We are starting to plan a trip to the Southwest, and are looking for some suggestions and advice. We have the Grand Canyon as a 'must do', but beyond that are looking for ideas. We enjoy hiking and the outdoors, so Bryce and Zion sound great. We might also be interested in a day or two in Santa Fe. We would probably fly into Phoenix. Any suggestions for a 9 day trip of the Southwest, starting at the Grand Canyon? Is early October or late May a better time? We would probably rent a car in Phoenix, and plan on doing a fair amount of driving, but don't want to spend the whole trip driving.

Fly into ONE city and return from another. This qualifies as a round trip ticket. No backtracking. Check the one-way rental car rates to and from Phoenix as sometimes it may be cheaper LEAVING a car in Phoenix than returning it to Phoenix. Avis and National probably have the best one-way car rates.

Arches National Park in Moab, UT is one of my favorite parks. The walk to Delicate Arch is awesome and the ranger-led hike to Fiery Furnace was wonderful. Each arch was unique and the walks to them were of varying lengths.

If you started in Phx and ended in Santa FE and was prepared to do lots of driving and not spending more than one day in any given place you could follow this route:
South Rim, Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches, Monument Valley, Mesa Verde and Santa Fe. Approximate mileagew between places:
Phx - Gr, Canyon - 230 miles
Gr. Canyon - Zion - 240 miles
Zion -Bryce - 75 miles
Bryce - Arches - 275 miles (pass through Capitol Reef)
Arches - Monument Valley - 150
Monument Valley - Mesa Verde - 140
Mesa Verde- Santa FE - 300 going through Durango
Mileage estimates are from maps.yahoo.com

Both late May and early October are good times. You can never count on the weather

You're going to be doing a lot of driving if you want to go to the Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion and Santa Fe. I figure about 1700 miles.

I suggest dropping Santa Fe and going to Moab via scenic Hwy 12 and Capitol Reef National Park. In Moab you have Arches and Canyonlands and return via Mounument Valley. Even this trip is going to have you moving a lot in 9 days.

Phoenix to S. Rim GC 230 miles

S. Rim GC via Lake Powell to Zion 255 miles

Zion to Bryce about 90 miles

Bryce via Hwy 12 to Capitol Reef National park 120 miles

Capitol Reef to Moab (Arches & Canyonlands) 145 miles

Moab to Monument Valley 145 miles

Monument Valley to Phoneix is 320 miles

If you're not up to doing that much moving around then just spend more time at the Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion and take an all day boat trip on Lake Powell.

There are so many different hikes to do in Bryce and Zion. We spend a weeks time in Zion when ever we can and don't get bored.

Utahtea

One warning: It sounds as if you're planning to land in PHX and drive straight to the GC. That's a fairly hefty drive after a long plane ride. You might consider booking a room for one night in Sedona, on the way to the GC.

Please be sure to add Sedona AZ to your itinerary. You could fly into PHX spend a day or two in Sedona, then Grand Caynon, then stop at Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam, then onto Zion and next to Bryce (or vice versa). Fly home from Vegas. Great trip! Wish I were going with you!!!

Zootsi:
Here's another vote for including Moab in your plan.
Compare the airfares of Salt Lake City, Vegas, Phoenix. Once you determine your flight destination, you can plan your route.
We flew into Salt Lake. We had planned on driving immediately to Moab (4 hour drive) since our flight was due to arrive in SLC at 11:30 a.m. Our flight ended up being 8 hours late w/lost luggage to boot! So, just a word of caution about planning too much for day one. You just never know about your flight!
If you should include Moab, Dead Horse Point St Park is also wonderful. Great trails and close up views of the Colorado river and potash station. We loved Dead Horse. We were in Moab for 3 days, could've stayed an entire week! Also, the north rim of the Grand Canyon is spectacular. Stay in a cabin if you can.
You will love Zion & Bryce also! Read all that you can from this site. It helped us to plan a great trip. Tricia