carolv

I am in the early planning stage for a family trip out west next summer with our 2 teenagers. We plan to fly into Las Vegas and spend one night (just to walk around and check out the strip), and then spend two nights at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, 2 nights at Bryce and 2 nights at Zion.

Because we are going to the North Rim, would Hoover Dam be a practical detour? (I can't tell how long a drive that would be from Las Vegas). Would we be best going straight from park to park (I already booked lodging within the parks) or would there be any interesting stops along the way? Would Lake Mead be a reasonable detour? (to cool off). We will have a full day at each park to do some hiking.

As far as planning the return flight, is it about 2 hours from Zion back to the Las Vegas airport?

It's hard to get a sense of driving times (traffic etc. - especially around Hoover Dam) and any input would be appreciated. Thanks!

maw

First off, do a search in this forum for any/all of your destinations and questions. Be ready to take notes--there is a TON of southwest US trip info, much of it very recent...all the threads from the past year or so were SO helpful for our trip this past June.
I'm short on time right now but did want to mention researching this forum AND be sure to allow *plenty* of time to catch your return flight..we ran into some bad traffic getting into Vegas with road construction, plus returning the rental car, it was rather stressful worrying if we were going to make our flight or not.
..hope to post more later

carolv

Thanks MAW. Yes, I did some searching, but most of the loops involving Hoover Dam involved the South Rim, so I couldn't tell if that was practical for us. I know I will have questions as I continue to read through the threads.

placeu2

I think that Hoover Dam is terrific. I would stop there if practical and it is about 30 mins. from Vegas.

My additional advice would be that one night in Bryce is sufficient. I would add my additonal night to Zion.

I did this trip with my family (2 teenagers) 3 years ago.

starrsville

Fly into Phoenix.

utahtea

Your plan looks good for the national parks. Two nights at each place gives you one full day to enjoy each park, especially if your teenagers like to hike.

Unless you can add more days to your trip, I wouldn't add anything more. If you could possibly add 2 more nights then I'd say go to Lake Powell instead of Lake Mead. I'd spend at least two nights and treat the teens to either a float trip on the Colorado River or boat tour on Lake Powell. My 17 year old nephew thought the float trip was the highlight of the 2 week trip we took in this area.

It's more like 3 hours from Zion to Las Vegas airport....believe it or not...Las Vegas gets commute traffic and the airport is at the other end of town from Zion.

Dohlice

Definitely do not take a day off of Bryce. I visited Lake Powell and really liked it, but I think you would need a day to take a boat trip to really see anything.

Slowmoving

Skip Hoover Dam

At Bryce - hike the main tourist spots. - if you want a horse/mule trip , this is the place - book it at the main Inn inside the park -(can't remember the name of the Inn - but it's the big historic one)

At Zion hike to Angel's Landing. Also check the Narrows out. You can day hike both these places. http://www.philarmitage.net/zion_hikes.html

I have never been to the North Rim , so I have no suggestions for there

carolv

Thanks for the suggestions.

Slowmoving, thanks for the link. Was the Narrows hike the one I read about that wasn't for anyone with height issues? I assume the watershoes were for the wading part? (We had planned on hiking in sneakers!)

I have an alternate itinerary that might include Lake Powell. How about fly into LV, one night there, 2 nights at North Rim, 1 night at Lake Powell, 1 night at Bryce, and 2 nights at Zion and back to LV. (I may be able to add 1 day to the trip, but probably not 2). Does this sound reasonable or is this too much driving? (i.e. what is the driving time from North Rim to Page, AZ...and Page to Bryce?)

Also, can anyone describe the Colorado River float (floating is fine, but I'm phobic of white water). I assume we'd have time for this with one night in Page.

We hadn't planned on Lake Powell, but it might be a cool (literally and figuratively) way to break up hiking in the heat. At the same time, I don't want to spend the entire time in the car getting from place to place.

I guess we'll play it by ear about detouring to Hoover Dam on our way out of LV.
Thanks!

travellust

I understand that you are going to the North Rim but if you decide to go Hoover Dam and then the South Rim PLEASE head south through Oak Creek Canyon and Sedona! It's beautiful and your teens would absolutely love slide rock in Oak Creek. (You can spend a whole day and more there). It's actually one of my favorite places in the world and Sedona, what can I say, so much beauty in one place.

julba

i agree with 2 nights in each park but just one day in vegas is not enough!!!!
What will u see in that short amount of time??? I suggest buying a bus pass(Deuce) $5 for 24 hours...at least that will get you to places faster and it runs all day and night! I don't know your route from vegas to ther north rim but if u pass the cameron trading post it is a nice stop for a bit of shopping and a cool drink
Have fun!!

caniac

Why the North Rim instead of the South Rim?

Note: My family and I South Rim, Lake Powell, Bryce, Capital Reef, Zion, and then LV last summer and Utahtea helped make our trip extremely successful and enjoyable. Please listen to what she suggests!

caniac

Oops: In the above post, please add a "did" between "I" and "South Rim" and I don't sound quite so ignorant!

utahtea

I always choose the National Parks over Las Vegas, but you mileage might vary.

One night at Lake Powell and one at Bryce would be do able, but not very relaxing and not sure you could fit in the 1/2 day float trip. If you can squeeze in another night then do two at Lake Powell and one at Bryce. I say this so you can enjoy the float trip, do the Glen Canyon Dam tour and even fit in the Upper Antelope Slots canyon and the short hike to Horseshoe Bend. The morning you leave Page (Lake Powell) head straight for Bryce. You will have a good part of the day and then the day you leave for Zion you can also spend the morning at Bryce before driving the 2 hours to Zion.

The float trip on the Colorado River out of Page, AZ has NO rapids at all. The rafts are motorized to take you down the 14 miles of the Colorado River. Here are my pictures on the float trip...I took my new (at the time) digital camera...that should speak volumes! : http://www.utahtea.lithium.com/pages...2003/float.htm

At the bottom of that page is a link to the other pictures taken in the area on our trip in 2003.

Utahtea

SpeedBuggy

We did this same trip 2 summers ago. Our teens loved it. We enjoyed the North Rim and would not trade going there for anything. It was quiet and we could have sat for hours on the patio at the Lodge looking at the canyon. Don't be surprised when you walk to the patio area and find your teens sitting silently taking in the view. Lots of deer along sidewalks and hiking trails. We stayed in the motel section of the park. Slept with windows open, very quiet at night. (Only 10% of all the GC visitors go to the North Rim each year.) Make time to hike to Bright Angel Point from the Lodge and to drive Point Imperial and Cape Royal to hike to Angels Window Overlook.

In Zion, we hiked the Narrows (that's the one through the river) and kids and I did Angels (wife didn't want to try it).

We did lots of hiking in Bryce - did the whole loop. Kids loved Bryce, very magical, but can be hot in summer. We went end of May/early June.

We stayed our last 2 nights in Vegas, since we had a late flight out. One night would have been enough for me. We stayed at THEHotel at the Mandelay basically for the pool and we got a good deal on their all-suite rooms. We walked around, rode rides, saw the fountains at Bellagio, etc. VERY hot in summer. Ellis Island Casino is a great place to eat cheap with teens - ate prime rib for $5.99, etc.

We loved the drives from NP to NP. So much varying beauty in that area. Have a great trip!

carolv

Thank you for all the great suggestions.

Travellust, Oak Creek and Sedona do look beautiful, but I'll have to do another trip for that.

Caniac, we were interested in the North Rim because it is lower key (especially in summer). I had seen the South Rim in October (and it was gorgeous), but schedules don't permit an off-season trip right now.

I spent more time reading trip reports (Utahtea, you are the best!) Thank you for the float photos - that's a great website you have. (Yes, the float trip would be fine, even for me.)

Based on some of the new ideas here, I think I will add one day to the trip in order to do the half day float trip on Lake Powell (and maybe some swimming - are the beaches easily accessible? do they "fill-up" (I'm from New England, and our beaches definitely fill-up!) Any good beach recommendations? (I'm thinking ahead of the need to cool-off at every opportunity).

I'm also looking for suggestions for lodging in Page (now that we're looking at 2 nights). Trip advisor didn't report anything great (except a B & B, which is actually full then).
Thanks again for the wealth of information.

caniac

You will love the float trip!

We stayed at the Lake Powell Resort - Wahweap Marina. Here is the website: http://www.lakepowell.com/ The afternoon following our float trip, we went swimming in Lake Powell right at the hotel. The rates for the hotel are more expensive than the other lodging choices in Page, AZ but we really liked being near the lake. The swimming there was nice too.

If you decide to stay there, check with AAA for lower rates. I found rates a year in advance on the AAA website that were quite a bit less than what the official Lake Powell Resort was quoting.

carolv

Thanks, Caniac. I'll look at the AAA website since I'm a member anyway. I take it you didn't have a problem with noisy bus tours? (That was the main thing I read complaints about). Did you have a say in what kind of room you got (ie view, quiet) using AAA?
I'm glad we're adding this part to the trip - the float tours seem very fun!

caniac

There were quite a few buses at the hotel, but they didn't bother us. We bought a fan at a Walmart in LV at the start of our trip to help drown out noises from the hallway and adjacent rooms, so that helped. As far as the location of the room, I tried to get a better water view room, but since I paid a lower rate they would not move me. The room overlooked the boat launch area which did not bother us and we got to see the sun rise each morning. I actually enjoyed watching the boats being put in the water. The room was a basic room with 2 queen beds. I would stay there again just because of the location.

carolv

Caniac, the location does seem ideal (particularly for not having to get in the car to swim in the Lake). Did you take your float trip directly from the hotel? I see the same website does the bookings. It sounds very pretty (hence, all the buses).