LV, Sedona, GC, Bryce, Zion
 

Thanks for the help the last few weeks in our trip planning. Our trip is pretty well set. I have a couple of questions - we're planning on leaving LV and going to Sedona and doing a hummer tour, then on to GC for two nights, then leave GC and either head to Lake Powell or to Bryce and then to Zion for 3 nights. We were planning on just spending the day that we leave GC at either Bryce or Lake Powell. What are the distances from GC to Lake Powell and Bryce? Should I take one of the nights we were going to spend at Zion and stay at Lake Powell and then on to Bryce the next day? From Zion we head back to LV and then fly home. We'll also do the Hoover Damn and maybe Valley of Fire somewhere along the way. We don't want to kill ourselves, but we also want to enjoy ourselves. We'll be doing hiking wherever we go. We leave Mass. on April 13th - can't wait!!!

Hi hockeymom,

It is 140 miles from the S. Rim Grand Canyon visitor center to Page, AZ (Glen Canyon National Recreational Area - Lake Powell). Driving time is about 3 hours, but plan on longer because there are some really good scenic overlooks as you exit the park on Hwy 64 towards Cameron, AZ.

If you want to do a short tour boat ride on Lake Powell and/or see the Antelope slots canyon nearby and/or hike Horseshoe Bend, and/or to a float trip on the Colorado River, then spend a night in Page. If you just want to see the lake, you will have time to move on to Bryce. You could even squeeze in the slots canyon tour or Horseshoe Bend hike and still have time to get to Bryce...but it might be pushing it.

From Page, AZ to Bryce Canyon National Park Visitor Center is 155 miles and will take a little over 3 hours to drive. Many map programs will take you on Cottonwood Road, but that is a dirt road and even though it's a lot shorter, it will probably take as long to drive, so stay on Hwy 89 and Hwy 12 to get to Bryce.

It's always hard to know if people will prefer Bryce or Zion. You might consider taking one night from Zion and staying at both Page and Bryce. If you do that, you can leave Bryce early in the morning for Zion which is only 86 miles.

Valley of Fire is nice, but it's just a state park and the National Parks have more to offer. I'd say stay a little longer in Zion and do another hike the morning you were planning on leaving and save Valley of Fire for another visit.

Utahtea

Since I see you are also from Massachusetts and we did a similar trip last summer (although did not do "loop" but then headed to San Diego), let me offer a couple of other observations. We also spent a day at Lake Powell and it was either too long or too short - not long enough to plan a water trip or some other activity, but too long to just see local sights. Pick Bryce.

We faced driving culture shock in this part of the country. We are accustomed to driving considerable distances on vacations, and found this trip much more difficult to estimate driving time from mileage. In some places road was so long and flat (especially through parts of AZ you will not be seeing) that you could eat up major mileage half in your sleep - especially since scenery was grey and boring. However, the drive from LV to Southern UT to GC was not the same - much of it is on roads that wind and turn and you are either slowed by incredible scenery or some guy in a 30 year old pickup truck going 30 mph.

We loved Bryce - especially being able to see both sunrise and sunset - including big animals wandering the park at these times. Hiking down among the hoodoos was a highlight.

Thanks for the replies. i think I will stay one less night at Zion and either stay at Lake Powell or Bryce to have time to experience both.

hockeymom- we're also from Mass! Go to the Hoover Dam website - they have coupons you can print out - it's only a small amount, but every little bit helps. The tour is about 1 hour and is very worthwhile - get there early! I also recommend Bryce - it's like nothing else! Plan to do the Queen's Garden/Navajo Loop trail. At Zion we hiked the emerald pools in the evening and the Riverside walk in AM - even saw a rattlesnake! These hikes really help you experience the parks, rather than just see them. We did not go to Lake Powell, so I have no comment there. Depending on children's ages, the Nat. Parks have Jr. Ranger programs where kids earn badges - my 8 yr old earned 10 of them and wore them on his hat - he received lots of compliments!!
I also agree with Gail about driving out west - it's a different world then NE!

Thanks for all the info. Now I have a question - for doing some easy to moderate hiking, will we need hiking boots or would good sneakers be okay. We're not going to do more than a couple of hours a day and I hate to take up a lot of packing space w/boots. I had read a post before that sneakers would be fine - just want to make sure.

When people say sneaker I never really know what they have. Here is the shoe I wear:

http://www.shoebuy.com/sb/s.jsp?Style=27727

I've hike everywhere in my reebok walking shoes with out any problems.

Utahtea

Thanks for the reply. We all wear Reeboks walking or Addidas Cross training, so we should be all set. I did search "hiking boots" after I posted this last night, so I read all of that information, too.
14 days and counting!!

My son hiked at Grand Canyon and Bryce in cross-trainer type sneakers (like he wears for running cross-country) and said they were fine. These areas are all popular enough that you are generally hiking on well-worn paths.