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Wife and I have got 3 days in mid-May for a visit to Zion and Bryce.

Never been there before... don't know when we'd be able to get back.

While I am interested in going to the 'must see's in both areas... I would preffer to avoid crowds (if that is a problem on the weekends...).

Also - if either one of these parks draws a bigger crowd on the weekend... we can be sure to hit that one on Thursday to avoid said crowd...

Current plan is do 1 day at each (full day...) and then spend the 3rd day in a return to which ever turns out to be our favorite...

Any suggustions on the where to go for the most bank-for-the-buck?

Lucky you. Although, in my opinion 3 days isn't enough.

Was just there last month. The Kolob area in Zion might be less crowded than the main canyon proper. It is right off I-15 about a half hour north of St George. I thoroughly enjoyed the Kolob Arch trail: 15 miles rt, but pretty basic (only around 1000 ft of elevation gain on the way back) and beautiful views of Kolob Canyons, including angles that aren't available via the road.. You can get there from the south too, via the Hop Valley trail, approximately the same distance. I didn't have a chance to do the latter (a car shuttle would make for a perfect trip).

If you're in Bryce you should definitely check out Kodachrome Basin, which is around 20-30 min east of Bryce via UT 12. Some really neat rock formations in a more cozy atmosphere, and a few moderate trails to choose from

You would get the most "bang-for-your-buck" by visiting just one park, by flipping a coin or
whatever.

Cedar Breaks National Monument is much closer to Zion. It has much the same formations as Bryce, but is much less crowded.

I would suggest Arches National Park in the Moab area. There's much more to see in a
short amount of time, if you plan to "compress" your sight-seeing time in only three days.

Planning your vacation is always the key ...

Planning is tough when you only have 3 days...... and the 'tourist' in you wants to (at least) set foot on a trail at each of these famous parks.

Canyonlands, Arches and Capital Reef will have to wait for a future trip - as I can't afford to burn the extra 5+ hrs to drive out to Moab area.. [The trip bringing me west is into Vegas... the 3 days I added for 'play' are gravy....] So - this trip - I need to make the best of Zion and Bryce.... (unless I do cut it down to just one..... )

NJTripper wrote:Planning is tough when you only have 3 days...... and the 'tourist' in you wants to (at least) set foot on a trail at each of these famous parks.

Canyonlands, Arches and Capital Reef will have to wait for a future trip - as I can't afford to burn the extra 5+ hrs to drive out to Moab area.. [The trip bringing me west is into Vegas... the 3 days I added for 'play' are gravy....] So - this trip - I need to make the best of Zion and Bryce.... (unless I do cut it down to just one..... )

You should cut it to just one place. Sitting in the car is just depressing when you're limited to a few days. If you're coming from Lost Wages, Zion is close, and there are tons of things to do there and in the surrounding BLM land. I'd do a day on the canyon floor doing the touristy stuff, a day hiking in the east part of the park in some canyons, and then a day doing some stuff on BLM land near the park. There are lots of slots, great hikes, and interesting things to see near Zion on BLM land.

Here's a tip: if you do Zion, find a Ranger and ask him how to get to "Petroglyph Canyon." They don't publicize it much, but it's in the east part of the park near the highway, and it's a very short and easy hike. The petroglyphs are some of the best-preserved I've seen in southern Utah, probably because they don't publicize it at all. The Ranger will give you an extensive lecture about not screwing with the petroglyphs, and then he'll tell you how to find them. Must-do.

Since you've never been, you will truly enjoy both parks, despite the crowds. Cedar Breaks, etc., are nice, but there's a reason why the other parks are crowded--they're awesome.

To be frank, I dislike crowds but never found them so bad as to ruin the visit. Once you get even a few minutes off the main road for each park the herd starts thinning quickly. One thing you didn't mention is your level of fitness or outdoor experience, so it's hard to tailor something specific.

I'm mostly a climber, but I really enjoyed the following non-climbing activities: For Zion, hike to the top of Angel's Landing, hike up the Narrows from the road's end, the Overlook Trail I think it's called--on the way to Bryce once you've driven up out of the canyon--is short but spectacular. There's also a cross country scramble up Bridge Mt. (I think) you can access from there.

At Bryce, my limits have been driving around it with the folks as a kid and then about a six mile loop hike down through Wall Street/Queen's Garden I think it was called. Great, great scenery and, again, the crowds thinned really quickly once we got five or ten minutes from the road.

Cedar Breaks National Monument is much closer to Zion.

Agreed and it is indeed a nice place, but unless things have changed in recent years, the road there is still closed in mid-May.

Anyway, if you have only three days, choose one park or the other.

In Zion, some of the best highlights that aren't too long might be lower Echo Canyon, Angels Landing (which does see lots of visitors, so don't expect solitude) and Hidden Canyon.

Places like teh Subway are really cool, but in May, wetsuits are needed since there will likely be a little ice and snow in the canyon and the water is quite cold then. You can rent these in Springdale. You could also visit the Subway from the bottom without a wetsuit, but going all the way through is the best way to do it. May is reasonable with a wetsuit unless the water flows are too high (in which case the NPS will close it).

In three days you can hike all the trails in Bryce Canyon except for the Under-the-Rim Trail (which takes 2-3 days alone).

Castlereagh wrote:Lucky you. Although, in my opinion 3 days isn't enough.

Was just there last month. The Kolob area in Zion might be less crowded than the main canyon proper. It is right off I-15 about a half hour north of St George. I thoroughly enjoyed the Kolob Arch trail: 15 miles rt, but pretty basic (only around 1000 ft of elevation gain on the way back) and beautiful views of Kolob Canyons, including angles that aren't available via the road.. You can get there from the south too, via the Hop Valley trail, approximately the same distance. I didn't have a chance to do the latter (a car shuttle would make for a perfect trip).

Are there some other shorter hikes up to between 5 - 10 miles rt in Kolob?

Thanks for all the info!

While I have a bit of outdoor experience.. I am not a 'technical' climber. (class 3/4 scrambles is prob the roughest I've got... ) But I have hiked quite a bit, including the 16 mile out-n-back @ Mt Charleston, 3-day ascent of Mt Whitney, 3-day traverse in the Presidentials (NH), etc....)

Seems to be a growing consensus that I should pick one park and spend my time there and proximity (to Vegas) would indicate Zion to be the choice...

On the otherhand... I will be traveling with the Mrs who has not spent as much time outdoors as I... but loves it when she has come out with me for day hikes in Grand Canyon, Red Rocks, Rainier and the White Mtn in NH. {What she lacks in experience - she makes up for in determination!} But I do need to keep her comfort level in mind.. so areas that are moderate, with more difficult 'options' would be preffered...

Does anyone propose that (as the one and only place to go) Bryce would be a better choice? Are there trails/feature at Bryce that I just ~cannot~ pass up (so long at I am soooo close..)?

Maybe I can use a half-day (on the retrun to Vegas) to drive out to Bryce... to set foot on some trail... and get somewhere worthwhile... before leaving the region for (likely) a year or more..?

No - no ..

Please save Bryce for the next time. It will still be there!

There's some trails with Red Rocks just to the west of Las Vegas! It's operated by the BLM,
but from my personal experience, I had much more FUN in southern Nevada than I had in Utah.

Hey, I'm NOT knocking Utah, being that I grew up there ...

But, if you were to visit Zion first, then go on (down I-15) to Vegas and the Red Rocks,
that would be an awesome trip!

Also, don't forget about "Valley of Fire" (state park) while visiting in the Vegas area.



(Just keep in mind the "SW-deserts" will be "heating up," so please be prepared to take
on some HEAT, especially in the lower elevations of the Mojave.)

Whatever you decide, the key here is FUN!

If I had to choose one, I'd definitely choose Zion. But, I'm going to say that I think you could get a good sampling of Bryce in a day. I think you could do two full days of day hiking in Zion, and spend half a day, or a full day if you have time, in Bryce. I was in Bryce for one day and hiked to Tower Bridge and part of the Rim trail, along with sightseeing from the top of the canyon. I didn't see everything I'd like to see, but it did satisfy my curiosity on the place. On the other hand, two days in Zion will only start to peak your curiosity. Angel's Landing is a must for a first-time visitor.

climbingchic wrote:

Castlereagh wrote:Lucky you. Although, in my opinion 3 days isn't enough.

Was just there last month. The Kolob area in Zion might be less crowded than the main canyon proper. It is right off I-15 about a half hour north of St George. I thoroughly enjoyed the Kolob Arch trail: 15 miles rt, but pretty basic (only around 1000 ft of elevation gain on the way back) and beautiful views of Kolob Canyons, including angles that aren't available via the road.. You can get there from the south too, via the Hop Valley trail, approximately the same distance. I didn't have a chance to do the latter (a car shuttle would make for a perfect trip).

Are there some other shorter hikes up to between 5 - 10 miles rt in Kolob?

Kolob's a fairly small area, so there's not that many trail options to choose from. I only did the Kolob Arch/La Verkin Creek trail. The first 3 miles of it give you pretty much the same view of the canyons as the park road; the trail then makes a sharp left turn and you get a different perspective.

There's a short trail at the end of the park road, as well as a 5 mi round trip trail (Taylor Creek) that takes you, I think, to an overlook for a different arch, but if you want more options there's always the rest of the park

jdzaharia wrote:If I had to choose one, I'd definitely choose Zion. But, I'm going to say that I think you could get a good sampling of Bryce in a day. I think you could do two full days of day hiking in Zion, and spend half a day, or a full day if you have time, in Bryce. I was in Bryce for one day and hiked to Tower Bridge and part of the Rim trail, along with sightseeing from the top of the canyon. I didn't see everything I'd like to see, but it did satisfy my curiosity on the place. On the other hand, two days in Zion will only start to peak your curiosity. Angel's Landing is a must for a first-time visitor.

My wife & I are planning a 1/2-day trip to Bryce Canyon next month.

Can the "Tower Bridge" hike be accomplished in 4 hours, or would we need more time ???

I think you should definitely hit both parks. One, both areas are so nice and distinct that a sampler approach is perfect. Second, if your wife isn't totallly gung ho, the drive between parks (which is really scenic BTW) will give her some down time to enjoy the scenery. It'll also give you a chance to see stuff like Checkerboard Mesa, etc., which is en route to Bryce.

If you pass up Bryce, I think you'll just kick yourself later for it.

Hit Bryce in the morning, take some pretty pictures, and then spend the rest of the trip at Zion. There is much more to do there, both in amount and variety.

For a first-timer, I'd recommend the hikes up Angels Landing and Echo Canyon. Both are likely to be crowded, but they're worth sampling as introductions to the park. The Echo Canyon hike also carries the option of extending it to Observation Point.