Grand Circle Itinerary Utah
 

Planning a trip to Utah's National Parks the end of June and would like help and suggestions for my itinerary. Here's my plan: Fly into Las Vegas, rent a car and Drive to Springdale. Stay overnight at Ruby's Best Western. Day 2- explore Zion, stay at Zion Lodge in the Park.
Day 3 travel to Bryce, explore , stay at the Lodge in Bryce. Day 4 travel Rt 12 and explore Escalante and Capital Reef?, stay overnight in Torrey . Day5- travel Rt24 to 95 to 276 and was thinking of going to Bullfrog, taking the ferry to the other side and staying at the Defiance House. Opinions? Would love to see Lake Powell, but it looks like there are no tours available from there. Is there anything to do at that part of the lake? From there, I would travel to Moab and stay 2 nights exploring Canyon lands and Arches. Then fly home from Salt lake City or Las vegas depending on flight costs. So a total of 8 nights, 9 days. ( Last night would be either Las Vegas or SLC)

I much prefer the drive to/from Salt Lake rather than Las Vegas. Also, the car will be much less expensive without the drop-off charge.

You can drive from SLC to Zion, do your arc and drive back up from Moab.

I think you are planning too tightly. Driving takes time.

You have to be very efficient and non-stop (like me) to do it the way you describe.

There are other sights in the Moab area worth your time as well.

Dead Horse Point State Park outside of Canyonlands.

Arches should be at least two days. Make sure you sign up for the Fiery Furnace ranger led hike.

Zion will be hot and maybe Arches as well. So you may have to take it easy.

Bryce is 4,000 feet higher and will be cooler.

On route from Bryce to Capitol Reef you have Willis Creek Slot Canyon, Devil's Garden Escalente.

Between Capitol Reef and Moab you have Goblin Valley.

Near Moab also Rt 128 to Fisher Towers area.

You may also want to take a half or whole day ride on the Colorado River. We did a half day and it was fun.

Night 1 confuses me..isn't Ruby's at Bryce...not Springdale?

peterboy,

Good catch. Yes Ruby's is just outside the Bryce Canyon gate.

Are you planing on doing it this June or next? Getting in park lodging may be difficult if it is this year, but you should call on the phone every day as cancellations do come up frequently.

If you just do short hikes, your plan sounds fine, but the drive from Moab will take half a day.

I would probably prefer to fly into and out of Las Vegas. I don't think Vegas or Salt Lake would be a big factor unless you really want to see something at either place or if there were a large difference in price. Vegas rental cars are usually inexpensive, and there are a lot of direct flights into Vegas.
If you haven't seen all the Mormon things in SLC, then that might be of interest to you or if you havent seen the glitz of Vegas. Half to a whole day is enough for anyone in either, imop.

Yes, I was going to point out that Ruby's is at Bryce!

I don't see the point of going to Lake Powell for just a day. The only thing you could do would be take a boat tour down to Rainbow Bridge. However, check in advance:

1. Is the water level high enough for the boat tour to reach Rainbow Bridge? If not, how long of a hike will it be once the boat anchors?

2. Make reservations ahead!

Lake Powell is really more about renting houseboats, motor boats, water skiing and water toys, world class fishing, multiple days..... awesome scenery!

North Lake Powell.
Hite - marina service are closed due to low water. The general store is open.
Bullfrog - I believe the ferry is closed. Defiance House hotel/motel is excellent - it is on the west side of lake - no need to ferry. There should be a tour to Anasazi Indian Defiance House ruins. Another option is to rent a houseboat to cruise the lake. Each houseboat has dining, cooking and bedroom facilities. The larger boats are 75-feet long that can sleep 16 people
http://www.houseboating.org/Lake-Pow...boats-for-Rent
Boating to Rainbow Bridge is not practical from here - must go from Wahweap marina near Page, Az)
If you have a 4-WD Poison Spring Canyon road goes to the river and then continues to Canyonlands, Maze District - you probably don't have time for complete journey, To the river is about a one hours drive.

On the way north from Hanksville, try to stop for a couple of hours at Goblin Valley. While in Hankville, go to the BLM office and visit the restored Woolverton gold mining mill. About 30 minute visit. Fascinating story of that mill.

Vaga

I did a trip report for driving this area - a year plus ago was it? Check out possibly staying at the Kiva Koffee house - their cottage - outside of Escalante. www.kivakoffeehouse.com, or close. :)

I'd stay 3 nts Zion in one place (packing and unpacking is a hassle), 1 nt Bryce, 1 nt Torrey and 3 nts Moab. If you can only get in the Bryce lodge ur 3rd nt maybe add a nt to Torrey. We are doing something similar in Sept.

Thanks, everyone for your comments. My mistake about Ruby's, sorry. I meant Zion Best Western the first night. About Lake Powell- do you think we have time to detour there or should we just continuue on to Moab? We don't have the time to rent a house boat, but I would like to take a tour of the lake, but I don't think the tours run from that location. I will have to call and find out. Also, if you can give me the top don't miss short hikes and must see sights for each National Park on my route? thanks!

Susie,

This Utah forum has zillions of threads and trip reports for the southern Utah + Grand Canyon national parks. Do some reading and you will get more ideas and a longer list than you could do in 6 months!

I don't think you can "take a tour" of Lake Powell. It is too big. Honestly, not that interesting IMO. Free up that time to see more "natural" wonders in the area.

Halls Crossing and Bullfrog area of Lake Powell is not nearly as scenic as the area of the lake near Page, AZ. The ferry should be running again in the spring, BUT you can not make advance reservations http://udot.utah.gov/main/f?p=100:pg:0:::1:T,V:2257

Long ago they use to do the Rainbow Bridge tour from Bullfrog/Halls crossing but it doesn't look like they do it any more. http://www.canyon-country.com/lakepowell/rbridge.htm

I would save yourself 2 hours of extra driving time and spend the morning in Capitol Reef and then go directly to Moab.

My favorite hikes in each park:
Zion - Riverside walk - easy 2 mile round trip
Bryce - Queen's Garden/Navajo loop or walking from Sunrise to Sunset point along the rim.
Capitol Reef - Grand Wash is 5 miles round trip or Capitol Gorge is shorter
Arches - Delicate Arch which is 3 miles round trip or Landscape arch which is only 1 mile
Canyonlands - Mesa Arch 3/4 miles round trip

Utahtea

Thanks, Utahtea, Yes I think i will take your's ( and others) advice about not going to Lake Powell. It seems that the Defiance House and Bullfrog are stopover points before renting a houseboat. If tours were still given there, I would do it. But, now where to add that extra night- Moab like eroz suggested?

Moab would be an excellent choice for the extra night. You could spend a full day in each Canyonlands and Arches. You could even go to Arches both days since it's just 4 miles from Moab and get in an evening hike. DH and I just love doing Park Avenue hike in the evening. The Windows is also an excellent place to be for sunset.

Utahtea

Another question, since we will not be going to Lake Powell, should I travel to Moab via 24 to 70 to 191S as opposed to Rt 95 to 191N? We would miss Natural Bridges , but not much else, right?

I-70 and 191 S is 108 fast driving miles and will take about an 1 1/2 if you don't stop at Goblin Valley State Park. http://www.utah.com/stateparks/goblin_valley.htm

Hwy 95 and then N on 191 is 220 miles and a little slower drive. You do have Hite's Crossing Bridge, Natural Bridges National Monument and Hwy 95 is also know as the Bicentennial Scenic Byway. http://www.milebymile.com/main/highway-545.html

Both are good routes so it will depend on how much time you want to spend getting to Moab.

Utahtea

ok, I've made my accomodation reservations- one night at the Novel Inn in Springdale, one night at the Zion Lodge in the park, one night at the Bryce Canyon Lodge, one night at The Skyridge inn in Torrey and 3 nights at the Sunflower Hill B&B- in Moab. I haven't booked my flight yet- so expensive! Any tips? Is anyone familiar with the Novel Inn?

Also puchased the Fiery Furnace tour tickets. Are there any other reservations I would need to make ahead of time?
thanks

You were smart to nab the Fiery Furnace tour tickets! The last two times we've been in the area it wasn't planned and last October they were booked a month in advance!

Utahtea

We were in this area last week, a couple of suggestions based on our experience.
*If you fly into Las Vegas, as we did, don't rent a car from Dollar. The line for Dollar was excruciatingly long, while Hertz, Avis, etc had no line to speak of (true both coming in and leaving). The check-in process was the most complicated I've ever seen, and the up-sell was egregious. Plus, the car we got was defective, and we had to bring it back and exchange it (that maybe was just bad luck, and the exchange process was handled fine).
*If you want to stay a night in LV, Hotel 32 at Monte Carlo is a quiet place with a club floor vibe, good service, spacious rooms and suites. It's actually the top floor of the regular Monte Carlo, some good views. It was a great value for dollar, not cheap but you get more than you pay for, including free breakfast in their lounge. Parking in the M's large garage is free, but so is their valet service for H32 guests.
*We saw Zion, Bryce, Escalante and Capitol Reef. All were great, but Zion (Springdale) has far more and more varied choices of hotels and restaurants than Bryce, which is really lacking. Bryce is a good driving tour spot, easy to make the look-out circuit; Zion better for hiking IMO.
*Rte 12, which we took from Zion to Bryce goes through Zion and is gorgeous (twisty-turny but not vertiginous). You will have to pay the Zion entrance fee, but if you want to take photos, this road is a fantastic opportunity. It was a highlight of our trip.
*We wanted to see back country Escalante so we worked with Earth Tours, which had the knowledge and vehicle to make it memorable and easy; great day and a half. Some of Escalante is paved, but some is wild (to an Easterner, anyway). It and adjoining Capitol Reef are breathtaking for color and panoramas; another photo gold mine. We stayed at the Slot Canyons Inn, which is a stylish place with friendly service. Their restaurant wasn't open during our stay, so we had good BBQ at Circle D and terrific pizza at Escalante Outfitters Cafe. I had been scared to drive "the Hogback" part of the road from the Inn to the Boulder entrance to Escalante because it doesn't have guardrails. I shouldn't have been, it turned out to be not at all frightening, even to a coward.

Sorry, the road through Zion to Bryce is Rte 9, 12 is the Bryce and east route.

susie,

I've stayed at the Novel House several times and obviously enjoy it. Very nice comfortable rooms and beds, good breakfasts with good variety. Good location for walking around the few blocks that make up Springdale. The town shuttle bus stops right in front on Main Street and connects with the park shuttle. Does not have the riverside rooms and views that hotels on the other side of the street do, but to me that's not a big deal. Be sure to walk down the street to Zion Pizza and Noodle. Great pizza!

I've also stayed at the Sky Ridge B&B several times. It's had some turnover with owners, but the current owners seem to be keeping it up to previous standards. I really like this place. Small, charming, comfortable, quiet, good breakfasts and awesome views. Very nice common living room. In Torrey, be sure to eat at Slacker's Burgers and Cafe Diablo.

Have fun!