Utah in May for only a week?
Oct 21st, 2003, 11:37 AM
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Utah in May for only a week?
We are an adult group of four with a rental car who are strangers to area. We only have 9 days and need help in sifting through the many choices in lower Utah area. We want to fly into one airport and out another to maximize distance covered. Which airports? Which parks? Which car routes and walking trails? Which hotels? Help please! Thanks.
Oct 21st, 2003, 12:19 PM
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It would probably work for you to fly into Las Vegas and out of Grand Junction. Another choice would be Salt Lake City. This is a route where you could do a loop and return via the same airport without much problem.
Utahtea can give you lots of specifics. You should also do a search here under Utah.
You should plan on Zion, Bryce, Cedar Breaks, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, Arches, Dead Horse Point SP, maybe Monument Valley, and I'd also recommend Hovenweep NM.
Utahtea can give you lots of specifics. You should also do a search here under Utah.
You should plan on Zion, Bryce, Cedar Breaks, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, Arches, Dead Horse Point SP, maybe Monument Valley, and I'd also recommend Hovenweep NM.
Oct 21st, 2003, 02:43 PM
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I agree with a lot of what travellyn has said. There's a whole lot to see in 9 days!
I guess it depends on how much you want to see in those 9 days. Do you want a world wind tour where you see a lot of places with just a short time at each location or do you really want to spend some time in these places and really get to know them?
World Wind Tour:
Fly in to Las Vegas.
Day 1 Fly into Las Vegas & drive to Zion 160 miles. Ride the shuttle bus and hike the Riverside Walk.
Day 2 Do another short hike like Emeral Pools or Weeping Rock in Zion and drive to Bryce 86 miles. Visit some of the overlooks.
Day 3 Do a short hike in the morning and then drive the very scenic Hwy 12 to Torrey, Utah 110 miles. If you have time you might drive into Capitol Reef that evening to check out the petroglyphs or do a short hike.
Day 4 Visit Capitol Reef National Park and do either Capitol Gorge or Grand Wash hikes and drive to Moab 160 miles.
Day 5 Spend the day in Arches National Park 4 miles from Moab. Stop at all the view points and my favorite hike is the 3 mile round trip Delicate Arch hike.
Day 6 Visit Canyonlands & Dead Horse State Park and return to Moab. Make sure you go to Green River Overlook and Grand View Point in Canyonlands. Grand View Hike and Mesa Arch are my favorite hikes there.
Day 7 Drive down to Monument Valley and try to take in a tour. Spend the night in Goulding, Utah (150 miles) or Kayenta, AZ 170 miles.
Day 8 Drive to Glen Canyon National Recreational area (Lake Powell) near Page, AZ 100 miles from Kayenta. Try to do a slot canyon tour at Antelope Canyon and maybe a short boat tour on the lake.
Day 9 Take the short hike out to Horseshoe Bend or do the slot canyon early in the morning before driving back the 285 miles to Las Vegas to fly out.
If you want to spend more time to explore each area then I would spend 2 nights in Zion, 2 nights in Bryce, 1 nights in Torrey and 3 nights in Moab and fly out of either Grand Junction, Colorado or Salt Lake City, Utah.
Utahtea
I guess it depends on how much you want to see in those 9 days. Do you want a world wind tour where you see a lot of places with just a short time at each location or do you really want to spend some time in these places and really get to know them?
World Wind Tour:
Fly in to Las Vegas.
Day 1 Fly into Las Vegas & drive to Zion 160 miles. Ride the shuttle bus and hike the Riverside Walk.
Day 2 Do another short hike like Emeral Pools or Weeping Rock in Zion and drive to Bryce 86 miles. Visit some of the overlooks.
Day 3 Do a short hike in the morning and then drive the very scenic Hwy 12 to Torrey, Utah 110 miles. If you have time you might drive into Capitol Reef that evening to check out the petroglyphs or do a short hike.
Day 4 Visit Capitol Reef National Park and do either Capitol Gorge or Grand Wash hikes and drive to Moab 160 miles.
Day 5 Spend the day in Arches National Park 4 miles from Moab. Stop at all the view points and my favorite hike is the 3 mile round trip Delicate Arch hike.
Day 6 Visit Canyonlands & Dead Horse State Park and return to Moab. Make sure you go to Green River Overlook and Grand View Point in Canyonlands. Grand View Hike and Mesa Arch are my favorite hikes there.
Day 7 Drive down to Monument Valley and try to take in a tour. Spend the night in Goulding, Utah (150 miles) or Kayenta, AZ 170 miles.
Day 8 Drive to Glen Canyon National Recreational area (Lake Powell) near Page, AZ 100 miles from Kayenta. Try to do a slot canyon tour at Antelope Canyon and maybe a short boat tour on the lake.
Day 9 Take the short hike out to Horseshoe Bend or do the slot canyon early in the morning before driving back the 285 miles to Las Vegas to fly out.
If you want to spend more time to explore each area then I would spend 2 nights in Zion, 2 nights in Bryce, 1 nights in Torrey and 3 nights in Moab and fly out of either Grand Junction, Colorado or Salt Lake City, Utah.
Utahtea
Oct 23rd, 2003, 08:06 AM
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We just got back from a fantastic trip in Utah, many thanks to this wonderful forum. From our experience, I don't see a need to fly in and out of different airports unless money is not a concern at all. Here's what we did:
Flew into Salt Lake City, drove to Moab and stayed 3 nights there at Castlerock Inn, which was fine. It was a new motel that opened just a couple of years ago. Spacious, clean, though decor was bland. SlickRock Cafe was a good place to have lunch and dinner. The icecream place next door to Slickrock was also excellent. Did Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point one day, and Arches one day. Utahtea's recommendation for hikes was excellent.
Drove to Torrey and spent a night there at Best Western, which was not as nice as Castlerock Inn in Moab. There was a Days Inn in Torrey that looked really nice from outside and had complimentary continental breakfast. Really liked Capital Reef NP and be sure to be at Sunset Point at sunset. The views were unforgettable. Capital Gorge hike was out-of-this-worldly too.
Drove to Bryce via Hwy 12 and stayed at Rubys Inn for one night. AVOID Rubys if you can - what a dump! Old, smelly, and unclean room. Very poor quality buffet - both breakfast and dinner, at expensive prices. Never stayed anywhere this horrible. You don't really have much choice in the Bryce area. There is a lodge inside the park but was fully booked. Had lunch at the park lodge and it was wonderful, especially after two bad meals at Rubys. Bryce had some of the most spectacular views. Try to do the Queens Garden - Navajo loop if you can.
Our final stop was Zion. We stayed at Deseart Pearl Inn for 2 nights, and what a wonderful place! Do a search on tripadvisor.com and see all the positive feedback of Desert Pearl. Zion was probably the "prettiest" park out of the five we visited, because of the river and its lushness. I wish we had an extra day there.
The drive from Zion back to SLC was less than 5 hours. In SLC we stayed at Hotel Monaco and had a wonderful experience there. Beautiful and romantic room and excellent service. Toured the Temple Square before flying home.
We didn't visit the Monument Valley area, but spent 7 nights (not counting the final night in SLC) in So. Utah, and I would add one more night to Zion if we had extra time. So I am not sure if you will have time for Monument Valley if you only have 9 days. Flying into SLC was nice because it allowed us to do a loop without backtracking.
It was such an amazing trip. I loved all the five parks and can't really rank one above another. I am sure you and your friends will have a wonderful time too!
Flew into Salt Lake City, drove to Moab and stayed 3 nights there at Castlerock Inn, which was fine. It was a new motel that opened just a couple of years ago. Spacious, clean, though decor was bland. SlickRock Cafe was a good place to have lunch and dinner. The icecream place next door to Slickrock was also excellent. Did Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point one day, and Arches one day. Utahtea's recommendation for hikes was excellent.
Drove to Torrey and spent a night there at Best Western, which was not as nice as Castlerock Inn in Moab. There was a Days Inn in Torrey that looked really nice from outside and had complimentary continental breakfast. Really liked Capital Reef NP and be sure to be at Sunset Point at sunset. The views were unforgettable. Capital Gorge hike was out-of-this-worldly too.
Drove to Bryce via Hwy 12 and stayed at Rubys Inn for one night. AVOID Rubys if you can - what a dump! Old, smelly, and unclean room. Very poor quality buffet - both breakfast and dinner, at expensive prices. Never stayed anywhere this horrible. You don't really have much choice in the Bryce area. There is a lodge inside the park but was fully booked. Had lunch at the park lodge and it was wonderful, especially after two bad meals at Rubys. Bryce had some of the most spectacular views. Try to do the Queens Garden - Navajo loop if you can.
Our final stop was Zion. We stayed at Deseart Pearl Inn for 2 nights, and what a wonderful place! Do a search on tripadvisor.com and see all the positive feedback of Desert Pearl. Zion was probably the "prettiest" park out of the five we visited, because of the river and its lushness. I wish we had an extra day there.
The drive from Zion back to SLC was less than 5 hours. In SLC we stayed at Hotel Monaco and had a wonderful experience there. Beautiful and romantic room and excellent service. Toured the Temple Square before flying home.
We didn't visit the Monument Valley area, but spent 7 nights (not counting the final night in SLC) in So. Utah, and I would add one more night to Zion if we had extra time. So I am not sure if you will have time for Monument Valley if you only have 9 days. Flying into SLC was nice because it allowed us to do a loop without backtracking.
It was such an amazing trip. I loved all the five parks and can't really rank one above another. I am sure you and your friends will have a wonderful time too!
Oct 23rd, 2003, 08:50 AM
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The loop I mentented of Las Vegas, Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Moab, Monument Valley, Lake Powell & back to Vegas is about 1070 miles.
The loop of Salt Lake, Moab, Capitol Reef, Bryce, Zion and back to Salt Lake is about 920 miles.
You can get to Monument Valley & Lake Powell for only 150 extra miles with my loop.
Also be aware that to get to and from both airports you will need to drive thought either Salt Lake City or Las Vegas coming and going to the airports and not only is Salt Lake City a much larger metro area they also have a lot more traffic than they do in Las Vegas.
Utahtea
The loop of Salt Lake, Moab, Capitol Reef, Bryce, Zion and back to Salt Lake is about 920 miles.
You can get to Monument Valley & Lake Powell for only 150 extra miles with my loop.
Also be aware that to get to and from both airports you will need to drive thought either Salt Lake City or Las Vegas coming and going to the airports and not only is Salt Lake City a much larger metro area they also have a lot more traffic than they do in Las Vegas.
Utahtea
Oct 23rd, 2003, 11:42 AM
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Another thing to keep in mind...you might find cheaper fares and rentals (especially rentals) at Las Vegas, and that might eventually influence where you fly into if $$ is a factor. We chose SLC because we also did Yellowstone and Grand Teton on the same trip. Additionally, we have been to Vegas in the past, so being able to see a little bit of SLC was a nice experience.
I do agree that SLC's metro area traffic was not the lightest. It was a Saturday when we drove back from Zion, and the traffic was a little slow going for about 45 minutes. It wasn't too bad though.
If you are not going to make to the Monument Valley area this time, flying in and out of Vegas might require you to back track from Moab, assuming that's the last place you are driving to before returning. (I'm not the road expert here, so don't hold me to this.
) The roads between Torrey and Zion are scenic but very winding at places thus slow going. We were glad that we had to drive it only one way, using SLC as our arrival/departure point.
I do agree that SLC's metro area traffic was not the lightest. It was a Saturday when we drove back from Zion, and the traffic was a little slow going for about 45 minutes. It wasn't too bad though.
If you are not going to make to the Monument Valley area this time, flying in and out of Vegas might require you to back track from Moab, assuming that's the last place you are driving to before returning. (I'm not the road expert here, so don't hold me to this.
) The roads between Torrey and Zion are scenic but very winding at places thus slow going. We were glad that we had to drive it only one way, using SLC as our arrival/departure point.
Oct 23rd, 2003, 12:35 PM
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Flying into one place and out of another can add extra dollars to your traveling costs. Also there could be a hefty drop off charge for the rental car. I would fly in and out of Las Vegas and would follow one of the loops suggested by Utahtea. The one I would do is - LV, Zion, Bryce, Capital Reef, Moab, Monument Valley with a stop at the GR. Canyon on the way back to LV. I did such a trip twice and spent 1 1/2 days at both Zion and BRyce. Took a full day to get from Bryce to Moab with a stop at Capital Reef. Two days in Moab and a half day at Monument Valley. Whatever time is left can be used to visit the Gr. Canyon and for the trip back to LV.
Zion - in 1 1/2 days you can walk every short trail
Bryce - you can walk a couple of short trails and also do a 3 or 4 hour mule ride in the Canyon.
Arches (Moab) - in one full day you can walk the trail to the Delicate Arch and do a few short trails.
2nd day in Moab - Visit Dead Horse Point State PArk and the Canyonlands.
Monument Valley - take a half day jeep tour.
To maximize sightseeing time consider driving from one place to another during the evening hours.
For example at the end of the second day in Moab I would head for
Monument Valley 150 miles away. You then get an early start the next day and be finished at the VAlley around noon time. Have lunch and you could be at the GR. Canyon before 6 pm.
Zion - in 1 1/2 days you can walk every short trail
Bryce - you can walk a couple of short trails and also do a 3 or 4 hour mule ride in the Canyon.
Arches (Moab) - in one full day you can walk the trail to the Delicate Arch and do a few short trails.
2nd day in Moab - Visit Dead Horse Point State PArk and the Canyonlands.
Monument Valley - take a half day jeep tour.
To maximize sightseeing time consider driving from one place to another during the evening hours.
For example at the end of the second day in Moab I would head for
Monument Valley 150 miles away. You then get an early start the next day and be finished at the VAlley around noon time. Have lunch and you could be at the GR. Canyon before 6 pm.
Oct 24th, 2003, 07:17 AM
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Barbara,
Do you travel from the airport all the way thought Salt Lake City to Sandy, Utah? It seems everytime we come in on I-80 and are want to travel down to I-15 we have wall to wall traffic the whole time.
Yes, Las Vegas has traffic too but the distance from the airport to the other side of town is a LOT shorter.
Utahtea
Do you travel from the airport all the way thought Salt Lake City to Sandy, Utah? It seems everytime we come in on I-80 and are want to travel down to I-15 we have wall to wall traffic the whole time.
Yes, Las Vegas has traffic too but the distance from the airport to the other side of town is a LOT shorter.
Utahtea
Oct 24th, 2003, 10:51 AM
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Utahtea - I drive I-15 everyday. While I agree we do have a lot of traffic during rush hour 4 - 6 p.m. it usually always moves, unlike the Vegas parking lots I've experienced. If you take I-215 instead you may have better luck.
Oct 24th, 2003, 10:59 AM
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We just did a trip to Utah via Las Vegas from Albany NY. Much cheaper to fly to Vegas than Salt Lake City ($203 RT from Albany nonstop and that included all taxes and fees). We arrived in Vegas just before the rush hour and were out of town in less than 20 minutes. Zion is a quick 2 1/2 hours from Vegas. I think Salt Lake city is at least an hour longer.
Promotionaly priced flights to Vegas are easily come by.
Promotionaly priced flights to Vegas are easily come by.
Oct 24th, 2003, 11:22 AM
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We did Utah in two trips.
First trip, we flew into Salt Lake and drove to 1) Sundance, 2) Moab, 3) Canyonlands and 4) Monument Valley. We looped back around through Glen Canyon and stayed at Sundance one last night before flying out of Salt Lake.
Second trip, we flew into Las Vegas and wasted no time leaving Las Vegas for Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon and (my favorite little gem) Coral Pink Sand Dunes Park.
We did both of those trips in 7-8 days.
We could have seen EVERYTHING in one huge whirlwind trip, but I think you need to take the time to savor the sights.
Oct 24th, 2003, 11:29 AM
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By the way, both of the trips I discussed above were down in May (third week) of different years. One trip, we had highs of 114 degrees. Other trip we hit hail in Canyonlands, and had to wear light jackets in other areas.
Oct 24th, 2003, 05:04 PM
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where did you spend each night- just location, not name of hotel. just on your 2nd trip - las vegas to zion, bryce, etc. just not sure if want to drive to north rim and back. planning to do something similar
thanks
thanks
Nov 5th, 2003, 12:51 PM
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I stayed at the Castlerock Inn, in Moab, when it first opened - I thought the room was VERY nice, spacious, and reasonable. Don't know if anyone mentioned Valley of the Gods, above Monument Valley. I thot it was well worth driving thru. Capital Reef was also spectacular if you like colorful mesas.
