Epic Road Trip: Vegas, Bryce & Zion
I have been on many road trips around the U.S. and I dream of re-doing this epic road trip from Las Vegas to Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks. The fun and excitement of Vegas paired with the serenity and adventure of these two national parks will make for one of the best road trips of your life.
Day 1: Get to Vegas
Living on the East coast means flying to Vegas, which is easily a 7-hour travel day. If you also have a long travel day, use day 1 to fly in and enjoy your first night in Vegas. You will likely be tired from travelling all day and you will feel so much better starting your road trip refreshed.
You could go ahead and get your rental car on night one, but if you don’t want to deal with the hassle of getting the car and paying for hotel parking, you can pick up your car first thing before you head out of Vegas at one of the many rental car desks. We used the Hertz car rental located in the Wynn hotel. This was very convenient and worked great for us, but this location now has a 2.6/5 rating on Google- so proceed with caution.
Enjoy Vegas
Even if you don’t like to gamble, there are plenty of fun things to do in Vegas! If it’s your first time, you should site-see on the Vegas strip and/or downtown on Freemont Street. The casinos, fun hotels and Vegas sign are just a few must-see spots. There is a ton of great shopping, spas, pools or pool party bars, and so many great restaurants and shows (think Cirque du Soleil, a concert or comedy show, or a fancy dinner and show at the Mayfair Supper Club)!
If you’d rather be out in nature, you can visit Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. It is only a 30-minute drive outside of the city. You can see impressive red rocks, explore fun hiking trails, or even just drive the 13-mile scenic route that winds through the park. For an even more adventurous time, there are many exciting excursions to choose from, like an exciting desert ATV tour.
Day 2: Drive to Bryce Canyon
…OR stay in Vegas another night and push this out another day!
Pick-up Your Road Trip Car & Get Supplies
If you didn’t get your car on night 1, plan to pick up a rental car in the morning on the day you set off on your road trip. Also make sure to pick a good road trip car – good on gas, possibly handle hilly areas and has plenty of room for your luggage and a cooler.
Once you get your car, you can load up and start driving to Bryce Canyon.
If you are interested in learning fun facts about Utah and the parks along the way, I recommend using the GuideAlong app (f/k/a GypsyGuide). This app offers guided routes and location-specific commentary as you drive. We used this during our trip, and have also used in when visiting the Hawaiian islands.
I suggest stopping for supplies about an hour out of Vegas. The closer you get to the national parks, the more limited your options. We stopped at Walmart in Mesquite, NV to buy a cooler (we wanted a disposable one, but in hindsight I would have packed a foldable cooler), and load up on hiking snacks, water and any other necessities for long hikes in the parks. We stayed in places (see below) that included coffee makers, so we brought coffee and creamer. We grabbed bananas, muffins, granola bars, trail mix, nuts, cucumbers, salami, cheese and crackers. We also purchased pre-made items like pasta salad, potato salad and chicken salad. We were able to grab frozen icepacks from the cutest little B&B near our hotel in Bryce for coffee- the Coddiwomple Cottage. They also had snacks, souvenirs (peep the cute shirt I got below) and hiking essentials.
Check-In in Utah
If you leave Vegas in the morning, you should arrive in Utah shortly after lunch.
Upon arrival we checked in to a super cute cottage at Mountain Ridge Cabins and Lodging in Hatch, UT. This place offered cute, nice rooms at very affordable prices. The rooms also included a refrigerator, coffee maker and a microwave, which was very helpful with limited restaurant and dining options.
After checking in and dropping off your luggage, make your way to Bryce to hike your first trail! We chose to hike the Queen’s Garden Navajo Loop Combination. This is a total of 2.9 miles and is estimated to take 2-3 hours. I was getting nervous that we wouldn’t finish before sunset, but we made it with plenty of time- even with stopping to take all the pictures. This was an incredible hike. It offers a bit of a challenge and the most amazing views (i.e. the theme of this trip!).
Day 3: Sunrise at Bryce Canyon National Park
On day 3, if you can handle it, wake up EARLY and catch sunrise at Bryce Canyon. We watched the sunrise from Sunset Point. This was the most magnificent sunrise! Even in June, it was cold before the sun came up and it was hard to fight the urge to sleep in, but so worth it!
Sunrise over Bryce Canyon at Sunset Point
After watching the sunrise, head out on your second hike in Bryce Canyon. For this hike, we chose to do Peekaboo Loop (trailhead is at Sunset Point where we watched sunrise). This is marked as a strenuous trail and is 5 miles (8 km) from this trailhead. This trail took us about 3 hours, and aside from the switchbacks, I was very sad when it was over! I could spend days hiking in Bryce!
As with Vegas, if you have more time, you should stay one more day to keep exploring Bryce’s many beautiful trails. I can’t wait to go back and do the Fairyland Loop trail- an 8 mile (12.9 km) strenuous hike that looks so fun!
We were on a time crunch, so we packed up and headed to Zion.
Days 3 - 5: Zion National Park
After dragging yourself away from Bryce’s picture-perfect trails, drive to Zion and check-in to your accommodations. We chose an adorable glamping bungalow at Zion Wildflower Resort in Virgin, UT. This place offers glamping in the Oregon trail style covered wagon, tent/yurt glamping, and private bungalows. The bungalows were the perfect place for our visit to Zion! The resort provided a glamping vibe, but with the bungalow we were able to have a king-size bed, large shower, mini fridge, microwave, Keurig, and private deck with Adirondack chairs overlooking stunning desert views. We could also watch the campfire and listen to the live music- a total vibe!
Hike Zion
After checking in, head over to Zion to get in your first hike. Since it will be in the afternoon, expected it to be busy and parking limited. If you can get parking, get started by hiking one of the great trails that start at the Visitor’s Center, so you don’t have to worry about catching the shuttle or making it back before dark. It was crazy packed, so we chose to drive to the North side of Zion National Park and visited Kolob Canyons. We chose to hike the Timber Creek trail- it is a short 1 mile (1.6 km) out and back trail with pretty panoramic views of the Kolob Canyons. Being only 1 mile, I was worried it wouldn’t be worth it- I was very wrong! It was a great short hike with beautiful sights.
After the hike, we made our way back to the other side of Zion to pick up our gear for hiking the Narrows from Zion Outfitter. Zion Outfitter allows you to pick the Narrows equipment either the morning of your hike or the evening prior from 4pm until 8pm. We had an early morning permit for our Narrows hike, so we opted to get our gear the night before and I recommend doing this. It made it a bit easier to get our gear ready and bags packed for an early morning start.
On your second day in Zion, start the day early by getting to the park shortly after opening. We quickly found parking and were one of the first in line for the second shuttle to the Narrows trailhead. I think we timed this perfectly! By the time we got on trial, the sun started to come out so it wasn’t too cold to handle the ice-cold water. It was also still early enough to not be too busy and crowded with people. We stopped for lunch on the trail halfway. By the time we reached the end for us, it was so busy we were constantly stopping (it also smelled of urine- ew!) We hiked a bit past the famous Wall Street area, which was a little over 2 miles on the river trail and over 3 miles from the trailhead.
We were not able to get a permit to hike Angels Landing, so we chose another [much less scary] trail for our afternoon hike. After hiking the Narrows, we took the shuttle back to Stop 5, Zion Lodge. From there we hiked the Emerald Pools trails, which connected to the Kayenta trail, which we continued to hike to its trailhead at shuttle stop #6 (the Grotto). This was approximately 3-4 miles (5-6 km) in total. It was an easy hike, and the emerald pools were so pretty! In sum, you are in for a perfect day of hiking!
There are some great restaurants in Zion, but things fill up fast! Make a plan and don’t wait too late! We had dinner at what is now the Anu Restaurant (great views!) and excellent lunches at The Park House.
On our last day in Zion, you should squeeze in one more hike. We did the short and spicy Watchman trail. This trailhead is conveniently located at the Visitors center and is 2.8 miles (4.6 km). This was another awesome, challenging hike with beautiful views and a perfect way to wrap up our time in Zion (since we couldn’t just move there 😉).
Zion National Park, sun shining over the mountains
Day 5: Back to Vegas
Make your way back to Vegas after your morning hike in Zion- sandy, dirty and exhausted in the best way possible!
This is an easy 2.5-ish hour drive. We returned our rental car and stopped at Fedex to ship home souvenirs that wouldn’t fit in our checked luggage. It was then my mission to spend the rest of the day at the Bellagio pool, ordering overpriced cocktails. On our final night, we treated ourselves to a fancy dinner. Again, there are so many great options to choose from in Vegas- I love watching Travel Ruby on YouTube for the latest Vegas news and hot-spots.
Day 6: Fly Home
Preparing for another 7+ hour travel day, I recommend choosing a morning flight (we aimed to get back to PHL early evening). No need to wake up super early, you can grab breakfast on the Vegas Strip, then take an Uber to the airport. Proceed to then spend your time waiting for your flight to board looking at all the amazing photos and videos from your epic road trip to Bryce & Zion!