Trip Report Las Vegas/Bryce Canyon/Zion Nat. Parks
Jul 12th, 2008, 04:36 PM
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Trip Report Las Vegas/Bryce Canyon/Zion Nat. Parks
First time I've done this but at the request of Michelle Y, why not...
Returned 2 weeks ago from a 2 week long trip to the above. The first half of the trip was for our daughter who got married out in Vegas. The second half of the trip was for me!
In general I love Vegas, but not this time. First of all we were with our 5 kids (12 - 27). Despite what Vegas tried to promote a few years ago its not really for families. Yeah you can find things to do bt come on.... ITS VEGAS!! Further I spent the time running errands for our daughter and the other kids..enough said.
As for the wedding it was fabulous.. We held it at the Las Vegas Paiute Resort. About 25 minutes NE of Las Vegas. A great setting would recommend it highly.
After the wedding it was off to the my type of Vacation. Out in the national parks. Have not been to southern Utah in awhile but it is everything I remember it to be. We spent our first 3 days in Byrce Canyon. We stayed at Ruby's Inn. It was all right. Clean functional. We had 5 families traveling with us and we could not get lodging in the park which we wanted.
At the recomendation of someone else on the forum started off with the horse back ride into the canyon. The company's name is Canyon Trail Rides. They operate right out of the Lodge in the park. I knew it was going to be a great ride when our guide started out by asking my wife if she had ridden......horses... before
. Absolutely perfect 1st activity to do! You ride right down into the canyon and get a real overview of the setting and some backround from the guide.
We also did a lot of hiking on the Navaho Loop Trail and Queens Garden. Again, spectacular. I really love this canyon and truthfully I am more in awe of this canyon than the Grand Canyon. but thats just me.
We went biking in Red Canyon which is just outside of the park on HWY 12. Again very beautiful. After you do the paved trail there are a few off road trails you can do which are very rewarding. We had the luxury of having a few cars so we could shuttle back and forth. Also there are some trails behind the Red Canyon Visitor Center that a few people hiked while we shuttled the bikes around.
One morning we got up to watch the Sunrise at Sunrise Point. The who are is beautiful so I imagine a sunrise at any place in the Bryce Ampitheater would work but we went like a bunch of lemmings to "sunrise" point.
As I mentioned in an earlier post we had a rafting trip scheduled. It was about an hour North of Bryce on HWY 89. It was alright. Not much white water but a whole lot of witnessing by our guide. That was entertainment in of itself.
Next we went to Zion. The whole group minus me and another person went via the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. They too stated that coming from Bryce they were a little dissapointed in the GC. Admitidly they didn't hike down into it which is part of what the GC is all about.
Zion is much different than Bryce but no less amazing. Large number of trails. We went on the Canyon Overlook and all 3 pools trails. On our last day we spent 10 hours hiking the Narrows. Absolutely one of my top 2 or 3 hikes in my life (nothing tops Half Dome in Yosemite). We got outfitted with our gear (water shoes, neoprene socks and a stick) at Zion Adventure Company. Very helpful outfit in planning this hike. To anyone considering doing this hike getting outfitted with the right footwear is essential! As one of the guide books about Zion states this hike is the quintessential Zion experience. (Though I imagine Angel's Landing is cool too but we ran out of time) The "trail" s the Virgin river. You spend 80% of the hike walking/wading in the river. Absolutely a must do!
While in Zion we stayed outside of the parks East Entrance at Clear Creek Family Ranch. It was great because all 5 of our families coulds stay under one roof. It was clean, had a fire pit and lake behind the house that the kids could fish and canoe in. It was very convient (2 miles) from the park entrance.
Our drive home was uneventful except for the deadly storm that hit Omaha (where we are from). We came home to 3 down trees and no fence in the back yard. Oh well.
Next year its Yellowstone and Grand Tetons. In september we are going to the Black Hills, again. If any one needs any suggestions here I would be happy to give it as this is one of our favorite places to hike and bike. Thats enough for now.
Returned 2 weeks ago from a 2 week long trip to the above. The first half of the trip was for our daughter who got married out in Vegas. The second half of the trip was for me!
In general I love Vegas, but not this time. First of all we were with our 5 kids (12 - 27). Despite what Vegas tried to promote a few years ago its not really for families. Yeah you can find things to do bt come on.... ITS VEGAS!! Further I spent the time running errands for our daughter and the other kids..enough said.
As for the wedding it was fabulous.. We held it at the Las Vegas Paiute Resort. About 25 minutes NE of Las Vegas. A great setting would recommend it highly.
After the wedding it was off to the my type of Vacation. Out in the national parks. Have not been to southern Utah in awhile but it is everything I remember it to be. We spent our first 3 days in Byrce Canyon. We stayed at Ruby's Inn. It was all right. Clean functional. We had 5 families traveling with us and we could not get lodging in the park which we wanted.
At the recomendation of someone else on the forum started off with the horse back ride into the canyon. The company's name is Canyon Trail Rides. They operate right out of the Lodge in the park. I knew it was going to be a great ride when our guide started out by asking my wife if she had ridden......horses... before
. Absolutely perfect 1st activity to do! You ride right down into the canyon and get a real overview of the setting and some backround from the guide.We also did a lot of hiking on the Navaho Loop Trail and Queens Garden. Again, spectacular. I really love this canyon and truthfully I am more in awe of this canyon than the Grand Canyon. but thats just me.
We went biking in Red Canyon which is just outside of the park on HWY 12. Again very beautiful. After you do the paved trail there are a few off road trails you can do which are very rewarding. We had the luxury of having a few cars so we could shuttle back and forth. Also there are some trails behind the Red Canyon Visitor Center that a few people hiked while we shuttled the bikes around.
One morning we got up to watch the Sunrise at Sunrise Point. The who are is beautiful so I imagine a sunrise at any place in the Bryce Ampitheater would work but we went like a bunch of lemmings to "sunrise" point.
As I mentioned in an earlier post we had a rafting trip scheduled. It was about an hour North of Bryce on HWY 89. It was alright. Not much white water but a whole lot of witnessing by our guide. That was entertainment in of itself.
Next we went to Zion. The whole group minus me and another person went via the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. They too stated that coming from Bryce they were a little dissapointed in the GC. Admitidly they didn't hike down into it which is part of what the GC is all about.
Zion is much different than Bryce but no less amazing. Large number of trails. We went on the Canyon Overlook and all 3 pools trails. On our last day we spent 10 hours hiking the Narrows. Absolutely one of my top 2 or 3 hikes in my life (nothing tops Half Dome in Yosemite). We got outfitted with our gear (water shoes, neoprene socks and a stick) at Zion Adventure Company. Very helpful outfit in planning this hike. To anyone considering doing this hike getting outfitted with the right footwear is essential! As one of the guide books about Zion states this hike is the quintessential Zion experience. (Though I imagine Angel's Landing is cool too but we ran out of time) The "trail" s the Virgin river. You spend 80% of the hike walking/wading in the river. Absolutely a must do!
While in Zion we stayed outside of the parks East Entrance at Clear Creek Family Ranch. It was great because all 5 of our families coulds stay under one roof. It was clean, had a fire pit and lake behind the house that the kids could fish and canoe in. It was very convient (2 miles) from the park entrance.
Our drive home was uneventful except for the deadly storm that hit Omaha (where we are from). We came home to 3 down trees and no fence in the back yard. Oh well.
Next year its Yellowstone and Grand Tetons. In september we are going to the Black Hills, again. If any one needs any suggestions here I would be happy to give it as this is one of our favorite places to hike and bike. Thats enough for now.
Jul 12th, 2008, 05:14 PM
#2
Thanks lefty for the report!! We stayed at the NR one night, but had been to the SR four years ago. I like the sweeping views from the SR and a better idea of the scope of the canyon. But the NR has a much better ambiance and less of a crowd.
Again thanks.
MY
Again thanks.
MY
