My husband and I are going out west in September. We are flying into Las Vegas, driving to Sedona, Grand Canyon and then Monument Valley. Is it better to leave Monument Valley and head north to catch Capital Reef and then through Grand Staircase Escalante before hitting Bryce and Zion OR should we backtrack to Lake Powell and spend a day or two there before heading to Zion?
Any suggestions on "don't miss" areas?
Thanks so much!

I haven't been to Lake Powell, but I can't imagine skipping Hwy 12.

BTW, personally I would skip Monument Valley and do Arches/Moab and include a stop at Goblin Valley. I like Monument Valley and it is nice, but I liked Moab area much much better than MV.

Between LV and Sedona, stop at Hoover Dam and see Lake Meade and the big new bridge for US 93.
Drive down and across the dam (old US 93) into Arizona. The second and third parking lots after you go over the dam are free.
Coming back up from the dam is a parking lot with a path up to the walkway on the high new bridge. The apex of the arch is within 25 feet of the state line. Both are marked on the walkway.
I fear that both Powell and Meade are far below their historic water levels.

I think Lake Powell is quite skippable. However, nearby outside of Page is Antelope Valley which is a must photographed slot canyon that I would put on the "don't miss" list.

Oops "much photographed."

What is your time duration which paces your options

Vaga

Thanks for the info so far and we will be there for two weeks but would like to return to Vegas for a while before returning home.

We just did this trip and one of our highlights was driving Scenic Byway 12 in Utah: http://www.scenicbyway12.com/ From Bryce to Capitol Reef! Just beautiful!
We also stayed 3 days At Lake Powell. That was to use one day for a boat tour to Rainbow Bridge and one day for a float trip on the Colorado starting a Glen Canyon Dam. If there are not activities you want to do, Lake Powell, In my humble opinion, would be boring. But We LOVED the boat trip! The views are awesome.

This would be a very hard choice for me because I love Capitol Reef National Park, Highway 12 and I guess I'm in the minority because I also love Lake Powell. I just love the contrast of Lake Powells blue waters and the slick red rock cliffs.

If you were to spend a few days at Lake Powell it would only be worth it if you did either a boat trip to Rainbow Bridge or a Float trip on the Colorado River. You would want to include Antelope Slot Canyon tour and the short 3/4 mike hike out to Horseshoe Bend.

If you were to drive north you could do the Moki Dugway road, Goosenecks, & Natural Bridges. http://www.utahscanyoncountry.com/br...i%20Dugway.pdf Hwy 95 is known as the Bicentennial Highway. I love Capitol Reef. We have been spending a week or two there every year for the last several years. Hwy 12 has to be my favorite scenic drive of all times.

Yep...this would be a hard choice even for me but I think for your I'd lean towards Capitol Reef and Hwy 12.

Utahtea

I would not skip Monument Valley with kt's beautiful rock formarions.