Nelson

Wow, that looks at hairier to me than it was on Angels Landing, especially the foreground with that loose sand! Good thing it's short.

yk

whoa, that looks very scary! I was debating on getting hiking poles , maybe I will!

oldemalloy

That looks like the final approach to delicate arch in Arches NP. It was ok until someone decided to come the other way and would not go around the folks who were there first.

Melnq8

That is one freaky drop off. We hiked to Delicate Arch in the winter and I don't remember anything like that. We hiked all but the last half mile or so of Angel's Landing too, with no intention of going as far as we did. We're too old and I'm too clumsy for that craziness.

Edited to add - I just looked up my trip report and we hiked Canyon Overlook!

Here's a photo I took and my comments on the trail:

The trail was a bit more challenging than advertised with some interesting ledges, but short and sweet and well worth the effort, offering fabulous views over lower Zion Canyon.

oldemalloy

Final trail to Delicate Arch

oldemalloy

It was fine with no one else on it, but passing them as they came toward you around the bend was not fun.

mlgb

I declined to hike to Delicate Arch but viewed it from a vista point. I got on the Double O Trail by mistake and did not like the part that goes along the top of a fin at all, especially where there were a few cracks to step over!!

mrwunrfl

I don't see two of the Big 5 national parks on your itinerary: Arches (iconic) and Canyonlands (breathtaking views). You could definitely add those if you save Grand Canyon for another trip when you can go to the South Rim where the world famous views are.

Here is a loop in Utah, going clockwise
https://tinyurl.com/4wp35juc
(Cedar Breaks and Natural Bridges are optional)

The Mighty 5 | Visit Utah

mrwunrfl

>> finally, the first night in Vegas, I read that we should stay somewhere with easy access to the highway to get on I-15, but isn't every hotel on the strip is fairly close to the highway? There are lots of hotels to choose from on the strip.

Yes, and getting onto I15 from the strip will be nbd. You will get a good midweek rate but keep an eye out for parking charges and/or mandatory resort fee.

i chose to stay just off of I15 the night before heading to Utah (having stayed on the strip many times). There was heavy traffic and a significant slowdown before St George. We might have stayed overnight in Kanab, but also think we stayed somewhere closer to Monument Valley, like Kayenta, or both, going ccw on the loop.

We did like you are planning, staying in LV on both ends of the trip, but it would be easy enought to drive Las Vegas airport rental car center to or from Utah on the days of your flights. In particular, the first night in St George if you are up for the drive. Or you have all morning to get from St G to LAS on Sat. morning.

I suppose there would be traffic going south on I15 to Las Vegas on a Friday. You will pay a higher rate on a Friday night on the strip than you would midweek, though more people might make it more fun.

After returning from Utah, we spent a couple nights on the strip. One morning we took an air/ground tour to GC South Rim, pickup and drop off at the Flamingo. This was for my travel partner, I had spent multiole nights at GC South Rim before. I really enjoyed it, even though the pickup was extremely early.

mlgb

I've also stayed in Mesquite or North Las Vegas to avoid the resort/parking fees.

sunbum1944

We didn't stay in Mesquite but we stopped at Lee's Discount Liquor to buy wine before heading into Utah. An amazing store with many choices at good prices. Like to have a glass of wine at the end of days activities and Utah you can't have a glass of wine without buying food with it.

zebec

Hi YK,
A passage to Utah, huh? We honeymooned there. In our opinion, Cedar Breaks and Capitol Reef are musts. But of course you must factor in the stamina of a 10 yr old.
Sounds obvious I know, but trying the Delicate Arch hike towards days-end with a kid, is not a good idea. After sundown=pitch black. Somewhat dicey for adults, let alone a child.
Hope it goes well.
I am done. The water bottle

yk

just want to thank all of you for your input and advice! I have secured lodging at all the 3 destinations (except Las Vegas, which shouldn't be a problem if I wait a bit). Unfortunately our inbound flight to Las Vegas won't land until 9pm, so it will be too late if we want to drive any further beyond just Las Vegas itself (not to mention time change from East Coast).

I'm going to revisit all your suggestions when I have time to digest all the info and look into the nitty gritty part. In the meantime, I have 2 other trips to plan before we go on our Utah trip! (Charleston in Feb and SF in April). The most important parts (securing lodging) is done for this trip at least!

zoeyz1249

Utah's landscape is perfect for an off-road driving experience. If you don't want to rent a car. You can choose to have an off-road adventure in Moab. This trip can go through difficult terrain with the help of a guide. On this trip, you'll travel down steep slopes. Then stop at Lion's Back to see the fossilized dinosaur tracks. Along the way, you can see Echo Canyon, La Sal Mountains, Abyss Canyon, and the Colorado River. If you have plenty of time, this is worth trying.

panecott

Glad your trip is falling into place, yk. One thing about the lodging. If you've booked lodging outside the parks that you can cancel without penalty, you should know that the in-park lodging often has cancellations and rooms open up as time goes by. So, if you are so inclined, you should check the websites frequently to see if any rooms become available. I love staying inside the parks and usually book last minute and have had very good luck in securing rooms inside the parks, including Zion and Bryce. If you don't, that's fine too b/c the entire area is just beautiful.

Zion had an unexpected effect on me. There was something almost spiritual about being surrounded by the huge rocks. I loved it there. I hope you have a wonderful trip.

I don't recall a lot of useful details but I wrote a TR on my adventures, including some easy/moderate hikes and a few little discoveries. Some of the comments also have useful information.