IndianCoupleTravels

Last year we did a Southwest road trip and visited Grand Canyon and Utah’s five National Parks. We also visited Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, Monument Valley, and much more. We flew in and out of Las Vegas for this trip.
I didn't get a chance to share my trip itinerary yet, so here is the summary of our trip.

For detailed trip and pictures, visit indiancoupletravels.com/grand-canyon-and-utahs-mighty-5/.

Grand Canyon Village, AZ - 2 nights
Page, AZ – 1 night
Monument Valley, AZ – 1 night
Moab, UT – 3 nights
Torrey, UT – 1 night
Bryce Canyon, UT – 1 night
Springdale, UT – 2 nights
Las Vegas, NV – 2 nights

We picked short and easy hikes based on our fitness level. If you are an avid hiker, add more days at each location based on how many hikes you want to do. You can follow my itinerary if you enjoy the scenic drive and short hikes.

Day 1 & 2 - We arrived at Las Vegas airport in the morning and drove to the Grand Canyon with a stop in Hoover dam. Once we reached the park, we used the shuttle to see the lookout points on Hermit Road and near the visitor center, including Mather Point and Yavapai Point. We also hiked the South Kaibab trailhead till Ooh Aah Point. We stayed in Grand Canyon Village for two nights.

Day 3 - We traveled east, enjoying the views at various lookouts on Desert View Drive, and reached Desert View WatchTower. We exited from the East entrance and continued our drive towards Page, AZ, and the next stop was Horseshoe Canyon. We visited Glen Canyon Dam Overlook in the evening and stayed the night in Page, AZ.

Day 4 - In the morning, we visited Antelope Canyon and then drove to Monument Valley. We did a self-drive on the scenic road to view the popular sites and stayed the night in Monument Valley.

Day 5 & 6- We traveled to Moab, UT, stayed three nights, and visited Arches National Park, including the lookout points from the scenic drive and the hikes to popular sites, including Delicate Arch and Landscape Arch.

Day 7 - We visited Canyonlands National Park, enjoying the views from various lookout points on the scenic drive and hiking to Mesa Arch.

Day 8- We drove to Capitol Reef and visited popular sites like Hickman Bridge trailhead, Sunset point, Panorama point, and drove the scenic road. We stayed in Torrey, UT, for one night.

Day 9 - We drove to Bryce National Park next and visited famous lookout points like Rainbow Point, Inspiration Point, Sunset Point, and Sunrise Point and hiked the famous Queens Garden Trail.

Day 10 & 11 - We last drove to Zion National Park and visited famous lookout points and hikes.

Day 12 & 13 - After visiting the above National Parks, we stayed two nights in Las Vegas.

Day 14 - Fly home

oldemalloy

That sounds like a great trip. What were your favorite parts of the trip. Would you return to any of the parks ?

MichelleY

Thank you for sharing your trip report!

katk

When you stayed in the Grand Canyon village which lodge did you stay in? would you recommend it or not and for what reasons. Thanks for all your updates.

IndianCoupleTravels

We stayed in Bright Angle lodge and Yavapai lodge. I totally recommended to stay inside the park, but you need to reserve in advance as it is difficult to get the lodging.
You can read it here the details of our trip.
https://indiancoupletravels.com/gran...tahs-mighty-5/

oldemalloy

We have stayed in most of the lodges. When we were traveling on our own, we did not have reservations ahead, but when with others we usually did. We went there between December and April so not during the busy times. The Bright Angel Cabins had the smallest rooms, Thunderbird and Yavapai were like typical motel rooms but Thunderbird was much better location, elTovar had better linens and toiletries but the room we had was not very large. All of them had comfortable beds, most had basic linens and toiletries. We have not stayed at Maswick or Kachina, but I would guess that Kachina is a clone of Thunderbird.

We did not have a view of the canyon from any of them. I think you might get a view from the Bright Angel cabins that are on the rim trail, but if the curtains are open for you to see it, people walking along the trail will be able to look at you. A guest services guy at el Tovar told me that the only place for a great view is from the suites at the top floor, which are usually sold out. If you think about it, you are at the top of a canyon so the views are out and dows so you have to be very close to the rim to see the view. The advantage of staying in the village is that you can walk to the view in a minute or so, you do not have to drive in the dark (avoiding deer, elk, etc) for sunset and sunrise, and you are there when the folks who came for a day and or staying outside are gone. I find it a magical place.

J62

I always stay in the park, and usually at Yavapai. I've never had a problem getting a room there, even in busy season. It seems as though tour bus operators book large blocks of rooms as far ahead of time as they can and then relinquish the rooms they don't need at the last moment - maybe 3 days ahead of time.

Every time I've checked in I asked about availabilty of rooms (curiosity) and they have always had last minute rooms open.... I would not advise to count on being able to walk up, but definitely check for last minute rooms a few days ahead of arrival.

KingKeta

Next time you're in Moab I'd highly recommend checking out these two arches that are located outside of the national park: Morning Glory Arch and Korona Arch. They're two of my favorites and completely free to access!