faye

Hello,
We're planning a trip in August, with our two toddlers. Would use Las Vegas as the beginning and ending point, and have about 7 days for the real thing. I'm thinking to stay 2 nights at Zion and Bryce each, 1 night at the North Rim of Grand Canyon, and 2 more at South Rim. Would you suggest we try camping at one of the parks at all? We're on a tight budget, so any suggestions on lodging and dining, etc. are greatly appreciated! It's our first big outing since we had kids (they are 2.5 and 4). We are so excited!
Cheers,
Faye

travellyn

I'd plan on camping if possible. Little children really love it, and it's cheap. The North Rim campground is wooded area a mile or so from the rim, so you don't have to worry about anyone falling off.

I haven't camped at Bryce or Zion, but I've camped a couple of times at Canyonlands with 2 toddlers; if the Bryce and Zion campgrounds are similar, there's a lot of sand everywhere to keep the kids happy for hours at a time.

cap

We did obout that trip last year,
but with older kids, and we went
to Flagstaff instead of South Rim.
Definitely consider camping.

We did a combination of camping and park
lodges. The campground is especially nice in Bryce (senic and close to the rim). The lodge in Zion is a new prefab and not much to look at and the North Rim cabins are verrrry rustic, so you wouldn't miss much camping there too.

At Zion and North Rim, the campgrounds are relatively far from the ``center'' of the park (and the lodges/cabins are nearer) but Zion has a great shuttle bus system. NR has a shady path (but it
is a long walk).

The dining room meals at the lodges were expensive, and their ``reservation'' system is just plain broken. We generally waited ove an hour past our reservation times--would be a nightmare with little ones.

There are snack bars in the park, several resturants just outside Zion, a few near Bryce, but none that
I recall near NR. Another reason
to use the little grocery stores at
the campgrounds.

My secret strategy to avoid schlepping
camping equipment in and out of airports: we only brought two compact
tents and a zippered cooler bag of
camp kitchen stuff (as checked luggage).
The rest we rented from Desert Outfitters, in Las Vegas, picked it up on our way out of town. We rented sleeping bags, pads, and cookstove. It was great and inexpensive, I think a sleeping bag costs $10 per week. The National Park Pass gets you in to them all for $50, and its just a few bucks
to use the campground.

rey

did that trip last summer in august. It is about 110 in august in Zion during the day. I would recommend a hotel.motel with a pool there. Otherwise you will be very uncomfortable during the afternoon. I think youre doing too much for one week. I'd forget about the south rim. Do the north rim. Camp there it's beautiful The drive to the south rim is very long.

Dayle

Hi Faye!

Our family vacations were always camping, but we had a little trailer rather than tents. Tents are a bit more involved.

If you haven't camped yet with kids this age, I would suggest trying a close to home weekend in a tent first as a try out. Maybe you would enjoy renting a small motor home? They are quite expensive though.

Also, I do think you & the kids would be much happier at Zion in a motel with pool!