Itinerary suggestion for southern Utah and Arizona
 

Hi all.

I'm trying to plan our first trip to Utah area. Our plan is to fly into Vegas and rent a car. I have 3.5 and 9 month old and plan to go during Thanksgiving week this year. We are interested in seeing the beautiful nature and national parks in Utah/Arizona. Could you suggest a reasonable itinerary for 5-6 days without too much driving (maybe 3-4 hours a day). I hear Zion Park, Bryce Canyon and of course Grand Canyon are great national parks. Are there other hidden gems in the area? Is all 3 doable in a week? Will it be very cold?

Thanks.

Zion is about 3 hours from Vegas, so depending on how early you get into town, you might be able to get there before dark. If not, spend the first night in Vegas (a hotel on the north side of town, not too far from I-15 will speed the trip), then head for Zion. I find the drive up there very interesting. It will be cool there.

You might be able to get lodging in Zion, but if not, look in Springdale. Plan on a night or two there.

Bryce is about an hour and a half from Zion, and is much higher elevation so will be much colder and have a possibility of snow. There is lodging in the park and right outside at Ruby's. If you aren't going to do much hiking, one night there will be enough.

The north rim of the Grand Canyon will not be open and it is a very long trip to the south rim which is open. I would not want to spend that much time in a car with the little ones.

Closer to Vegas are Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire State park and Hoover Dam. all will provide interesting scenery and are worth a look. They can be easily done as day trips from Vegas.

We also love Death Valley. It is a bit over two hours from Vegas and we have visited it as a day trip from Vegas too.

Oh zeebo! You are about 6 months late in trying to get lodging in Zion or Springdale for Thanksgiving weekend! Thanksgiving and Mem Day weekends are the two most crowded weekends at Zion. Better hustle. Call the hotels directly and hope to snag a cancellation. Be prepared to pay a lot.

Also you need to be aware that the shuttles will probably be running at Zion. This means you need to haul all the kids stuff that you will need inside the park with you for the day.

Bryce should be a bit easier to get reservations, but it may be busy too.

The 100 year anniversary of the Natl Parks combined with the State of Utahs "mighty 5". Promotional campaign have made the attendace at the parks hit all time highs.

Good luck!

Be sure to query this site for trip reports to these parks plus many suggested itineraries. Take a look first and then come back with some more specific questions.

As noted above, lodging will be very difficult to get at this late date. Cancellations do happen though so maybe closely monitoring the websites and calling frequently will allow you to snag a night here and there. It will be cold at Bryce and maybe even at Zion. I would focus on those two places and not try to get to the South Rim with a week's time. Of course, if you can't find lodging you may want to postpone this trip until next year.

Zion and St. George are extremely busy during Thanksgiving. I would try today to get reservations/call hotels.

Thanks for the very informative reply. I also have the option to go in december around christmas (last 2-3 weeks of Dec). Will it be too cold at Zion at this time? How are the crowds around Christmas time?

Another option: I stayed in Hurricane, about a half-hour outside Zion. It wasn't expensive compared to Springdale (late October) and the drive didn't seem too bad.

Zion is rather popular for the Christmas holidays too, but no where near as bad as Thanksgiving. Yes it can be very cold and ice can hamper hiking some of the trails.

The beauty of Zion in full winter is very different from the other seasons. The cottonwood trees on the canyon floor and bare and stark. No flowers blooming.

Its still nice, but you need to go prepared for very cold temps for most of the day. Plus daylight hours are quite short.

No need to stay in Hurricane for the holidays. Just call now for your reservations. Lots of good options.