South West Road Trip - should we wait til after Labor Day?
 

Hi all,
We'll be travelling from the UK in September for 2 weeks to include a short stay in Vegas, followed by a road trip round the SW National Parks.

Our preferred arrival date is September 5th, however we could push this back a week to 12th instead and I'm wondering if we should as I gather Labor Day is on the 7th this year. Being a Brit, I'm afraid I have no concept as to what impact Labor Day might have on our trip! If we were there around Labor Day would there be more crowds and higher hotel prices? Will the schools still be out for summer until later that week?

Any advice welcome! Many thanks.

If you can, avoid the holiday weekend. Prices will be higher for hotels, there will be bigger crowds, and the later in September you get, the cooler it will be. Kids will be back in school after labor day, some start in late August. There are several strands here on this kind of trip, but I would start at www.nps.gov and click on the areas you are interested in visiting. There are good suggestions for things to do/see in all the parks as well as information on weather conditions and accommodations.

Great - thanks very much for your response and suggestions of where to start planning.

If we can, I think we'll hold off until a week later to miss the holiday crowds.

Thanks again.

If you are interested in see the fall color you might want to consider holding off even longer. The cottonwoods in the Utah canyons including Zion National park usually are close to prime the last week of October. The aspens and maples will turn several weeks earlier.

Might want to consider getting an America the Beautiful pass at your first stop at a federal area (park, monument, BLM, Forest Service). Pass costs $80 is good for a calendar year for entrance fees to all federal areas which charge admission. Good for up to four people. For additional info check out http://store.usgs.gov/pass/

Hi Photodog,
Late Ocotber sounds great but we can't go then so the weekend after Labor Day it is! However, thanks very much for your recommendation of getting the pass - sounds like a great idea as we plan on visiting as many parks as we can. I'm assuming that the major sites in the area are federally operated therefore this pass would give access to them all (eg Zion, Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon, Monument Valley etc)?
Thanks

Actually the Sunday of that weekend is a great day to fly as most people traveling are moving around on Fri, Sat and Monday. Sunday is quiet at the airports , and because of the current economy, rooms will not be as expensive as prior years and there won't be a 3-night-holiday-minimum.
You won't want to hit the roads until Tuesday after 10am however, Monday and early Tues will be a mess of holiday traffic.
Rooms at Hilton Doubletree are only $69 on Sun and Mon that week, so if you plan to spend a couple of nights in Vegas anyway, don't move weekends just for fear of overcrowding, it'll be great. HOT, but great. It's not fare from the airport, and the hotel has airport pickup service (rare in Las Vegas) as well as a shuttle to the strip, so those first couple of days you won't have to worry about hiring a car and driving.

Thanks - we're now committed to arriving in Vegas on 12th Sept though, so hopefully we'll miss much of the crowds. The plan is to spend 2-3 nights there then rent our car. Now we're just trying to decide whether to go towards the Grand Canyon or zion first!

Anyone have any suggestions on whether to do the grand circle clockwise or anti-clockwise?! Thanks!

quiUK,

Good decision to wait until after Labor Day week. Sept is still peak season for the Utah Natl Parks mainly for weather reasons.

Also, don't expect hotel rates to be any less. Utah is one of the very few states in the US where tourism is actually UP right now.

Many people within UT and surrounding states go for long weekends in the fall. Make your reservations now!

The week leading up to and the week after Labor Day are the quietest in the National Parks. This is information we've gotten from employees of several parks. American families are done with vacation (holiday to you ;>)by then and are sticking close to home. Foriegn tourists generally stay away to avoid the Labor Day crowds (that don't actually exist).

The parks will still be busy but not as busy as it is before the kids go back to school.

As to clockwise or counter, if you are going to wing it for lodging, look at the weather for the time you will be traveling and pick the direction with the best forecasts. I've done it both ways and it is a spectacular ride no matter which way you go.

QuiUK the pass doesn't cover Monument Valley - that is operated by the Navajo nation not the NPS. Whilst you are in that area try and get to the Goosenecks State park too.
We've been to the US a couple of times around Labor day and have never had a problem finding places to stay nor found it particularly crowded.

Push to the 12th....no question

Less people, traffic, waiting, etc....

Try to include Arches and Canyonland National Parks -- must sees!

If you start with visiting Zion, you might consider going to the NORTH rim of Grand Canyon first, as it's not far from Zion. It gets one-third the amount of tourists than the south, (because it's more remote) is every bit as spectacular as the south. Hotels in Zion, Bryce, North Rim and South Rim are run by Xanterra.com. They book up fast, but if you are persistent and call back, we have found cancellations opening up so we could stay there instead of outside the parks...makes it more convenient to al the sites.