Grand Circle Itinerary
 

This is my preliminary Itinerary. Does it make sense? Is it too much driving to go to Moab? Is to much driving to see both the North Rim and South Rim? Some days are blank to give some wiggle room for planning.

1 Fly into Vegas; sight see; show/dinner; sleep in Vegas

2 Sight see; show/dinner; sleep in Vegas

3 Drive towards Zion; stop at Valley of Fire SP; Sight see Zion; sleep in Zion or Springdale or Kanab

4 Sight see Zion; sleep in Zion/Springdale

5 Sight see Zion; sleep in Zion/Springdale

6 Drive to Bryce; sleep in Bryce or Ruby's Inn, Tropic, or Panguitch

7 Sight see Bryce; sleep in above

8 Escalante

9 Escalante

10 Capitol Reef

11 Moab

12 Moab

13 Monument Valley

14 Lake Powell

15 Drive to Antelope Canyon

16 Drive to Noth Rim

17

18 North Rim

19 South Rim; sleep at Grand Canyon

20 Drive to Vegas; sleep in Vegas

21 Fly back to NYC

I think that you need two full days in Moab, maybe skip one day in Zion, because it takes a day to visit Arches NP and another to visit Canyonlands NP.

https://flic.kr/p/vjJ92d https://flic.kr/p/v5wKNe
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When are you planning on going ? Are you planning on doing a lot of hiking or visiting the VC, overlooks and drive through?

I agree with Michael,more time in getting to and in Moab

You also have not included the time it takes to get from one park to the next which will cut into time in the parks.

I prefer the south rim of GC to the north ri. If you want to do both, do the north rim between Bryce and Escalante, take a day from Escalante unless you have a plan for that,

Get your lodging figured out first and remember it is a circle, so you could go around in either direction if that means getting the lodging you want easier. For lodging in the parks, take the phone numbers and call for cancellations if they are full, make a reservation close by that can be cancelled without penalty as a backup.

Have a great trip.

I don't think it makes sense to do the North Rim between Bryce and Escalante. You would be driving 3 hours south to backtrack the same way to Escalante. The North Rim is fine where you have it on your itinerary if you decide to go. What time of year is your trip? The North Rim is only open seasonally. You also don't need what looks to be 3 nights at the North Rim unless you're planning to do extensive hiking.

What are your plans for Lake Powell?

Sounds like a fun trip. Due to severe prolonged drought Lake Powell has lost a lot of water. https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2...jpg?width=2560

Agree to add a night in Moab. This year Arch's NP has a reservation requirement but worth it. What are you planning to do at Lake Powel. You don't need to drive from Lake Powel to Antelope Canyon its right there. You will also need reservations for Antelope Canyon. Horseshoe Bend is also right there and worth it.

Depending on time of year your trip is I would skip either north or south rim. The south has (IMO) slightly better views (the sun is behind you mostly) but the north rim is much less crowded and more enjoyable. I would not go to the south rim in summer.

The only series of travel books for the Grand circle is at southutahparks.com Very detailed and informative

alandb, I am not sure if it is too late to reply. We did a similar road trip last year, and you can read about it at https://indiancoupletravels.com/gran...tahs-mighty-5/
Recently Arches National Park introduced a timed entry ticket that must be reserved in advance. Zion National Park, also you need a permit to hike the famous Angles landing trail.