Southwest Driving Times/Distances
 

We are heading off to Utah shortly and I have been reading the various posts about visiting Utah's national parks, but everyone seems to be starting and finishing their journeys in Las Vegas.

We are flying in and out of Phoenix (hubby is attending a conference in Scottsdale in our second week) and I was wondering about Distances and Times for the 2 monster journeys we have between Scottsdale and Zion and returning from Moab to Scottsdale. A day has been scheduled for each. Has anyone done these trips, how gruesome are they and can you recommend any good stop offs?

It's roughly 5 hours to Vegas from PHX area, if you go 60/89 northwest out of PHX. Turns into 93, then goes through Kingman. We went to Zion last year from Vegas, and I think it took us about 2-3 hours to get there. I'm thinking it would be a killer couple of days!!! St. George, UT is kind of a cool little town. So is Mesquite, NV. I'd try to do it in 3 days-minimum!! You won't have much time to spend in the NP's if you don't-all your time will be spent driving!!!

Thanks for coming back to me. Sorry, I don't think I made myself very clear!

We are flying into Phoenix, staying overnight and then heading up to Zion the following day. We then have 2 nights at Zion, 2 at Bryce and 3 in Moab before returning to Scottsdale. So my concern is about the journey from Phoenix to Zion and then 7 days later from Moab to Scottsdale.

Phoenix-Zion is not so bad as the crow flies, but you've got a pretty big hole in the way, forcing you to go around. The way through Vegas listed by tommyd is one way to go, and will probably take around 7-8 hours. A roughly equidistant route is I-17 N to Flagstaff, then picking up Route 89 N. Just before Page, AZ take Route 89A W to Fredonia. You can then rejoin 89 and take it the rest of the way into Zion. The total drive time should not
differ much for either route.

I recommend the I-17, Rte 89 route because it is much more scenic than the Las Vegas route. Another thing to consider is the Hoover Dam. It is a gigantic constuction site right now on the AZ side (A bypass bridge is being erected) and that coupled with already heavy traffic means it can take an hour or more to cross it if you are unlucky. Also if you hit Las Vegas at rush hour this can be inconvenient (My advice: If you do not care about seeing LV this trip, bypass it).

If you decide to go the way I've suggested make sure you have a full tank (And stomach) before leaving Flagstaff as there won't be much between here and Fredonia/Kanab.

I've never driven Moab/Phoenix in one day myself, but I'd make an educated guess that this would be about 10 hours. Perhaps someone else can help you with this. Enjoy your trip.

Many thanks for your advice Bonesaz. I think we will avoid Las Vegas and opt for the scenic route, it is after all our reason for flying 5,000 miles!

Is there a particular reason for recommending the Fredonia route rather than via Page?

We love this area and so were thrilled that the conference in Scottsdale afforded us the opporunity to visit again. We have explored most of Arizona so are delighted to be visiting the Utah National Parks this time around, even though we have these monster journeys to accomodate this!

Fran, even though one route is more scenic than the other (Flagstaff is beautiful), both drives are, for the msot part, excruciatingly dull.

Have you considered taking a short flight to Utah instead of driving? I believe Delta/Skywest flies from Phoenix into St. George, which is less than 50 miles from Zion. Rent one car for Zion, Bryce and Moab and then fly back to Scottsdale.

It would save a lot of time and driving, and would give you more time to spend in the parks.

Thanks for your suggestions fdecarlo. I have checked the airlines and unfortunately there don't appear to be any direct flights and after an 11 hour flight, the prospect of further changes does not appeal. But yes, it would have made sense.

I appreciate that these 2 long journeys may be dull, but coming from London, we don't normally see space or scenery on this magnitude so driving this kind of distance (occasionally!) is quite a novelty.

I personally prefer the route though Page, AZ. I think it's more scenic but then I live in California and spend a lot of time in the mountains. Mileage is about the same but on Alt 89 you can get stuck behind a slow moving RV on the windy road and that can cost you time.

Moab to Scottsdale is about 475 miles and is do able but you will want to leave Moab early so you can spend a little time at Monument Valley as you drive though.

When you leave Bryce, make sure you take Scenic Hwy 12 to Torrey, Utah on your way to Moab.

Utahtea

Thanks Utahtea, I had hoped that I would hear from you. We have visited Monument Valley a couple of times before, so we may not stop for too long but you can never tire of looking at the Mittens. Inevitably, we will use up another roll of film there!

I saw your advice on previous threads to travel via Torrey from Bryce to Moab so have already factored that into our trip. We have 3 nights, and probably only 2 whole days at Moab, how do you think our time would be best spent? We are keen to hike at both Arches and Canyonlands.