Hello,

I've just started planning a trip in late August to Utah (flying into Las Vegas). I did a quick Mappoint route from Las Vegas to Zion (3 hours), Zion to North Rim (2 hours), North Rim to Bryce (3.25 hours), Bryce to Las Vegas (4.5 hours). This makes it about 13 hours of driving for the 5 days........

I have two sons 13 and 11 so we would like to do some hiking and horse/mule rides but I'm wondering if I should skip one of the three stops? Which would you skip?

Thanks!

We're traveling out about the same time, also planning to hike various places. We're planning to use Kanab as our home base. Most of the parks look to be within a 90-minute drive, so we'll do one a day. But, then, we will have no kids along.

zelien,

I would not recommend making Kanab a base. It's OK, but not much of a town. It's MUCH, MUCH preferable to stay IN the parks. Seeing them at sunrise and sunset are the best times and you'll miss that staying in Kanab.

Plus, by the time you get going and spend 1.5 hours getting to the parks, you won't have much time left to see them!

I'd skip the North Rim

I think this is quite doable in 5 days, though it won't give you a lot of time in each park. You can have 1-1/2 days in Zion (spending 2 nights there). Then I'd recommend moving onto Bryce for the remaining 3 nights. Do the Grand Canyon as a day-trip from Bryce. You can take the mule ride or hike at the Grand Canyon but probably not both. You can always do horseback riding at Zion or Bryce.

If you've never been to the Grand Canyon, then it's hard to skip that. I had a very tight schedule when I went and did Grand Canyon as a quick day-trip from Zion. I wish I had more time, but it was not too tiring. It might be different with kids, though.

bbvb,
We are doing a similar loop, but in 7 nights. We are doing Bryce first (2 nights), then NR (2 nights), then ending the trip in Zion (3 nights). Do you have 4 or 5 nights?

Well, it's just me and the husband. We're doing a houseboat for 3 days and hiking the other 3. We want something centrally located so we can get to as many places that week as possible. We're early risers, so getting to our destination early would not be a problem. However, this may not be the best option if traveling with young people.

Wow, lots of replies rolling in. Sorry, my last reply was to Dayle.

Thanks for all the replies so far!

My wife and I have been to the South Rim about 15 years ago but the kids have never been.

I think I might take bigtyke's advice and skip the North Rim.....would it be safe to say that there is more to do in Bryce Canyon and Zion than the North Rim? I don't want to wear the kids out in the car "just to see another canyon" (from their perspective). It looks like we could more hikes and rides if we skip the North Rim.

Thanks!

this response is for bbvb---

You could reduce your driving time by skipping either Bryce or the North Rim. And as much as I oove the Grand Canyon, I think Bryce would be easier for your boys to appreciate---the scale is smaller and there is more "wow" packed into a smaller area. The North Rim is gorgeous but also very quiet and peaceful---maybe too much so for kids. If you decdie in favor of the North Rim, note that there is only the one lodge there (Grand Canyon Lodge), but their online page shows that they do have rooms and cabins available at the end of August:

http://foreverlodging.com/lodging.cfm?PropertyKey=181.

Zion offers some hikes that really appeal to kids--especially the Narrows hike, where you walk in the river. Be sure to allot enough time to Zion on this trip---3 nights would be good. The town of apringdale right at the park entrance offers a good selection of lodging, including some with swimming pools.

If you're going in and out of Las Vegas, Valley of Fire is a must-see park. It's right off I-15, so it's an easy stop.

Hard choice to leave something out. I would go for all of it!! Stay in the parks. I would make the one nighters North Rim or Bryce.

Here is a link to our trip report from last summer:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...rip-report.cfm

You will be on the go, but this part of our country is beautiful!!

MY

Hey Guys!

I did the Zion Narrows Hike (Top-Bottom) last summer, and it was beautiful! Definitely one of the most adventurous hikes in Utah! I wrote a trip report about our hike which you can find at:

http://www.gtmportfolio.com/art_utah_zion.html

Maybe that helps to decide what to do!
Have fun, greetings from Austria!
Gernot

Spend 1 day @ GC
Spend 2 days @ Zion
Spend 2 Days @ Bryce

Start out with the GC. Stay in the Parks or as close to the entrance as you can.

Don't miss- The Narrows or Angels Landing. eat lunch on the grass in front of Zion Lodge with the deer and turkeys. Hike
Navajo Gardens/Queens Loop. Maybe take a helicopter tour of GC, if you are on the Southside. Maybe stay on the North side and skip the southside.

Hi again zelien,

Several posters who have visited the parks multiple times are recommending you stay in or as near as possible to the parks. NOT in Kanab. There are lots of good reasons why.

There have been other visitors who have stayed in Mt Carmel Jct. as a "base." Other locations too. Have you done a search here using the place names "Kanab", "Mt. Carmel Junction"? Read some of these trip reports and see if they help.

I think if you stay in Kanab, you're going to regret having to leave the park each night to go back there.

www.photoworks.com/spirobulldog

find my photos of various places you intend to visit. We were in Zion in October. I have a 15 year old. We have hiked quite a bit in Utah. My wife goes with us on about half of them depending on the fear factor. She loved The Narrows and she did make it 3/4 of the way up Angels Landing. Even that far the views are super. The last .5 mile of Angels Landing is not for the faint of heart.

Hi,You are getting lots of good advice. We made a similar trip to yours, early in June. We often travel with grand children and had our 9 year old grand daughter with us this time. You should enjoy your trip a great deal. Don't skip the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, it is different from the South and much less crowded. We traveled from Salt Lake City and visited the 3 parks you are planning on seeing. Staying in the Parks is great but kids like pools and TV (we have found one night was fine but 2 was not so good). There are nice motels near the entrances to both Zion and Bryce and it is not hard to be in the Parks for sunrise. I think the shuttle at Zion starts at 5:30. If you can't stay at the North Rim in the Park, I think I would just make it a long day and go on the Bryce. Hope you have a fantastic trip.

Just as many have said before but here is my opinion.

My H and I just got back two weeks ago from your same parks, granted we did it all on motorcycle with a camper as a base camp.

We did short hiking trails at the parks. 1D in Bryce, 1D is Zion, 1D in North Rim.
Also went through Kodachrome State Park, drove the Highway 12 (Grand Staircase-Escalante Nat'l Monument), Coral Sand Dunes State Park, and Kolob Trail (Zion Nat'l Park)

The Highway 12 is worth it!!!!!! Stop at Boulder and have lunch with coffee or beer and buy a handcrafted item at the shop.!!!!

Coral Dunes SP is cool. Can rent 4-wheelers (sounds neat for teenagers)otherwise only takes 1 hour or so. Zion is a good day. If you want to do the river walk all of it anyway, carry aqua shoes (the one thing we regret). Bryce you see everything in one day.

Definitely stay in the Lodge at the North Rim. Otherwise you will spend too much time getting their. The campground is beautiful, also. We will stay there next time. Northern rim is "woodsy-ier". Mule rides would have been fun but my H is 6'4 and 240#, weight limit is 225. So hopefully you don't have tall football players. And definitely make reservations for dinner, otherwise you will not get in. And pre-check the sunset time on their website. AZ does NOT use daylight savings. It will throw you off it did us. Sun was setting about 1930.

We are doing those same three parks during 5 days in July but with more and younger children. We're planning to spend one night at the North Rim and have rented a house in Kanab from which we will make day trips (taking new audio book CDs to help the ease the pain of the long drives) to Zion and to Bryce (where some will ride mules/horses). If it were just dh and I, we'd go from park to park but with young children along the thought is that it will be easier to have a familiar home base with cooking and laundry facilities.

Now I'm wondering if I should have planned to spend a night at Bryce instead of GC...

Zion and Bryce will be the most engaging for kids. You will be IN the canyons, up close and personal. I love the North Rim but it is more of a visual experience. North Rim was the place we least enjoyed spending the night. At Zion you can hike and explore until dark, and many people continue hiking until the shuttles stop at 11PM. Bryce has good hiking until dark. You can be very very active in those parks. I'm not trying to discourage you from going to the North Rim, but given your limited time, I think your kids might be happier without the added driving time on North Rim.