Utah Itinerary Early October 2013 - Help Wanted!
 

We (my husband, another couple and I) had planned a wonderful two-week trip to visit the beautiful parks in Utah. Last December I confirmed two nights each in the lodges at Zion and Bryce. Now, our overall trip dates have had to be changed, but I can't change the nights we have reserved at the lodges so have had to create an itinerary that is somewhat awkward. But, as my friend from New York says, it is what it is, so we'll deal with it. Here's what we have now:

Fly to Las Vegas - overnight
Drive to Torrey for Capitol Reef - overnight
Drive to Moab for Canyonlands and Arches - 3 overnights
Drive to ??? - overnight
Drive to Zion - 2 overnights
Driveto Bryce - 2 overnights
Drive to Las Vegas - overnight
Fly Home

When we leave Moab, we need to spend a night somewhere between there and Zion. Coming across I-70 to I-15 then south on I-15, nothing jumps out at me as an interesting place to visit and overnight. Any suggestions?

Also looking for a Las Vegas hotel near the airport with a shuttle since we arrive late and depart early. So far I've looked at the BW McCarran Inn. Anyone stayed there? The reviews are sort of mixed, but we mostly just need clean and convenient to the airport.

I'll have more questions about day to day activities, but for now just trying to get all the lodging nailed down.

First off, why can't you change the lodging dates for Bryce and Zion? Is it because they don't have availability or some other reason? There are always cancellations which don't immediately show up on their website, so if you call every day you are likely to find something that makes more sense for your itinerary.

If you absolutely can't get those dates changed, I guess I'd drive straight to Moab for 3 nights, then spend 2 nights in Torrey, then go to Zion and then Bryce. At least that way you'd minimize the number of times you have to move to a new hotel.

Or keep your itinerary and head south from Moab. Spend a night in Monument Valley on the way to Zion.

The airport in Las Vegas is very close to the strip, so don't limit yourselves to "airport" hotels.

Possibly overnight in St. George; it isn't too far from Zion.

I've called often and nothing has opened up.

That's an interesting idea to look at stopping in Monument Valley. I'll check on that.

I'm with Whereare we. Make the long trek to Moab that first day and then the rest of your trip will be short drives. That will be one less day of hassle repacking bags at a hotel.

I hope you plan on seeing Goblin Valley and possible even Little Wildhorse Canyon between Torrey and Moab. Both are excellent.

if you do Monuement Valley, you might want to stop at Natural Bridges National Monment from Moab. There are 3 awesome Bridges there. But Sipapu Bridge there is spectacular. You will need to hike down to it, to fully appreciate it. The hike is less than 30 minutes. It is as good as anything in Arches.

I always like to know my activities first. This way I know how many days to stay at each spot.

I would imagine that it would be easier to change your reservations for Moab and Torrey.

I might go ahead and keep Bryce last. I doubt that fall colors would be much the rest of the place, but by mid-Oct Bryce might be showing nicely. Zion is probably better 3rd week in October. I'm just going by the one time we were there in October. I'm sure it's different each year.

BTW, your original plan really isn't that bad. It would certainly work and give you a good taste of the area.

Do you have your airlines already booked? I've flown into Moab a couple of times and that alone is pretty interesting. Almost like a flight excursion.

You should drive Rt. 12 instead of sticking to the Interstates.
Zion and Bryce are close enough to each other that you don't really need two nights at each.
Goblin Valley State park is interesting (hoodoos).
You could drive through Valley of Fire and come out at Hoover Dam on the way back to Las Vegas.
You can stay in Henderson to easily get to the airport without having to drive on the "Strip".

Thanks everyone for so many suggestions. Lots to think about now. I am sort of overwhelmed with the many worthwhile options and see that the time has come to get down to the day-to-day details so we make the best use of our time.

We do have flights in/out of Las Vegas from Boston. They were so much less expensive than SLC, Moab or St. George. Also the car rental prices were less in Las Vegas.

>>Zion and Bryce are close enough to each other that you don't really need two nights at each.<<

If you want to do much hiking at Zion and Bryce, though, you will want two nights in each park.

If there are no rooms available at Monument Valley, Kayenta is about 15 minutes away. We stayed at the Wetherill Inn there last year - nothing fancy, but it worked well for my family.

Lee Ann

At Zion and Bryce the lodges are not the only places to stay. Zion, in particular, has several good options in Springdale (such as Desert Pearl Inn). Therefore, there is no need to plan your trip around existing room bookings.

It would be good if your routing could include scenic Highway 12 between Torrey and Bryce Canyon.

Additional sites worth investigating include Capitol Reef, Monument Valley, Canyon de Chelly, and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

>>At Zion and Bryce the lodges are not the only places to stay. Zion, in particular, has several good options in Springdale (such as Desert Pearl Inn). Therefore, there is no need to plan your trip around existing room bookings.<<

That's true. It's nice to stay in the parks when possible, but both Bryce and Zion have good places to stay right outside the park entrance.

Lee Ann

You might look at lodging in Page for antelope canyon, and/or a half day float trip down the colorado river from Glen Canyon Dam to Lee's Ferry.

If you decide on Monument Valley, look at lodging at Gouldings, The View or in Kayenta.

Be aware that due to the closure of Route 89 south of Page/north of Tuba City, Page and Antelope Canyon are out of the way if you plan to go to GC South Rim. This has also impacted rafting trips from Glen Canyon dam to Lee's Ferry - it's a loooong detour from Lee's ferry back to Page.

My husband and I will be in southern Utah in early October also, and I've been researching on the various Utah threads. While I don't have anything to add to this discussion, I want to take a quick opportunity to say "thank you" to the regulars who share your extensive knowledge; almost all my questions are being answered without my having to ask! I've been active in the past on the Europe forums but only sporadically in the US ones (it's good to see Lee Ann's familiar face here)

Are you not going to SLC? lots of history there, beautiful canyons, the great salt lake, Mormon Temple and taberncle, etc. A lot hAPENED THERE.

Now that we are in September I would start calling for lodging twice a day.

There will be cancellations. No doubt.

You just want to make sure you get them.

Las Vegas to Torrey is 355 miles. Rather than staying at LV, research Mesquite - has casinos and very reasonably priced hotels. Google - Mesquite, Nv.

Torrey has many motels. Best Western Capitol Reef is the most comfortable. Less expensive are at Bicknell.
Caution - If you like wine/hard liquor, then buy in Nevada as Utah has restrictive laws. Town of Escalante is your last chance en route to Green River. Ruby's Inn at Bryce has a liquor license.

Monument valley is about 125 miles from Moab. THE place to stay is: www.gouldings.com/. Otherwise, Mexican Hat is close and has several motels as does Kayenta.

Natural Bridges - be prepared to hike down into the canyon. It is really a hiking park - yes, some hikes are very short, but the best views are from the bottom of the Canyon as are the ancient Indian Ruin (Horsecollar). http://www.nps.gov/nabr/planyourvisit/horsecollar.htm


Happy trails suggested highway 12. I agree especially driving north from Escalante (hotels there) - do it during the DAY. Several hotels/cabins there. Best is Prospector Inn (435) 826-4653. At Escalante River Bridge there are several ancient Indian Ruins and petroglyphs. At the town of Boulder, visit Anasazi Ruin museum.

IF you what 4-wheel drive, we strongly suggest White Rim trail at Canyonlands - Island In The Sky (camping reservation required ASAP) http://www.nps.gov/cany/planyourvisit/whiterimroad.htm

For park touring information, suggest spending $9.00 for this Kindle tour book - this is what we use
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00COBH45M


Enjoy, but don't rush (skip Monument Valley).

I agree with giving up your nights in the lodge in Zion to have a less stressful itinerary. There are very comfortable options in Springdale and far more choices for dining.

Also agree about trying to use Rte 12, weather permitting.

First, thank you all so much for all your helpful suggestions. I apologize for taking so long to get back here.

After spending much time trying to redo the itinerary, I gave up a week or so ago and we're just going to go with the original plan... or are hoping to, if our folks in Washington come to their senses and don't shut the government down.

We leave next week, so if the national parks are closed, we will have to find alternate plans for the four nights we have booked at Zion and Bryce. Keeping my fingers crossed, but not especially hopeful at this point.

Meanwhile, we've been doing a lot of reading about state parks and other sites of interest. Also would consider going up to Salt Lake City for a couple of days. I'm sure we'll see wonderful sights, but it will really tick me off to not be able to go into the national parks.

Hoping for good news soon.

zion wont close. the road through it is the only road from east to west in that part of the state. well, at least wont collect a fee to drive through it !

Dead Horse Point State Park, Don't Miss Goblin Valley State Park. Right near Goblin Valley is Little Wild Horse Canyon is one of the best slot canyons in the state. Fisher Towers near Moab, Monument Valley is not a National Park and you could visit it. Several State Parks near Bryce and Zion that would be worth checking out too. You could consider Antelope Canyon too.

Although you will be able to drive on the highway through Zion (Route 9), you won't be able to get into the canyon itself beyond where the road into the canyon splits off from Route 9 - that's accessible by park-run shuttle vans only (unless congress comes to its senses and ends the government shut-down). Still lots of gorgeous scenery to see along the highway, though.

If you can't get into Bryce, there are some nice hiking trails through the hoodoos at nearby Red Canyon on Highway 12.

All of Highway 12 between Bryce and Boulder is spectacular, particularly the Hogsback area.

I recommend driving on the Burr Trail out of Boulder, at least as far as the end of the canyon, it's incredibly scenic. Kodachrome Basin State Park is wonderful, too, and has some nice trails. Devil's Garden, on Hole-in-the-Rock Road, south of Escalante, is really cool, but as it's on Federal Land, I don't know if the parking area will be closed - better check first if you plan to go there. As mentioned, Goblin Valley is a don't miss site.

I found this web site, which lists many wonderful alternatives in Utah to the National Parks: http://www.visitutah.com/national-park-travel-advisory/

Good luck, and I hope the shut-down is over and the parks open again soon!

How embarrassing...my apologies to all the visitors from around the world who come to visit our amazing parks.

I'd hoped we were better than this...guess not :(

We just talked to a young couple from Canada today who tried to do the Devil's Garden hike on the Hole-in-the-rock-road. They said the road was open but when they got to Devil's Garden there was someone there preventing them from doing the hike. I too had hoped to do this while we are in the area.

Capitol Reef National Park scenic highway is closed but we were able to drive Highway 24 though the park. The turn outs along Hwy 24 are open except for Hickman Bridge because there was a rock slide earlier this year and the hike has been closed since. The spur road to the Goosenecks is closed and also Chimney Rock parking. There are signs on all the trails that the park is closed.

We heard on the Utah news that you can drive Hwy 9 though Zion but they were NOT allowing anyone to stop and take pictures. You can not drive though with an over-sized vehicle like an RV.

Utahtea

Returned home Saturday night after enjoying ten great days in Utah and Nevada. The national parks were closed, as well as roads and facilities in the national forests, but thanks to suggestions from the Visitor Centers in St. George and Moab, as well as from so many local people eager to help, and especially from many posts here on Fodor's, we were able to see a lot of amazing places. And, many of those places we would probably not have seen had the major sites been available.

These were our favorites, in no particular order:

Goblin Valley State Park
Dead Horse Point State Park
Anasazi State Park Museum
Kodachrome Basin State Park
Snow Canyon State Park
Valley of Fire State Park (Nevada)

There were many great scenic routes:

La Sal Mountain Loop Road
Hwy 211 through Indian Creek Recreation Area south of Moab
Hwy 128 from Moab to I-70
I-70 between Exits 99 and 149
Hwy 72 between I-70 and Loa
Hwy 12 from Torrey to Hwy 89
Hwy 9 from Mt. Carmel Jct. to Springdale through Zion NP
Hwy 24 from Torrey through Capitol Reef

We also had a look at part of Bryce Canyon thanks to Ruby's where free shuttles ran every 20 minutes from their hotel to a part of the canyon rim on their property.

There were interesting petroglyphs and pictographs in many places including up the street from our condo in Moab. The most impressive and interesting, to me, were the Newspaper Rock on Hwy 211, and those we found in the Sego Canyon north of I-70 at Exit 187. Up a few miles on a gravel road are several rock art sites, and an abandoned mining town.

So, plenty to see and do despite the closures, including a 10-mile horseback ride into the Red Canyon and walks and hikes at Kodachrome, Calf Creek Lower Falls (road closed, restrooms and water fountains locked, but lots of hikers anyway), and Valley of Fire SP.

Nevertheless, it is sad that these parks were closed given the impact on the local economies that depend on tourism. It was also difficult to hear the disappointment of tourists from other parts of the world who were making a long planned, expensive trip to see them. I spoke with some Germans who were on a bus tour that brought them to Valley of Fire SP instead of the Grand Canyon. They were enjoying the spectacular scenery there, but were sad about missing the Grand Canyon and didn't understand why the parks were closed due to a political fight about a health care plan.

Thanks again for all your help here. Let's hope this is the last time our national parks are closed.

Sounds like you had a great trip, and now have to plan another so you can go into the parks.

Thanks for reporting back.

Hi Mainegg,

So glad to hear you had a good trip - you visited a lot of really great places! The Natl Parks are wonderful, but Utah has many places just as awesome.

Personally, I think everyone in our government should be fired immediately - but that's another thread...

emalloy - We did have a great trip, and my husband is already talking about going back for more. Now we just have to figure out if our budget will stretch for both more Utah and my need to return to France as often as possible.

Dayle - I was never a fan of term limits, but could easily become one. Let's hope we don't have to endure more of this political theater in a few months.

Sounds like you were in southern Utah at the same time we were, MaineGG. I'm so glad you enjoyed your trip.

Our trip did not include plans for visiting the national parks since we've covered them all pretty thoroughly in past visits, but it would have been nice to have the option. We had hoped to camp in Natural Bridges Nat'l Monument but maybe next time.

It was sad to drive through Springdale our first day - it was a ghost town. Saw groups of tourists taking photos of the Arches National Park sign in Moab...bummer. We were happy to see that Capitol Reef had many of the pull outs and the Petroglyph trail open during the gov't shutdown. Zion NP rangers, however, wouldn't even allow people to use pull outs for photos. Seemed a bit mean-spirited to us.

We had a fantastic trip and will post a short trip report soon. Peter and I were thrilled to have a chance to meet up with Dayle and her friend, Carol at Hell's Backbone Grill for breakfast. It was so nice to finally meet in person after so many years of sharing info on Fodor's. We had a great time!

It sounds like you had a good trip too. Look forward to your trip report.