xyz99

We are planning a 2 weeks vacation (Sat to Sun, 15 nights) in Utah in Sept. We'll probably fly in and out of LV, and this is a first draft. Please comment on it, any advice is appreciated. I am including distances, as they show in mapquest. I realize that they are just approximate distances, and the side-trips will add a lot of extra miles. Please let me know if I'm way off about it.

Day 1 - this would be a Sat - Flight to LV (from East Coast) and overnight there
Day 2 - Drive to GC. Not sure yet if N or S rim. Any advice on this? 250 mi to N Rim
Day 3 - GC
Day 4 - Drive to Page (abut 100 mi from N Rim). How to get to Page from S Rim? How many miles?
Day 5 - Page - I think Utahtea recommended a float trip here. If this not the right place for a float trip, what other one do you suggest?
Day 6 - Drive to Monument Valley (150 mi) and overnight there. Is it worth it?
Day 7 - Drive to Moab (150 mi). 3 nights there for Arches, Canyonlands and Dead Horse SP. Am I too ambitious?
Day 10 - Drive to Torrey (120mi) and spend there next day, too
Day 12 - Drive to Bryce (85 mi). 2 nights there, try a horse ride, ATV ride and some short hikes
Day 14 - Drive to Zion (80 mi). 2 nights there
Day 16 (Sun) - Drive to LV (170 mi) and fly back home

Is this doable? I am worried about driving to LV to catch a flight the same day. I can probably add an extra day, but if not, what would you do differently? Are we spending too much/too little time in any place?

Thanks

utahtea

zyz99

Your itinerary looks very good to me!

I know you will get a lot of different answers, but I'm one of the ones that prefer the S. Rim. I think you get a better variety of views of different canyons within the Grand Canyon at the S. Rim.

If you do the S. Rim instead of the N. Rim you are only adding 30 miles extra to your trip and time wise it's about a toss up. Your mileage of 250 only gets you to the Entrance Station at the N. Rim, then you have to drive another 12 miles to the rim and this could take about 1/2 an hour because the roads are slow and then you have to double back this to Jacob's Lake.

Las Vegas to S. Rim 280 miles
S. Rim to Page 136 miles.

If you do the S. Rim, you will exit on Hwy 64 to Cameron. There are many great scenic overlooks to stop at. Then take Hwy 89 to Page, AZ. I haven't heard any say they didn't enjoyed the float trip and you can still do it in September. Here are my pictures:

http://www.utahtea.lithium.com/vacation2003/float.htm

You should also be able to do the tour of Upper Antelope Slots Canyon.

When you leave Page for Monument Valley you will take Hwy 98 to Hwy 160 and this route is only 125 miles.

YES, Monument Valley is worth the stop! Two full days will be enough time to see Arches one day and Canyonlands, Island in the Sky District and Dead Horse State Park.

Moab to Torrey is more like 160 miles.
Torrey to Bryce via scenic Hwy 12 is 110 miles

Take a look around this web site for more info:

http://www.so-utah.com/homepage.html

If you are worried about catching your flight out of Las Vegas, you might consider spending most of the day on Saturday in Zion and then leave early that evening and spend the night in Las Vegas. Depending on the time of your flight out, it's only about 3 1/2 hours from Zion to Las Vegas but you could run into traffic before you reached the airport so allow an extra hour or two to play it safe.

Utahtea

travellyn

Wow! This looks like a really nice trip, definitely not too rushed.

I thought the night my husband and I spent near Monument Valley was worth it last summer. If you don't want to pay Goulding's prices for lodging, you could check out possibilities in Mexican Hat. We made a small detour to see the Goosenecks of the San Juan based on advice on this site, and were glad we did. We also stopped by the Burger King in Kayenta and spent about a half hour looking at the Navajo Code Talker display there. Touring Monument Valley with a Navajo guide is definitely worth it, because the guide adds a special significance, as well as allowing you into otherwise restricted areas.

You might also consider swinging by Hovenweep National Monument between Monument Valley and Moab. It's worth a couple of hours to see buildings similar to the Mesa Verde cliff dwellings, but all lined up along the top of a shallow ravine.

Monticello is a small town about an hour south of Moab; it has a nice little tourist office (on the west side of the highway, near the middle of town) with information about SE Utah, good for a pit stop on the way to Moab.

3 nights in Moab for 3 parks is enough to enjoy them. I like both the Island in the Sky and Needles Districts of Canyonlands. They are very different in that you are mostly starting from canyon floors in the Needles District, and looking out from the top of a big mesa in the Island in the Sky District. The Needles District is right next to Newspaper Rock, an incredible cliff face covered in Native American pictographs covering a several hundred year period.

You could work a lot of this in by visiting Hovenweep, Newpaper Rock, and the Needles District of Canyonlands in one day between Monument Valley and Moab. You could then spend the second day visiting Arches, and the third day visiting Island in the Sky and Dead Horse Point.

The choice of the North or South Rim of the GC depends on whether you prefer amenities or relative privacy. You can't really lose with either choice. The South Rim is like a bustling little town with lots of choices of things to do and see, as well as several places to stay. The North Rim is more peaceful because only 10% of GC visitors go there. Both rims have great views, hiking opportunities and ranger programs.

xyz99

Thanks a lot for the advice. My main concern was that the plan is too rushed. I feel much better now, and based on a lot of posts here we will probably go to the South Rim of GC. 30 miles is definetely not a problem (even for us, who don't want to drive too much). Thanks Utahtea, and thanks for all the other distances and ideas.

I didn't think we have time for both Island in the Sky and Needles, but I will reconsider that now. I will also see if we can add the Goosenecks - a lot of people recommend it. Thanks Lyn.

I will definetely come back with more questions, but for now I'm pretty happy with this plan. Phase 2 - accommodation. If you know of any place along this route you can recommend, please let me know. We are not looking for fancy places, but nice and clean. A pool is not important, but a nice restaurant close by is.

sharondi

It only took us a little over 2 1/2 hours to get from Springdale to LV. The speed limit on Route 15 is 75 mph! Very fast straight road. Our flight didn't get into LV til 5:30pm, it took us an hour to get our rental and get out of the airport. But once on the road, we cruised to Springdale and even got there in time to have a late night beer and burrito at Oscar's. Unless your flight is really early out of LV, I wouldn't worry about the drive.

tracys2cents

We skipped the South Rim and drove from Vegas to Springdale, drove from there to Page and back and enjoyed the journey. Loved the Antelope Canyon.

In Torrey, if you don't require a pool, the Boulder View Inn is an immaculate place to get a room, and very inexpensive considering the million-dollar view from your room.

sssteve

xyz99 -
when in Sept are you starting your trip? Your itinerary is almost identical to ours. Good planning!

Let's both wear a yellow rose in our hats so that we'll recognize one another.

Dayle

Lodging:

If you like the B&B thing, I highly recommend the Dreamkeeper Inn in Moab.
If not, Moab is full of budget tourist motels such as Motel 6.

In Springdale, the Novel House Inn or Desert Pearl or Flannigan's.

Your itinerary sounds very good. If you add a day anywhere, make it Moab! Especially if you like to hike.

xyz99

sssteve,
You are not going to believe this...but the trip is for NEXT sept. I know, I know...long time till then, but I need something to look forward to
At this time, there are no specific dates and/or reservations.
I am hoping for a detailed trip report from you - where to stop, where to stay, what to do, what to avoid, ALL the scoop.

Sharondi, thanks. This helps - I know that all the time I can save for the park

xyz99

oops, wrong button

So, as I was saying, all the time saved for the parks will be precious.

Dayle, we like B&Bs better than regular motels. So thanks for Moab recommandation. And based on a lot of posts here, Desert Inn sounds very nice, too.

sharondi

xyz99,
We're going back for a longer trip in late Sept. We went last Sept and did an 8 night trip beginning and ending in Springdale. We really love it there. This time, we're springing for the Desert Pearl for lodging although there are lots of lodging choices in Springdale. From Springdale, we're headed to Boulder for a few nights, then Torrey for a few so we can spend some time at Capital Reef. Then on to Moab for 3 nights, then the North Rim. We'll be sure to do a trip report this time.