Zion/Bryce/Grand Canyon Trip
 

We are travelling Zion/Bryce/S Rim. Here is our tentative trip plan. Please advise and provide suggestions.

Family of four - 10 & 8 year old boys

Love Nature and can manage small hikes.

April 10 - late arrival Las Vegas

April 11 - Drive from Las Vegas to Zion -leave by 9am
Stop at Valley of Fire SP
Stop at Snow Canyon SP near St. George
Reach Zion, see sunset(is there a good spot for this??) and relax

April 12 - All day at Zion. Will do small hikes like Riverside walk, Emerald Pools. Any other safe hike recommendations are welcome.

April 13 - Do the Canyon Overlook hike. Leave to go to Bryce. On the way stop at Red Canyon. Is it possible to see Cedar Breaks somehow??? I really want to squeeze this. Other places to stop?? Reach Bryce and see the sunset. Walk around the rim trails and plan hike based on the time left in the day.

April 14 - Sunrise Point. Drive 12 upto Boulder and return back. Stop at Kodacrome SP, Escalante, Anazasi. Is it doable? what else can be done this time of the year on this route?? Can we drive part of Burr Trail in a rental car? The plan is to return to Bryce as we did not want to pack and unpack. Is it possible to drive back to Bryce at a decent time even after making all the stops on highway 12?

April 15 - Leave Bryce to go to Page. Stop at Coral Pink Sand Dunes SP. See the Horseshoes bend. Any other fun stops or scenic routes??? Stay overnight in Page.

April 16 - Take a tour of Antelop Canyon. Any other ideas??? Boat trip on LPowell is not cheap. Is it possible to go to Monument Valley and reach South Rim at night?? Stay at Yavapai in GC.

April 17 - All day at the South Rim

April 18 - Half day in South Rim. Leave 1pm-2pm to go to Las Vegas. Night lights in las vegas.

April 19 - All day in Vegas. May go to Hoover dam in the morning. Depending on the time.

April 20 - 6:30am flight back to SFO

Please help me with my questions and make alternate recommendations.

Thanks.

Since Zion is at the bottom of the valley there really isn't a sunset view.

I couldn't tell exactly from the way you wrote it but plan on the Canyon Overlook hike on the way out of zion going to Bryce canyon.

Riveside Walk and the Emerald Pools hikes are good

Bryce canyon. I think you are doing yourself a disservice if you don't plan on hiking down into the hoodoos. The Navajo Loop down and Queen's gard back up will take a few hours and is pretty tame. However, getting down into the hoodoos is what Bryce is all about.

The rim trail is a nice walk but you don't get the same experience.

Sunset is nice at Sunset Point.
However, sunrise is spectacular at **Bryce Point**.

I stopped in Kodachrome park on my way back to Bryce from Grosvenor Arch. Skip it and make sure you hike down at Bryce. I thought Kodachrome Park was really a nothing.

You can drive about 80% of the way down Burr Trail from the Boulder end in a rental. It's paved.

In Page, Horseshoe Bend is about 15 minutes from Antelope Canyon. To get to Antelope Canyon you turn east on Rt 98 of Rt 89 South.

You want to be at Antelope Canyon when the sun is high in the sky so that it bounces off the Canyon walls. This is an easy walk.

There are various ways to see Antelope Canyon. I didn't bother going into Page. I went directly to the parking lot and paid my $26. They drive you to the Canyon in about 15 minutes. The driver will be your guide. Some know more than others.

Horseshoe Bend is about a half mile South of the above junction. Stop in the parking lot on the right (west) side of the road. It's free. It then a 3/4 mile hot walk. When you get to the end there's no barrier, screen of fence. Just straight down and a spectacular view.

I was afraid so I lied down on my stomach and crawled to the edge.

One more 15 minute sight worth seeing. After you cross the bridge going to Page (going South) there's a sign on the west side of the road indicating scenic route. This takes you to a fairly small parking lot (free). There are stone stairs leading down to an observation area that faces the Gelnn Canyon Dam. It's call "the best dam view".

As many will tell you. driving in this part of the country seems to take longer than on super expressways. Also, try to stop to see the views on Rt 12. Don't drive off the road doing both at the same time.

Forgot to mention. If you click on my name you can find my very detailed report of my trip last June.

You can see my photos at:

www.travelwalks.com

"Bryce canyon. I think you are doing yourself a disservice if you don't plan on hiking down into the hoodoos."

Totally agree. One of my favorite national park hikes.

Now go do those hoodoos that you do so well.

((H))

The main road through Cedar Breaks is closed for the winter, so there's no way to see it unless you can snowshoe or ski in.

Sunset at Bryce isn't much to get excited about. Sunrise is really what you want.

I guess I was not clear in my post. We definetly plan to hike the Queen's Garden and Navajo Loop. Right now because of the snow they are very muddy and icy. But we will see how it goes when we reach there. The plan is to do that hike on the 15th morning(last day) and then leave from Bryce after the hike. I was thinking about taking 89 to Page and only stopping at the Coral Pink Sand Dunes around sunset.

On 13th(first day we reach) we will try to hike around the rim and checkout the various vista points and the visitor center. On the 14th(second full day), we will see the Sunrise at Bryce and then head out on Highway 12. Returning to Bryce for our night stay.

I am so thankful for these forums as they provide the best travel advise ever.

I think you have planned a very good itinerary but would make a few suggestions (we did the trip in 04 with kids the same ages and it's been our favorite trip ever).

I would worry less about seeing all of those extra state parks, etc. and try to focus on Zion and Bryce. In Zion, if there is anyway to do part of the Virgin River walk, I can't encourage you enough to go. Bet the season might make that too cold. It's spectacular. In Bryce, consider going to a Night Sky presentation given by the Park Service, especially if any of you have an interest in astronomy. The talk itself was a bit long for me and the 8 year old, but viewing the sky through telescopes was terrific. I would also STRONGLY encourage you to do a trail ride down into the Canyon. It was THE highlight of the trip (which had many highlights) for my family.

At GC, I would encourage you to try to walk at least partially down into the canyon (we did the South Kaibab trail). I'm guessing you might have a snow/ice issue....but if you can get down in it, even for 1/2 to 1 mile, you will get a totally different perspective.

We did the Vegas overnight at the start. Enjoyed spending a full day there. Hubby hated it but the kids and I found it fun and totally out of the ordinary.

Visit Hoover Dam on your way from GC to Vegas. You drive right over it so you might as well stop and see it and take the tour. We spent about 1 1/2 hours there.

You can search on my screen name and "trip report" and will see our Western trip report. It's a bit dated, but may help.

s,

I agree with ccrosner about spending the majority of your time in the Natl Parks. Snow Canyon and Coral Pink Sand Dunes are beautiful, but really just short visits. Both have red/pink sand dunes, so no real need to visit both.

Also wouldn't bother with Red Rock Canyon on the way to Bryce. Do a short photo stop and continue on.

If you intend to do Hwy 12 and back in just one day - get an EARLY start! Be prepared in clothing and car for possible snow over Boulder Mtn - elev. 11,000 ft. We are having a good ( normal) snow year and that means snow storms likely through April at high elevations.

Alta ski area right now has 156 inches of snow base and it hasn't even started to melt.