Trip through Utah Help
 

I first would like to say thanks to all of you. Although I haven't yet posted, your information on these boards has been invaluable to planning my Grand Canyon/Southern Utah trip!

I just need a few suggestions, mostly to gauge my time. Here's what we're looking at right now:

Day 1 - arrive in Las Vegas, hit the Hoover Dam on the drive to the south rim of the Grand Canyon.

Day 2 & 3 - Grand Canyon

Day 4 - Drive through Monument Valley and arrive in Moab

Day 5 - Moab (Arches)

Day 6 - Moab (Canyonlands) and drive to Torrey in evening

Day 7 - Capital Reef and drive to Bryce

Day 8 - Bryce and drive to Zion

Day 9 - Zion

Day 10 - Drive from Zion to Vegas

Day 11 - Depart Vegas

I've read so many good things about Moab, that I'm re-thinking our extra day at the GC, (Day 3). I'm thinking that maybe we should leave the GC early on day 3 through the east side, then arrive in Monument Valley around sunset. Stay somewhere in MV that night and get an earlier arrival in Moab on Day 4 instead of in the evening. My other question is about Torrey. Is Capital Reef worth the night there? Or should we stay in Moab an extra night and head to Bryce early, or stay in Bryce an extra night?

Again...an advanced thank you to all of you. My husband and I are REALLY looking forward to this vacation and this board has been a great help.

It looks like a doable itinerary, depnding on when you are arriving. Right now, the road across Hoover Dam is closed due to a construction accident and, the last I heard, there was no information on when it will open. A heavy crane collapsed across the road so it may take several days to reopen. Right now, all traffic from both sides is being turned back at the security checkpoints.

Hi S,

Yes, you can do it, but it will be extremely rushed. I know many people don't get to spend a lot of time in the west, but you will want to return for sure. I think you would enjoy this trip far more if you cut your destinations in half and save the rest for another trip.

Either just do Grand Canyon, MV, and Moab or just Capitol Reef, Bryce and Zion, or another combo.

You don't have enough time anywhere except for the GC.

"You don't have enough time anywhere except for the GC."

This totally depends on what OP has planned. So, slw0524, what are your interests? Do you like to hike, or are you more of a drive-by/thru kind of person that likes to stop at scenic viewpoints?

If you aren't into hiking, I think you've got too much time booked at the Grand Canyon. Someone who likes scenic views and driving along the rim could get mighty bored doing that for 2.5 days. If that's what you're interested in, then definitely leave in the morning on Day 3, or even the evening of Day 2. You can leave via the east entrance and stop at those viewpoints on your drive out.

I'm not suggesting the Grand Canyon isn't worthy of more time, but I find that as awesome as the views are, after a few hours the different viewpoints start to look the same and the initial "wow" factor isn't there anymore.

my very personal opinion is that you've got too much on your plate. It's do-able, but man, that's a lot of driving. I'd split the trip in two. I'd do Bryce, Grand Canyon, and Zion in one trip. Then, Monument Valley, Moab, Aches and Canyonlands in another. Yes, it requires two trips, but believe me, that area is worth it. I'd take your time and savor the sights.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts, (especially the note on Hoover Dam dwooddon). Trust me, I realize we've got a lot on our plate, but it is only my husband and I. We're not "hikers" as the term is normally used, but we're in fairly good shape and plan on doing some "easy" to "moderate" hikes while in the parks. We also both actually enjoy driving and scenic routes, so we're not very much concerned with the drive time. I've used the AAA website to map out our routes, and it's not much more than 3-4 hours of driving each day. (Las Vegas to the GC being the exception). We're also both early morning people and like to make the most of our days. We're not much for vacations that involve a lot of "relaxing." I know for some that's what they look for in a vacation, but it's not really our thing.

I realize we'll probably return some day, but for now, in case we don't, we're really trying to hit the "highlights" of the area. Hopefully after we have children, we'll be able to plan a family vacation based on what we liked from ours.

With that said, I have cut out the third night at the GC. Instead, as someone mentioned above, we're planning on leaving early on the morning of the third day through the east entrance. Then, we'll be staying in Monument Valley at Goulding's that night. Then, that gives us an early start to Moab.

As for everything else, we're keeping it the same.

Again...thanks everyone for your thoughts. As I said, the "real life" experiences on this board have been very, very helpful!

Definitely take a day or so to see Capitol Reef - it is a remarkable place.

Take the 17 mile drive through Valley of the Gods in Mexican Hat (just north of MV). Be sure to have a meal at Cafe Diablo in Torrey & Hells Backbone Grill in Boulder, Utah. Both wonderful places. Your itinerary is very do-able; enjoy your trip.

slw0524
I've done a very similar trip but had a few extra days (but also did quite a bit a hiking to take up those days). As soome have said, it is a lot of driving, but it's interesting driving especially if this is a new part of the country for you. What you have is an appetizer platter to sample. When you have your family you can go back and expand on what you didin't get enough of on this trip. My biggest suggestion is something many people with an itinerary like this are guilty of...Doing the Clark Griswold (sp?) "Vacation"...pull up to a spot, look at it then say - yep seen it, now lets move on. The places you're visiting are incredible, so be sure to stay long enough to soak them in. I highly suggest taking advantage of Ranger talks, walks etc. at all the National Parks. They put what you're seeing into perspective and give you lots of great info. Enjoy.

sk9524
Forget to add something else. Have you ever visited Las Vegas? It looks like you've allowed no time there. I know it's a destination that people either Love or Hate and some say, but I'm not into gambling. But if you've never been, you might just take a day to visit some of the resorts that offer free shows and entertainment. Quite a sight to see and you may enjoy that as a culture shock change to the rest of your trip.

I just wondering earlier this morning - Where has utahtea been lately? Or has she been on the boards and I've just missed her posts?

I have very recently done most of this trip. If you are not hikers, you will see all of Bryce in 3 or 4 hours. Zion worth more time, IMO.
At the end of the road in Zion is a nice, easy hike of less than an hour that you will love. GC will get boring in two days if you are not hikers. Capitol Reef is very interesting, especially if you are in the visitor center when the geology lecture is offered. In nearby Torrey, the Diable Cafe is a wonderful surprise. Inventive cuisine with presentations worthy of Iron Chef, but super casual. May only be open for dinner and closes for the year soon, so you should call. Just west of Bryce on the main highway, a little unpretentious restaurant called Foster's is terrific for steak, prime rib, fried chicken and probably everything else. Country music on the radio, down-home attitudes, great prices, who could ask for anything more. In Vegas, highly recommend Commanders Palace at the Alladin for lunch. They have 3-course deal for $18.80. For about same price, you could get a wonderful gumbo and salad. I had never been to Vegas before and would return just for that gumbo. Also at lunch - $.25 martinis! Careful or you might not remember the gumbo later!

starrsville- utahtea has not been posting. I too, have been "looking" for her and can not find a recent post. I hope she's out in her motorhome somewhere! I know she was in Yellowstone this summer, but then she just drop off the radar, no trip report either...

There is a Utahtea that post on an RV site, nothing from that one either since mid May. Could be they are still out in the new RV.

http://www.utahtea.lithium.com/

http://www.rv.net/forum/

Just wanted to say another thanks to all of you. Also, we do only have a day and night planned in Vegas. That wasn't the focus of our trip, so we'll enjoy what we see, but I'm not too focused on it. We're planning a weekend for Vegas only next spring with some friends.

My next question is this, any other thoughts on good restaurants in these spots? How about in Springdale near Zion? I'm definitely going to go back through a lot of the other threads, but if anyone has one off the top of their head it would be greatly appreciated!

(Oh, and I also noticed that utahtea has been "missing", as her comments are usually quite frequent on these boards. It's nice to hear someone may have some idea of where she's at.)

Redrock and others,
I just used the link to Utahtea's website to send her an email. Told her we all missed her. I'll let you know if I hear back.

Good thinking ccrosner, I checked her website too, but I must have missed the e-mail. Thanks for letting us know if you hear anything.

She's o.k.!!!
I got a quick reply to my email to Utahtea asking if she was o.k. and telling her that we were all missing her.

Here's the scoop: first, she was touched by our concern. But she took on a temporary full time job that ended up being almost a 50 to 60 hour/week job. Thus, no time for Fodors. And she's about to leave for a vacation in--guess where?--UTAH. So she wasn't sure she'd have time to post and asked that I send her greetings along to all of you.

So we can all breathe easier and look forward to reading another good trip report in a few weeks.

Carol

I was just at the Grand Canyon, and preferred the lookout points on the eastern rim overall. We spent about three hours just sightseeing the eastern rim.

The eastern rim?

East of the Grand Canyon Village. We checked out every single lookout point of the Southern Rim, and loved Grandview, Lipan and Moran Points the best.

In high season, the road is only open eastbound. Also, there is no shuttle service to these points. That didn't matter to us because we had to drive to Zion Park anyways.