Grand Circle Tour advice
 

We will be doing a (partial) grand circle tour in mid-September with our two adult children. Tentative itinerary is:
arrive Las Vegas Thursday 9/9, stay overnight
to grand canyon Friday AM, overnight Friday/Saturday
to Zion Sunday AM, overnight Sunday/Monday
to Bryce Tuesday, overnight Tuesday/Wednesday
to Moab Thursday, stay overnight Thursday/Friday, visit Canyonlands Th and Fri while in Moab
kids leave Moab Saturday, we vacation for 3 more days (See below)

We realize this is relatively short so we've tried to prioritize the greatest hits even though we're skipping a lot- any suggestions for modifying this itinerary?

We like the idea of quiet on the north rim but also have to decide about viewing the width of the GC from the North Rim vs the depth from the South Rim. We would do some moderate hiking, nothing ambitious.

We will see our kids off on Saturday morning from Moab, and then do some day trips from Moab and stay overnight in Moab Saturday. Thinking more Canyonlands if we haven't seen enough there, Arches, and maybe day trip to Canyon de Chelly or Mesa Verde?
Then Sunday depart for Santa Fe, perhaps stopping in Mesa Verde, spend Sunday night and Monday in/around Santa Fe, return home to Wisconsin from Santa Fe on Tuesday.

Thanks for suggestions.

From Moab I would also visit Arches NP. It would mean only one day in each park but the geography is so different that it is worth the superficiality of a one day visit for each park.

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Thanks- we may stay an extra day in Moab and just discussed that.

Logistics: Are you returning the rental car to Las Vegas where you rented it? I would skip Santa Fe. Which side of the Grand Canyon do you want to visit?
If you are going to the South Rim, you could stay at the Hoover Dam Inn about 2 miles from Hoover Dam and avoid a night in Las Vegas.
Between Bryce Canyon and Green River drive Route 12 and make several stops at pullouts. See the petrogylyphs in Capitol Reef NP and take a side trip to Goblin Valley SP to see the Hoodoos.

We will not return to LV with the car, we would start the trip in LV, end in Santa Fe and return the car there. Haven't decided on South vs North Rim. Depends on if we can get still lodging on the North Rim, not sure about that at the moment.

Thanks for the suggestions on side trips, we are planning to research more of those but just have tentatively set the broad itinerary.

The North Rim makes much more sense with the itinerary. You will add hours of driving to get to the South Rim then all the way up to Zion from there. Both rims are worth seeing, and the South Rim combines better with other, future itineraries.

The day trip from Moab to Mesa Verde or Canyon de Chelly doesn't make sense, visit one of these en route to Santa Fe, likely with an overnight nearby. A visit to Mesa Verde from nearby lodging then on to Santa Fe is a very long day by itself.

I would arrive early enough in LV to make it to the Grand Canyon that night. Another option would be Zion>>North Rim>>Bryce. Also one overnight in Bryce is likely enough. As mentioned there are great sites between Bryce and Moab so it's worth an extra night in here somewhere.

If you decide not to go to Mesa Verde, you could head from Moab to Bandelier National Monument on your way to Santa Fe. It will add a little time to the trip but not as much as MV. The dwellings are different, so not a replacement but interesting on its own. It is about a long hour from Santa Fe.

Thanks, I've been to Bandolier many years ago and it is an option.

Thanks, actually we did end up doing LV --> Zion --> North Rim --> Bryce because of housing availability. We don't want to spend any one-nighters, so may do a day trip from Bryce if we feel that makes sense once we've gotten there and have gotten our bearings.

We will consider your suggestion about an overnight near Mesa Verde- thanks for the suggestions!

As a day trip from Bryce we did the Calf Creek Falls hike. It was wonderful, interesting hike, felt like I was in a western movie the whole time. At the end if a beautiful waterfall. Here's my photos of it. https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/p685614153 It wasn't a full day, we went into Bryce for sunrise and were back in time for dinner and sunset.

We had actually planned on doing Willis Creek Slot Canyon, but the thunderstorm threat that day meant we couldn't and a ranger suggested Calf Creek Falls as an alternative. So Willis Creek would be another option as a day trip.

The drive from Bryce to Torrey along Utah 12 is a WONDERFUL route. You may wish to look for one night in Torrey (I would have liked more). Highly recommend 12 and not going up to the Interstate. Torrey is a good base for Capitol Reef which has some easy hikes (Grand Wash).

There are a few ways to get between Torrey and Moab but if you want scenery, then UT-24 to the Interstate. Several nights in Moab for Arches etc (as many as you can spare).