Hi,

My son and I are traveling to Zion & Bryce for Easter break. I have reservations for Rubys Inn for 3/31 and 4/1, and Bryce Canyon Lodge for 4/2. I'm having second thoughts about Rubys Inn as the Rough guide called it an eyesore. Does anyone have any information about it? I have to stay there at least one day as the lodge doesn't open until 4/1. Thanks.

We liked Ruby's, it is not an eyesore.
But we also liked the lodge in the Park.

This is discussed OFTEN here.

Type in Ruby's in the Search Box at the top of the page and you will find MANY opinions and thoughts on ALL the lodging available.

It will all come down to personal opinion.

Given the choice that you have, what's the worst that can happen?

I have not stayed there but did stop in for lunch on my way to the park lodge. Seems fine. Touristy (see that thread for definition) perhaps but fine.

My DS stayed at Ruby's Inn while we were at the campground. The room was nice enough. There was a nice indoor pool.

Utahtea

Thank you all for the information. We plan on three days in Bryce but I'm starting to think that's too many. Does anyone have any recommendations? Is Bryce a good base to see Calf Creek Falls? Or would I be better off staying in Escalante for a night? We will be driving back to Vegas on Sunday to make a late afternoon flight.

I haven't been at this time of the year, but my best guess is the hiking trails in Bryce could still have snow on them. Maybe someone else will know for sure. If there is snow then two nights and one full day will be plenty of time at Bryce.

We have done a day trip to Boulder and back from Bryce. Make sure you drive all the way to Boulder because between Escalante and Boulder is the best part of Hwy 12. Also in Boulder is the Anasazi Indian Village State Park. If you were to spend the night in Escalante or Boulder, you would probably have time to drive the paved part of the Burr Trail and also do Calf Creek Falls. Very scenic drive! Also in Escalante is the Petrified Forest State Park. The petrified wood isn't the really pretty stuff, but an interesting hike.

You put Zion in the heading. How long will you be spending there? Zion is at a lower elevation and at least 2 days there is a good idea.

Utahtea

Stay a night in Boulder at the Boulder Mountain Lodge and have a memorable dinner at Hells Backbone Grill. The Calf Creek hike is wonderful and the drive along Rte 12 is spectacular!

Bryce Canyon Pines Motel is a viable alternative.
Look at it on the web.
I stayed there once years ago and it is a normal motel with the usual features.
I wanted a good bed and a comfortable room, I and got one.

Again, thank you all for the responses. I will be spending 3 nights in Zion at the beginning of my trip. After reading the responses I'm thinking of making some changes to include Capitol Reef. My itinerary is:
3/28-3/30 Zion (in the lodge)
3/31-4/2 Bryce (2 nights at Ruby's, 1 in the lodge)
4/3 drive back to Vegas
I defenitely want to go to Calf Creek Falls and drive the Burr Trail. Any suggestions on modifying this itinerary to include Capital Reef? Or am I trying to do too much?

IMHO 3 nights at Bryce is too much. What are you planning on doing there? I would cut that back to fit in Capital Reef (which I do not know much about). Even if you were to just do Zion and Bryce I would advise more Zion time than Bryce.

We're planning on hiking and photography at Bryce. What about driving straight to Capital Reef from Zion, spending the night in Torrey, and driving back to spend the last two nights in Bryce. We would then drive from Bryce to Las Vegas to catch our flight. Is all this feasible? The alternative is to spend 3 nights in Zion, drive to Bryce, stay overnight, continue on to Capital Reef and overnight, then back to Bryce and overnight. From there to Vegas. It just seems like a lot of driving. Any opinions on this plan?

I say your first option of going from Zion to Capitol Reef, spending one night in Torrey, then driving back the next day to Bryce.

To save time from Zion to Torrey, you might want to save scenic hwy 12, Calf Creek and Burr trail for the drive from Capitol Reef to Bryce.

Utahtea

Thanks utahtea, I think that's what we're going to do. How is the weather in those areas at that time of year? I've been hearing some disheartening stories about a lot of rain & flooding. Will Bryce still have snow? We had planned on doing a lot of hiking. Capitol Reef and Zion should be warmer, right?

We spent two weeks in 2003 visiting Las Vegas going in and out and traveling to Zion and Bryce. It was a wonderful trip and a hiker/photographer's paradise. I would definitely opt for the Lodge over Ruby's but if you only have to stay there one night I guess it would be ok. As I recall the entrance to Bryce was several miles up from the "entrance" which includes not so scenic shops. We were fortunate enough to stay in one of the cabins but the lodge looks fine as well. We could see the canyon rim from our cabin. The walks are fabulous. There is a very nice park store where you can pick up all kinds of food. We found the meals in the lodge to be quite pricey. We also stayed at a cabin in Zion. There are also some very nice motels just outside the park unlike Bryce. Both places have their own uniqueness and it was a wonderful trip. Enjoy.

Zion is at about 4,000+ ft. elevation, Capitol Reef is in the 6,000+ ft. elevation and Bryce is 8,000+. Zion will be the warmest and Bryce the coldest. We've been only to Zion at that time of the year and we hit a cold spell that year and had a little drizzle but it didn't keep us from hiking. Infact the cool weather made it easier to do a hike we wouldn't of though of doing in the heat of the summer. You might luck into warmer weather. My best guess is that you will find snow at Bryce, but I could be wrong. I'm planning on YOU coming back and telling ME how the hiking at all three parks WAS!

Utahtea