Utah and Arizona: Zion, Bryce, Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon

1. Jour 1 : Las Vegas to Zion

   Harry Reid International Airport (LAS), Las Vegas, to Springdale at the gate of Zion National Park

   • Environ 3 h de route
   • Welcome dinner
   • Nuit : Springdale (Zion)
   Détail du jour 1

   Your See Sight Tours guide meets the group at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in the late morning; the exact meeting time comes with your final itinerary, and many guests fly in the evening before. We head north on Interstate 15, past the edge of the city and out across the Mojave, then through the Virgin River Gorge, where the road threads a narrow canyon across a corner of Arizona before climbing into Utah. We stop in St. George for lunch, your choice of place. It is about 265 km and two and three-quarter hours of driving to Springdale, the small town at Zion's south entrance, where we stay two nights. Clocks go forward an hour as you cross into Utah, and we arrive at about 4 pm. Once checked in, we walk the paved Pa'rus Trail beside the Virgin River as the late sun turns the Watchman and the West Temple red. A short briefing on the week follows, then a welcome dinner together in Springdale. The hotel is a short walk from the park gate, which is what makes tomorrow's early start easy.

   Compris

   • Pick-up at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS)
   • Drive through the Virgin River Gorge to Zion
   • Pa'rus Trail walk beside the Virgin River with your guide
   • Welcome briefing and welcome dinner in Springdale

   Temps libre : Lunch stop in St. George at your choice

   Activité : Plan to land in Las Vegas by about 10 am, or arrive the night before; we can book a pre-trip night on request.

2. Jour 2 : Zion Canyon and the Narrows

   Springdale to the Temple of Sinawava by park shuttle, then Zion Lodge and back

   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Springdale (Zion)
   Détail du jour 2

   We ride one of the first park shuttles up the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive, which is closed to private cars for most of the year, and get off at the Temple of Sinawava at its end before the canyon fills. The paved Riverside Walk follows the Virgin River for about 1.6 km each way between walls that close in to a few dozen metres, past hanging gardens of ferns and wildflowers fed by seeps in the sandstone. Where the path ends, the Narrows begin. If the river is open (the park closes it when the flow is high, usually during the spring snowmelt, and whenever flash floods are forecast), those who want to can wade on up the riverbed in rented canyoneering boots with a walking stick, turning round at or before Orderville Canyon. Others walk back, take the shuttle to Zion Lodge and follow the trail to the Lower Emerald Pool. We meet for a sit-down lunch at the lodge in the canyon. The afternoon and evening are free in Springdale: the Zion Human History Museum (open in the main season), a gallery, or a rest out of the midday heat.

   Compris

   • Zion Canyon by park shuttle with your guide, on an early shuttle
   • Riverside Walk to the mouth of the Narrows
   • The Narrows to about Orderville Canyon, conditions permitting, with boots, neoprene socks and a walking stick included
   • Sit-down lunch at the lodge in Zion Canyon

   Activités en option

   • Horse ride along the Virgin River (extra, price shown at booking)

   Option plus facile : Keep to the paved Riverside Walk and the short trail to the Lower Emerald Pool, both close to the shuttle stops.

   Option plus active : Wade the Narrows for about three hours. If the river is closed, hike the West Rim Trail to Scout Lookout, about 6.4 km round trip and 330 m of climbing. The chained final section to Angels Landing needs a permit from the park's lottery, which we cannot promise.

   Temps libre : Afternoon and evening free in Springdale

   Activité : Wading the Narrows means cold water up to the knees or waist over slippery stones. The park closes the river at high flow; we decide on the morning.

3. Jour 3 : Over the tunnel road to Bryce Canyon

   Springdale on the Zion to Mount Carmel Highway to Mount Carmel Junction, then north through Red Canyon to Bryce Canyon

   • Environ 2.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Bryce Canyon
   Détail du jour 3

   We leave Springdale after breakfast on the Zion to Mount Carmel Highway, which switchbacks up the canyon wall to a 1.8 km tunnel finished in 1930. Just past its eastern end we stop for the Canyon Overlook Trail, a 1.6 km round trip along ledges to a viewpoint high above Pine Creek and lower Zion Canyon, best in the morning before the small car park fills. The east side of the park is a different world of pale slickrock domes and the cross-hatched face of Checkerboard Mesa. From Mount Carmel Junction we climb north on US-89, then Scenic Byway 12 runs through the two rock tunnels of Red Canyon. It is about 150 km and about two and a quarter hours of driving. Lunch is a sit-down stop near the park entrance. In the afternoon we walk the Rim Trail between Sunrise Point and Sunset Point, then drop below the rim on the Queen's Garden and Navajo Loop among the hoodoos, the orange limestone spires Bryce is known for. Sunset is from Inspiration Point, and after dark the sky shows why Bryce is a dark sky park.

   Compris

   • Zion to Mount Carmel Highway and the Canyon Overlook Trail
   • Checkerboard Mesa and Red Canyon
   • Sit-down lunch near Bryce Canyon
   • Rim Trail walk and the Queen's Garden and Navajo Loop with your guide
   • Sunset at Inspiration Point

   Option plus facile : Walk the level Rim Trail between Sunrise and Sunset Points and skip the descent into the amphitheatre.

   Option plus active : Add the Peekaboo Loop below Bryce Point, about 9 km with more climbing, in place of the shorter loop.

   Temps libre : Evening free

   Activité : Bryce's rim is at 2,400 to 2,700 m. The Queen's Garden and Navajo Loop is about 4.6 km with a climb of about 180 m back to the rim; one side of the Navajo Loop sometimes closes for rockfall or ice.

4. Jour 4 : Bryce sunrise, Kanab and Horseshoe Bend

   Bryce Canyon south on US-89 to Kanab, then east to Page and Horseshoe Bend

   • Environ 3 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Page
   Détail du jour 4

   Sunrise is the one early start worth making at Bryce. The amphitheatre faces east, and the first light runs across thousands of hoodoos below Sunrise Point, a few minutes from the hotel; those who would rather sleep meet the group at breakfast. Then we drive south down US-89 through the Long Valley to Kanab, about an hour and a half, for a sit-down lunch in the town once known as Little Hollywood for the westerns filmed around it. From Kanab the road runs east under the Vermilion Cliffs into Arizona and reaches Page on the shore of Lake Powell, about 255 km in all and under three hours of driving. Arizona does not use daylight saving time, so from spring to autumn you gain an hour. After checking in and a free hour, we drive five minutes south of town to Horseshoe Bend, an easy 2.4 km round trip on a wide path to the rim, where the Colorado River curls around a sandstone tower about 300 m below. We stay until the light softens, then the evening is free in Page.

   Compris

   • Sunrise at Sunrise Point, Bryce Canyon
   • Sit-down lunch in Kanab
   • Horseshoe Bend in the late afternoon with your guide, parking included

   Option plus facile : Skip sunrise and join the group at breakfast; at Horseshoe Bend, the shaded shelters on the path make good rest stops.

   Temps libre : Evening free in Page

   Activité : The Horseshoe Bend rim has a railing only at the main viewpoint; stay back from unfenced edges.

5. Jour 5 : Antelope Canyon and Monument Valley

   Page to Lower Antelope Canyon, then east across the Navajo Nation by Kayenta to Monument Valley

   • Environ 2.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Monument Valley
   Détail du jour 5

   We are at Lower Antelope Canyon for one of the first tours of the morning, a few minutes east of Page on Navajo land. The canyon can only be entered with a Navajo guide from an authorised tour company: steel stairs take you down into a slot carved by flash floods, where the walls curve and glow orange as light bounces down from the narrow opening above. The walk takes about an hour. Then we cross the Navajo Nation, about 200 km and two and a quarter hours east by Kayenta, with a sit-down lunch on the way. Monument Valley straddles the Arizona and Utah border and is a tribal park run by the Navajo Nation, not a national park. In the afternoon a Navajo guide drives us in an open vehicle around the 27 km Valley Drive and into parts of the valley visitors may only enter with a guide, for arches, rock art and the stories behind the buttes. We are back for sunset over the Mittens and Merrick Butte, then dinner together near the park, where we stay the night.

   Compris

   • Lower Antelope Canyon with a Navajo guide, on an early tour
   • Sit-down lunch on the way through the Navajo Nation
   • Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park entry
   • Navajo-guided afternoon tour of the Valley Drive and areas closed to independent visitors
   • Sunset over the Mittens
   • Dinner near the park

   Option plus facile : Lower Antelope Canyon has steep steel stairs. If stairs are hard for you, we book you on Upper Antelope Canyon instead, a level walk along the canyon floor.

   Activité : The Navajo Nation keeps daylight saving time, unlike the rest of Arizona, so in summer clocks go forward an hour at Monument Valley; your guide keeps track. Antelope Canyon tours are cancelled when flash floods threaten.

   

6. Jour 6 : Monument Valley sunrise to the Grand Canyon

   Monument Valley by Kayenta and Tuba City to Cameron, then the Grand Canyon East Entrance and Desert View Drive to Grand Canyon Village

   • Environ 4 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Grand Canyon South Rim
   Détail du jour 6

   Stay in bed or step outside for sunrise, when the sun climbs behind the Mittens and throws their shadows across the valley floor. After breakfast those who want a walk take the Wildcat Trail, a 5 km loop on sand around the West Mitten Butte, while others rest. Then we drive south by Kayenta and Tuba City to Cameron on the Little Colorado River, about two and a quarter hours, for a sit-down lunch at the historic trading post there. From Cameron the road climbs to the Grand Canyon's East Entrance, and we come in along Desert View Drive, the quieter end of the South Rim. The Desert View Watchtower, designed by Mary Colter and finished in 1932, looks down on the Colorado River as it bends west; Lipan Point and Grandview Point follow, each with a different angle on the canyon. It is about 290 km for the day and about three and three-quarter hours of driving, broken by lunch and three viewpoints, so no stretch is longer than about two and a quarter hours. We check in for two nights near Grand Canyon Village and walk out to Mather Point or Yavapai Point for sunset.

   Compris

   • Sunrise over the Mittens
   • Sit-down lunch at Cameron
   • Grand Canyon National Park entry
   • Desert View Watchtower, Lipan Point and Grandview Point with your guide
   • Sunset at Mather Point or Yavapai Point

   Option plus facile : Watch sunrise from the hotel and rest until we leave.

   Option plus active : Walk the Wildcat Trail around the West Mitten Butte, about 5 km on sand with little climbing.

   Temps libre : Evening free after sunset

   

7. Jour 7 : A full day at the Grand Canyon

   Grand Canyon Village, the South Kaibab Trail or the Rim Trail, and Hopi Point

   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Grand Canyon South Rim
   Détail du jour 7

   A full day at the canyon with no driving. Sunrise from the rim is a short walk from the hotel for anyone who wants it. After breakfast the group splits by choice. The guide-led hike takes the park shuttle to the South Kaibab trailhead and goes below the rim to Ooh Aah Point, about 2.9 km round trip with 180 m down and back up; hiking here is a mountain climb in reverse, so we start early while it is cool. The easier group walks the level Rim Trail from the Yavapai Geology Museum along the Trail of Time, where the rocks beside the path are laid out by age across nearly two billion years. We meet in Grand Canyon Village around midday among the historic buildings: Hopi House, Verkamp's and the El Tovar hotel. Lunch and the afternoon are free, for the Kolb Studio on the rim, a ranger talk or a rest. Late in the day the Hermit Road shuttle takes us west to Hopi Point, where the canyon opens wide for sunset, and we finish with a farewell dinner together.

   Compris

   • Guide-led hike on the South Kaibab Trail to Ooh Aah Point
   • Rim Trail and the Trail of Time from the Yavapai Geology Museum
   • Grand Canyon Village: Hopi House, Verkamp's and the El Tovar
   • Sunset at Hopi Point by the Hermit Road shuttle
   • Farewell dinner

   Activités en option

   • Helicopter flight over the canyon from Tusayan (extra, price shown at booking)

   Option plus facile : Walk the level, paved Rim Trail and the Trail of Time only, with benches and shuttle stops along the way.

   Option plus active : Continue past Ooh Aah Point to Cedar Ridge, about 4.8 km round trip with about 350 m to climb back out.

   Temps libre : Lunch and the afternoon free in Grand Canyon Village

   Activité : The South Rim is at about 2,100 m. Do not try to hike to the river and back in a day; the park warns against it. The Hermit Road shuttle runs from March to November; in winter we drive the road in our own vehicle.

   

8. Jour 8 : Route 66 and the Hoover Dam to Las Vegas

   Grand Canyon South Rim to Williams, Seligman and Kingman, then the Hoover Dam and Las Vegas

   • Environ 4.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   Détail du jour 8

   The longest drive of the trip, about 450 km and four and a half hours of driving, six and a half to seven hours with the stops, because the loop has to close in Las Vegas; four stops break it, so no stretch is longer than about an hour and a quarter. We leave the rim at about 8 am and drive south to Williams, then west on Interstate 40 to Seligman, a small town on a surviving stretch of old Route 66, with vintage cars, neon signs and time for a coffee. Lunch is a sit-down stop in Kingman, another Route 66 town. From Kingman, US-93 crosses the desert north to the Colorado River, and we stop to walk out onto the Mike O'Callaghan and Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, which looks straight down on the Hoover Dam with Lake Mead behind it. We come into Las Vegas along the Strip, drop anyone staying on at their hotel there, and reach Harry Reid International Airport, at the Strip's south end, at about 3 to 4 pm. In winter Nevada is an hour behind Arizona, so the clock shows an hour earlier.

   Compris

   • Route 66 stop in Seligman
   • Sit-down lunch in Kingman
   • Walk onto the bridge above the Hoover Dam with your guide
   • Along the Las Vegas Strip, with drop-off at your hotel there if you are staying on
   • Drop-off at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS)

   Activité : We leave the rim at about 8 am and reach the airport at about 3 to 4 pm. Book a flight leaving Las Vegas after about 8 pm, or stay on in the city.

   

Faune et météo : Summer days in Zion, Page and Las Vegas often pass 38 C, and July to September brings afternoon thunderstorms that can close the Narrows and cancel Antelope Canyon tours, so we start early and keep middays slow. Bryce and the Grand Canyon rim sit at 2,100 to 2,700 m: mornings are cool all year and snow is possible from October to April. Mule deer are common in Zion and Bryce, elk graze around Grand Canyon Village, and California condors are sometimes seen gliding along the South Rim.

• Springdale (Zion)2 nuits
• Bryce Canyon1 nuit
• Page1 nuit
• Monument Valley1 nuit
• Grand Canyon South Rim2 nuits