Which is the best park?
You could easily fit all of the Southwest Parks into the Grand Canyon and still have plenty of room to spare. She is the EARTH MOTHER OF ALL NATIONAL PARKS IN AMERICA!
This little “Best of the Southwest” guide book will become your essential “How To” travelogue, covering a spectacular area of mountains, high desert, and wondrous canyons often referred to by the Chamber of Commerce folks as the Grand Circle – Zion, Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Lake Powell, Bryce, and Cedar Breaks.
Basically, I’m going to tell you what to do each day. It will be like one of those big bus guided trips, but without the know-it-all drill Sergeant always telling you to get your ass in gear. You can travel at your own pace, and if you don’t feel like seeing something on the list, then don’t. Just doing nothing, reading a good book at an amazing overlook, or people watching at a vista can be very enjoyable. You certainly don’t have to do everything I recommend. Remember: The goal is to be safe and have FUN!
The Colorado Plateau is a Land of Redrocks, encompassing Southern Utah and Northern Arizona, where you can be standing in 2-feet of snow during a thunder snow storm and look out from the edge of the canyon rim and see a lush green valley below where it’s 85 degrees and sunny.
It is a land of extremes inhabited primarily by stoic Indians and hard-working Mormons.
Most of the land you will travel through is yours because it is managed by the federal government for public use. But you definitely need to know the rules. It’s like a game. And I’m going to tell you the rules.
Services are often few and far between. So, stock up on food, water and gas whenever you have the chance. Better safe than sorry.
The weather is usually hot and dry, but it can change in a heartbeat. And it can kill you if you aren’t careful. You can be hiking in a narrow slot canyon on a hot sunny day when a wall of water suddenly comes barreling along, bringing a flash flood from a rainstorm in the mountains many miles away. Take your shirt off while you’re hiking on a hot summer day and heat stroke dehydration can hit you before you even feel it coming. Forget your rain gear and a jacket when hiking in rim country and you can find yourself freezing to death in a matter of minutes. I learned all of these lessons the hard way.
All in all, it’s a place like no other on earth where you have to pay attention to your surroundings if you hope to have a happy and safe trip of a lifetime. And you need to always watch the clouds!
And, of course, it really helps if you know where you are going and what you’re doing.
So, I am going to show you the best places to shop, buy your liquor, find a good hotel room or camp, the premiere hikes in each park, where to grab the best meals, and what it all might cost. I will take all of the guess work out of your trip to the American Southwest.
I include passages from my very popular book The Canyon Chronicles (available on Amazon) to describe many of the places you will visit. These passages provide first hand descriptions of the wild areas that you will be traveling through and will spice up your trip with some local flavor.
I also utilize the promotional brochures from the National Park Service, Forest Service, and the people who own and operate many of the private facilities within and around the various national parks, in order to ensure that the information is accurate and timely.
And as an added bonus, I am going to fill in your days with many helpful Insider Tips that will give you information about the places you visit that few people know about. And I will also show you how to save your hard-earned money.
Seven days to see an area the size of Vermont and New Hampshire is a tall order. We will be covering a lot of ground, but I will show you the most efficient way to travel and make sure that you don’t spend too much time in your car. And even the drives will be out of this world.
This guide book is divided into two parts, featuring a 7-day trip and a 14-day trip. To see it all in seven days is a burn-run. You will have lots of fun, but you will find yourself saying, “Boy, I wish I had another day here at Zion,” or, “I sure would like to spend more time swimming and exploring Lake Powell.” So if you have more than seven days to play, I am going to offer you some side trips, like another day at Zion, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Bryce and Las Vegas. I will also significantly expand your horizons by adding more places to visit, like Navajo National Monument, Black Mesa, Kayenta, Monument Valley, and often-missed gems like Cottonwood Wash Canyon and the Cockscomb (Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument), and Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park.
So, just load this trusty guide onto your smart phone or iPad, follow my handy-dandy directions, and the Canyonlands will come alive beyond your wildest dreams.
Getting There
I usually fly to Las Vegas after work on a Friday so I can save a day of holiday leave and utilize two weekends for the trip. You can book your flight through a website like Kayak in order to get the best deal, but I always fly Southwest Airlines. They are the biggest airline in the Southwest, hence the name. You can expect to pay about $500 per person round-trip (RT) from the east coast. Southwest is the only airline that does not charge for the first checked bag or your carry-on bag.
Getting Around
SUV Rental (7 days) – $250 (does not include gas)
The Vegas car rental companies are all good and very convenient. The big rental companies – Budget, Avis, Thrifty – are in a central rental location serviced by a free airport shuttle. But some of the smaller companies are not at this main hub. It will be easier for you if you pick a rental company that is at the main hub so you can avoid having to take multiple shuttles. (the second shuttle is also free) Fox, which is often the cheapest, has great vehicles and excellent service, but it is not at the central location.
Friday Evening – FLY TO VEGAS
* Vegas offers a veritable smorgasbord of great places to stay and dine, so you should shop around for a good deal which pop up every day on travel websites like Kayak, Travelocity and Expedia.
Saturday – ZION NATIONAL PARK
Average May Weather – High – 75F Low – 50F Chance of Rain – 20%
* The speed limit is 80!
Highlights – Virgin River Recreation Area (no entrance fee) offers spectacular views of the Virgin River Gorge and there is a short, steep, sandy trail down to the river from the lower picnic area
* Unless you are staying at Zion Lodge, you cannot take your personal vehicle into the park beyond the Visitor Center. Free shuttles are available all day and into the evening to and from Springdale to the Visitor Center and the end of Zion Canyon at the Temple of Sinawava. (trailhead for The Narrows), stopping at all of the viewpoints along the way.
Hike – Angels Landing – 5.5 miles RT (4 hours) – one of the top hikes in the Southwest. Very steep sections with long drop-offs and extreme exposures. Not for young children or people with fear of heights beyond the saddle below the summit. The last section is along a narrow, steep ridge to the top, with chains for you to hold on to in some places.
Zion Lodge and Cabin
$235
Camping – South Campground is located ½ mile from the South Entrance. There are 127 campsites (including three wheelchair accessible) available first-come, first-served. There are no hook-ups; a dump station is available for campers. Generators are allowed from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Campsites are $16.00 per night.
Sunday – ZION NATIONAL PARK
Hikes – Zion Narrows via the Riverside Walk – Hike up-river to the Subway – 4.5 miles RT (4 hours). No trail after the first mile along the Riverside Walk which is paved. After that, you just hike in the river. Swift current, cold, waist-high in spots, and the rocks underfoot are slippery. Bring a walking stick!
Lower Emerald Pools – 1.2 miles RT and pretty flat. (1 hour)
Weeping Rock – 1 miles RT. Short but very steep in spots. (1 hour)
If you can’t get a room at Zion Lodge, then stay at Bumbleberry Inn in Springdale
Insider Tip!
Most reservations at the Zion Lodge are made a year in advance, so chances are that when you try to make reservations, they will be full. The nearest lodging to Zion is in the nearby town of Springdale. I would suggest that you book a room at the Bumbleberry Inn which allows 48-hour free cancellations. And about two weeks before your visit, start checking the Zion Lodge website for cancellations. People who made reservations well in advance often cancel right before their trip. So, you have a pretty good chance of getting a room at the Zion Lodge if you check the Zion Lodge website every day as your trip nears. And if you get a room, then you can immediately cancel your room at the Bumbleberry Inn at no charge.