karens

Hi all. We want to head back to the Southwest, this time with our two boys. We were planning on going next June, but my husband is now wondering if mid-April would be better.

I am the first one to warn people about the extreme heat in the SW in the summer. We've been to the SW in June and know how hot it could be. I know April would be cooler, but I don't know if we could do everything we'd want to.

Here's a brief itinerary of what we'd like to do:

Sedona - Slide Rock SP
Page - float trip and Antelope Canyon
Paria Canyon area- hike Buckskin Gulch for about 4.5 miles total.
North Rim of Grand Canyon (is this open in April?)
Zion - Narrows, Canyon Overlook Trail

Could we do all this in April?

Thanks all. Karen

utahtea

The North Rim of the Grand Canyon doesn't open until Mid-May.

We've been in the area in April and it can range from cold to warm which it's much better for long hikes than the hot summer!

Utahtea

karens

Utahtea - except for the North Rim, could we do everything else on our schedule? Will Sedona be too cool for our boys to do the rock slides at Slide Rock SP?

Also, we would be considering this a spring break trip (my boys' break is the week before Easter) and I'm wondering if we would not be the only people with this in mind, and if the parks would be more crowded. I have friends who went to Las Vegas over Easter break and they said the strip was wall to wall people. Crowds aren't exactly my idea of a great time, but neither is 100 degree heat!

Thanks for your reply, Karen

utahtea

Karen,

From what I can tell, Easter is on March 27, 2005. If that's the case then your boys break will be the last week of March to April 1st. You probably will want to check with their school on that. Spring break is a popular time to travel.

I've haven't stopped at Slide Rock SP but I imagine it could be pretty cold. We traveled thought the area mid-March one year and it snowed. I also have never done Buckskin Gulch. If you go, you have to come back and tell me about it!

You could do the float trip. If you want to walk in the Virgin River and do the Narrows you will more than likely need the proper gear. If you just want to do the Riverside Walk then you won't have any problems.

If your boys get out of school by the end of May and you could take vacation early in June you won't have as much heat or crowds as later in that month.

Utahtea

karens

Hi Utahtea. I know you're going to think I'm a bit nuts, but we are wondering if we will go the Southwest in 2006. You see, my husband is a frequent flier on USAir and we've found that to get seat availability, we have to book our air travel 11 months in advance. I know this sounds odd to most people, but we want to fly for (mostly) free, so we really plan ahead!

We were originally planning on doing this trip in June 2005, and if so, I'd have to start thinking about when is an early enough time to call to try to get the seat availability. When I approached my husband, he was wondering if spring break (the following year) would be better, temp-wise. Our kids are young, and the school district calendar always has spring break the week before Easter. (We already have next Easter break booked - USVI.) But the Southwest keeps calling me back and I'm anxious to take the boys out to see more. They've only been to Arches. We've taken several trips to the SW, and each time there is always something new to look forward to seeing.

I guess our trade off is to go when the weather is much more comfortable, but the North Rim will be closed, or go when it will be really hot and see more stuff. June's not a really great time for my husband to take off from work, so if it is June, it would have to be at the end of the month.

Thanks for your insights - always appreciated!! Karen

susan3

We were at Slide Rock in May 2003. It's a nice park but it's mountain water and cold most of the time. In May people were wading and a few, very young children, were sliding. I think April would be too cold. One really nice day trip from Sedona is to visit Sunset Crater and Walnut Canyon National Monument. They are near Flagstaff and can be done in one day. You might visit the Arizona website and request both the Arizona and Sedona visitors guide. My folks live in Sedona and we've been to Grand Canyon. They say the South rim is much more interesting (and of course more commercial).