"Our interest is to see unique natural places, get impressions and to feel their "spirit" making them a part of our souls"
I LOVE this and it is definitely how I felt in both Bryce and Zion.

I now get the whole picture, it does seem like you have a doable plan. More driving and less time at places than what I like to do, but you will get to see the highlights. Memphis, St. Louis, and Kansas City are all famous for BBQ, however, they are all very different. Don't miss the Arch in St. Louis. The drive in Kansas will be very boring.

I would probably skip Nashville and add a day into Moab. 1 day isn't enough.

Here would be my plan from Moab to Mesa Verde
Day 1- Arches National Park- in the Morning see
see Double Arch, Balanced Rock, and a short easy hike to Landscape Arch, and whatever else in the park that interests you. You might want to drive mid-day out to Deadhorse Point State Park, which overlooks Canyonlands National Park. This would keep you out of the hot part of the day. Then return to Arches that evening and hike to Delicate Arch. This is uphill somewhat strenuous, but easy coming back

Day 2 Drive to Bryce- Take HWY 24 and HWY 12. Stop for a short 1 hour visit at Goblin Valley in the morning. Stop and have lunch at the picnic area in Capitol Reef. There is a really nice Fruit Orchard there. You can pick whatever fruit is in season and eat it for free. There is a small house that sells outstanding homemade pies. The drive to Bryce from Capitol Reef is on HWY 12. One of the best in the US
You might want to eat dinner @ Hell's Backbone Grill. Watch the Sunset at Bryce


Day 3 Bryce- Hike Navajo Loop/Queens Garden
probably would want to see a sunrise in Bryce
Night Sky with a Park Ranger

Day 4 and 5 Zion-Hike Emerald Pools, hike The Narrows, Angels Landing is a great hike- a little adventurous and it is strenuous- allow 5-6 hours for this one

Day 6 & 7 Monument Valley- might want to take a tour here
This area isn't your standard US- it is on an Indian
Reservation and is different. I am sure the new hotel
has probably improved the overall image.

Day 7 & 8 Mesa Verde-Spruce House, Balcony House, Cliff
Palace. Wetherill area if you have time.

Day 9 & 10 You might want to check out The Great Sand Dunes in Colorado on your return. The drive through Texas and Oklahoma is boring. I live in Oklahoma.

You might want to include Black Canyon of the Gunnison, which is very near Montrose.



Buy a National Park Pass and save a lot of money. The only thing that really concerns me, is I hope you realize that it can be very hot in Utah at this time of year. Have you been in the heat before? This would be in the 35-40 Celsius Range. I have been to all of the places I mention, except bryce. I have been to Kansas City, Memphis, Nashville several time.

Spirobulldog, thanks for the detailed advice, I will surely have it in mind while planning.

I guess that the best choice is to stay at the lodge inside the Bryce park (the same is about the Zion park). But it is quite expensive and I would consider some places like Tropic where cheaper cabins and motels can be found. It seems to be not far from the entrance to the park. Would you advise to use a shuttle bus in the park or to drive in our car?

During our travel in 2008 we were in the Death Valley in August and it was over 50 Celsius degrees. But of course, we did not have any hiking there. So, we have some experience and we take it into consideration having water with us on our way. I suppose that humidity is quite low there and heat can be withstood easily.

Thanks for the tip about the Park Pass.

I am ready for boring driving but as you can see, I can't help it. I got used to it at our 2 previous trips. Hope for a help from my wife.

My husbsnd and I have traveled to all the places you list. Your plan is well thought out. Go for it. Your three days for Bryce and Zion are perfect. We were there in Sept except we spent 2 nights at Bryce then left for Santa Fe. The Bryce formations are best seen in the early morning and late afternoon...sun angles provide the colors. We then when over to Zion for the whole day...the driving in that area is very scenic.

Go to Mesa Verde and then on to Sante Fe. That is also a great plan...we have done that exact route. Sante Fe is unique...try to stay close to the plaza and spend you time exploring the Plaza and Canyon Road. From there you can head across Texas and Oklahoma, yes it is somewhat boring, but for a visitor that doen't see it with local eyes and every day, it does have some interest. I live in Texas.

As for on toward the east. Going across Tenn. is an easy and pretty drive on I-40. My family is from the Ashville area and there is much to see there, you might try to have at least an overnight there. Do early tour of Biltmore House, America's castle. Then head out doing a detour on you way east going up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Drive it at least to Marion in North Carolina. You can pick up I-40 if you want to there. You will get a taste of one of the nicest scenic drives in the eastern US.

Enjoy my country!

Making sure you're well hydrated is good to keep in mind, as most of this area is arid to varying degrees and you can dehydrate faster than you realize. The smartest thing is to drink mouthfuls of water throughout the day, even if you don't feel especially thirsty.

In addition, a hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen are a must, as it's very easy to get anything from sunburn to heatstroke otherwise. Pace yourself as well hiking -- these parks are gorgeous and you'll want to savor their unique beauty, plus it helps keep you from over-exerting in this hot weather.

Sounds like a great trip -- enjoy!

I would stay in the park if possible. You can drive your car @ Bryce and Mesa Verde. In Zion, you will not be able to drive your car unless you stay at the Lodge. Even then, you will use the shuttle as it is mandatory there. Actually, this is a very very good thing. I wish all of the crowded parks, especially somewhere like Zion or Yosemite required this- only one road in and out equals traffic traffic. You can find some reasonable stays at Rubys-just outside of Bryce. You might try staying in one of there tents for something different and inexpensive. At Zion- you might stay in Springdale, which is just at the entrance. At Mesa Verde, the only place to stay is The Far View Lodge. It is a long way for a place to stay outside of the Mesa Verde. We stayed at a camping cabin in Monument Valley. It was not much, but it was a bargain.

A boring drive isn't so bad. You will only be bored a couple of days on your 3 weeks. I live in eastern Oklahoma, the really boring part is western Oklahoma and Kansas. I live right on the Oklahoma/Arkansas border and is very scenic in this area.

spirobulldog ,

That is a nice area, we like to camp in nw Arkansas. So we try to go different ways coming and going. East and west Texas are nice too, it is just the miles of flat land that we share with you that get old after a while.

Bostock,

July and August are prime times in our National Parks so try for reservation if you plan on staying in the park lodges or anywhere near the parks.

This past summer, we camped just outside of the Bryce gate at Ruby's, the motel part looked very nice. There are several other motels right outside the gate also. Any would be good for visiting Bryce. Sorry I don't remember the names, but google the park and some links should come up for accommodations near the park.

There are also motels near the Zion visitors center, in Springdale but again outside of the park. Unfortunately as stated above there isn't anything near the Mesa Verde entrance.

Another thing to check out for reasonable priced accommodations is the KOA camp sites...they have cottages that are rustic but OK. The camp grounds have laundry rooms and usually have pools. Not sure if there are any actually along your route, but we camped at KOA’s when getting from point A to point B on our long trip this past summer. There are KOA’s near some of the national parks. We stayed in one at Glacier National Park and one near Cody, WY. Check their website for the locations; they are located all over the country.

On your way from Mesa Verde to Santa Fe, stop in at Bandelier NM. Route 550 to 501 to 502 to 4 gets you there in less than 5 hours and it is less than an hour from SF. It is a fantastic look at a different kind of housing for the ancients, homes carved into hardened volcanic ash on the mountainside. Nice hiking trails there and probably not as crowded as MV.

Thank you all, your tips and suggestions are very helpful.

I spent two nights at Zion and one night at Bryce. Now, of course I got to Zion in the late morning. So, i pretty much had two days there. I would not reccomend any lesser amount of time. But, I also did the mule trip at Bryce. But, I arrived there VERY early in the morning to do it. I recall leaving Zion at like 5:30 in the morning or so, Bryce is 80 miles away, it took me an hour and a half to get there. But, that gave me a FULL day at Bryce. I would not reccomend anything less than that for Bryce Canyon. Capitol Reef, Goblin Valley, etc are very beautiful off the beating path kind of places. But, keep in mind that Utah is Jammed packed of very scenic places. There is no possible way to see it all even after many trips there. Since this is your first time to Utah and your short of time, I would suggest you focus on the highlights like Zion and Bryce. Arches and Deadhorse Point SP in Moab are the highlights there and of course right adjacent to Deadhorse Point is the Island of the Sky District of Canyonlands NP. I would focus your trip on the state of Utah for that matter. I ve been to many states in the US and there was not one place I was in Utah that there was not spectacular scenery. But, I like the feeling of reading a travel magazine or book or looking at professional photography and being able to say ive been there. So, I always make sure I see the highlights if its my first time then go back and see lesser known places.

PS: As far as places to stay, I stayed at the Rubys Inn at Bryce and for Zion I stayed at one of the hotels just south of the park entrance. Theyre not inside the park, but just right outside, but I ll think you ll find these places very convienent. Rubys Inn is almost walking distance to the park entrance. Although, some people give it bad reviews, I actually really liked it there and I think its nicer than the lodge in the park. Springdale is about a mile or two south of the Zion Park entrance. For Mesa Verde, I stayed at one of the hotels in Cortez, Colorado, which is also convienent to Mesa Verde, I think it was like 10 miles awayy. That will further extend you lodging possibilities.

I have investigated the Ruby's Inn web site, it looks fine, indeed. But right near it I found Bryce View Lodge. It seems not bad and it's cheaper than Ruby's by $80 - 100. Do you think it makes sense to save some money staying in the View Lodge?

We haven't stayed at Bryce View Lodge, but if you are trying to limit the cost of your trip, it certainly makes sense. The distance to the canyon rim is not very far, but you must drive in or take the shuttle (if it is operating), and then you will park your car inside the park and walk to the trailheads. There is not much lodging inside Bryce, so many people obviously stay at Ruby's or the place you mention.

For Zion, you can stay in the little town of Springdale. There is a range of options for lodging. We once stayed at Canyon Ranch Motel which was about $52 per night - we liked it quite well. There is a grassy area in the center with picnic tables, a pool and a hot tub. There is a free shuttle to take you in and out of Zion Park from 7AM until 11PM at night, so staying outsisde the park is not a problem. We much prefer to stay inside the park at Zion Lodge in order to walk everywhere and be close to the shuttle stops. We like to break up our day with various hikes, and my favorite time to hike there is in the evening. But the lodge is about $160/night. The nice thing about staying in Springdale is that you are close to cheaper food options and you also have just as beautiful a setting as inside Zion Park!

Bryce by a long shot, where you can hike amongst the fabulous hoodoos in a couple of hours.

Be sure to see Arches before you leave Moab.

We did 6 or 7 National Parks in So. Utah lasst year and these 2 were my favorites.

There are 5 National Parks in Utah.

We spent two nights at the Bryce View Lodge a couple of years ago. It's right across the street from Ruby's and we were allowed to use Ruby's pool and other amenities. Our room was clean and comfortable and we were happy with it.

Lee Ann

I included Escalante-Grand Staircase and Monument Valley in my totals. We also visited several in No. Arizona (Canyon de Chelly, Grand Canyon North Rim, Lake Powell). Bryce still takes the cake.