Venturing to Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park and Antelope Canyon have been high on our bucket list of places to visit for years.
With our boys being older, two in school full time and one in preschool, we finally felt like we were in a good place to take a week long trip.
We did and saw a lot in a short amount of time. I’ll break down our trip into separate posts with this one giving an overview of our itinerary and links to separate posts about each place.
This was certainly one of the most unforgettable trips we have taken to date. Full of adventure, hikes, beautiful sights, good food and great conversation with others we met from all over.
Be sure to get your National Park Pass. I recommend purchasing the annual pass from REI. They donate 10% of the proceeds to nonprofit organizations that support our public lands.
You’ll also need to gear up! See this post for all the items we recommend you have for your adventures.
Let’s go on an adventure!
Our trip went like:
RDU>LAS>Valley of Fire State Park>Zion>Bryce>Kanab>Page>Horseshoe Bend>Antelope Canyon>Scottsdale
Flight RDU>Las Vegas
Monday we slept over in Las Vegas at The Vdarra Hotel & Spa. I booked an amazing rate through Priceline for this newer hotel. When I saw it was associated with the Aria Resort & Casino which we had stayed at before, I knew it was a good location on the strip. They even gave us a complimentary upgrade to a Penthouse Suite because our room type was fully booked by the time we arrived. While it was a lovely room with an amazing view, it was 3am to our bodies when we arrived so we didn’t care where we laid our heads. We wanted a clean and comfortable bed.
Tuesday Morning: Day 1 after arrival
Rented a car and began our trip toward Zion
Our car rental is the only brief hiccup during our entire trip. When we arrived to the Hertz location, they informed us they only had an electric fleet of vehicles that matched our reservation. We assured them that would not work for our itinerary. Luckily the Hertz down the street was able to accommodate our need for a gas vehicle. While we would not have cared if we were paired with an electric vehicle, we didn’t know the area nor did we want to add in the need to plan for finding charging station into our itinerary.
Loaded up in a new 2023 KIA Sedan, we were on our way. (It was very efficient if I may add.)
First stop, a local Walmart to load up on food, spirits, gallons of water, and ice for our cooler. We purchased things like, Dave’s Killer Bread, fruit, peanut butter and jelly, Skinny Pop, Nature’s Path Organic Instant Oatmeal, beer for Adam and Vizzy for myself. I had already brought trail mix, verb energy bars, and protein bars with us from home.
We stopped in Valley of Fire State Park along the way.
This state park is well worth the stop and the $10 entry fee. You could spend so much time here as they have several hiking trails and many scenic viewpoints. A must to include in your trip plans in our opinion, especially if, like us, you didn’t win the lottery for The Wave in Coyote Buttes. See what Valley of Fire has to offer from our time there, blog post here.
We stayed in Springdale, UT two nights at this Holiday Inn Express. Breakfast was included each morning and it offered a large spread of healthy options, hot coffee and water station for filling up your camelbacks/water bottles. Located in the quaint town below the park entrance offering scenic views, several amenities (gym, pool, hot tub, laundry) and walking distance to restaurants and shopping, shuttle services, trails, and more we’d stay here again.
Zion 2 days of hiking ⁃ click here for our time and experience in Zion.
Day 3: Head toward Bryce Canyon National Park
Have your phone ready, the scenic drive is unreal and offered multiple stopping points along the way to pull off and take pictures.
Mt Carmel is a town you will arrive at along the way to Bryce that is in the geo area to apply for The Wave lottery. See the application options and geo mapping area here if you hope to include The Wave in your trip. If you’re planning your trip at least 4 months in advance, go here. If you’re planning your trip less than 4 months in advance, see the daily lottery option here. You’re technically applying 2 days prior to when you HOPE to go to The Wave.
We stayed in Tropic, UT for 2 nights. It’s a very small town with only a few options for eating but close in proximity to Bryce where we knew we’d spend all of our time. Our Airbnb accommodations were great and we’d recommend it.
Bryce – 2 days of hiking ⁃ Click here to read about our time in Bryce Canyon.
Day 5: Drive toward Page – This is where you’ll need to be if booking a tour of the upper or lower antelope Canyons unless you want to drive in the morning of from somewhere like Kanab.
We stopped along the way for coffee at The Shop Coffee Co which also had fresh menu items that all looked delightful.
Next, we stopped at Belly of the Dragon. There isn’t much to it but you can see this review that I found when researching for our trip.
The Sand Caves were our next stop along the way to Kanab. When we arrived, a local pulled up and began unloading his ATV. Through our conversation with him, he told us there are lesser known sand caves that we should also check out (and we did), but he also invited us to join him and his family on an off road adventure. We toured the sand caves first then ultimately decided we wanted to continue on with our plans to explore in Kanab. (I do regret not joining them. They were all so kind. The family had 3 young kids with them in the second ATV which made me think of our 3 boys back home.)
The locals we met at the base of the sand caves told us we would see remnants of tracks that were used in filming the Disney movie, The Apple Dumpling Gang. We did. There were metal posts still sticking out of the ground at the top of these caves.
We stopped for lunch in Kanab, drove around the town a little bit, then headed for our destination in Page.
We stayed at Under Canvas on Lake Powell. This was yet again, another bucket list item for me and was the best experience. We highly recommend it. Click here (coming soon) for our time at Under Canvas and touring Antelope Canyon and other activities available in the area.
During our time in Page, we toured Under Canvas’s canyons, slot canyons, stopped by Lake Wahweap viewpoint, the Glen Canyon Dam Bridge, and saw Horseshoe Bend. This will all be included in the Under Canvas post.
Day 6: Drive to Scottsdale after Antelope Canyon Tour – 2 nights
Click here (Coming soon) to read about our time in Scottsdale and recommendations from our time there + past trips to the area for golf and more.
Day 8: PDX>RDU
HOME
As you can see from our itinerary, there is opportunity to leave immediately after you have explored the parks and Antelope Canyon. We wanted to take a couple extra days relaxing at a resort before traveling home. It was a good call on our part as our bodies were exhausted and very sore from all of the hiking.
Hiking the trails we did were very different from any hikes we have done in North Carolina and Virginia. When you add in the elevation change (roughly 8,000+ ft majority of our time), we were met with an added challenge. 100% worth every step but it’s certainly worth noting.
I’ve included a printable with a suggested itinerary for each national park we visited. We both agreed the order we visited each location was ideal. Starting with heavy hiking and ending with easy trails and tours.
I hope you find this information helpful in your planning and if you weren’t considering the southwest a destination, see this as your sign to go beyond and prepare to stand in awe around every corner.
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