Zion,Bryce,Grand Canyon in 3 days?
 

I am leaving Las Vegas on a Wednesday noon with a rental car and I have to be in Phoenix Airport early AM on Saturday. So I will be sleeping at a hotel in Phoneix area Friday night. That leaves me with some time to explore. I was thinking the Hoover Dam on the way to Zion or Bryce spend the night at one. Wake up for a hike then go to the Grand Canyon North Rim spend the night then drive to the South Rim the morning of the 5th. Leave the South Canyon for a 3 hour drive to Phoenix area in the evening.

Any thought? Zion or Bryce? Both? Can I do both? What about the Grand Canyon?
So much to see so little time. What should I see? We are two very fit later 20s ready to do some hiking and exploring. Any advice would be great!

With only 3 days, I would pick only 1 or 2 places. Zion needs a full 2 days and Bryce a full 1 day(these are bare minimums if you are doing much hiking at all). This means no travel time on these days. You could easily spend your entire time in one spot.

Grand Canyon isn't one of my favorite places so I know what I'd do. Maybe not you.

I would probably go right to Zion, check in and do either the Riverside Walk to get a view from the bottom up or the Emerald Pools hike. Sleep in Zion or Springdale.

The next morning get up early and hike Angel's Landing either to Scouts Lookout or to the top if you're adventurous.

Leave for Bryce when you are finished. Depending what time you leave either do the Canyon Overlook hike at the East entrance to Zion or go directly to Bryce. Sleep at Bryce.

Get up very early for a spectacular sunrise at Bryce Point, then grab some breakfast and hike down Navajo loop and up Queens Garden. This will give you an idea of what the Bryce Hoodoos are like.

When you've completed that visit Natural Bridge as it's the only viewpoint that's different. You will have seen Bryce Point (sunrise), Sunset Point (start of Navajo Loop) and Sunrise Point (end of Queens Garden trail).

You may be very fit but Bryce Canyon is in elevation (over 8,000 ft).

This should take you to noon or very early afternoon on Friday.

This will give you a pretty long straight drive to Phoenix with maybe a pit stop at Grand Canyon.

You won't have time but I'd rather go to Antelope Canyon (you'll be going right thru Page) than the Grand Canyon.

Bryce to Phoenix is 425 mi. and 7.45 hrs according to Google. That's without stops. I would not want to do it starting after noon.

So basically you have 2 nights for the three parks, right?

If you really want to hike a lot then maybe better off picking 1 or 2 parks but if you really want to see all three parks and do whatever short hikes can be fit in, then I'd suggest spending 1st day mostly in Zion doing short scenic hikes, leaving in the PM for Bryce so you're there for sunset.

Catch sunrise next AM at Bryce, do a hike, then head for south rim of GC for night # 2. You'll have time for a late afternoon hike at the south rim but it's too hot inside the canyon from now to late Sept (not sure when you're going) so stick to the rim or don't go far into the canyon. Next AM you have time to hike all you want if you get a very early start, even to the river and back if you're <i><b>really</b></i> fit. Then a 4 hour drive to Phoenix for the last night.

<b>I was thinking the Hoover Dam on the way to Zion or Bryce </b>

Dam is south, road to Zion/Bryce is north, so this would mean a detour, so decide whether hiking in Zion is more important than a tour of the dam.

<b>Leave the South Canyon for a 3 hour drive to Phoenix area in the evening.</b>

Four hours during the week, maybe longer on Sunday due to heavy traffic. Plus potentially heavy traffic in Phoenix during the week if you are driving during rush hour, though you can use the car pool lanes, which really help unless there's an accident somewhere.

Roughly 8 hours from Bryce to PHX, roughly 8 hours from Grand Canyon north rim visitor center area to PHX, so I'd prefer to be at south rim for the last night, do the trip's best hike the next morning and then have a shorter drive to Phoenix.

<b>We are two very fit later 20s ready to do some hiking and exploring.</b>

Best hiking is at south rim of GC, then Zion, then Bryce imo. If you're really fit you can do a lengthy hike the last morning from the south rim and still drive to Phoenix (have done this dozens of times).

Your time is way to short to spend it driving to both the N. and S. Rim of the Grand Canyon. Drive time wise I'd choose the South Rim and drive thought Page, AZ.

Leaving Las Vegas at Noon will get you into Zion around 3 PM if you go directly there. Not really a lot of time to see this beautiful park. The Hoover Dam is really out of your way to Zion. It's only about 35 miles BUT depending on the Las Vegas traffic, it could take a lot longer. If you take the back roads from the Dam to Zion, then you're looking at 4 hours at the least not counting the time to see the dam. How about checking out the Glen Canyon Dam which will be on your way from Zion/Bryce to the S. Rim or Phoenix. Just outside of Page, AZ you can stop and stretch your legs and do the short 3/4 mile Horseshoe Bend hike. http://www.travelsw.com/southwest-tr.../horseshoe.htm

If you want to see all the parks, it's going to cut your hiking time. If you decide to cut out a park, then I'd cut Bryce just because it's the most out of your way. That gives you one night at Zion and one at the Grand Canyon.

Utahtea

If you want an excellent meal in Zion, go to Parallel Eighty Eight restaurant in Springdale. It's in a comfortable motel at the end of town and absolutely delicious food:

http://www.paralleleighty-eightrestaurant.com/

Too much drive time and not enough time for hiking and exploring. I'd just go to Hoover Dam and then South Rim GC. Then you could check out the Sedona area on your way down to Phoenix if you have extra time.
OR
Zion would be my absolute first choice of parks and I'd spend two nights there and forget the rest. Not sure of the fastest way to Phoenix, but you could stop at Glen Canyon Dam going one direction or Valley of Fire and Hoover Dam if you return through Las Vegas.

I love GC and prefer the south rim, so my choice would be to go to Zion, If you leave early you can be there before 11 AM spend the rest of the afternoon there then go to Bryce for sunset, spend the night, do a bit of Bryce in the morning, drive to Page for Glen Canyon Dam etc., then down to Cameron for the night and in to Grand Canyon via 64 from the east. Then you can head back to Phoenix with a drive through Oak Creek Canyon/Sedona on the way south. This will give you a taste of each place so you can make plans for longer stays on your next trip.

In any case, have a fantastic trip!!

emalloy - just wondering why you prefer the south rim? Most things I've read said the north rim is better but due to the longer drive time to get there, and it's being closed half the year, most people don't get there. But do you think the views are better at the south rim or what is your reasoning for your preference?

With so little time, I'd actually do something very different. I'd go to Hoover Dam, the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, and then Sedona (to see the red rock country). Then onto Phoenix. I realize that it's a very different kind of itinerary, but I think it's more worthwhile to keep moving in the same general direction rather to see more beautiful scenery than doing 6 to 8 extra hours of driving in just 2-1/2 days.

I love both Zion and Bryce and really liked the North Rim (though I think hiking opportunities are better at the South Rim while views are better at the North Rim). But I'm not so sure of the idea of trying to cram too much into such a short trip.

What most people are saying here is Don't just check them off your list, but to stop and smell the roses. Any of the 3 are great places, depending on what your interests are. I would pick Zion, but that is just my preference. If you intend to do some hiking in the GC, then you'll need more than a day there. North or South rims could be debated as well.

I tried to make sense of this on the calendar based upon the OP. I suppose that this trip is in August but not certain. It would be cooler in Bryce than anywhere else, so I might be tempted to head there.

Actually, that's a good point. Both Zion and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon will be devilishly hot in August. It might be a better bet to drive straight to Bryce from LV and then come back around through Page to the South Rim for a quick stop before heading down to Phoenix. That's still a LOT more driving than I'd want to do on such a short trip, but it's going to help you avoid the worst of the heat, which is considerable this year and might make hiking in either Zion or the Grand Canyon unbearable (though the South Rim does have a nice, paved rim trail).

Don't count out August! We swore we would never go back in the summer once our boys were out of school but guess what...family members with kids in school wanted to go and wanted us to go with them in August to all the places listed above. It really wasn't all that hot except at Lake Powell but that's what the lake is for!

Utahtea

<b>Both Zion and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon will be devilishly hot in August.</b>

South rim is mostly over 7,000 ft elevation (two popular trailheads are 7,200 and 7,400, for example) and because of the elevation it doesn't get "devilishly hot" on the rim compared to lower elevations. Hike very far down into the canyon and it does get really hot in the afternoons though.

Bryce and north rim are only 1,000 - 1,400 ft higher than south rim, which translates to just ~ 4-5 F degrees cooler.

Average highs and lows in August:
GC (South Rim): 82 / 53
GC (North Rim): 75 / 45
GC (bottom): 103 / 75
Bryce Canyon: 80 / 45
Zion: 97 / 66

And you can still do a lot of hiking by noon at any of the places from the OP before you start really worrying about the heat. Of course, you still should pack plenty of water and be prepared.

Are you paying a big drop off fee to leave the rental car in Phoenix? Cars are cheap to rent in Vegas but they want them back where you rent them.
You could take a helicopter tour from LV to see the Grand Canyon from the air. After you see Zion, head back to LV and fly from LV to Phoenix. Rent a car in Phoenix if you have a few hours to see some sights in the area.

<b>Average highs and lows in August:
GC (South Rim): 82 / 53</b>

They measure temps at the airport about 10 miles south of the rim (outside the park) and also inside the park close to the rim, where it's a bit cooler. From the USA Today weather site here are the August average numbers:

Grand Canyon (airport) 81 high, 49 low
Grand Canyon National Park 74 high, 46 low

If you look at what they post at the Ranger Stations it is interesting to see that the temps are all over the place for North, South, Inner Canyon, etc. I had a friend that hiked rim to rim last August and he said it was in the 30's in the morning when he started out on the North Rim and then like 110 when he got to the bottom that day. That's kinda hard to grasp when I am conditioned to Oklahoma weather and it is 85 at night and 105 during the day. A 75 degree swing in temperature seems impossible after hiking just 13 miles.