National parks tour nevada/utah.
 

Hi,
We are over from the uk and are landing in las vegas,planning to have one night there, then planning on driving around the Grand Circle.We have 12 nights and want to see as much as possible during this time.We want to stay in moab for 2-3 nights ,wanting to do a white water rafting trip,and possibly a jeep tour.We would also want to do the Grand Canyon.Any Help would be appreciated.

we spent 2 nights at the Adventure Inn in Moab last September and highly recommend it
http://www.adventureinnmoab.com/

owners are a young married couple with a lot of knowledge of the area and things to do

enjoy
wintkat

When is this trip?

A good source of information for national parks can be found at www.nps.gov. Click on the state(s) you want to visit. A list of parks & monuments in the state will come up, click on it. It offers a wealth of information and some photos. Most of the larger parks now charge $25 entrance fee. If you are planning on visiting a number of them your best bet is to get an America the Beautiful Pass. Cost $80 is good for a calendar year for entrance fees to federal lands for the car load.

Jackson Bridges is a guide & photographer I highly recommend & is based in Page, AZ. He has a 4x4 and can take you places far off the normal tourist trail. He can also get you into Antelope Canyon and another slot canyon, Canyon X at the best time for photos.

Be sure to drive Utah 12 which some call the most scenic highway in the country.

Remember you will be near 6000'-7,000' in elevation and will sun burn much sooner than at sea level. You will also dehydrate quicker. Drink even when you don't feel thirsty.

Highlights to see in the Southern Utah-Northern Arizona area would and probably should include:

Grand Canyon National Park (south rim is a little easier to access and you'll likely see more from there than the North Rim)

Zion National Park

Bryce Canyon National Park

Arches National Park

Monument Valley Tribal Park

Petrified Forest National Park

Agreed that rafting and a jeep tour are good things to do in Moab. Moab's also not far from a few parks I haven't seen, including Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Natural Bridges National Monument, which are supposedly worth a look.

Would strongly suggest consulting a travel book on the area to put together a good itinerary.

Hi lima,

This type of visit is a VERY popular one and is discussed extensively under the Utah section. If you sort by Utah, you will get many, many trip reports and variations on the "Circle".

Even with 12 days, you will have to make choices. You can't visit them all in that time.

For example, if you want to do a rafting trip and 4x4 trip (1/2 day for each) in Moab, that only leaves 1 other day for the 2 Natl Parks, Arches and Canyonlands. Even 1 full day for Arches isn't enough, even without long hikes.

Happy planning!

our trip starts the 2nd of june 2009 and ends the 16th.Thanks for your input.I need to decide what we want to see the most.

Do you have any certain interests? rafting, hiking, etc? Do you like to do adventurous things?

Day 1 Vegas
Day 2 and 3 Zion
Day 4 Bryce
Day 5 Hwy 12/Escalante
Day 6 Capitol Reef
Day 7 and 8 Arches
Day 9 Canyonlands
Day 10 Page/Canyon X or Antelope/Lake Powell
Day 11 Grand Canyon
Day 12 Grand Canyon or Vegas depending on when you flight departs on the 13th day

I would get lodging in the parks Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon. DO THIS NOW. I would also eat at least one meal in each lodge. On night 5 and 6, you will most likely want to stay in Torrey. There is several options there. Night 7,8,9 would be in Moab. Both Torrey and Moab have nice B&B's or other types of lodging. Day 10 stay in the Lodge on lake Powell. Day 11 on the North Rim of Grand Canyon.

I personally would not see Petrified Forest or Natural Bridges Monumnet. You simply don't have time and while these are great places, they are not what I consider the best. I feel the same way about Monument Valley.

Top things to consider:
Zion- hiking Angels Landing, The Narrows, several other hikes, see Checkerboard Mesa
Bryce- hike Gueens Garden/Navajo Loop trail. the horse riding looks interesting to me at Bryce
Hwy 12- scenic, consider hiking to Calf Creek Falls
Capitol Reef- there is a variety of hikes to be done here
Arches- hike to Delicate Arch, Balanced Rock, Double Arch, hike to Landscape Arch
Canyonlands- Mesa Arch, consider driving to Dead Horse Point State Park for a scenic overlook
While in Moab you could do a jeep tour or raft tour
Lake Powell- take boat tour to Rainbow Bridge
Grand Canyon- hike along rim, hike into rim at least a short distance,
scenic overlooks

Most people think of the Grand Canyon as "the place to see". While this may be true, unless you are really hiking down into the canyon, it can be done in a day fairly easily. The north rim would be easier for you to reach than the south rim. Most people visit the south. You will get different responses when asking someone which side is the best. If I were to cut anything from the above, it would be Capitol Reef and/or Lake Powell. In Page, Canyon X or Antelope Canyon are slot Canyons.
If you are adventurous, a must is canyoneering. I can tell you more about this if you are interested.