to cover, Zion, Capital Reef, Grand Escalante, and Moab in December. Does it make sense? We are landing in Las Vegas and pick up a car. I know it will be a lot of driving.
Do you have a full day for each park? Or does the four days include driving to and from Vegas? That sounds to me like not much time and you might have more fun doing fewer stops and spending a little longer at each one. You don’t want to be driving at night in that part of the country or you risk hitting wildlife and you get less daylight in December. We took two days just in Zion a couple of summers ago and a full day in Arches (Moab) later that year. I haven’t been to the other two. We took a full day at Bryce also after Zion and that was enough for us there.
That’s a long way at a time of the year when you’ll have short days and a risk of snow. I’d make sure you have 4WD. Personally I wouldn’t go all the way from Las Vegas to Moab unless you have a full week - we did that in April one year and spent two nights in Bryce then four nights in Moab (then a night back in Vegas at the end), we just drove through (with brief stops in) Zion and Capitol Reef. We had a full day in Bryce and three days in Moab to explore Arches and Canyonlands. The second time (in June) we got an RV in Las Vegas and did two nights at Grand Canyon (north rim), one night at Monument Valley, two nights in Mesa Verde, one night in Capitol Reef and one night in Cedar Breaks (visiting Zion, Antelope Canyon, Four Corners, Natural Bridges and Bryce on the way). Both were lots of driving.
With four nights in December I’d probably spend two nights in Zion (try for the lodge in the park if possible) and then two nights in Torrey (camping may be infeasible in December although the Fruita campground is my favorite in the entire national park system, way better even than Yosemite), driving Hwy 12 between them and stopping at Bryce and Escalante on the way (maybe one in each direction). Moab is an awful lot further to drive. If you have an SUV and there’s no snow and ice (check at the visitor center), head down the backside of Capitol Reef and (if you can) drive over the Burr Trail switchbacks, they are amazing.
@Parentof2014grad It is four full days. We also have a half day before that. We get to Vegas in the morning. I really would like to go to Moab. Since it is a long way to Moab from Vegas, I thought I would break it up by stopping on the way. We will be back to the region. We don’t have to “do” anything this time. Would like to know what it is like.
@Twoin18 Thanks for the tip about the switchbacks! That’s the kind of info I am looking for.
It’s 465 miles (6.5 hours) on the freeway from Las Vegas to Moab. It’s at least 10-11 hours if you go via Zion and Hwy 12. It would be just about feasible to go all the way to Moab via I-15 and I-70 the first afternoon/evening (remember the clocks change going into UT so you’d arrive very late). Then take a day to see Arches (book the Fiery Furnace tour asap upon arrival if you can, it’s the best thing to do in Moab, and that will determine which order you do Arches and Canyonlands) and a day to see Canyonlands (tour Islands in the Sky, also Dead Horse Point State Park is a must see) before driving back via Capitol Reef (Burr Trail will take too long, instead go to Fruita and get a pie at the shop, then go to Capitol Gorge and walk down past the pictographs to see the Pioneers’ names on the rock) and Hwy 12 to Zion on day 3. Spend day 4 in Zion (my favorite short hike is the Canyon Overlook trail above the road tunnel, Emerald Pools is a more ambitious hike in the Canyon itself which is right across from the lodge) before driving back to Vegas that evening. To me that gives a lot more time than doing the loop the other way round. And going via Hwy 12 in both directions is just too much driving.
A large cooler with water and small meals.
we drove from the midwest, through arches/utah to San Diego this summer. I LOVED arches. It is just awe-inspiring and now one of my favorite places (alongside Yellowstone and Tetons). . I’d like to go back to Utah when we had more time and weren’t on such a tight schedule. We didn’t book the fiery furnace tour in time. I hope you can do it!
@Twoin18 Great route! If I get more ambitious and throw in Monument Valley?
Driving from Moab to Zion, you can either go south and through Monument Valley and Page, or West through Capitol Reef and along Highway 12. They are about the same distance and time (370 miles, 6.5 hours). Both are great, but I think you need to choose one or the other because Moab really needs two days.
If you go through Monument Valley then visiting Antelope Canyon just outside Page (choose the lower one not the upper one) is a must. If you get a sunny day (the sunbeams are key so don’t go too late in the afternoon, especially in winter) then all of us thought it was the most spectacular place on the entire Colorado Plateau (which we’ve seen a lot of), even better than the Grand Canyon in some ways.
I’ve been to Bryce twice and each time regretted not allotting enough time. Zion is okay. I liked Arches better.
A couple of years ago we were in Vegas in early December, and we drove to Zion and spent 2 days. We were going to head to Bryce, but they were having a snow storm. I am guessing all of the places you want to go are farther south, but the weather is certainly something to consider. We stayed at the lodge in the park at Zion andenjoyed it.
Bryce gets considerable colder than Zion, and more snow. They are not far apart but definitely in a different climate.
The arches can be done in one full day. I would limit my trip to two parks. You need time to get out of the car and take a hike. Otherwise, what you can see from the car will feel like watching a movie. I would choose the Arches as first choice. Winter time is a great time. If there is a snow dusting the Bryce hoodoos are mystical.
Bryce Canyon in the snow is beautiful. The red hoodoos topped with white. But…if there is snow, the trails into the canyon may be closed.
Below is an answer I posted to a similar question three years ago on another forum. Also, a couple of things to consider–1) our trip was in May, not December–you would have to plan for possible snow on your trip, 2) I was the only driver and I was completely exhausted but you may have more drivers to share driving duties, 3) In December you will have fewer daylight hours than we had in May–I did drive some at night but I am from the piney woods of East Texas and used to driving conditions where large animals appear on the road out of nowhere on dark country roads–I would caution you to not drive at night between Zion and Capitol Reef or between Capitol Reef and the interstate connection to Moab if you are not used to that kind of driving–there WERE two incidences where large herds of deer/antelope suddenly were just THERE on the road, plus there is a lot of gorgeous scenery that you are going to want to see and will miss out at night, and 4) definitely plan to be eating out of your cooler–to make this trip in 4 days you will not want to waste time stopping for meals.
My daughter (then 14) and I did the Mighty Five Utah National Parks last summer. We arrived at the Las Vegas AIrport at 9:45pm Saturday night, and got to St. George Utah at 2:00 am Sunday, slept for a few hours and was on the road again toward Zion Sunday morning at 7:00am. We spent all day in Zion and hiked to all three of the Emerald Pools, hiked the Narrows (just a couple of miles up and back), had a snack at the lodge and checked it out, and got off at a few of the shuttle stops. Then we got in the car and drove out the tunnel out the east entrance and headed to Bryce, stopping at a few scenic stops along the way. We stayed two nights at Bryce. We explored all day Monday at Bryce and did the horseback ride down below the rim in the afternoon, and some stargazing that night. On Tuesday morning we did a little bit at Bryce then headed out toward Capital Reef on Scenic Byway 12. We made a number of quick stops along the byway, and spent about 3 hours in Capital Reef. BTW, three hours was not enough there!!! We then continued along Scenic Byway 24 to the interstate (making stops at scenic turns outs along the way), and continued on to Moab. Tuesday was a very long day. On Wednesday we headed out early into Arches and did a few of the shorter hikes and saw the visitors center, went back to the hotel for a nap, then went back to arches and hiked to Delicate Arch for sunset. It was dark when we hiked back to the car and drove out of the park. The next morning, Thursday, we packed up and drove to Canyonlands and saw the visitors center and drove to the end of Islands in the Sky and my daughter hiked to the grand view point (I was tired and was a bit worried about the long drive back so I sat on a rock and enjoyed the view from just down from the parking lot). We had planned to do one more short hike there, but we were tired, so we just stopped at some scenic spots and took photos. We left the Canyonlands about 2:30pm and drove back out to the main road and headed for Las Vegas. We got back to Las Vegas about 10:30 pm, and had to return the rental car and head for the airport at 3:30am for our 6:00 am flight, so we found somewhere to hang out for a few hours. I say all of this to say yes, you could probably do Zion and Arches in your time frame, but man, that drive from Moab to Las Vegas was looooooong. I honestly don’t think I could have driven another 4-5 hours that day. Especially when you’ve been hiking a lot and that takes a lot out of you. And our trip was rushed. We barely stopped for bathroom breaks and gas as we rushed from one park to the next, and we mostly ate granola bars and sandwiches out of the cooler or our backpacks (in the car, on hikes, at scenic overlooks). We did not get to see nearly all we’d like to have seen and done at each park. My daughter really wanted to do the Mighty Five, and we are glad we did, but we were utterly exhausted at the end of this trip. if I were you, unless you can add more days, I’d do Zion (and Bryce?) and Capital Reef, (and I’d include driving at least some of Scenic Byway 24 going east out of Capitol Reef–stunning), and leave Arches/Moab for a later trip. Or do Capitol Reef and Scenic Byway 24 and Moab, and leave Zion for another trip. Hope that helps. I’d be glad to answer any questions.
Did you need a four wheel drive? We have a short business to take care of at Zion. We will stop there but we don’t have to spend much time there. We will be back in summer for Zion and Bryce. We are arriving in Vegas on Saturday at 11 am. I am thinking we will arrive in Zion around 2-3 pm, look around a bit and stayed the night. Next morning, Sunday, we can head out to Capital Reef via 12 and continue on to Moab, via 24 as you suggest. We can spend two nights in Moab per @Twoin18 and head out early Monday to Monument Valley, stopping at Antelope for the night and a tour next day on Wednesday. Spend the night either at Zion or in Vegas before taking the flight next day, Thursday. How does that sound?
I’m confused. You won’t arrive in Zion until 4-5pm almost at dusk on Saturday (the clocks go forward going into UT). So you won’t have time to see any of Zion that afternoon or the next morning, because you’ll need all of Sunday to drive via Capitol Reef to Moab and even skipping Bryce you’ll still arrive in Moab after dark on Sunday.
If you want to leave Moab on Tuesday morning you’ll only have one day (even if it’s two nights) in Moab. So that’s not enough time to do both Arches and Canyonlands and you’re unlikely to get a same day Fiery Furnace tour.
On the way back there’s not much more to do at Monument Valley than stop at the viewpoint and take photos for 30 mins (the Jeep tours are fun but unnecessary). So you could get to Antelope Canyon in the afternoon for a tour, then stay in Page that night.
I’d restructure this to go straight to Moab via I-15/I-70 on Saturday, drop Capitol Reef, spend three nights (two days) in Moab and visit both national parks, drive to Page for Tuesday night and visit Zion on Wednesday, either staying there or going back to Vegas that evening. None of that will need 4WD and you avoid the highest altitudes (at the passes on Hwy 12 heading to Capitol Reef) where it might be snowy.
See Capitol Reef during your summer trip and try to stay in the campground- it’s the best campground ever, but you have to book.