Utah National Parks Help
 

Utahtea and other experts, we are just beginning to plan our August trip and asking for all suggestions. We will begin 3 or 4 days in Las Vegas taking day trips to Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. We will then go to Zion (1night) Bryce (1night) Capitol Reef (1night) Arches (1night) Canyonlands (1night) Page in order to take a Lake Powell boat tour(2nights?)Monument Valley and maybe Masa Verde (1night - 2nights)
How many days total with driving do you figure? We will do walks, not hike or climb. ANY and ALL suggestions appreciated regarding time needed, so that we can get our flights and try to get hotel reservations.
Thank you!

Made an error above, Grand Canyon cannot be a day trip. We will drive LV to GC and then leave GC for Zion.

3 days in LV is at least 1 too many IMO.
When you are ready to go to Hoover Dam, go see it and then check in to the Hacienda which is 2 miles from the dam and Lake Meade. Leave from there to go to the Grand Canyon (south rim).
There is a walkway on the big new high bridge over Hoover Dam (US 93). The free parking at Hoover Dam is on the Arizona side (second or third lot after crossing the dam).

Death Valley . . . In <B>August</B>. Not a great idea. (The other places on your itinerary will also be very very hot but probably not as <B><red>HOT!!!</B></red> as DV and Vegas).

You likely won't be doing any walks - or very few - anywhere. How does walking in 115F-120F/46C-50C sound?

I don't plan on walking in DV Just a bit of driving. The walks will be in Utah's National Parks.

They will be hot too . . .

Zion can get well over 100F in August.

If you plan your walks for early morning, it is really not that bad. We've done some pretty long hikes (8-12 miles) in Utah's parks in late August and have been just fine. Bring more water than you need and get an early start.

I would skip Las Vegas altogether and add those days to the parks. One short day in Death Valley is really not worth it, especially in August. And you can spend a few hours seeing the Hoover Dam on your way to the Grand Canyon. Give yourself a little more time to relax and see some other incredible sights/sites along the way instead of zipping along to the next national park. Add a night to Zion and a night in Moab (Arches/Canyonlands). Are you flying home from Las Vegas?

We have changed to June, it seems a little cooler according to Weatherbase. Thank you Janis.
sharondi, I just want to see a part of Death Valley, had only planned on driving a couple of hours and then off to Las Vegas for the night and the next day doing the Dam and Lake Mead....Wanted to do a boat tour on Lake Mead and a Hoover Dam tour, they have packages for around $100.00. Then GC before going to Zion. I would be glad to add a night to Zion and Moab, that's what I didn't know how to plan, the time needed for each park.
Yes we are flying home from Vegas.

GC South Rim to Zion is a full-day drive, back towards Hoover Dam and LV. 6-7 hrs. Instead of backtracking, maybe you can go from GC eastward around the Lake Powell way to Canyonlands, Moab/Arches, or even the North Rim, then Zion and back to LV.

When I googled distance this is what it showed:

Grand Canyon National Park
2 h 30 min
In current traffic: 2 h 30 min
Zion National Park, Springdale, UT 84767

The 2hr 30 mins is the time to the North rim, not the south rim. So if that is what you want to see you can.

Are you planning to camp or do you have lodging planned for your trip? If you plan to stay in the lodges in the parks, they will probably tell you they are full, some of the camping areas will be too. You should get any lodging that will let you cancel as soon as possible, and then call every day if you want to be in the parks.

We have gone from Vegas through Zion and Bryce to Moab for Arches and Canyonlands and then back via Monument Valley and the South rim. Our style is to spend a day or two in each area and move on and we've done several trips over the past 15 or so years, revisiting the areas of the parks we loved best and adding a new area or two on each trip. DH likes to drive and the scenery is fantastic in this area. Our trips have mostly been either in the spring or fall, so the crowds have not been as bad as they say they are in the summer. We typically spend 8 to 10 days on our trips. Others will tell you to pick one or two parks and see them thoroughly, that's not our style.

Death Valley is awesome, just make sure the car can take the heat and don't try to do any long hikes. Valley of Fire and Red Rock Canyon would also make nice (but hot) day trips from Vegas.

Have a fantastic trip.

>>Grand Canyon National Park
2 h 30 min
In current traffic: 2 h 30 min
Zion National Park, Springdale, UT 84767<<

GC National Park is massive - as emalloy says -- you probably checked mileage from the wrong bit. From Grand Canyon Village/the south rim to Zion is about a 5 hour drive.

Try googling GC South Rim Visitor Center to Zion. I was assuming you want to go to the main center of the GC where all the action is not just a western viewpoint.

Thank you all!
When Googling GC Village to Zion I do get 4hr 39mim Is there anything else I need to be careful about when I Google?

For Utah road conditions go to:

http://www.udot.utah.gov/

I know there is ongoing bridge construction on 89 in the Kanab area, and probably also in Arizona. I'm sure there are dot sites for Arizona and Nevada that it might be good to look at as they will tell where there is construction or road closures.

And while I have blogged about driving to Zion and Bryce, etc - check out Spirobulldog - as he writes some of the best info - plus has great pics.

And we all have different opinions about what we like.

I love spending time in Vegas - and could care less about ever driving through Death Valley again - but some people dig it.

To each their own.

Thanks emalloy and Tomsd

cd,
I would definitely recommend skipping Lake Mead. It really isn't pretty. Add that day to Moab.

Is there some way you can add time to your trip? 1 day in each place doesn't allow time for GETTING there, so it's almost not worth going.

I remember, several times, the husband driving while the wife points a video camera out the window recording all the sites.

Then when they return home, exhausted, their opinion of their vacation was probably
Ok, but tiring.

Agree with comments above, review your wants/needs and select the most important sites and concentrate on those, skipping others for another time.
I know Death Valley intimately, one day is not worth the trip. Did you know there are three hot (117 F) springs in DV for public bathing? Takes more than a day to get there from LV.

Vaga