P67742

Hi Everyone-

Many thanks in advance for all your guidance, tips, and suggestions! We are around 50 y.o. and very active. We’ve travelled extensively and now looking to finally visit the Utah national parks! We wanted to get a good taste of all the area has to offer, and then we will definitely be coming back to explore further. So this is what I put together so far.... for end of April 2022-Fly into Vegas and out of SLC. Hotels, car rental, and Antelope Canyon tour is booked. We can still modify routes based on your feedback. I had to take out the drive from Bryce-Capitol Reef-Lake Powell through Escalante since it was too much this time. Its a lot of moving around but we are fine with this.

Fri-get into Vegas at 8 PM, pick up rental car, and drive to Mesquite. 1 night

Sat-early morning, drive to Zion. Canyon Overlook Trail and Lower Emeralds 1 night

Sun-Zion-Hike Angels Landing. Still looking into whether we think we can do the summit but even if we don’t do the last part, assuming its still a great hike. 3-4 PM-drive to Bryce 1 night

Mon-Bryce-AM-Sunset to Sunrise Trail; PM-Queens Garden/Navajo; Drive to Page, AZ 1 night

Tues-AM-Horseshoe Bend, 10:20 ticket for Antelope canyon; Drive to Moab (4.5 hrs)-3 nights

Wed—Arches NP all day

Thu-Canyonlands All Day; can stop at Deadhorse if time

Fri-Drive to Capitol Reef, stop at Goblin Valley, stay in Capitol Reef

Sat-Drive to SLC airport

tomfuller

If dropping the car at SLC involves a large drop fee, just drive back to Las Vegas and catch a later flight out of there. Las Vegas always has lower rental rates than SLC in my experience.

mlgb

Could you spend Tuesday night after Page around Monument Valley instead so you'd have a sunset and sunrise at that view point? Even if you don't have time for a tour although I'd consider a self drive one if you still can. Then a short detour to the Goosnecks overlook, Hwy 211 for Newpaper Rock and then Islands in the Sky (time it for sunset Wednesday night).

Since MV is so out of the way, I would prioritize that over some easier to reach parks such as Zion. Same with Hwy 12, even if it's just a drive through.


I'm also not sure why you are leaving from Salt Lake. In fact I might be inclined to move Bryce to the last night and then fly back from Las Vegas. But it may be too late for that.

P67742

Thanks. I got this great airfare that i booked knowing my care rental was going to be super high. But----- I can still change it. Cost of airfare is slightly higher but i save on car rental. So if I did switch it, then that changes the order of how I do the parks? I definitely have Antelope Canyon booked but I can see if i am able to move it.

Would you then do Las Vegas, Mesquite, Zion, Antelope with MV overnight, Moab, Capitol Reef, Bryce, out from Las Vegas?

mlgb

Yes, more or less. After Moab, I'd try for Torrey, then take Hwy 12 to Bryce. Depending on how many times you want to change hotels, there is also Kanab, it is 90 minutes to Page, 90 minutes to Bryce and less than that to Springdale. We sometimes stay there if having a hard time getting lodging at the tighter spots. And it's near Angel Canyon and Best Friends.

I usually do stay in Mesquite because I drive from Los Angeles and don't care for Las Vegas. But you also might be able to spend the first night in Springdale with an early flight. Recommend that drive during daylight, nice scenery.

Parktrvl

Fri-get into Vegas at 8 PM, pick up rental car, and drive to Mesquite. 1 night

Two recommended stops in Mesquite
1. Lee's Liquor. To avoid avoid archaic and expensive Utah liquor laws and limited choices, stop at Lee's The are massive. All liquors, vast selection of wines and good supply of beers. At Exit 122 turn west (left from Las Vegas) for 1.8 miles
2. At either Casa Blanca or Virgin River casinos, order Deuces Breakfast for $7.00

sunbum1944

I was at Bryce and Zion in October. Absolutely agree on stopping at Lee's Liquor. Biggest liquor store I have ever been in. In Utah you can't even go for a drink unless you buy food too .
We few in and out of Las Vegas. Would have worked fine except the day of our return was the day Soutwest cancelled so many flights and the airport was a mess. We did get out OK but when we got to Oakland, we had no pilots for the last leg of trip. Eventually some were found and we made it home on the same day- unlike many of our fellow travelers.
For Zion portion we stayed in Springdale for 3 nights at La Quinta. Good location just a short walk to shuttle stop and short walk to restaurants and a grocery store. The grocery store has a nice deli where they will make you sandwiches for day trips. We did that for one day and ate lunch at Zion Lodge for the second day.
We did the Canyon Overlook trail which is not quite as easy as they make it sound. There is a portion that is very narrow, no guard rail and no room making an error. I did not like that part of it. We also did the Lower Emerald Pool which was nice. Had planned to do the other pools but rain and thunderstorm blew in. We also hiked the beginning of the trail to the Narrows- up to the point where you wade in the water.
In the Bryce area we stayed in the tiny town of Tropic. Easy drive to the park. We stayed in some cabins which were small but worked for us. There were several restaurants but it is a very quiet peaceful place to stay. There is a sheep pasture behind the cabins and a swing so nice place to enjoy evening cocktails.
At Bryce we walked the Sunrise to Sunset trail. We also went beyond where the shuttle bus goes and did a short hike at the bristle cone trail and made several other stops at viewing areas.
It was all spectacular and I would go back in a heartbeat.

P67742

Thank you all for these great tips! We are leaving the flights as is. We have been to SLC but thought it would be different to drive from Capitol Reef to SLC.

sunbum1944

A post script to our Utah adventure is that we got caught up in a police shoot out. We were on a Jeep tour and heading out to our destination when suddenly there lots of police cars coming our way. Then we noticed a cop at the side of the road pointing a gun at something- like an AR 15. We had no clue what was happening but we did the tour and as we came back to the highway, all traffic was blocked. Turns out there had been a high speed chase and guy in a truck had been shooting at vehicles and had hit 6. The highway all the way to the park was shut down. We waited about an hour and the road opened, the shooter had shot himself and was transported out by ambulance which we saw go by.
in retrospect, we realized how close we had come to being in the worst of it and we were in an open sided Jeep.
Back in Springdale, the town had been on lockdown, many restaurants were closed, but traffic was starring to move again.
we were really glad we had stopped at Lee’s Liquor because by that time we needed a drink.
Zion Jeep Tours is who we were with and they were great. Said they wouldn’t charge us for the hour we sat on the highway.

oldemalloy

That made for a memorable,if frightening trip. Did the rest of the trip go as planned?

sunbum1944

Yes rest of trip was great except for a bit of rain- I'm from Oregon. A little rain does not stop us.

P67742

oh my...what an unexpected adventure.

P67742

So I ended up changing flights to RT Vegas leaving late so I will need to change the schedule around a bit. This kept making more sense as I tried to refine the trip further.

Do you recommend still doing Zion first and then looping around with Bryce on last day before heading to airport?

StantonHyde

If you click on my user name, you will see trip reports for all 5 national parks in Utah (I live in Salt Lake and we get down to those areas frequently). Just remember not to drive after dark. There are areas that are open range--cows on the road. If you hit one, not only is your car a mess, but you are liable and have to reimburse the rancher for the cow. And then just the fact that the scenery is amazing and should not be missed!!!

Michael

You could have snow at the higher elevations. We had snow flurries when visiting Bryce in June.

oldemalloy

I would do Bryce first then Zion so you could be closer to Vegas and fewer possible traffic hang ups while leaving.

P67742

Does this work? I changed flights per recs but needed to rearrange schedule based on comments above to end at Zion. I know its a bit packed but we will come back. The more I research, the more I want to do in this area.

Fri-Fly into Vegas at 8PM and stop in Mesquite for the night
Sat-Drive to Bryce-Queens Garden/Navajo trail, sunset
Sun-Bryce-Sunrise (sunset to sunrise trail), drive towards Page. Stop along way at Horseshoe Bend
Mon-Antelope Canyon Upper tour booked. Ends at 12, drive to MV (lose an hour)-stay
Tues-book a sunrise tour at MV and then drive to Arches (Devils Garden Trail)
Wed-Canyonlands Mesa Arch at sunrise; Afternoon-back at Arches (Park Ave and Windows if time, must do-Delicate Arch at Sunset)
Thu-Drive to Capitol Reef, stop at Goblin Valley Park, Hickman Bridge Hike
Fri-Drive to Zion
Sat-All day in Zion, drive to Las Vegas airport for 10 PM flight

P67742

As an afterthought, I may try and do the sunset tour at MV instead. If I leave Antelope Canyon by 1 (tour ends at 11:50), it’s 2 hours plus the hour time diff. Should be able to get there by 4:30 latest. This way I see sunrise from room and then head to arches.

itsnotbutta

Id spend 2-3 nights in Vegas!

sunbum1944

The LAS Budget car rental really pushed us to buy their insurance. We pushed back at first but then we gave in and bought it. On our return home, my traveler friend called and complained about their sales tactics and they refunded us the extra insurance charges.
so heads up, be strong if you don’t want to pay the extra fees.