In September of 2010 I took my parents on a 9 day adventure to the Southwestern states of Utah and Arizona, my first time visiting this area of the country. Thirty years earlier they took me on my first family vacation to witness the wonders of Acadia National Park. That trip was where I found my love for landscapes. It only seemed fitting that I could share this trip with them. Unfortunately, it would be the last vacation I could share with them due to my parents’ health issues. I will always treasure this trip. The trip was a little different than most of my trips because I had to cater to their limitations. While this trip was over 10 years ago, I would still recommend this itinerary today, although would add a little more hiking. Please continue reading for our itinerary.
Day 1 – Arrival and drive to Springdale, UT
We all arrived in Las Vegas, NV mid-morning from the East Coast. We stocked up on supplies and then drove the 3 hours to Springdale, UT, the gateway to Zion National Park. The drive serpentined thru the huge rock walls of the Virgin River Gorge. We were already in awe! We checked into our lodging, the Zion Canyon Bed & Breakfast (I stayed here 8 years later when traveling with my son) and then ate a Mexican dinner at the Whiptail Grill while looking out at The Watchman, a large rock formation. Lodging: Zion Canyon Bed & Breakfast, Springdale, UT
Day 2 – Zion Scenic Drive
Our full day in Zion National Park began with a ride on the Springdale shuttle bus to the Zion National Park Visitor Center. Here, we transferred to the Zion Canyon shuttlebus. Access to viewpoints and trailheads along Zion Canyon Drive is only permitted by shuttle bus from March thru October. The shuttle makes 8 stops. We road the shuttle to the last stop, the Temple of Sinawava, and then worked our way backwards. At the Temple of Sinawava stop we walked the 1.8 mile roundtrip Riverside Walk. This easy, paved trail follows the Virgin River and ends at the start of the famous hike called The Narrows (which I hiked 8 years later with Ryan). After completing the walk we boarded the shuttle and began our journey back down canyon.
Our stop at Big Bend afforded beautiful views of the Virgin River, Angels Landing, and the Great White Throne.
There was a very short, but steep hike at the Weeping Rock stop to a hanging garden alcove.
We skipped the Grotto stop because it was a picnic area.
At the Zion Lodge stop we got ice cream at the lodge and sat under a large tree enjoying the views. This is originally where I tried to get reservations, but it fills up fast. After a nice rest we crossed over the Virgin River and hiked up to the Lower Emerald Pool.
The Court of the Patriarchs had another very short but steep hike up to a viewpoint where you could see the three peaks: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Our final stop of the day was at the Zion Human History Museum. The museum had an interesting film, a few exhibits, and a gorgeous view out the back.
Dinner that night was in Springdale at Wildcat Willie’s Restaurant. The evening was spent stargazing from our deck. Lodging: Zion Canyon Bed & Breakfast, Springdale, UT
Day 3 – East Zion & Bryce Canyon National Park
The IMAX theater in Virgin, UT was our first stop of the day, where we watched the film “Zion: Treasure of the Gods”. The movie was OK, and for a rainy day I would recommend it, but if the weather is nice, stay outside. We had an 86-mile drive to reach Bryce Canyon National Park. The route took us up a series of steep switchbacks on Route 9 up to the Zion – Mount Carmel Tunnel. Upon exiting the tunnel the landscape had totally changed. Just before exiting the park at the East Entrance we passed by Checkerboard Mesa, a 900 ft mountain with a checkboard appearance caused by fissures in the rock. We continued on towards Bryce Canyon National Park passing thru the Dixie National Forest’s Red Canyon with its scarlet canyon walls.
We arrived at the Bryce Canyon National Park Lodge at 4:30pm and had an early dinner at Ruby’s Restaurant just outside the park. We took a leisurely stroll along the rim of the amphitheater from Sunrise Point to Sunset Point. I went back to the rim at night to attempt some night sky photography. The sky over Bryce Canyon has a 7.4 limiting magnitude night sky. In most areas of the US you can see 2,500 stars on a clear night with no moon. In Bryce you can see 7,500 stars. Unfortunately, the night we were there, there was a full moon. Lodging: Bryce Canyon National Park Lodge, Bryce Canyon National Park
Day 4 – Bryce Canyon National Park
The plan for this morning was that I was going to photograph sunrise and then hike down into the amphitheater alone. I would then meet my parents afterwards for breakfast. Instead, after photographing sunrise I was so cold I went back to the room and ate an early breakfast with my parents. We then all hiked down into the amphitheater on the Navajo Loop & Queens Garden Trail starting out at Sunset Point and hiking down thru the Wall Street section. The views from the bottom of the amphitheater were even more spectacular than the views from above. Bryce Canyon was my parent’s favorite part of the trip. The hike back up is quite strenuous but there are lots of places to stop and rest. After completing the hike we drove the entire 18 miles of the Scenic Drive out to Rainbow Point making multiple stops at the overlooks.
We left Bryce Canyon National Park and headed for our night’s lodging in Big Water, UT. We arrived in Big Water, a small town located a few miles outside of Page, AZ at 6PM. Big Water is located in the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. There are plenty of wonderful hiking trails in the area as well as Lake Powell. Lodging: Dreamkatchers Bed & Breakfast, Big Water, UT
Day 5 – Glen Canyon Dam & Colorado River Float Trip, Page, Arizona
Our full day in the area began with a 9:30am tour of the Glen Canyon Dam. The Glen Canyon Dam is the second tallest concrete dam in the USA. It is 16 feet shorter than the Hoover Dam. The reservoir formed behind the dam was named Lake Powell after Major John Wesley Powell who in 1869 successfully led the first expedition down the Colorado River thru the Grand Canyon. The shoreline of Lake Powell is 1,900 miles long (longer than the Pacific coastline of the USA). The lake is a popular recreation area. The tour lasted 45 minutes and was very interesting. After the tour we drove over to the Wahweap Marina Scenic Lookout for a better view of the lake.
We spent the afternoon on the Colorado River on a float trip with Colorado River Discovery. The 4 hour boat trip started at the Glen Canyon Dam and then traveled 15 miles down to Lee’s Ferry which is the entrance to the Grand Canyon and is where the white water rafting trips of the Grand Canyon begin. It was a very relaxing and informative tour. Five years later in 2015 I would return to Lee’s Ferry for a 6 night whitewater rafting trip with my family. Dinner consisted of sandwiches from Subway eaten on the patio back at the bed & breakfast. Lodging: Dreamkatchers Bed & Breakfast, Big Water, Utah
Day 6 – Secret Canyon and Horseshoe Bend, Page, Arizona
I had been considering touring Antelope Canyon, a slot canyon, but had been discouraged because I had heard that the tours were extremely crowded and rushed. Through on-line research I found another option – Secret Canyon. We booked a tour with Slot Canyon Hummer Adventures. Secret canyon is another slot canyon located on Navajo tribal land. There were only 6 of us on the tour, myself, my parents, a couple in their 70s, and Vance, our guide and owner of the company. Vance is not a Native American but he did grow up on a Navajo reservation and has very good relations with the Navajo tribe. His company is the only company to have a permit to tour this area. The cost of the tour was pricey, but the privacy was well worth it. We had Secret Canyon to ourselves for over an hour.
After the hummer tour we traveled over to the Horseshoe Bend viewpoint. We had rafted around Horseshoe Bend on the Colorado River the day before and now we were going to look down on the river from the mesa above. This involved a 1.5 mile rather strenuous hike considering 1) it was in sand, 2) it was very hot with no shade, and 3) it was all uphill on the return trip. The view was gorgeous, but not for those afraid of heights.
We left the Page area and traveled east to the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. We arrived in Monument Valley around 4:30PM. Our lodging for the evening was at The View Hotel which as the name suggests, had a gorgeous view of “the Mittens”, two unique rock formations. We went to bed early as we had an early morning tour booked for the following morning. Lodging: The View Hotel, Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park
Day 7 – Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park & Grand Canyon National Park
Our day began in Monument Valley at 6:20am when we met David, our Navajo Tour guide from Sacred Monument Tours. We had booked a private 4 hour sunrise tour that entered into the restricted area of Monument Valley. Most visitors can only drive the 17 mile loop road and there can be long wait times. David took us to watch the sunrise over Yei Bi Chei and the Totem Pole. For the next 4 hours he drove us to multiple locations telling us Navajo legends, historical & geological facts, and interesting movie location trivia. It was a wonderful morning and I would highly recommend Sacred Monument Tours.
In the afternoon we departed the Monument Valley area and started back west towards the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. We made a 9 mile detour on our drive in order to see the Navajo National Monument as recommended by Vance from Slot Canyon Hummer Adventures. We went on a 1.0 mile easy hike along a paved trail that ended at a viewpoint overlooking the ancient cliff village of Betatakin. I would love to come back to the area and take the ranger led guided tour of the village. It is considered a strenuous hike and takes 3-5 hours to complete. All visitors must be accompanied by a guide in order to visit Betatakin.
We arrived at the East Entrance to the Grand Canyon at Desert View in the late afternoon. We drove west along Desert View drive stopping at multiple lookout points before arriving at our lodging for the evening. We stayed at the Maswik Lodge which was just a 10 minute walk to the rim of the canyon. As with most national park lodging, there were limited amenities with no wifi or TVs in the room. Lodging: Maswick Lodge, Grand Canyon National Park, South Rim
Day 8 – Exploring the South Rim of the Grand Canyon
We spent a large part of the day walking westward along the Rim Trail and stopping at most of the viewpoints. The South Rim has quite an extensive bus system for getting around so in the afternoon we took the Red Line Shuttle to Hermit’s Rest and got off at each of the lookout points. The views all started looking very similar to us so we headed back to the hotel for an afternoon rest. Later in the afternoon, I took the Blue Line Shuttle to the Visitor Center and then transferred to the Green Line Shuttle to get out to Yaki Point to watch sunset. Lodging: Maswik Lodge, Grand Canyon National Park, South Rim
Day 9 – Travel back to Las Vegas
Day 9 was dedicated to travel back to Las Vegas, a 5 hour drive. The drive was pretty uneventful with not much scenery. We sat in traffic for quite a while at the Hoover Dam where there was a large construction project going on. We checked into our hotel, the South Point Hotel and Casino, located on Las Vegas Blvd., but on the opposite end from “The Strip”. Dinner was in The Garden Buffet in the hotel and then it was an early night. Lodging: The South Point Hotel, Las Vegas, NV
Day 10 – Travel back to the East Coast
Final Thoughts
- Miles driven: 975
- States visited: 3 (Nevada, Utah, Arizona)
- National Parks visited: 3 (Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Grand Canyon National Park)
- National Recreational Areas visited: 1 (Glen Canyon National Recreational Area)
- Native American Tribal Parks visited: 1 (Monument Valley Tribal Park)
- National Monuments visited: 2 (Grand Staircase Escalante Natioanl Monument and Navajo National Monument)
