I’ve dreamed of visiting the Grand Canyon for a long time. My fiancé and I made a spontaneous decision to travel there a couple weeks ago and had an amazing time. We researched quite a bit, but learned some additional tips during our trip that I wanted to share. In addition to my itinerary, I’ve included some notes on housing, dining and the time zones!
Day 1: Las Vegas and Seven Magic Mountains
- We flew from New York (JFK) to McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, NV and picked up our rental car.
- From the airport, we did a quick detour to see the Seven Magic Mountains, located 30 minutes from the Las Vegas strip. Beautiful and worth a visit.
- On the way to The Escape (more housing details below!), we stopped at Sol Foods Supermarket in Springdale, Utah, to pick up groceries for the week.
- We drove through Zion National Park and were lucky to see the incredibly scenic sunset. The entrance fee is $30 for private vehicles, which is reusable for 7 days.
Day 2: Bryce Canyon
Bryce was my personal favorite! The hikes were unique and the hoodoos were amazing to see in person. Also, the crowds were small relative to the other sites we visited.
Parking: We parked at the Shuttle Station (across the street from Ruby’s Inn) and took the shuttle to the Visitor Center. There is an entrance fee ($30 for private vehicles). There is also a parking lot by the Visitor Center, but it tends to get filled up during busy seasons. Shuttle information is available here; it comes every 10-15 minutes.
Trails: We spent the whole day at Bryce and explored the various of trails (shown on the map).
- Sunrise Point to Sunset Point (1 mile, flat and paved, easy). Part of the Rim Trail, with great views of Bryce Canyon from the top (see my featured image). We walked (15 min) from the Visitor Center to Sunrise Point and stopped by the general store, which is great if you need food, water or the restroom before beginning your hike.
- Sunset Point to Bryce Point (2 miles, steeper and paved, moderate). Additional views from the top. The shuttle also runs from Sunset Point to Bryce Point if you are not up for the additional 2 miles of walking. We walked to Bryce Point and then it was an additional 1 mile walk (winding, but downhill) to the entrance of the Peekaboo Trail.
- Peekaboo Loop Trail (3 miles, changing elevation, strenuous). Walking inside and amongst the hoodoos. One large loop that is half downhill and half uphill. If you do the loop, you end up back at Bryce Point. You will see on the map that part of the Peekaboo Trail includes a horse trail, which is a bit unpleasant, but can be avoided if you do not do the full loop. Alternatively, at the halfway point, you can break off onto different trails that also take you back to the top:
- The Queens Garden Trail (2.5 miles, uphill, strenuous). Takes you back up to Sunrise Point.
- The Navajo Loop Trail (1.5 miles, uphill, strenuous). Takes you back up to Sunset Point. We did this one, then walked back along the Rim Trail to Sunrise Point. It is a fun, windy trail, but difficult because it is entirely uphill.
Day 3: Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend and Grand Canyon
- Antelope Canyon (Page, AZ): We read that Lower Antelope Canyon was more interesting because it is underground and less crowded so decided to go there rather than Upper Antelope Canyon.
- Tour: You cannot enter the canyon unless you are with a guided tour. The two main companies are Ken’s Tours and Dixie Ellis. We went with Dixie Ellis–it is a newer company and the groups are slightly smaller (think 15 people per group rather than 20-25).
- Timing: Tours earlier in the morning have better natural light for photos. I recommend going on the second earliest tour, if possible. The first tour of the day is packed with large tour bus groups. The second tour is slightly better and you still have good natural lighting.
- Time Zone: If you are coming from Utah, remember that you gain an hour if you go to Lower Antelope between March and November (see more about time zones below).
- Photographs: Your tour guide will tell you the best photo spots for landscape photos (toward the beginning of the tour) and portrait photos (toward the end where the canyon expands a bit). S/he will take photos for you at these spots.
- Horseshoe Bend (Page, AZ): A quick 5 mile (10 minute) drive from Lower Antelope Canyon. Very crowded, but there is a lot of space and many areas to take photos from. There are no shaded areas so make sure to put on sunblock and bring lots of water. There are also no railings so you can get really close to the edge, but if you are afraid of heights, this is something to keep in mind. A visitor center, shaded overhangs and railings will be put in place in late 2018.
- Grand Canyon (North Rim, AZ): We wrapped up at Horseshoe Bend around 1pm and had an entire afternoon at our disposal so we made an impromptu decision to drive to the North Rim (we had originally intended on skipping the Grand Canyon altogether). The North Rim is less frequented than the South Rim, but is definitely worht a visit. Again we had to pay the $30 vehicle fee.
- Angel Point Trail (.5 miles, moderate). We didn’t have enough time to do any of the longer hikes but we went to Angel Point, which has fantastic views of the canyon. The trail is completely paved. It was super windy, which made the walk a bit scary!
- Driving Path: We followed the trail map for the remainder of our visit and went from the Visitor Center to Vista Encantada, which took about 1.5 hours round-trip, including stops at each of the viewing points. The photo below is from Point Imperial (the highest viewing point).
- Short Season: Note that the North Rim is only open from May 15-October 15.
Day 4: Zion National Park
Our last day, we visited Zion National Park. Tt was a great way to end the trip!
- Parking: Zion is very popular and the small visitor lot (which is free) fills up quickly (usually by 9am). We parked in the parking lot next to Happy Camper Market. It is a quick, 5 minute walk to the shuttle pick-up location and you have to pay a $20 fee.
- Observation Point Trail (8-miles round-trip; largely uphill; very strenuous): We took the Zion Shuttle (see map here) up to Weeping Rock. We decided against Angel’s Landing, which is the more popular but also more crowded trail with narrower walking paths. The views from Observation Point were beautiful, but I personally found the views along the way to be more interesting (see shot below).
Housing
The lodges near the parks book up early, sometimes a year in advance. I also heard that the accommodations tend to be a bit outdated and overpriced. So, instead, we opted for an AirBnB at The Escape in Orderville, Utah. The owner has 6 “tiny houses” which are brand-new, 2 bedroom units with modern appliances and furnishings (if you watch HGTV, think Tiny House, Big Living). We stayed in Tiny House #5 which has a rooftop sitting area (as does Tiny House #6). The location was very central to all of the places we wanted to visit:
- 1 hour drive to Zion National Park
- 1 hour drive to Bryce Canyon
- 2 hour drive to Antelope Canyon
- 2.5 hour drive to Grand Canyon (North Rim)
We also made good use of the fully stocked kitchen–cooking breakfast in the mornings and packing sandwiches to eat during our hikes. I would highly recommend saying at The Escape if you are planning a similar type of trip!
Dining
One drawback of staying in Orderville is that there are limited dining options in the area. We cooked one night and on the other nights, we ventured to a larger town nearby called Kanab, which is a 25 minute drive from Orderville. There are other dining options in Springdale (the town next to Zion). We tried out the following spots in Kanab:
- Rocking V Cafe: Owned by a New York transplant who is super friendly. Standard American food. It was a fun environment (there is artwork for purchase hanging all around the restaurant and a gallery on the second floor) and food tasted good, but it was our priciest meal.
- Peekaboo Canyon Wood Fired Kitchen (Kanab): Vegetarian; delicious pizzas. I also recommend the sweet potato fries!
- Big Al’s Burgers (Kanab): Fresh burgers that are made to order; classified as “fast-food” but the service is really slow–we had to wait 30 minutes for our burgers and tater tots (yes, they have tater tots and they were delicious)!
Time Zones
Definitely keep the different time zones in mind when planning out your days (and maximizing sleeping time)!
- Las Vegas: Pacific Time Zone (EST minus 3 hours)
- Utah (Bryce Canyon): Mountain Time Zone (EST minus 2 hours)
- Arizona (Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend and North Rim): Arizona Time Zone; Arizona does not observe Daylight Savings Time, so from March to November Arizona is the Pacific Time Zone and during the other months it is the Mountain Time Zone
Plan & See 