How do I make my plan for a round trip that depart from Las Vegas through Grand Canyon and Zion NP?

Question

I'm planning to have a road trip that focus on Grand Canyon and Grand Circle in the end of Aug for 3 days. I've booked one night lodge in Grand Canyon Village. I'll depart in early morning from Las Vegas heading for the south rim first, driving through Powell Lake and Zion NP in the following days, and back to Las Vegas before 19:00 in the third day. My problem is where is the best place to stay for the second night (National Park lodge or motel in which town), while I prefer having enough time for sightseeing or a short hike. I need advice of how to allocate my time in the Grand Circle since that it costs lots of time on the road from Grand Canyon through Lake Powell to Zion NP. Should I just make a short stop in Lake Powell and save my time in Zion NP? How long would it take for each of the route? (South rim - Page; Page - Zion NP; Zion NP to Las Vegas). Please kindly give my some advise. Thanks

Answer 1

if you get out of Vegas early you will miss traffic on the Damned Dam. once you get past the Dam and clear the uphill run. the trip into Kingman is fast
Get gas in Kingman
It's 120 miles on I-40 from Kingman to Williams { get gas } Jct of 64 into GCN NP
spend the rest of the day at the Canyon
make sure you take East Rim drive out to Desert View hitting all the over looks on the way back -Lipan Pt is my favorite
Next day out of the park on East rim drive and then a really fast down hill to cameron -
6 mi before the jct of 89 there are indian jewelery stands at the little colorado river over look- use them
get gas in Cameron
decision time
If Lake Powell isn't mission critical try this
89 N to Jct of 89 A make the left
over navajo bridge- side trip to Lee's ferr y then uphill to and through Jacob Lake and downhill to Fredonia AZ. -watch out for the cops when you get out of the trees.
at Fredonia you have two possibilities;
you could go straight onto Zion and enter the park from top - my first choice just because the downhill run is so spectacular
or you could make a left on 389 head through Colorado city and set yourself up in a motel in Hurricane UT and head east to the park. - good idea
you can actually get in a lot of hiking 4-5 hrs on day 1 same on day 2
As long as you leave Hurricane by 1600 you wil have no problem

Answer 2

I know you have to cover a lot of ground, but three days is pitiful.

Leave early from Las Vegas to Grand Canyon. Like the other poster suggested, get their early. Hike down into the canyon a little way. There are rests stops at 1.5 miles, 3.0 miles, and 5.0 miles. Go down as far as you can, rest, and come back up. Try to be back up on the rim to find yourself a good spot and watch the sunset.

Second day, leave early for Zion. Lake Powell is just a drive by if you do not have time to take a boat trip. Get to Zion and stay at the Lodge there (on in the city outside the main entrance). You must hike up Angels Landing. If you have time, visit the Emerald Pools and hike up the river a ways.

Have fun, but next time, TAKE MORE TIME.

Answer 3

First of all, I would see if you can get lodging at the North Rim lodge instead. This would shave several long hours off your trip and many people (myself included) prefer the North Rim to the South during summer. If they don't have any vacancies at the North Rim, try calling in the morning a few times during the week and see if you can get lucky picking up a cancellation.

Because the North Rim is at a higher elevation, it is much cooler than the South Rim and has lots of nice pine trees along the rim. The small north rim lodge (built in the 1930s) sits right on the edge with a big stone patio looking out over the canyon. It is my favorite of the canyon lodges and much more intimate than any of the South Rim lodges.

The South Rim is much more developed and has some neat historic buildings and more lodging options, but because it is easier to get to (and closer to Phoenix), it is a ZOO in summer. Expect a long line of cars to get in and crowds (and limited parking) at all the overlooks. It is still a worth visiting to be sure, but if I had a choice during the summer, I would take the north over the south any day. If you do stay at the South Rim, another posters recommendation about the Arizona Steak house is right on, except that it is just called the 'Arizona Room' (right next to Bright Angel Lodge).

As for the rest of your trip, Zion is a great place to relax and has many great little day hikes. If you are into hiking, I would probably put emphasis here - the best GC hikes take more time and are better done in cooler weather. I would definitely recommend trying to get in the park lodge, but nearby Springdale has a variety of options (Zion Pizza and Noodle Company for dinner!). You are also not too far from Bryce National Park (which I think is more interesting than Lake Powell). As others have mentioned, Lake Powell is not all that great from the shore. You really need a boat (or boat tour) to appreciate it.

If I was in the Page/Powell area, I would recommend that you hit the famous Antelope Canyon slot canyon instead (you have probably seen photographs of it). It is actually just a couple miles outside of Page (to the southeast) and the lower portion is all set up with stairs, etc (don't need any special equipment or skills).

If you can pick up a room at the North Rim, I would recommend the following:
Day 1 - Get to Zion early, do a day hike (Emerald Pools or Angel Landing), spend the night at Zion NP lodge.
Day 2 - Either go to Bryce NP or straight to North Rim. Either way, end up at North Rim lodge. The detour to Bryce would probably add 4+ hours to the drive time for the day.
Day 3 - Relaxing morning at the rim, then drive back to Vegas.

If you have to go to the South Rim, than I would recommend this:
Day 1 - Drive to South Rim, stopping briefly at Hoover Dam and the famous Route 66 Sno-Cap soda shop in Seligman. Get into Grand Canyon NP late in the day (fewer crowds). Spend night at GC.
Day 2 - Take AZ64 east out of Park stopping at Desertview Tower and early lunch (Navajo Tacos) at Cameron Trading Post cafe. Head north to Page, tour Antelope Canyon (takes about 1-2 hours), quick look at Lake Powell and then a long drive to Zion. Stop for dinner at Rocking V Cafe in Kanab. Night at Zion NP or Springdale.
Day 3 - Enjoy morning hike at Zion, afternoon drive to Vegas.

Answer 4

I have driven the route you will take a couple times. Here's my advice. The drive to the Grand Canyon is 5 long hard hours on mostly two lane roads with trucks and campers (only a short way on I-40). Leave Vegas early so you get there by noon at the least. That will give you all afternoon and evening to see the Canyon. Do try to get dinner at the Arizona Steak house; its good food and a beautiful view of the Canyon while you eat.

On your way out of the Canyon village headed East there are some overlooks you may want to stop at for pictures. There may also be Native American jewelry stands on that route.

You can actually drive past Lake Powell, through Zion and get back to Vegas in one day. There is not much to see or do there except the visitor's Center at Lake Powell, unless you book a boat trip/tour. Many years ago I drove from the Canyon South Rim across the bridge at Powell, up to Bryce and back to Zion and drove through it and got to Vegas about 8:00PM. It was a 12 hour trip. THe last trip in 2005, we stayed in Page, then drove to Bryce, that's about 3 hrs, then drove back to Zion (about an hour between parks) and drove through Zion, stayed there about 3 hours, and then drove on to Vegas and got there about 7:30 PM.

The drive from Page to Zion is about 2 hours on a road that has one lane each way but is goood for about 60 to 65 unless you get behind campers and trucks. The drive through Zion can be slow, its one lane, no passing and plenty of people stopping to take pictures. The Park Service will have you park your car and take the free schuttle through the park.

When you leave Zion headed East it takes less than an hour at most to get to I-15 on Rt-9, and then about 2 hours down I-15 to Vegas. You will enjoy the Virgin River Gorge on I-15 also, its beautiful. Watch for unmarked police cars when you get to Nevada.

If you want to break up the trip, stay in Zion or east of Zion. But since you are basically just two hours from Vegas then, I suggest keep going. You may have a long day, but then you will be done driving.

Answer 5

merely west of Flagstaff, close Winslow, is the meteor crater. that is the fantastic preserved crater in the international, it really is type of a mile for the era of, and it really is powerful worth seeing once. that is not any longer too far. And Robert - end YELLING. we may be able to somewhat study.