Marg1123

On June 3 my husband, two children (ages 17 and 20) and I will fly into Las Vegas, rent a car and drive to Marble Canyon for a 7 day raft trip through the Grand Canyon. On June 10 we'll return to Marble Canyon (about 4:30 p.m.), retrieve the car and won't fly out of Las Vegas until June 15. We're now trying to figure out exactly what else to see during those extra days. We could spend the night of the 10th in Kanab (?) unless it's reasonable to drive all the way to Bryce. From there I thought we'd take Hwy.12 up to Capitol Reef area, and then go back down to Zion before spending the last night in Las Vegas (so the kids can see the lights and explore a bit). I don't care about spending much time in Las Vegas, but think we could get there late evening to at least see it. (Any advice on a reasonble, fun place to stay in Las Vegas?)
Another option after the raft trip would be to drive over to Monument Valley and then up to Capitol Reef, down Hwy 12 to Bryce and on to Zion. I know this involves more driving, and wonder what Hwy.95 is like going NW out of the Monument Valley area. We don't mind driving (my husband is in favor of seeing as much as we can). Would love to get to Mesa Verde, but feel that's too far. Are there similar ruins anywhere on my proposed routes?
Any advice would be appreciated. I've used this site many times in planning trips, but never posted anything before. I'm doing lots of internet research, but hope I'll get the best answers here! I have actually rafted through the GC before, and am very excited to take my family - they've been hearing about it for years.
Thanks very much.

gaila

Last year in June we did a kind of similar trip with our kids(then 17 and 19)We flew into Vegas, had lunch on strip, went to Hoover Dam, then drove to Zion. We also went to Bryce and went rafting in Arizona. When we were done we drove back to Vegas for 2 days. My kids LOVED Las Vegas. The excitment, the lights,the food,the shopping(my daughter), the fountains at Belligo, the themes of each hotel, the sports cars etc... My husband and I barely gambled at all(I think I spent $40 total) The only attraction we did was the aquarium at Mandalay Bay. It was o.k but expensive. Not really worth it. They honestly had more fun just walking around looking at things.For the most part the hooker venders stayed away from families but when my son and husband were ahead of us they tried to hand my son(19) cards. I'm sure he would have loved to take one but didn't dare(HA-HA) That sounds like a great trip! Have fun!

gaila

Last year in June we did a kind of similar trip with our kids(then 17 and 19)We flew into Vegas, had lunch on strip, went to Hoover Dam, then drove to Zion. We also went to Bryce and went rafting in Arizona. When we were done we drove back to Vegas for 2 days. My kids LOVED Las Vegas. The excitment, the lights,the food,the shopping(my daughter), the fountains at Belligo, the themes of each hotel, the sports cars etc... My husband and I barely gambled at all(I think I spent $40 total) The only attraction we did was the aquarium at Mandalay Bay. It was o.k but expensive. Not really worth it. They honestly had more fun just walking around looking at things.For the most part the hooker venders stayed away from families but when my son and husband were ahead of us they tried to hand my son(19) cards. I'm sure he would have loved to take one but didn't dare(HA-HA) That sounds like a great trip! Have fun! Also we stayed at the Luxor. Very nice!

spirobulldog

any place in utah is great. Heck their state parks are small national parks in my book. Since you are adventurous enough to raft the GC you should consider canyoneering somewhere in Utah. You are going to be close to Canyon X and Antelope Canyon, so you might want to consider a guided hike there as well. If you are feeling like really exploring, try for a slot to hike to "the wave". They only allow 20 people per day there. Escalante, Grand Staircase offer many cool things to do as well. Hoovenweep or Canyon De Chelly are options simlar to Mesa Verde. If you are going to drive all the way to Monument Vally it isn't that much further to Mesa Verde. I think I would probably go for 2 parks. Probably 2 days at Bryce and 3 days at Zion. You should try to get lodging ASAP as they may already be full. Capital Reef and the hwy 12 drive would be nice option also. We did a 3 day raft on GC last summer and it wasn't near enough, the 10 day will be fabulous.

npurpleh2

Hi - I posted a trip report a trip report for a trip I did based out of Las Vegas a little over a year ago. I'll top it for you so it is easy to find. Maybe you could read through it and it would give you some ideas regarding what to see, where to stay, distances, etc. Look for a post titled "Trip Report for AGGRESSIVE trip to Death Valley, Great Basin, Zion, Bryce, North Rim & South Rim Grand Canyon in November" that was posted by screen name npurpleh2. Let me know if you have any specific questions after reading it.

Also, I really like Capitol Reef but I think you'd be better off to include it in a trip starting from Moab where you could also include Mesa Verde. For a trip based out of Las Vegas, I think there are many other closer options to chose from.

Marg1123

Thanks for all the suggestions. After studying maps, distances and thinking about what we really want to see, I think we'll drive to Monument Valley, on to Mesa Verde and then back to Zion. The family really wants to see MV and Mesa V, and we're thinking that after a week in the GC, those two places in particular would give us something really different to see. Will involve a little bit of backtracking, but there are always new places to explore.

GapYear2009

Monument Valley = Goulding's Lodge. Take the full-day tour.

StantonHyde

I have backpacked and traveled all over the 4 corner regions. Mesa Verde is my #1 pick for getting an inclusive look at Ancestral Puebloan culture in one shot. It takes 2 days, really--one day on one mesa and one day on the next. The lodge there seemed nice and the restaurant was quite good (as my husband said, "The best meal I have ever eaten while wearing shorts")

There is also a really good "Anasazi" museum outside of Cortez that details more of the Weatherhills and their explorations in the area. We have stayed at a Best Western in Cortez which was nice.

Kanab has an AMAZING restaurant in the town--of course I can't remember the name. It's an art gallery too. I stayed at the hotel next door--which is clean and efficient.

At Bryce, you can stay at Ruby's Inn which has lots of options. And hike one of the loop trails in the canyon.

There are so many places to stop and look along the way--I recommend stopping at the Trading Posts on the North/East side of Bluff. And the Recapture Lodge in Bluff is a great place to stay. Basic lodge but great people and they have lectures etc. The museum at Gouldings Lodge in MV is really cool. Hovenweep is ok if you are really into Ancestral Puebloan culture. Otherwise, it is pretty rinky dinky and it has biting flies in June.

Springdale outside of Zion is awesome. The Desert Pearl Inn is great. There is a good Mexican restaurant in town.

Marg1123

Thanks again for the input. Gouldings is full the night we'd like to be there. I'm not giving up, though, and just check each day when I sit down at the computer. Maybe we'll get lucky. Right now our reservation is at the Hampton Inn in Kayenta, which should be fine unless someone has a better suggestion. We'll go from MV to Mesa Verde where we did manage to get a room at the Lodge. Then we'll go through Four Corners and explore a bit on the way back to Page to just spend the night on the way to Zion. We'll be staying in Springdale, so I'm happy to hear that it's a good spot.
I've read many wonderful reviews of the tours out of Gouldings, so we're looking into those.

spirobulldog

Have you tried Valley of the Gods for lodging.