Time difference between Nevada and Utah
 

I seem to remember reading that Nevada and Utah are on different time zones. Is that true? What is the difference? I think I may have made things very difficult for us for our June trip. We will be in Springdale and need to return to Vegas for an 11:30 AM flight. I know it's a 3 hour trip but I didn't factor in the time change. When should we leave Springdale? (We have to return a rental car before the flight.) I'd hate to give up a night at the Desert Pearl to return to Vegas the night before. But we will if that's the only way to be sure to catch our flight.

Springdaly is an hour ahead of Vegas. So, when you drive TO Vegas, you will turn your clock back an hour, thus gaining an hour.

I mean Springdale.

Don't forget,in Nevada it's 2011. In Utah, 1956.

Well then, I'm off to Utah where I'm 5 years old!

Well Peter,

Then I'm only 2. Would you drive?

SO, is it really a three hour trip to the airport? And given the hour difference, and extra time to get lost and return the car, would it be okay to leave Springdale at about 7:30 for an 11:45 flight? Am I doing the math right?

You aren't giving yourself much time to drop off the car and get through security.

Yes it takes approx 3 hours to drive from Springdale to Las Vegas depending on the traffic in Las Vegas. The airport is on the west end of town and even though you are on the Interstate, there can still be traffic delays as you drive from one end of Las Vegas to the other.

Yes, Utah is on Mountain Time and Nevada is on Pacific Time. You will gain one hour driving from Springdale to Las Vegas.

Leaving at 7:30 am should get you into Las Vegas at 9:30 am. One hour for getting lost and return car. Gives you 1 hr and 45 minutes to check in and go though security. If it were me, I'd plan on leaving at 7 if not 6:30...just to be on the safe side! ;)

Utahtea

I agree with everything Utahtea said - it is about 3 hrs. from Springdale to LV, and LV traffic can be heavy.

All you need is a minor snafu at the rental return and you'd be SOL.

IMO 07:30 is cutting it too close. Read utahtea's post -- then read it again :)

Thanks so much. Maybe we should just cancel our last night in Springdale. We could spend a full day at Zion and then just get in the car at the end of the day and return to, or at least get closer to, Vegas. (as you can probably tell, we are more interested in Zion than Vegas.)

Is the trip to Vegas something we would want to do in the dark? Or, does someone recommend an interesting place to sleep along the way?

It is only 2 hours from St. George Utah to Las Vegas. There is not too much in between. The Fremont St. Experience would be a good place to hang out for some nighttime entertainment.
There's even a Krispy Kreme Donut shop there.

I'd be even more conservative than the others who have responded and suggest you head to LV the evening before your flight. I-5 is only two lanes outside downtown LV and if an accident or other emergency occurs, sometimes our freeway is shut down for hours. It does not happen often but it does happen. Depending on when and where it happens, there may or may not be an alternate route. To be safe, I'd spend that last night in or around LV. Staying in St George or Mesquite will not be an answer for a freeway closure if it occurs south of those two locations.

What's the road between Springdale and LV like? Is it something we can do in the dark or is that not recommended?

From Springdale to I-15 is about 30 miles. There is one downhill grade just before you hit Hurricane. The rest is easy driving to I-15. I-15 is a breeze but if you haven't traveled this route before you will miss the Virgin River Gorge. While it's an interesting drive, I'd spend as much time in Zion and drive it in the dark.

There isn't much between Mesquite, NV and Las Vegas so if you decide not to spend the last night in Zion, then I'd go all the way to Las Vegas.

Utahtea

we will do it in the daytime when we go from LV to Zion so we won't miss the gorge. If we leave after a full day in Zion, then I was thinking its win-win. We have our third day in the park but won't have to worry about missing our plane in the morning. All we'll miss is another night at the Desert Pearl but we'd be sleeping anyway. DOes this make sense?

"<i>DOes this make sense?</i>"

Yes - IMO. getting up around 5:00 AM to pack/eat and dash to LV wouldn't give you any extra/usable time at Zion.

That's what I was thinking, Janisj. I was just concerned whether we could make the trip back to LV in the dark.

It is an INTERSTATE HIGHWAY