Zion Bryce with little kids in July - a few questions
 

Hello,
Am just starting to plan a summer trip for myself, DH, DD (7), and DS (almost 4). Mid July for 10 days.

The kids only really care about swimming while on vacation. My husband and I are drawn to the natural beauty of the West and like to hike but aren't extreme outdoorsy types -- we also like museums, theatre, fine dining, etc..

We will fly from Boston to Las Vegas and stay one of two nights in Vegas (trying to find something with a pool that has some shade... found very good rates at Mandalay Bay but not much shade and apparently not in the midst of the strip).

After Vegas am thinking of staying in St. George as our base for travelling. Again, picking a place with a pool so that after our hikes and outdoor activities the kids can come back to swim. Am thinking of either a private house rental or The Inn at Entrada (2 BR casita with kitchen and nice views... this is where High School Musical 2 was filmed... should make DD happy).

then back to Vegas for a day or two and flying home.

My questions:

* Any ideas for which hotel in Vegas will have the most kid friendly pool and potentially with some shade?
* Is St. George central to all we'll want to do or should we stay there a few days and then move to another location, and if so any suggestions (keeping in mind that the kids will be happiest if they can swim)?
* Any hikes particularly good for the little ones?.. or other activities? (have started researching this and am compiling a list).
* Besides Bryce Canyon and Zion park, what are the other places to visit?

Thanks SO much!!

You do know that the average high temperature in Zion in July is 100F. Bryce is a little cooler!

We've stayed at the Paris hotel in June (zero shade at the pool). We were lucky with the weather when we visited Zion as it had reached 108F the day before we visited and it was a 'cool' 88F.

The hikes I remember would be unsuitable for a 4 year old but the parks do have excellent information and a junior ranger program that your DD would enjoy.

You may want to do a separate post on Las Vegas with Kids. There is a crowd here that really knows Las Vegas but would not necessarily open your post on Zion.

okay... I might be fooling myself about the temperatures - where I am it gets terribly humid in the summer and it can be unbearable at times. I am thinking of the dry heat as "doable", but perhaps I am wrong?

the whole plan for this vacation hinges on the affordability factor along with "bang for the buck". We don't want to spend more than $2500 all in and the flights to Vegas are cheap so that was the starting point.

We typically take a driving trip to Maine or New Hampshire for a few days in the summer, but wanted to see something new this year, BUT we are definitely on a budget.

Anyway, thanks for your responses and please keep them coming.

We have been to that area when our kids were small. I recall vividly the heat in early June. Still we had a great time.

There is a small ski Resort called Brians Head near Zion which may offer great deals during the summer. That may be an alternative to St. George.

Are you campers? Many kids love it and it is economical.

okoshi2002,
I would definitely be up for camping but where we are travelling by plane, I wouldn't know how to bring all of the gear with us.

About the heat... I am a getting a little bit nervous about it.

I guess Yosemite might be a better bet for this time of year, but it is out of our price range... the flights are just too pricey from Boston.

St. George is fine for Zion, but a little too far to Bryce for a day trip - 3+ hours. St. George would have plenty of options as far as price. Closer to Zion would be better. Most here recommend Springdale.

At Bryce, you could try for in the park(no pool) or Ruby's just outside the park. The elevation is over 8000 ft, so it will be cooler.

Here is a link to our trip report:

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

Lots of people do these trips in the summer. Just be prepared with plenty of water and plan to do activities earlier in the day.

This is a beautiful part of our country.

MY

I would normally say stay in the park, but if your kids want to swim, for Zion, stay in Springdale. There are several places and many have pools. The ride from Zion to Bryce is an hour and a half or so and you would probably want to find a place to stay closer to it. If you want to do a loop back to Vegas from Bryce, one that is possible is to go back down 89 south to 14 west and then up to Cedar Breaks NM on UT148. It has spectacular scenery and some hiking trails and is at 10,500 feet, so will probably be cooler. There is lodging in the ski areas a little north of there.

This is a trip we're talking about taking in a couple of years so I'm interested to hear where you end up.

Regarding camping, you could stay in a KOA cabin or lodge near Bryce and they have a swimming pool. You have to bring bedding, but it might be worth it. Good luck.

Thank you all...

MichelleY, great trip report... I just scanned it and will read it more closely later. Sounds like a should find a place closer to Bryce Canyon rather than picking St. G as the base for the whole trip.

Are there any nice / resorty type towns close to Bryce? I sort of like the idea of a place similar to St. G as I like the idea of decent food / nice swimming pool. We usually aren't roughing it too much on our vacations -- :)

Brian Head UT is about 2 hours from Bryce, but it has a number of resort type places. Don't know about other things there as it is a ski area but most of those do give nice deals in the summer.

Dear mama:

We based in St. George only because of the timeshare we stayed in and still did overnights to Bryce and the North Rim Grand Canyon. If we ever do this trip again, I would stay at least 2 nights at North Rim and maybe 2 at Bryce. I don't think there are many "resorty" type places near Bryce. Ruby's right outside the park has many ammenities you are looking for.

You could base in Springdale, at Zion. This will but you a little closer to Bryce than St. George.

This is the wide open spaces, so everything is far & few, but beautiful.

MY

I suggest staying in Springdale too...it is right next to the park. There is a shuttle bus that will pick you up in town and take you to the park...then during the heat of the day you can very easily escape back to your hotel with the pool. Lovely little town and very walkable.

I highly recommend the Desert Pearl Inn Springdale & family friendly rooms were perfect. Small fridge & very large room. Fantastic pool that's great for kids. They can also splash in the creek right out back of the hotel - we bought cheapo $1 floating rings that lasted just long enough.

Even in the heat Zion should be ok, as long as you go in the mornings. There are a couple of hikes you can take. A very short one to the weeping rock garden (I forget the name), and another one at the far end of the valley leads up to the narrows part of the creek. Best thing is you can play in the water whenever you want to cool down or just have fun, and still enjoy the beauty of being in the park.

Springdale location is great. You can walk to restaurants, and hop on the free shuttle right in front of the hotel. It takes you 5min ride into the park, where you then transfer to the in-park shuttle buses. Quite easily done.

In Vegas we stayed at a time share place just off the strip, next to Hooters. I think the name was Desert Rose. Non-smoking, non-gambling property. 2br suite with full kitchen was about $100/night. Pool was small with a little shade (not mid-day), but having 2br and a full kitchen was great with the kids. We just booked at their website over the internet - I can look up the website if you need it. You don't need to be a timeshare owner or deal with any of the sales staff. We were treated just like normal hotel guests.

It's close enough to the strip that we could walk to the casinos to browse. We walked one direction and took a taxi back to the condo when done. You can also drive to mid strip if you wish. Parking is free & plentiful at every casino.

This is great!! Thanks so much for the responses.

Just a quick question to clarify... If we are staying at the Desert Pearl Inn and hopping on the shuttle, this is the shuttle that goes to Zion or to Bryce? I am assuming Zion.

thanks.

oops... just answered my own questioning by going on the Desert Pearl website... this place looks absolutely perfect for us - thanks so much for the recommendation.

any recommendations for something similar close to Bryce or does this become our base for Bryce as well?

You could base yourself in Springdale for Bryce, but it is another 1 1/2 hour - 2 hours away. It is up to you. Ruby's Best Western is just outside the park at Bryce. Many stay there instead of in the park at Bryce.

okay here is an update with what I am planning so far... would love feedback:

arrival in Vegas, July 14 - stay two nights (trying priceline unsuccessfully for Mandalay Bay - will move on to something else if need be, but will try priceline a few more times first).

depart Vegas for our LONG drive to Escalante, UT - this will be our base for our Bryce Canyon visit and Slot Canyon, etc. Very excited to see things like this:
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...num=3&ct=image

Will spend two nights at The Slot Canyon Inn in Escalante in their Cabin.

From there will go to Desert Pearl Inn as a base for Zion and will stay for two nights.

From there will head further west (making our way back towards Vegas) to stay two nights at The Inn at Entrada in a 2BR Casita (DD will love staying where they filmed HS Musical 2).

From there back to Vegas for one or two nights and then fly home to Boston.

So this itinerary gets the big long drive done toward the beginning of the trip (figuring when we are fresher) and then smaller drives back toward Vegas.

What do you think?

ps: thanks for the Desert Pearl recommendation very excited.

Sounds like a great trip to me. I'm not a gambler, so personally I'd just stay in Vegas at the end as an overnight before my flight home - I wouldn't even bother with the strip, just a family friendly hotel like Hampton Inn or other similar chain nearby. You could also throw in a 1/2 day trip to Hoover dam if that interests you.

4 & 7 may be too young, but for my kids one of their favorite pasttimes in Vegas was collecting trading cards being handed out on the street, then deciding who they should call for their father, or trying to spot who was working for hire. Their mother even got in on the farse. Vegas has definitely tilted more to the "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" model.

hi J62...
thanks for the input. We aren't necessarily Vegas people particularly with 100+ temps, but I figure a short stay at the beginning will allow a little bit of relaxation before the long drive to Escalante, and the kids are happy anywhere with a pool so finding a really fun (and hopefully with some shade) pool in Vegas for the beginning and end will be up their alley.

We definitely don't need the gambling... who knows maybe we can make up some of our own Vegas games, although spotting who is for hire is not a subject I am ready for!!