Utah national parks trip

Max,

I've been to the all the places here, and I guess I disagree a little bit with the upping the Arches time. Not that I'm against it, but if you've only got a little leeway, I'd use it on upping the time at Canyonlands.

There's the north rim of the park, and then the southern rim, which I think most people miss, which is about 40 miles south/southwest of Moab. Both are well worth your time. But you'll definitely need a full day for each part of Canyonlands.

If you are camping at all, there's a great campsite called Goose Island about a mile north of Moab, along the Colorado River, just south of the Arches border.

 

Goose Island is a great, great camp spot.
Right up there with my favorites of Kings Canyon and Big Sur. (West of The Rockies).

 

We did Zion and Bryce -- sandwiched between two days in Vegas -- three years ago.

We stayed in Hurricane (pronounced hurr-IH-can), a small "suburb" of St. George that is sort of a gateway to Zion. Spent two full days at Zion and one day -- it's a 3-hour drive -- at Bryce. We were able to see plenty at Bryce in that one day and there's more to see around Zion, which is spectacular.

Didn't get to Arches (not enough time), but you're going to enjoy yourself.

 

I was about to start this exact thread today, which is really weird. My girlfriend and I are considering a trip this summer. Any hiking suggestions from anyone?

 

The only tip I can give is to be careful. It's unimaginably hot out there in the summer. You can get in a bunch of trouble in a hurry.

 

Trust me, I've been hiking at least three times. It's cool.

 

Sorry, man. I wasn't trying to throw a shoe at you. I didn't even consider any outdoor experience you may have, which was pretty short-sighted on my part.

 

I've hiked Canyonlands in late July and early August ... Let's just say there's a reason I only go in April or October now.

 

Lesser known and thus less touristy spots:

-- Cedar Breaks near St. George. You can hike to 9,000 ft and camp. Snow there in the July when we went. St. George has an excellent Shakespeare theatre.

-- Capitol Reef. Hiking... caves... anasazi drawings.

 

OK, so with your guys' much-appreciated help, here's my rough skecth of our trip. Lodging at Motel 6s and rustic inns doesn't appear to be much of an issue, much to my relief.

Flying in and out of Vegas to save on rental car fees:

SATURDAY AFTERNOON through MONDAY AFTERNOON
Zion. Stay two nights.

MONDAY EVENING through WEDNESDAY MORNING
Bryce. Two nights, but really just one full day.

WEDNESDAY through SATURDAY MORNING
Moab area -- Arches, Canyonlands, whatever the hell else people talk about when they say "Moab." Far as I can tell, Moab is a one-horse town in the middle of nowhere, but is centrally located to some seriously cool stuff. If Zion and Bryce are about gawking at things, Moab area will be for biking and jeeping and rafting and the like.

SATURDAY
Long drive back to Vegas. At least 6 hours, but a beautiful drive with the top down (assuming I can snag a convertible).

Red-eye home Saturday night to avoid inevitable gambling losses and overpriced Saturday night stay in Vegas.

So it's eight days, seven nights.

Sound about right?

 

Sounds quality, Max.

 

Awful swell of pickpocketers.... had to get the hell out of there.

I highly recommend the 15.5-mile raft float from the Glen Canyon Dam.

Quite serene, even among 20 people.