danielc118

Hello all,

I have some questions about a section of my itinerary.

I have 3 nights in mid January and I want to see Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce.

My main interest is photography.

Driving out of Phoenix or Las Vegas, I am thinking

1) Drive to Grand Canyon South Rim. Stay at http://www.grandcanyonlodges.com/

2) Drive up to Zion 4.5 hrs, stay at http://www.zionlodge.com/

3) Day trip to Bryce 1.5 hrs each way, stay at Zion again

4) Drive back to Vegas from Zion, 3 hrs.



I know it's a short amount of time but it's all we have.

What will there be to actually do at these locations in mid winter? will hiking be an option? will we just drive to lookouts etc? I have no idea, mostly about Zion and Bryce.

We will do hiking for photographs, but not more than about 6 miles return.

Cheers,

Daniel

WhereAreWe

Bryce will be tricky as its the highest elevation so there probably won't be much hiking available. It's best at sunrise so you'll miss that if you just do a daytrip.

There will almost certainly be snow/ice on the trails at Bryce and Grand Canyon, although if you hike down into the canyon it should warm up and dry out. Going down the North Kaibab trail at least a mile will give you some great views of the Grand Canyon.

Personally with such a short amount of time I would either pick the Grand Canyon/Sedona area or Zion/Bryce but not try to do Grand Canyon/Zion/Bryce in just 3 days. You're wasting a lot of valuable daylight driving from one area to the other, and with short days in winter already you just won't see much with your current plan.

danielc118

that's such a hard choice...

I thought there were some great views along the drive from GC to Zion too? We don't mind driving, especially if there are great photo's to stop for!

so instead of the day trip to Bryce, maybe an overnight there would be better?

1 night GC

1 night Zion

1 night Bryce

Nelson

If you really want to see all three places then I'd vote for the overnight at Bryce option. Hiking could be limited, perhaps dangerously icy, but the views you can drive to are breathtaking.

The sun will be low in the sky all day which could help the photography. Also consider a tripod and night shots, stars and/or moon lit scenes.

Good luck.

(BTW WhereAreWe, I think the first time I saw your name on this forum it dyslexically stuck as WhereWeAre. I've probably typed that a few times. Sorry, Neslon.)

danielc118

Hey Nelson,

Thanks a lot for that, exactly what I was hoping to hear drive to views are the best in winter haha.

Dan

RVvagabond

Photography
Zion - Photographs from the valley bottom are not unique.
Have to go to the top and look down.
Most convienint is Angel's Landing. If you are carrying a box camera - tough climb.
Best view is Observation Point - snow is a fact. There are three trailheads. Enter from East end through the ranch if not snowed in.

Bryce in winter is an absolute photographers delight. My best (4x5 Fuji film) picture was at cold sunrise-repeat sunrise at Inspiration point in December. Snow settles on the top of the spires/hoodoos. Then the sun ligths the top while the bottom is still "sweet light" Excellent. Use a spot meter to insure your within zones.
Also drop down into the valley - Queens Garden area for more camera drama. Absolutely recommended this camera adventure. Need snow boots.

Because of Bryce's elevation and lack of city ligths, the Milky Way is vivid during the winter. Cedar Breaks is better, but it is closed during winter. North Point is a photographer's dream.

Rates should be reasonable at Ruby Inn which is next to the park. You can web search their site. Or stay at nearby Panguitch.

Grand Canyon - North (my favorite) is closed during winter. South Rim is open.


This cheap book on Zion/Bryce is worth the investment.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008TT5Q1M

IMHO - I'ms not a Sedona fan - expensive and touristy. Unless you want to medetiate in a vortex, I'd pass.
http://www.lovesedona.com/vortmap3.pdf

emalloy

I'd fly into Vegas. Usually you can get less expensive flights and much less expensive car rentals. Stay flexible and look for a flight that gets into Vegas before noon to get to one of the parks before dark.

We have always been lucky in the winter and had nice weather in Dec. and Feb. so that hiking at Grand Canyon was not icy. Snow is always a possibility so keep that in mind.

Bryce has always had snow on the trails when we were there in winter, but as mentioned, the views from the pullouts along the road are very nice.

Myer

If you do all three then check out the roads near Page as the road collapsed and there's a pretty long detour.

I don't know if that detour affects Horseshoe Bend along Rt 89 and just below Rt 98. 3/4 mile flat walk and then you look straight down. Fantastic views.

Bryce: stop at a few viewpoints, sunrise as Bryce Point, walk along the rim.

Depending upon the conditions you may or may not be able to walk down a little from Sunset Point. You'll know right away when you see it. Or you can ask at the ranger station.

Zion.
4000 ft lower than Bryce so a good chance for reasonable conditions.

If there isn't snow at the Canyon Overlook trailhead at the east entrance to Zion that gives you a nice view into the canyon at Zion.

Also, a walk along Riverside Walk (this leads to the Narrows) has spectacular scenery with the river and canyon walls up both sides.

I'm not a fan of GC so someone else will have to help there.

WhereAreWe

"I thought there were some great views along the drive from GC to Zion too? We don't mind driving, especially if there are great photo's to stop for!"

Well, my advice is based on a couple facts: 1) there's only 10 hours between sunrise/sunset in mid-January and 2) you're driving 5 hours to your destination on day 1 and day 2.

Basically you'll get to the Grand Canyon, have a little bit of time to walk around and then you'll need to get set up for sunset pics. You'll want to be up early for sunrise, take more pics for probably an hour or so afterwards at least, then leave for Zion. If you stop for photos along the way, allow at least an extra hour for that. So an hour post-sunrise at GC, 6 hour drive including photo ops put you in Zion with about 3 hours of daylight.

It slows down a bit after that when you go to Bryce because it's a relatively short drive, but essentially the first 2 days you're spending the majority of daylight in your car won't have a lot of time to actually see the parks. Whereas if you simply picked Zion/Bryce or Grand Canyon/Sedona you'd eliminate all that driving on day 2 and give yourself a chance to get out of your car and take as many photos as you want without rushing to the next place.

It's completely up to you, you'll find a lot of great photo ops anywhere you go.

J62

Driving from GC to Bryce or Zion the only photo ops are

1. Crossing the little Colorado river - nothing memorable in just a drive by.
2. Navajo bridge over the CO. Nice view 600' down to the river
3. Vermmillion cliffs. Pretty, but not unique & steep wall canyon below.

The rest of the time you are driving through flat high, northerner AZ & southern Utah desert.

J62

sorry - the steep wall canyon to the river below is at Navajo bridge...

With the Rt89 detour the drive from GC to Bryce or Zion takes about 5-6hrs. By end of the year the bypass road on the way to Page may be open, shortening the detour.

Antelope canyon near Page is famous for sunlight in the slot canyon shots.

emalloy

Daniel, If you do drive near Page on your way to/from GC, stop at Antelope Canyon for some very interesting photo ops. This will be good if it is sunny, although people say it is best at noon. If you want to see it in the afternoon you can look at some pictures I have at

www.flickr.com/photos/emalloy2009/sets

in the 2008 set.

danielc118

Gday guys much appreciated.

We have stolen a day from Miami to add to this area, as I think the photographs will be spectacular.

Thanks for the reminder Emmaloy, I knew it was in the area but totally forgot about it.

We are going to use the extra day to break up the GC --> Zion drive. Will head out to Monument valley for the night and do Antellope on the way up to Zion/Bryce.

Should add a couple of hours each to our time at those parks.

Dan

Myer

Make sure you go to Horseshoe Bend at the same time you go to Antelope Canyon.

They're only a few minutes from each other and best at the same time of day when the sun is high in the sky.