Zion/Bryce Trip in Late May---Help with driving tips??
 

My husband and I are planning a six day trip to Zion and Bryce in late May. Neither of us are serious hikers, although we do plan to do several easier hikes in each park. With that in mind and weighing our lodging options, we have decided to stay at the Desert Pearl Inn for the duration of this vacation and make our trips from there. Our plan will be to spend at least two days in Zion, one day in Bryce and one day driving to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

We realize that staying in one location will mean added drive times, but would prefer not to change locations. From what I've read so far, I gather that the trip from both Zion to Bryce and Zion to the GC will be about two hours driving each way. We are not really early risers and are satisfied to enjoy the sunsets at these locations, but wonder how the drive will be back to our hotel. Will we encounter any problems driving from Bryce to Zion or the GC to Zion after dark? Will we be using mostly highways or will we be driving on back roads that will be poorly lit and/or dangerous?

Since we may have a couple days to spare we thought we might also make a trip to Antelope Canyon if it's feasible. How far from Zion is it to Antelope Canyon and/or Horseshoe Bend and is it worth the trip from Springdale to see them?

Any help you could give us would be much appreciated. Thanks!!!

Diane

This doesn't sound like a fun vacation to me. While, the road to Zion is definitely not a back road, it is definitely not well lit. My last trip to Zion I arrived after dark and was uncomfortable driving the road in the dark.

Hi Diane,

I agree with Barbara, that this is not the best plan. Where do you live? I sounds like you are not familiar with driving distances and conditions in the west.

Sunrise at Bryce is not to be missed. You should stay there so you can at least once get up early and experience it.

Most visitors do change locations during the "loop trip" with good reason. I guess I don't understand why changing would be such a big deal. You're only going for 6 days, how much luggage can you possibly have?

No, the Antelope slot canyon is not a day trip from Springdale. There are others right in the area, but you need to be in shape and adventurous to do them.

I agree with the above posters and recommend making a loop tour rather than backtracking. The roads will be dark and it is too much driving to really enjoy the parks.

If you're concerned with finding decent accommodations elsewhere, why not checkout tripadvisor.com for ideas. If you decide to go to Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend(I highly recommend it), there are plenty of motel choices in Page. Take into account the time changes when you go from place to place as well.

At Bryce you can stay outside the park (at Ruby's) or inside. We stayed inside the parks for our tour (Bryce, Zion, North Rim, Lake Powell) and loved being right there.

I'll add my 2 cents.

Do a loop.

It's at least 90 minutes if not longer from Bryce to Zion. At night you may have deer on the road.

The sunrise at Bryce Point should not be missed.

Navajo Loop - Queen's Garden hike is beautiful and easy. It will take you down into the Hoodoos. You will not get an appreciation for the place without going down.

From Zion to Page (Antelope Canyon) is at least 2 hours if not more. A long way to go and return.

You can see photos of my trip from last June at:

www.travelwalks.com

Okay, okay, uncle, uncle!!! I was wrong!!! Let me start over again.

My husband and I are planning a trip to Utah for six nights in May. We are flying into Vegas, arriving around 1 p.m. We have visited Vegas before and are not gamblers so we aren't planning to spend any time there this trip.

We would like to set time aside to see Zion, Bryce and possibly the Page area and/or a trip to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We will be spending six nights and flying out late p.m. on the seventh day from Vegas. With these thoughts in mind, could you suggest any itineraries that would be suitable? If we begin or end in the Bryce area we will either be driving to there from Vegas on the first day, or driving back to Vegas on our last. How long a drive will it be? We'd like to do as little backtracking as possible during the trip.

Oh, and about that sunrise----we will definitely make plans to see it!!

Thanks so much for the input and the honesty (no matter how much it hurts! LOL).

Diane

With the time change between Nevada and Utah, I'd recommend staying the first couple of nights in Springdale and visiting Zion Canyon. By the time you collect baggage, get your rental car, and drive to Springdale, it will be 6:00 pm or later by the time you arrive.

It's too soon to tell but it is quite likely that in late May, you will not be able to make the trip to the Grand Canyon's north rim. That is not available until the snow clears and in most years, that occurs sometime in mid-June.

If that is the case, I would then go from Springdale to the Bryce Canyon area for a couple of days.

Then, I'd make the trip out Utah Hwy 12 (one of America's Scenic Byways). It is possible to make the round trip in one day but I'd recommend a day eastbound to Torrey, overnight in Torrey, and then a day back westbound on Hwy 12.

You could then overnight again at Bryce or could go on to Cedar City, St. George, or Mesquite, NV for your final night before returning to Las Vegas for your flight home.

Hi Diane,

dwooden lays out a great itinerary for the time of year. go and have a wonderful time. Hurry on the reservations! Take lots of memory/film. The wildflowers will be blooming and they are lovely against the red rocks and pink sand!

Happy trails

Day 1 - Springdale, UT
Day 2- Sightseeing in Zion; overnight Springdale, UT
Day 3 - Drive to north rim GC - Overnight, if accommodations are available. Snow may be a problem this year, but normally they open mid-May.
Day 4 - Drive to Page AZ - Antelope Slot Canyon, boat trips, etc.
Day 5 - Drive to Bryce, stay overnight to see sunrise and other sights, and leave in the afternoon and drive to maybe..
Day 6 - Another night in Springdale or closer before your flight home.

I was there the beginning of June.

When I planned the trip I expected to drive to Sedona from Bryce/Zion in one day.

I planned going from LV to Bryce and then back to Zion. The reason was to shorten the long drive to Sedona.

Smarter people than I suggested the drive is too long, so I added a pit stop night in the Grand Canyon South Rim.

Since I already had my in-park lodging booked (and wasn't about to try and change) I left the order as is.

I arrived in LV at 2:40 PM and it took about an hour to get my luggage and car. Had I not stopped a few time to take photos, I would have made it to Bryce before dark. That would have been a good idea.

While in the Page area there are a few spectacular sights.

Just after crossing the bridge, on the right-hand side is "The Best Dam View". It's free and is a great view of the dam.

About a mile or two down 89 on the right-hand side (west) is a parking lot for Horseshoe Bend (free). It's a hot 3/4 mile, pretty level, sandy walk. When you get to the end there's no fence, screen or barrier. It's straight down.

At that spot the Colorado River makes a "U" turn around what looks like a plate. Amazing!!!

None of these sights in addition to Antelope Canyon require that you go into Page. I didn't.

If you look at my photos you'll see the above sights.

Have fun and report back.

Thank you all for the wonderful advice. I realize now that our original plan was not a wise one! I had a thought about an itinerary that "sounds" good, but wondered what all of you thought.

Day 1 - Fly into Vegas at 1 p.m., rent a car and head out to Zion, spend the night at the Desert Pearl

Day 2 - Spend the day in Zion and night at the Desert Pearl

Day 3 - Spend the second day at Zion and night at the Desert Pearl

Day 4 - Take the day to drive out Rt. 12 and enjoy the scenic byway. Stop at Boulder and stay at Boulder Mountain Lodge for the night

Day 5 - Drive the hour trip over to Capitol Reef and see the sights returning to the Boulder Mountain Lodge

Day 6 - Early start to Bryce and tour the park until sunset. Spend the night at Ruby's (no openings in the park and Ruby's only has the one night)

Day 7 - Checkout sunrise at Bryce before heading back to Vegas to catch an evening flight home

I know the last day will be a long one, but it would give us the opportunity to see Scenic Byway 12 at least as far as Boulder.

Let me know if you think this sounds feasible. Right now I can get reservations at these places, but who knows how long they'll be available. Already running into problems in the Bryce area.

Thanks, again for all the helpful information. By the way, Myer, I loved your pictures --nice job!!

Diane



Day

If it were me, I'd go all the way to Torrey on Hwy 12. The portion between Bryce and Boulder is scenic but the most beautiful portions are between Boulder and Torrey. It's more driving but its well worth it.

I agree with dwooden. I'd sleep over in Torrey.

As far a lodging in Bryce, keep your reservation at Ruby's but call Xanterra every day. Tour groups reserve blocks of rooms and then release them in the last month before. Call, call, call!

The drive from Bryce to LV is about 4 1/2 hours. You should be fine on the last day if you leave by 9-10AM.

For Bryce, I wouldn't tour the whole park. For most of the viewpoints they look pretty much the same.

I wouldn't go past Natural Bridge. That one is really worth the stop as it's different. Go there after hiking down (possibly Navajo Loop - Queen's Garden) since in the morning the sun will be facing you.

Bryce point is spectacular and Sunset Point is very nice in the evening.

The reason most people looking for an easy hike go down Navajo Loop and then back up Queen's Garden is that Navajo Loop is somewhat steeper.

Well thanks to all your great help and advice, we finally have our plans "finalized". We plan on spending three nights in Zion at the Desert Pearl, two nights in Torrey at Austin's Chuckwagon Lodge and our final night in Bryce at Ruby's. I will definitely keep trying to get our night in Bryce at the Bryce Canyon Lodge.

So glad that you talked me out of our original itinerary. Looking forward to the drive along Route 12 the most!!!

Thanks to all.

Diane

Do keep trying, Diane, the Lodge at Bryce Canyon NP was one of our most comfortable and enjoyable accommodations during our visit this past summer.

dmpalena,
Sounds like a great itinerary! Torrey is a wonderful little town and I hope you love Capitol Reef as much as we do. Here is a link to way too many pictures from our Sept '07 trip - spent about 10 days enjoying the area between Zion and Capitol Reef. Happy to answer any questions.

http://www.pbase.com/peterb/utah_07

dmpalena,

the drive on hwy 12 is one of the most scenic drives you will ever see. it is amazing, and incredible how the CCC built it. You're going to have fun!

You guys are sure making it hard for me to wait until May!!! I'm so excited about this trip! Thank you all for the well wishes and especially for sharing your photos with us. As beautiful as they are, I'm sure it's even more amazing seeing it in person.

Gratefully,
Diane

Remember to take a wide brim hat, sunscreen and carry LOTS of water.

You'll have a great time!