US national parks in 10 days: Zion, Bryce and the Grand Canyon

Day 2 — Drive to Zion

• Morning — Las Vegas to Springdale, about two and a half hours. Stop in St George if you need anything; it is the last real town.
• Stay in Springdale, immediately outside the gate, and walk or shuttle in. Lodges inside the park book out close to a year ahead.
• Afternoon — Ease in: the Pa’rus Trail along the river is flat, paved and forgiving of a travel day.
• Evening — The Watchman at sunset from the bridge by the visitor centre, which is the photograph everyone takes and is still right.

Where to stay in Zion (two nights)

• Inside the park: Zion Lodge — the only lodging inside the canyon, and the reason to book a year out.
• Mid-range: a Springdale hotel on the shuttle route — most have canyon views and a pool.
• Simple: the campgrounds, which also book out, or the chain hotels in Hurricane twenty minutes away.

Day 3 — Zion properly

• The park shuttle is mandatory in season and private cars are barred from the scenic drive. It runs early; the first buses are the quiet ones.
• If you have an Angels Landing permit: go first, and go at first light. The chains are exposed, the drop is real, and people have died on it. If heights are a question, the answer is Scout Lookout, which is most of the view without the spine.
• If you do not: Observation Point via East Mesa gives a higher view with no chains and no permit, or the Narrows from the bottom — rent neoprene and a stick in Springdale and walk upstream as far as the day allows.
• Afternoon — Emerald Pools or the Riverside Walk, both short, both shaded.
• Evening — Springdale, and an early night.

Day 4 — Over the pass to Bryce

• Morning — The Zion–Mount Carmel Highway east out of the park: switchbacks, a mile-long tunnel, and slickrock country on the far side. Large vehicles need a tunnel escort and pay a fee — relevant if you hired something big.
• Stop at the Checkerboard Mesa pull-off, then on.
• Midday — Bryce Canyon, about 90 minutes. It is not a canyon but the eroding edge of a plateau, and the hoodoos are the result.
• Afternoon — Drive the rim road to Rainbow Point and work back through the viewpoints.
• Dress warmer than you think. The rim is high and the temperature drops hard at dusk.

Where to stay in Bryce (one night)

• Inside the park: The Lodge at Bryce Canyon — a short walk from the rim, open seasonally.
• Mid-range: the cluster at Bryce Canyon City, a couple of minutes from the gate.
• Simple: Tropic, fifteen minutes down the road and cheaper.

Day 5 — Bryce at sunrise, then Page

• Before dawn — Sunrise Point or Sunset Point. The hoodoos light from the top down and turn orange for about twenty minutes. This is the single best hour of the trip and it costs you one early alarm.
• 07:30 — Down the Navajo Loop and up the Queen’s Garden, the classic three-mile combination that puts you among the hoodoos rather than above them. Remember the altitude on the climb out.
• 11:00 — Drive to Page, about three hours, through Grand Staircase–Escalante country. Fuel before you leave.
• Afternoon — Horseshoe Bend: a short walk from a paid car park to an unfenced overlook above a 300-metre drop. Hold on to children.
• Evening — Page is a functional town, not a destination. Eat and sleep.

Day 6 — Antelope Canyon and Lake Powell

• Your booked Antelope Canyon slot. Upper is the one with the light beams, easier walking, and the crowds; Lower is narrower, involves ladders, and is more interesting to walk. Both are guided and both are on Navajo land.
• Light beams are a midday, late-spring-to-summer phenomenon. Outside that window the canyon is still extraordinary and the photographs are different.
• Afternoon — Lake Powell: a boat hour, a swim off a beach, or the Glen Canyon Dam overlook if the water is low and the bathtub ring is the story.
• Evening — Early night; tomorrow is the long one.

Day 7 — To the Grand Canyon

• Morning — Page to the South Rim, about two and a half hours, entering by the east gate.
• Come in on Desert View Drive, which is the better approach: the Desert View Watchtower first, then the overlooks west with the canyon opening as you go.
• Afternoon — Check in, then the Rim Trail on foot. It is paved, mostly flat, and strings the viewpoints together.
• Sunset — Hopi Point or Yavapai Point. Take the shuttle; parking at sunset is a sport.

Where to stay at the Grand Canyon (two nights)

• Inside the park: El Tovar on the rim, a 1905 lodge, booked a year ahead. Bright Angel Lodge is the cheaper rim option.
• Mid-range: Tusayan, ten minutes outside the gate.
• Simple: Williams or Flagstaff, an hour away, with far more choice and lower prices.

Day 8 — Into the canyon, or along it

• The hike: Bright Angel or South Kaibab, partway down and back. Going down is optional; coming up is not. Allow twice as long for the return, carry far more water than feels sensible, and turn round at the time you set, not the point you wanted. Do not attempt the river and back in a day — this is the warning the rangers repeat most, and people ignore it every summer.
• The alternative: the full Rim Trail by shuttle and foot, Hermit Road to its end, and the geology museum at Yavapai.
• Evening — The rim after dark. The park is a certified dark-sky place and the Milky Way is plainly visible on a clear moonless night.

Day 9 — Back towards Las Vegas

• Morning — Last rim walk and coffee, then drive west, about four and a half hours.
• The worthwhile stop: Seligman and the old Route 66 stretch, which is kitsch but genuine, or Hoover Dam for the engineering as you come into Nevada.
• Evening — Las Vegas. Return the car tonight if your flight is early, or keep it for the airport run.

Day 10 — Out

• Morning — Fuel the car and return it with the margin for the inspection queue, which at Las Vegas can be slow.
• Allow three hours at the airport for an international departure.