I'm planning a late Sept.- early Oct. trip around the national parks in southern Utah and am looking for advice on the number of days to spend in each place or whether I should add a destination . For background, my wife and I are interested in light-moderate hikes, scenic drives and tons of photography.

Here's what we're thinking so far.

Day 1 - fly into LV
Day 2 - drive to Zion (stay in Springdale)
Day 3 - full day at Zion
Day 4 - Drive to Grand Canyon North Rim for a few hours, then back to Page/Lake Powell for the night
Day 5 - Drive from Page to Moab (via Monument Valley, Mexican Hat)
Day 6 - full day Arches NP (Moab)
Day 7 - full day Canyonlands (Moab)
Day 8 - Drive from Moab to Bryce (via Capitol Reef, Rt. 12)
Day 9 - full day Bryce
Day 10 - drive back to Vegas
Day 11 - free day anywhere ... preferably not Vegas
Day 12 - fly home from Vegas

As you can see, I have an extra day built in (that can be put anywhere in the above itinerary).

*Should I add a trip to Mesa Verde (could do it from Page and stay a night there)?

*Should I add a night in Moab, Zion, or Bryce?

*My wife and I have been to the Grand Canyon Southern Rim... should we cut out the Northern Rim trip and add another day somewhere else?

*Is it worth spending more than a few hours in Capitol Reef? (i.e. should I spend a night near Capitol Reef?)

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated. I've already read a ton of great suggestions from this forum, so thanks!

I would not add Mesa Verde. It really needs one full day (two nights) to really see the park and a second day would even be better. I would make it another trip that included the Millon Dollar Highway 550 between Durango and Ouray.

I would put that extra night at Torrey so you could have some time at Capitol Reef and you could spend a little longer on the morning of Day 8 in the Moab area. Potash Road and Hwy 128 to Fisher Towers are both scenic drives. It will also give you more time on scenic Hwy 12 on the next day.

Capitol Reef really is a unknown jewel of the Utah National Park system. The Grand Wash and Capitol Gorge are easy hikes in the canyons. The scenic drive is a great place to get wonderful pictures.

What do you plan to do in Page/Lake Powell? If you want to do a boat tour or float trip, then I would skip the N. Rim. I highly recommend both. If you just want to see the lake from the shore, then you might find it interesting to see the Grand Canyon from the N. Rim.

Utahtea

Hi Boston,

I agree with Utahtea's advice. You are going to want more time at all your destinations, especially if you like photography and hiking!

Since you have already been to the GC before, I would skip the north rim this trip.

I would fly into and leave LV immediately for Springdale and Zion, giving you more time there.

I would defintely not add Mesa Verde on this trip. I would spend your extra night at Torrey for Capitol Reef, or at Boulder for Escalante. Both are wonderful at that time of year.

Have fun!

My husband and I did a similar trip last year. We Flew into Las Vegas and then went on too Bryce and Zion.One full day for each of these parks is enough if you don't plan on doing a lot of hiking.
In Bryce we took a tour in the morning and then did some hikes in the afternoon. Went back at night too watch the sunset. Great picture opportunity.

We also did the north rim of the grand canyon. Having been to both the south and north rim, I would recommend skipping it. It is a long drive. Once you get their the trails are not as develped as the South Rim.We also found that view was not as spectacular as the south rim. You would only have a couple hours too spend before heading back too Lake Powell.

I would recommend staying an extra day at Lake Powell and taking a cruise on the river. Great photo opportunities. We took the Rainbow bridge tour.

http://www.nps.gov/rabr/

We stayed at WAHWEAP LODGE. Excellent location. The view from the dining room is fantastic.

I would also add Antelope Canyon to your tour it is right outside of Page Arizona. It is awe inspiring and again great photo opportunities.It will take about three hour too take this tour.

This is the link too the website of the tour we took. Take a look at the pictures on the website. http://www.antelopecanyon.com/
http://www.antelopecanyon.com/photos.html

I hope this helps.

Hi BostonJay -
I did part of your trip this past spring (1st time to Utah) - flew into Vegas, Zion 2 nights, Bryce 2 nights, Escalante 1 night and Capitol Reef 2 nights. I am an avid amateur photographer and hiker and of the 4 places in So. Utah that I went to, each was SO unique for photography. There is just no way that you will not enjoy it whatever you end up doing. I think my favorite area was on Hwy 9 after Zion's East entrance going towards Bryce (near Checkerboard Mesa). From your itinerary it sounds like you will be doing a lot of driving! I only went for 7 days and that was definitely not enough to see even those 3 parks and Escalante (a gem in it's own right). Don't underestimate the amount of time you will spend stopping to shoot photos at every turn of the road! Capitol Reef is well worth a full day in my opinion and if you like moderate hiking (and don't mind some elevation gain), I highly recommend the Cassidy Arch trail. If you have the time, drive partway up the Burr Trail Road (I think 20-30 miles one way?) - it is spectacular when you come out of the rock canyon and the Waterpocket Fold opens up right in front of you. For a photo-worthy hike at Zion, do the Observation Pt trail at least until you get to Echo Canyon. This was recommended by a local (we hadn't even considered it before that) and we were so happy that we ended up doing that trail. You will have a great time even if you only see 1/3 of what's on your itinerary! Good luck and go Sox!

Wow, great responses! Sounds like we might skip the North Rim and make more time for Lake Powell (which we were just going to make a quick overnight stop at initially) and Capitol Reef.
Thanks!!

BostonJay-
Last year we did a 12 day trip - flew into LV, 2 nights at Zion, skipped Bryce since we had been there the previous year, 2 nights in Boulder (Grand Staircase Escalante), 2 nights in Torrey (Capitol Reef), 3 nights in Moab (never enough), and 2 nights at the North Rim. It was a great trip and we never felt rushed. Did lots of hiking, backroad driving (rented a 4wd), and took tons of photos. Don't miss Capitol Reef. We really love Hell's Backbone Grill in Boulder - an amazing restaurant run by some amazing folks! We loved the North Rim but you should skip it for this trip. The drive in is very long for just a peek. The previous year, we stayed at the Valley of the Gods B&B near Mexican Hat. What a special place! It's the only dwelling on over 300,000 acres! And the view is just remarkable! No matter what you do, I know you will be back. We've gone the past 2 years and are desperately resisting the urge to go again this fall. Instead we're heading to Colorado/N Mexico but I'm sure we'll be back in Utah very soon. If you want to check out some pictures (my husband is a pretty good photographer), go to www.pbase.com/peterb and then scroll down til you see the Utah galleries.

Sharondi -

Incredible pictures!! The blue color of the sky came out great. Polarizing lens? Photoshop? (The reason I ask is I'm thinking I'm probably going to have to get a polarizer for my new lens for this trip).

Thanks also for the Mexican Hat tip!

BostonJay,
Yes we do use a polarizing filter. Although sometimes the sky is just that blue! Amazing! A few other suggestions - in Moab, we like staying somewhere in town so we can walk to dinner, etc. Last year, we stayed at a Microtel which was just fine and a good value for a jr suite. We also had a great meal at a place in a grove of trees at the edge of town - I think it was called Valentina's or something. Arches is one of my favorite parks. We did a great hike to Tower Arch. Delicate Arch is awesome but we prefer less popular hikes. Delicate Arch always draws a crowd. Tower Arch we saw no one. If you stay in Torrey, be sure to have dinner at Cafe Diablo. Excellent food!

BostonJay....I'm sharondi's husband.

You MUST get a polarizing filter for your trip. It really can bring out the deep blue of the sky which the camera will have trouble with considering how bright it is. Having said that, be careful not to "overuse" the polarizing filter...sometimes it makes the sky seem artificially dark. As Sharon said though...sometimes the sky really is that rich blue even without a polarizing filter...a lot of it has to do with the time of day.

Make sure you have plenty of memory (or film). I seem to average about 50 to 75 shots a day. Have a great trip...you're going to a photographer's wonderland!

Just finalizing the itinerary and looking for some more comments/suggestions.

Here's what I'm thinking...
(...) denotes night lodging


1 - fly to Vegas (Vegas)
2 - drive to Springdale/Zion (Springdale)
3 - full day Zion (Springdale)
4 - drive to Mon Valley, via Page/Lake Powell for lunch (Mon. Valley)
5 - Mon Valley tour in the morning, drive to Moab (Moab)
6 - Arches (Moab)
7 - Canyonlands (Moab)
8 - drive to Torrey/ spend afternoon at Capitol Reef (Torrey)
9 - Capitol Reef in the morning, if desired / drive to Bryce via scenic rt. 12 (Tropic or Ruby’s Inn)
10 - full day Bryce (Tropic or Ruby’s Inn)
11 - drive to Vegas (Vegas)
12 - fly home


I cut Grand Canyon North Rim, and limited our time in Lake Powell. We're still going to stop in Page/Lake Powell on the way to Monument Valley, but we won't do a boat trip... just lunch from the shore. I also couldn't devote an uninterrupted, full day at Capitol Reef, but I left it so we get at least an afternoon and a morning there.

One question I have is how long are Monument Valley tours? Is it better to do them at night or in the morning? Where's the best place to stay in Monument Valley? That Valley of the Gods B&B near Mexican Hat sounds great, but I'm not sure it will fit with our plans.

Any thoughts?

Thanks again for all previous advice!

-J

We love the seclusion and beauty of Valley of the Gods better than Monument Valley. I think most people recommend Gouldings at Monument Valley. Valley of the Gods is only about an hour from Monument Valley. You can actually see Monument Valley from the B&B in Valley of the Gods. We drove to Monument Valley for sunset while we were at the B&B.

BostonJay,

Your itinerary looks GREAT!

shardoni,

I prefer the scenic beauty of Monument Valley over the Valley of the Gods. I guess we all have our preferences

Utahtea

BostonJay,

MUCH improved itinerary! You will enjoy the time you have in Capitol Reef.

Have fun - and drink LOTS of water.