I am planning a trip to Zion and Bryce. We would fly into Las Vegas April 29th and drive to our first stop (Zion), hopefully before dark. I’m thinking of spending 2 or 3 full days in Zion and 1 or 2 in Bryce. We'll probably be pretty jet-lagged the first day or two because we'll be coming from Hawaii. We hope to do easy-to-moderate hikes every day. "Somewhat difficult" hikes are not out of the question. ;-)

Does that sound like a good amount of time? Our time is flexible.

Is there something else I should add? FYI, I visited Valley of Fire, Lake Mead, and Red Rocks Canyon earlier this year, so I don’t want to do that. The Grand Canyon will be a different trip.

Any hot tips for places to stay and visit? Thanks so much!

At Zion I like to stay OUTSIDE the park, in Springdale. My preferred location is Cable Mtn lodge, just outside the pedestrian entrance where you pick up the valley shuttles.

That time of year you should expect the Narrows to be closed due to high water. If it is open (flow below ~100cfm), the water will be ice cold, so consider renting a dry suit (not a wet suit) if you want to hike it bottoms up.

At Bryce, be prepared for snow. Daytime highs will be warm enough to melt anything that falls, but lowes at night may be in the 20s. I've had snow there mid May, and tourists in shorts and flip flops were ill prepared. With one night, staying in park at Bryce lodge would be my 1st choice.

I love ( LOVE ) staying at the Lodge https://www.zionlodge.com -- but staying in Springdale near the ped entrance would be fine.

At Bryce - the Lodge would be my choice but there are two decent Best Westerns in Bryce Canyon City - less than a 15 minute drive from the Lodge.

Thanks for your responses. I had no idea it would be so cold (and possibly snowy) in Bryce. I'm thinking of dropping that from the itinerary.
The suggested lodgings in Zion look great!

Is there somewhere else I should add if I drop Bryce?

PS. The lodge at Zion is sold out all around my dates.

Bryce may not be snowy then, especially at the end of April. But if you don't want to try it, you could visit Snow Canyon near St. George or head over to Escalante. If you click on my user name, you will see trip reports for Zion, Bryce, and Escalante.

The roads and overlooks should be fine in Bryce. It would be a shame to be so close and not see it. I like staying in the lodge there, but expect NP lodging not Princess facilities.

Bryce is very different from Zion so it will not be a repeat experience even if you do not hike much. Zion is in the valley and you hike up, Bryce is at the top and you hike down, the geology is different too, do both. One night should be fine for Brye. You could add the day toZion and do some hiking in the separate part of the park that is north of the valley, or as suggested, explore the Escalante area.

I'm a big fan of Route 12 before and after Escalante. One of the great highways of the West. Some wild views east of Escalante. Kiva Koffeehouse, also east of Escalante is a good place to stop, and I've heard good things about Hell's Backbone Grill in Boulder. Beyond that, you're well on the way to the Martian landscapes on the way to Moab via Route 24, but that might be for another time and another trip.

We did Bryce and Zion (along with Moab as we had a week) late April in 2015 then again 2017:
- Bryce had some snow in shady areas, but the trails themselves were clear. Definitely cold at night/early morning viewing the stars and sunrise, highly recommend staying at the NP lodge there. Bryce doesn’t require the time Zion does, I wouldn’t skip it.
- Weather in Zion was great for hiking, Narrows was open in 2015 in 2017 forget about it – raging river. We stayed at the Cliffrose in Springdale on the river easy walk to the park, highly recommend it. Several good restaurants in Springdale, not a bad walking town either.
- If you have time drive at least a ways up Route 12 to say the Kiva Coffeehouse mentioned above or even better to the Hogback north of there, landscape is amazing up that way.

Thank you SO much for this great advice. I've now put one night at Bryce back in the plan and am trying to lock everything down today.
I'll keep you posted.

Quote:

Several good restaurants in Springdale

Any specific recommendations?

Our two favorites were the Spotted Dog for higher and at the opposite end of the spectrum Whiptail Grill an open air Mexican place based out of an old renovated gas station. Whiptail goat cheese chili rellano was really good as were other items we got. Both easy walking distance from Cliffrose or for that matter Cable Mtn Lodge.

BTW, view from dining area of Whiptail not too bad
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Wh...4d-112.9927245

Those look like great suggestions.
Thanks!

Thanks. Those look like great recommendations.

Thanks Dave! (the view is spectacular). We'll be there in May.

We enjoyed the mule ride down into Bryce Canyon. Did close my eyes a couple times though! p.s. say hello to your lovely albatrosses.

Thank you SO much for letting me know about the rides. In checking this out I saw you can also do horse or mule rides in Zion.

I did a mule ride in the Grand Canyon many years ago (solo) and I loved it, but it was scary. Some of the cowboys joked, "This here mule's name is 'Stumbles' ... " Quite a few people bailed in the first 10 minutes! But I kept telling myself there are no mule carcasses at the bottom of the canyon and they would not be doing this if there were!

Convincing DH to do this might be a challenge. We did a mule ride down a steep incline in Santorini 15 years ago. DH's mule insisted on lagging far behind the group. When the handler approached it with a prod it would charge ahead of the others -- on narrow switchbacks! Then it tried to scrape poor DH off its back, by rubbing against the cliff. I was laughing hysterically, but DH did not find it amusing -- at the time! I might be doing this alone!

I am ready to lock everything in, but am waiting to get a confirmation on my dates from the cat-sitters.

PS. The albatrosses swoop within ten feet of my lanai. They nest walking distance from me and the babies should be hatching in the next week.

We did the ride in Bryce Canyon as well. DH had a mule, they gave me a horse who was stubborn as a mule but not quite as sure footed. A lot of the trail is through very narrow slot canyons, where going up my mount liked to be close to the wall so that I'd hit my head on low rock, and going down toward the outside edge so I could gaze upon the long, long fall I'd have. LOL. But it was spectacular, and we took tons of pictures. You cross one shallow stream. Going up was the hardest on my legs, which felt like they were going to break off by the time we got to the top. It was roughly a half day, and not as scary as I'd imagine Grand Canyon would be. Splendid fun. We'd do it again in a heartbeat.

The geography of Zion canyon is a very narrow canyon with the river along the bottom. (~1/2 mile wide perhaps), long (~10mi) and high (up to ~2000' red sandstone cliffs on either side). Bryce is a broad, open amphitheater and the mule rides there take you down among the sandstone formations (hoodoos) to places you may not normally get on foot. The horse rides at Zion do not take you anywhere remarkable that you can't easily visit by shuttle bus or on foot.

There are other parts of Zion (eg east side) that are different terrain - you'll see those as you drive from Zion to Bryce in either direction. Be sure to add time for some stops enroute in that part of the park. But the main attraction at Zion is really the canyon itself, and hikes along the valley floor, or to interesting features short or moderate walks up some side areas. For the adventursome, longer more strenuous hikes up to Angels Landing or Observation Point. The former is not for the faint of heart.