Hi all,

Hoping for some thoughts/suggestions on an upcoming trip to Las Vegas and Grand Canyon South Rim in October.

We're planning on spending four nights in Vegas and then driving to GC. Coupla questions:
* I've read that the drive from Vegas to the South Rim is about 5 hours. Is that right?
* How long would you suggest staying in Grand Canyon? We like photography, hiking, and I'd like to visit Havasu Falls, too.
* Also thinking about trying to squeeze in a trip to Zion. How long is the drive between GCNP and Zion? And, how long should we stay there?

Any help would be much appreciated!

A trip to Zion isn't really something you can squeeze in from the South Rim. Unless you're a crow, the route between the two is quite circuitous. I'm not sure exactly how long it would take, but I'd imagine most of the day.

Zion is only about 2 1/2 hours from Las Vegas, though, so you might consider doing Bryce and Zion instead of the Grand Canyon. It's not what you had in mind, I know, but they're much better destinations for hiking, and a photographer's paradise as well. In October the leaves are starting to change, which is an added bonus.

I should have said you could combine the North Rim with Zion more easily, but the North Rim closes around mid-October so that may not be an option depending on when you're going.

If you are wanting to see havasu falls, you had better plan it now. You can horseride in, hike in, helicpoter in. I don't know about the permits from the tribe, but you would need to check on that also. I believe the hike is about 10 miles. I haven't been, but it is high on my list. I wouldn't spend more than a day or two on South rim, unless you were doing a lot of hiking. You might consider going to the North Rim. It closes mid-october. North or South you should plan lodging NOW. If you went north, you could access Zion easier or go to Page and there is several slot canyon hikes there. We are going to be in Zion ourselves mid-october for 4 days.

Will need to factor in the time on the shuttle buses. In Zion they are required riding in the scenic canyon. Private vehicles are only allowed to drive directly to Zion Lodge if they have a permit. From the visitor center to the end of the road they say to allow 90 minutes. Other than the scenic canyon in Zion you can drive your personal vehicle anywhere on the roads. Also allow time at the tunnel when they shut it down one direction to allow oversized RV's to drive through it. Can't tell you about the South Rim.

Mapquest says its 4 1/2 hrs and 254 mile drive between the two places.

If you plan on visiting any federal area which charges admission (Natl Park, BLM, Forest Service) you might want to consider getting an America the Beautiful pass at your first stop. Costs $80 but is good for calendar year for everyone in the car. Will cost you $25 to visit each park.

What we did is drive from Vegas to the south rim and stayed there for three nights. Two would have been plenty but we did the mule trip to Phantom Ranch. From the south rim, we went to Peach Springs for the night before we headed to Havasu the next day. We stayed in Havasu overnight, but it could have been a day trip. Then, we went back to Vegas for a night, and then headed to Zion for three nights. We loved Zion, and we were glad to be there for three nights. The hiking in the Narrows was incredible. We took a very easy day trip to Bryce from Zion.