like_2travel

DebCarroll, kids would like walking around at Red Rock Canyon. there's a 13 mile loop drive, you can pick up a map at the visitor center, and it showcases various hiking trails. lots of variety. for family friendly places to stay, I assume you want to stay away from the Strip in Vegas? I'd look at Red Rocks Resort in Summerlin, its about 20 min west of the Strip.

At Red Rock Canyon, my favorite parts are Calico Hills, the Willow Springs area, and Pine Creek Canyon. Your kids might like the "LOST CREEK CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY TRAIL".

At Valley of Fire State park, there are such beautiful rock formations. Nice Visitor Center. I didn't have too much time, but was able to hike the Fire Wave trail and it was gorgeous. It was about 1.5 miles of hiking to the Fire Wave formation. In Oct it won't be too hot, just pleasant during the day.

In general temps will be cold at night. It can get very windy.

A little farther out from Vegas is the Mt. Charleston area, which reminds me more of the Sierra Nevada.

The Hoover Dam is interesting, as is the cool little town of Boulder City, that built the dam. The short, walkable "downtown" area of Boulder City has mom'n'pop places to eat, ice cream, craft beer, etc and a completely different vibe than Vegas. The kids might like seeing the Hoover Dam from the Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge which you can walk out on. Its very windy, but a good view of the Hoover Dam.

enjoy your trip.

DebCarroll

We are headed out on Friday! Flying into Vegas Friday night, then driving to Zion Saturday morning. 2 nights at Zion (so Saturday /Sunday hiking there) then to Bryce Monday morning. Monday /Tuesday at Bryce, driving back to Vegas Tuesday evening for an early flight Wednesday. Thank you for the suggestions this summer--helped me map things out. Any trail suggestions at Zion or Bryce for the kids in particular?

db6040

Bryce/Zion as a loop from Vegas makes for a very nice trip. We have done this before. I don't know what your kids like in particular but at Zion it is pretty easy to hit the main sites. Just hop on the shuttle and get off at all the stops to look around or take short hikes. Some of the stops are really just places for great views, others have trails beginning at them. A hike that isn't too long so might be good for your family starts at the last stop - the Temple of Sinawava. Riverside walk is an easy stroll and very pretty.

At Bryce, you really don't have to hike too far. My husband and I love to hike but at Bryce, we are pretty content just sitting on the rim and soaking in the views. We have done longer hikes there but if your kids aren't up for it, I would just be sure to make it to all the viewpoints/overlooks and maybe walk a ways along the rim path. The rim trail goes along the rim in a flat path that you can walk as far along as you would like before turning back.