So. Utah in 7 days
Dec 13th, 2004 | 04:21 PM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: Nov 2004
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So. Utah in 7 days
My wife and I along with our 3 children (15, 12, 8) are flying into Vegas and have 7 days to drive to Salt Lake in late June/ early July to meet up with some family. Can you recommend an itinerery that would cover the most attractions without it being a rat race. We would like to incorporate a canyon horseback ride and a half day of river rafting.
Dec 13th, 2004 | 04:47 PM
#3
Joined: Jan 2003
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Day 1 Drive 160 miles (3 hours) from Las Vegas to Zion National Park. Zion has horseback rides.
Day 2 Enjoy Zion. Hike some trails, rent intertubes in Springdale, Utah to tube down the Virgin River. This is a lot of fun for kids and adults and very scenic!
Day 3 Drive 120 miles (2 1/2 hours) to Lake Powell (Glen Canyon National Recreation Area) Page, AZ. Take the tour of Upper Antelope Slots Canyon and or take the Horseshoe Bend Hike.
Day 4 Take the half day float trip down the Colorado River. This is not a white water trip. The only place I know to take a half day white water trip in Utah is in Moab, Utah and it's kind of a long out of the way distance from Las Vegas to Moab to SLC. You can spend another night in Page or if you don't think you will be rushed, take the drive to Bryce.
Day 5 Drive the 155 miles (3 1/2 hours) to Bryce (via Kanab) Explore some of the park. There are horseback rides in Bryce but to ride in the park you have to reserve thought the park concession.
Day 6 Spend the morning in Bryce and then drive the 122 miles (3 1/2 hours of just driving, but plan on some stops) on scenic Hwy 12 to Torrey, Utah
Day 7 Take a tour of Capitol Reef before driving the 215 miles (4 1/2 hours to Salt Lake City.
Utahtea
Day 2 Enjoy Zion. Hike some trails, rent intertubes in Springdale, Utah to tube down the Virgin River. This is a lot of fun for kids and adults and very scenic!
Day 3 Drive 120 miles (2 1/2 hours) to Lake Powell (Glen Canyon National Recreation Area) Page, AZ. Take the tour of Upper Antelope Slots Canyon and or take the Horseshoe Bend Hike.
Day 4 Take the half day float trip down the Colorado River. This is not a white water trip. The only place I know to take a half day white water trip in Utah is in Moab, Utah and it's kind of a long out of the way distance from Las Vegas to Moab to SLC. You can spend another night in Page or if you don't think you will be rushed, take the drive to Bryce.
Day 5 Drive the 155 miles (3 1/2 hours) to Bryce (via Kanab) Explore some of the park. There are horseback rides in Bryce but to ride in the park you have to reserve thought the park concession.
Day 6 Spend the morning in Bryce and then drive the 122 miles (3 1/2 hours of just driving, but plan on some stops) on scenic Hwy 12 to Torrey, Utah
Day 7 Take a tour of Capitol Reef before driving the 215 miles (4 1/2 hours to Salt Lake City.
Utahtea
Dec 13th, 2004 | 06:35 PM
#4
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 6,019
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I think a good combination that would soak up your 7 days very quickly would be this:
North Rim of the Grand Canyon (1 night),
Zion with a stop at Pipe Spring National Monument (2 nights), trip to Bryce via Cedar Breaks along Utah route 143 to Panguitch. (See Diamond Head and the volcanic rocks enroute.) Stay at Bryce 2 nights. Drive Utah 12 to Capitol Reef. Visit Capitol Reef (2 nights)
That east up your 7 days real quick.
A lot of this depends on what you like to do. If you are hikers at all, there are many short hikes that will interest everyone.
I do think that the a knowledge of the geology of the region is very helpful in understanding what these spectacular parks are all about.
Let me add a sentence or two to Utah 12. Much of the route traverses the surface of the Navajo Sandstone formation. It is a spectacular drive.
If the weather is good, I suggest a detour to Kodachrome Arch. The road is dirt, but I drove it without problems in a regular car. No special tires or anything. If rain is threatening, then I would not go.
Utah 12 itself is paved all the way.
There is a nice Utah state park that has a wonderful exhibition of pottery. It is small, but very well laid out.
Both Zion, Bryce and Capitol Reef have great visitor centers with plenty to see. The one at Bryce is fairly new. I have not seen it since it was finished.
North Rim of the Grand Canyon (1 night),
Zion with a stop at Pipe Spring National Monument (2 nights), trip to Bryce via Cedar Breaks along Utah route 143 to Panguitch. (See Diamond Head and the volcanic rocks enroute.) Stay at Bryce 2 nights. Drive Utah 12 to Capitol Reef. Visit Capitol Reef (2 nights)
That east up your 7 days real quick.
A lot of this depends on what you like to do. If you are hikers at all, there are many short hikes that will interest everyone.
I do think that the a knowledge of the geology of the region is very helpful in understanding what these spectacular parks are all about.
Let me add a sentence or two to Utah 12. Much of the route traverses the surface of the Navajo Sandstone formation. It is a spectacular drive.
If the weather is good, I suggest a detour to Kodachrome Arch. The road is dirt, but I drove it without problems in a regular car. No special tires or anything. If rain is threatening, then I would not go.
Utah 12 itself is paved all the way.
There is a nice Utah state park that has a wonderful exhibition of pottery. It is small, but very well laid out.
Both Zion, Bryce and Capitol Reef have great visitor centers with plenty to see. The one at Bryce is fairly new. I have not seen it since it was finished.
Dec 14th, 2004 | 02:14 AM
#5
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 3,790
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I cannot say enough about the half a day horse back ride through Bryce Canyon. We loved it!!!
Make sure you get some water shoes so that you can walk a little (or a lot) into the Narrows in Zion. This was another vacation highlight, even for my daughter the non-hiker.
Make sure you get some water shoes so that you can walk a little (or a lot) into the Narrows in Zion. This was another vacation highlight, even for my daughter the non-hiker.
