utah - nevada
 

I'm planning a trip to Las Vegas and the canyons in Utah. I expect to visit Capitol Reef toward the end and then head home. I have the option of flying out of Salt Lake City, or driving back to Las Vegas and flying from there. Can anybody tell me which direction is longer or if there any advantages of one direction over the other?

Thanks in advance.

Personally I prefer Las Vegas (usually can find cheaper flights) & do a "loop" above & below the Grand Canyon to/from Vegas. There is so much to see. A spectacular area.

How much time do you have? What are your interests - national parks / scenic? Then we can help you plan better.

Be sure to see BRYCE & ZION national parks.

Perhaps my question wasn't clear enough.

I'm starting in Las Vegas, then going to the Grand canyon, and then on to Bryce, Zion and Capitol reef and maybe a few things in between. We have 10-12 days.

The last stop will be capitol reef and from there I have to get to a flight back home. I have the option of flying from Las Vegas or from Salt lake City. My question was which direction is faster - Capitol reef to Las Vegas or Capitol Reef to SLC?

One-way flight to Vegas / return SLC will be more expensive than Vegas return tickets. Not sure if expense is an issue.

You will be back-tracking a bit to go to Grand Canyon first (unless going to NORTH rim?).

Personally, if reservations not already booked I would prefer something like -

Vegas to ZION (one day & overnight)
Zion to BRYCE (one day & overnight)
Bryce to CAPITOL REEF (2 days - jeep tour)
Capitol Reef to ARCHES (1 or 2 days in park & Moab area)
Arches to MESA VERDE (1 day plus driving time)
Mesa Verde to MONUMENT VALLEY (1 day)
Monument Valley to GRAND CANYON south rim (remaining 2-3 days)
& back to Vegas (1 day)


If dates are already settled & no time to continue east/south/west & loop around the canyon, & expense isn't an issue -
I would go up to SLC for the return flight & see a different part of the state rather than backtracking.

sssteve,

To answer your question. It's 355 miles from Torrey, Utah to the Las Vegas Airport. It will take about 6 hours of driving time via Hwy's 24, 119, I-70 & I-15. I-15 is pretty boring for the most part. It starts getting scenic around Cedar City and if you have the time there is the Kolob section of Zion to explore. You will have to travel thought Las Vegas to get to the airport. It's amazing, but there is commute traffic in town!

From Torrey, Utah to Salt Lake City Airport is 220 miles and will take about 4 1/2 hours of driving time via Hwys 24, 50, I-15 & I 215. This will probably be the fastest route and the mountains around Salt Lake City are beautiful. The only problem will be traffic. Again, you have to travel thought SLC to get to the airport. I-215 will probably be better than going thought the heart of SLC on I-15 If you are going to be going at commute time then it will take longer to drive.

If you have the time...I would suggest going from Torrey, Utah to Salt Lake City via Hwy 24 east to Hanksville and then up to I-70 and travel west thought the beautiful San Rafael Swell. Then take Hwy 50 to I-70. This route will be 345 miles and will take about 6 1/2 hours to drive. If you have more time, just above Hanksville is Goblin State Park. It's a fun little side trip off Hwy 24.

With 10 - 12 days in the area you will get to really appreciate the parks. I highly recommend spending a little time at Lake Powell since you will be passing right by there. I also hope you plan on driving scenic Hwy 12 from Bryce to Torrey, Utah (not to far from Capitol Reef National Park).

Utahtea

Thank you utahtea!!

I have a flight out of the US so the cost for me from SLC or from LV is exactly the same. I was just looking for an interesting route, and I hate to backtrack!

I definitely plan on taking route 24 from Bryce to Torrey. One item in your message wasn't clear. You wrote:
"...travel west thought the beautiful San Rafael Swell. Then take Hwy 50 to I-70."
Maybe you meant "take highway 70 to 50"??
Highway 50 is nowhere near San Rafael Swell. BTW, what is San Rafael Swell? And is it really swell? I have the time, so we can stop on the way to SLC and visit anywhere worth visiting, and spend a night on the way as well.

As for the rest of the itinerary, We start in LV, then the GC south rim (because we got reservations inside the park there - at the Yavapai lodge - the only one available for our dates at the end of september.)
After that, Zion, Bryce, Capitol reef and then north to SLC.

In any case, thanks again for the advice, and I'll be happy to hear any further suggestions.

If you have time to make a stop in Page, AZ (Lake Powell area) I highly recommend seeing Antelope Canyon. It's kind of pricey ($28) for such a short tour as the canyon itself is very small, but unlike anything I've ever seen. Just got back from a whirlwind 11-day trip starting in Moab and ending in Durango. It was FABULOUS! I'm picking up 23 rolls of developed film tonight.

If you do go to Moab, a highlight of my trip was the 2-hour Hummer tour I took there over the Slick Rock Trails. Lots of fun!

Oops, that was suppose to be from I-70 take Hwy 50 to I-15.

Here is information on the San Rafeal Swell

http://www.americansouthwest.net/uta...ell/index.html

Make sure you check out the 7 picture link.

Shorthly after you get on I-70 traveling west you will go up a few switchbacks and there is a rest stop that has view of switchbacks you just came up and the surrounding area. There are a couple other rest stops and I highly recommend stopping at each.

Utahtea

Thanks again!

Is there any place on the way to SLC worth stopping at overnight? Our flight will leave SLC in the morning at 930 AM.

The mountains around Salt Lake City are beautiful. The traffic is terrible in the SLC area so I suggest you stay somewhere close to the airport!

Utahtea