13 nights, March/April – Utah’s big 5, Monument Valley Navajo tribal park, Horseshoe Bend, Antelope Canyon, Las Vegas
We chose to fly in and out of Las Vegas but I’m sure you could do an open jaw flight and use Salt lake City as a hub for the start or end of the trip, depending on which way round you wanted to do the trip. Due to the flight options we had 13 nights but given a little longer we would have added in the Grand Canyon to the trip. We took the trip at the very end of March into early April – so our experience is based upon those travel conditions. Some families appeared to be on spring break during this time too.
I’m going to split it down into days/places and then will link to some reviews and suggestions based on the accommodation we stayed in or places we grabbed food and drinks.
Day 1 – Landing in Las Vegas in late we chose to stay at an airport hotel (Tru by Hilton) and then pick up the car the following morning. The car hire was a short walk from the hotel. We decided to ride off the back of jet lag and be up and out early the next day! We drove out via the strip so the girls could see all the sights and get a flavour for what Vegas is all about! Our first stop was Zion. We chose to drive out to Kolob canyon at the North West side of Zion. This took about 2.5 hours with taking the route via the strip. Once here we took the scenic drive and then completed the timber creek overlook trail. This took about an hour of comfortable walking to a beautiful viewpoint. This trail leaves from the furthest parking site on the scenic drive. There are two other trails, which are longer in distance. Our excitement about Zion was increasing with every mile driven and step taken.
We then took the 50 minute drive to Springdale, where we checked in to Flanigans for our 3 nights in Zion.
Day 2 – Zion – The kayenta trail and emerald pool trails. Still jet lagged we were up early so we collected a breakfast from the deep creek coffee company. The oats and the breakfast burrito went down well! Loaded with some snacks, water and layers we walked the short distance from Flanigans to the park entrance. Here we picked up the shuttle to stop 6. We started the trail at around 8.30am. There were a few people ahead of us on the trail but it felt pretty peaceful!
We took the Kayenta trail down to the start of the lower and middle emerald pool trails. This trail has a lot of drop offs so it’s important to make sure the kids knew to keep to the side and stay close. It gains elevation but is not intense and is very manageable. It had some amazing views!
At the junction for the emerald pools we opted to do the lower pool first. There are some steps down at this point which are steep in places, and again there are some drop offs to be aware of. The path around to the lower pool is spectacular and, once there, seeing the waterfalls coming down over the edges was beautiful. Especially with the light passing through it. The bridge at the grotto entrance of the trail is closed so you need to turn back after enjoying this and walk back on yourself. At the junction to return to the Kayenta trail or head down the middle emerald pool trail we opted for the latter.
This was a fairly short trail down to the middle pool and, again, had lovely views. We then carried on to the upper emerald pool. This was steep at points and a little more strenuous than other parts of the trail had been. However, it was worth it as we passed around the corner to see the view as we reached the pool. We had to cross some stepping stones to reach the final point. The girls found this part extra adventurous! We stopped here to enjoy the views for a while and for the girls to enjoy the stepping stones. though they were tired towards this part of the trails the slightly more rocky and adventurous nature of the upper trail gave them enough energy!
We then passed back the way we came to reach the beginning of the trails again. We chose to walk down to Zion lodge from here, arriving there around 3 hours after we started the trails. As we were coming off the trail there were a lot of people starting it. As such, I would recommend starting out as early as possible for the quietest trails experience.
Day 3 – Zion – We had discussed doing the narrows but the river flow rate and height suggested it might end up being chest deep for our 6 year old. We couldn’t convince ourselves that we would get the best value out of the rental gear needed to do the narrow on this occasion. So we decided to at least take the shuttle up to stop 9 – temple of Sinawava. We took the riverside walk down to the start of the narrows. This is a very easy, and paved, trail which is suitable for all. It took us around an hour for the round trip. As we watched people do the very first part of the narrows there was some slight regret that we hadn’t gone for it! The girls were most disappointed!! However, we suspected that once out of sight it would soon get deeper. The younger one’s walking pole slipped into the edge of the water and as she rescued it water went in over the top of her walking shoe. We had to improvise with a bandage as a spare sock and a bit of bag to keep that dry!
We took the shuttle back down to stop 4 – Court of the patriarch, with a plan to try the sand bench trail. As we walked the first part of the trail we saw some big turkeys! Early into the loop, the little one was fed up and didn’t want to continue. I think a less than ideal sock solution wasn’t helping her mood and having already done some walking I think she wasn’t feeling it. Her and Neil turned back and myself and the 10 year old continued. The trail has some incline and it is a very sandy trail! We took the clockwise route and were glad we did. Although steep at the beginning it flattened with a lesser incline. On the loop back the trail was predominantly down hill but with deep sand. I wouldn’t have enjoyed ascending this route (though many people were). This route was around 6km and took about 2.5 hours with some stops to snack and empty sand out of our shoes! It was the toughest hike out of the ones we completed, but with amazing views! My reflection is that we should have started out with this hike rather than doing it second to the riverside walk. It would have been better in reverse or as a solo hike for the day!
Day 4 – Zion to Bryce – a drive of dreams. The views were spectacular! The journey was around 2 hours and passed by quickly with the changing landscape. We stopped at a couple of lookouts on the way out of Zion as part of this timing. As we neared Bryce (at the beginning of April) we found ourselves driving among falling snowflakes with a moody looking sky ahead. This left use both excited and appt ways to what we would face when arriving at Bryce, with a plan to complete the Navajo/ Queen’s garden loop.
Bryce Canyon – with one night in this area we wanted to make the day count. As such we had planned to do the Navajo/ Queen’s garden loop. I’d done plenty of reading about how best to do it. But I didn’t really plan for the snow! I had imagined that there might be some in the distance but none that had fallen recently and left the paths icy and slushy! At the visitors centre the information board suggested the need for traction on shoes and walking sticks. We bought an extra couple of sticks and tentatively drove up to sunset point, unsure of how we would get on. Following my reading, we planned to go counterclockwise in the hope this would be the easier route. In winter months the Wall Street section of the Navajo loop is closed and it hadn’t yet reopened. As such we took the two bridges route down. It was slippery at switchbacks and I was nervous of the girls slipping over an edge! The only person that slid at all though was myself! I felt I couldn’t stop to take in the views quite as much as I’d have liked whilst worrying about my fearless girls ploughing on ahead. However, the moments I stopped to look back at where we had come from were awe-inspiring. In fact, every view I saw along that route was the same. At the bottom of the switchbacks there was time for the girls to enjoy the snow that had accumulated along the sides of the path, throwing snowballs and making snow angels.
We continued on to the Queen’s garden route. This portion was longer but flatter for a period of time followed by a gradient that was far less steep than ascending the two bridges. Those that we saw doing that section in reverse looked tired and were stopping regularly. Though the counterclockwise route ascends, it feels like a much more gradual gradient. The sun was coming out here and there and we felt less cold than we had at the start of the walk (it had been sub zero temperatures). Every glance forwards, backwards and sideways revealed a new vista that was snow covered. We arrived at sunrise point and then walked the flat, paved path back to sunset point. As we arrived, the snow started to fall again and got heavier the closer we got back to the visitors centre. We had been lucky to take the walk at the time we had. In total, we probably spent around 2 hours on the trail which encompassed plenty of stopping points to enjoy the view. My reflection – the snowy conditions left the walk feeling magical and wonderful for the children. But for myself, I would have enjoyed doing it a little later in the season with less peril and the option to walk the Wall Street path. The counterclockwise route was by far the best with the children. Had it have been just the two of us, I would have added in the Peekaboo trail as a figure of eight (it would have been a little too long to keep the girls on board).
Our accommodation that night was the Clear Sky resort in Cannonville which is approximately 20 minutes from the Bryce Canyon visitors centre.
The location of Clear sky is such that it’s within short distance to the Mossy trail (part of Bryce), Escalante petrified forest state park and the Grand staircase- Escalente national monument amongst others. We had only one night here but it’s well located to do a lot of exploring.
Day 5 – Bryce to Moab – The road from Bryce out to Capitol reef state park was what some might call adventure but what I would call perilous! As we drove the snow kicked up again. Following the curves of the road in icy condition, in a hire car, was nerve-wracking. The views that we could see were amazing. We were up in the clouds and at points everything appeared white. We crossed a portion of road that was covered in snow and we were sliding as we drove at a snails pace. At this point I was completely regretting all my road trip decisions! As we descended from the higher altitude the roads got better. We arrived at Capitol reef state park and there was light snow fall in the air.
Capitol reef state park – we complete the sulphur creek waterfall trail. It’s a 1.7 mile round trip which starts from the side of the visitors centre. It took us just under an hour and a half with plenty of times stopping and having fun. It was a leisurely hike with minimal elevation gain. The entertainment factor for the girls was that it involved crossing the stream multiple times. This created the right adventure for them and they enjoyed the hike as a result. We had proper walking boots that came up to our ankles are waterproof to that level. In trainers you’d definitely have wet feet. It was April and there was a light flurry of snow as we completed the hike.
From here we continued on to Moab – the roads were far less stressful and it took about 2.5 hours to complete this drive. We arrived in Moab in the late afternoon at our accommodation for the next 3 nights – Moab Springs Ranch.
Day 6 – Arches national park – We had one day here so needed to make it count! You need a timed entry pass alongside your park entrance fee. At peak times these timed entry passes sell out. They go on sale quite far in advance so check the date and put a reminder on your phone! We had a timed entry pass for 8am. The visitors centre doesn’t open until 9am so we headed straight for the delicate arch trail as this parking can quickly get full. We started out on the trail at 8.30. It’s just over 3 miles and it took us 2.5 hours. This included time looking at the petroglyphs and enjoying the views of the arch at the top. It’s easy to do with children – the elevation gain is all on the way out so the return is a nice downward trail. There are some drop offs towards the top of the trail so you do need to take care with children at this point. Lots of people were walking up to the arch for photos. We enjoyed from a greater distance as the wind was picking up.
From here we drove up to the devils garden picnic stop and had an early lunch. We then took the devils garden trailhead to landscape arch. This is a 2 mile round trip. The plan was to return at this point but we saw the path onwards to Navajo and partition arch which involved some fun scrambling up rocks. The children had a second wind and were keen to go onwards. As such we probably completed around 3 miles round trip. The last part with the scrambling is not physically tiring but definitely a bit of stretching and caution as there were plenty of places you could slip or fall. However, it was a lot of fun and no-one regretted adding this section in.
We then stopped at sand dune arch. There’s a 2 mile round trip walk at this stop that takes in some other arches. However, the wind had picked up and there was some on and off rain so we chose to finish up at this point. We drove back town to the visitors centre.
Day 7 – Moab – On our second day in Moab we took it easy for the morning. It allowed us to recharge the batteries and take a little time to rest. The girls enjoyed some time at the pool where we stayed – Moab Springs ranch (see below for more information). That afternoon we had booked a rafting trip with Mild to Wild. This was a 4 hour trip and they took us up in their bus (around 40 minutes). The meeting point is within Moab, so very easily accessible. The rafting is on a section of the Colorado river. At this time of year the water levels were low and the rapids were class I and II. The guide explained that they mostly start around grade II. As such this was the perfect introduction to rafting for the girls. There was lots of serene moments along the river. We spotted two eagles in and near their nest! The guide made the rapids fun by having us paddle into them which gave plenty of splash to excite the girls!
After the rafting (and getting into dry clothes) we drove into Arches NP for a sunset hike. We opted to take the broken arch and tapestry arch trail (4km; 1.5 hours) which gave us a good workout with some mild incline to see the arches. Watching the colours of the arches and rocks change as the sun lowered was beautiful. We arrived back at the car just as the sun had finished setting. There were plenty of cars entering the park as we left. I would imagine the stargazing is fantastic!
My reflections from Arches – start early! As with all the parks I’ve noticed that by the time we have been leaving our first trail the number of hikers and cars have really picked up. I think we were there during spring break which probably added to the numbers, but there was definitely a change in the flow of people after 10am. You could definitely manage 3 shorter hikes in one day. You need to take lunch with you as there’s no lodge in the park. You also need plenty of water. There was a refill station at Devils garden parking but it was out of service. The weather seemed to be in a cold dip whilst we were there. Looking at the days either side of our trip it had been around 20 degrees centigrade. It was pretty chilly during our trip and the day prior to our arrival it had snowed!
Day 8 – Canyonlands national park – we didn’t leave ourselves enough time to really take in Canyonlands. As such, we only got a brief glimpse of what the park had to offer. One full day or two days would have given ample exploration of the main areas of Canyonlands – such as Island in the sky. So we packed in a short 3.5 hour visit with the Upheaval dome hike to both lookout 1 and 2 (3.5km; 1h 15) and then the Mesa arch loop (1.2km 40mins). We took our time on both walks to enjoy the views and have a snack and drink. We weren’t short changed on the views! With more time there were some other short trails that could be done and a few lookouts. Canyonlands is a huge park and to see all the different areas would take a holiday in itself!
Canyonlands to Monument Valley national park – 177 miles (3.5h). We took this journey in pretty much one whole drive. There are some sights to see along the route – Wilson’s arch, Mexican hat, Forrest Gump point. If you have time there is also the Valley of the gods as a scenic drive. This is fairly near to Monument Valley national park so wouldn’t be the ideal stopping point for a break.
Monument Valley Navajo tribal park – we planned to stay here one night and booked the sunset tour which starts from the lodge in the park at 5pm. As we arrived we wondered if we weren’t just better doing the self-drive. After the trip, we had no regrets! The tour is very much off road and you’d need a good 4WD to do it without damage to the car. So, particularly if you have a hire car, the guided tour is worth it. In addition, they can take you to some areas that you cannot drive out to in your own car. The tour was 2.5 hours and the guides knew good spots to stop, take photos, etc. they pointed out the different monuments and petroglyphs.
We had then booked to stay at Gouldings lodge. This is about 10 minutes from the park entrance. It’s very handy and has good amenities- a diner, gift shop and an indoor pool. The rooms (if set up as 2 queens) are not large and they’re quite dated. However, for a night, whilst exploring Monument Valley, it was very functional.
Day 9 – Monument Valley to Page – We then drove on to Page, which is around 2 hours from Monument Valley. Whilst in Page we visited horseshoe bend. There is a car park which costs $10. The trail to horseshoe bend is around 2km roundtrip. There’s an area with a barrier but then lots of unfenced edges so it’s important to be careful with the children! It certainly didn’t disappoint as a viewpoint.
There are other activities around Page – water sports on Lake Powell, other canyon tours, horse riding, etc. However, I would say they are all pretty expensive when looking to do them for a family. I couldn’t find any boat trips that seemed a reasonable price point. Another word of warning if you haven’t travelled to this area before – they have pool seasons. We were there in early April and the hotel’s pool was not yet open. The weather had really improved as we arrived in Page and the girls would have been very happy to dip into a pool at that point in the trip! We had been due to spend 2 nights in Page but we realised the girls were ready to relax at this point so we made plans to leave for Las Vegas the next day.
Day 10 – Lower Antelope Canyon – The trips to the canyons are fairly expensive when factoring in a family of four. I took some time to do some research before booking which canyon to go for. I opted for lower antelope canyon as the sound of all the steep staircases added a little more adventure into the mix to keep the children entertained. As much as they will find the sights amazing, they do need some adventure as part of the process. Upper antelope canyon is the trip with the more famous views and light beams coming down into the canyon. As such it’s the most popular and expensive option. You could book tours that take in both. If it was just the two adults I would probably have booked it! We used Ken’s tours for our trip. It really was spectacular to see and our guide was great at stopping to tell us interesting information and advising on which setting to use on the phone/camera. He also took some pictures of the four of us together.
Page – Las Vegas – After our canyon tour we drove back over to Las Vegas. There are plenty of options to break up the journey. Had we of left Page in the morning we would have done so.
Kanab: Sand Hollow state park; Quail creek state park
St George: Pioneer park; St George dinosaur discover site; Red hills desert garden
Days 11 – 13 – Las Vegas. Time for some downtime (of sorts)! Waking up in Page with no accommodation booked for the first night in Las Vegas, we did some research and found that last minute weeknight rates at some of the hotels on the strip were great value. So that first night we stayed at Fontainbleau – This was up at the opposite end of the strip to where we stayed for the next two nights – Mandalay Bay. Both hotels were great for what we needed – pool time. They were both very different in style and Mandalay Bay has a huge fun pool complex with it’s lazy river, wave pool, ‘beach’ and various other pools. Fontainbleau, in contrast, has a very chic rooftop pool area which gives off glamour vibes. You feel you need your best swimsuit on at this pool to pose with a cocktail! Over the course of our days there we walked parts of the strip, ate at various places along the strip, watched O by Circque du Soleil, Popovich’s comedy pet theatre. I also met a friend for food and drinks in the arts district and went to the shops at Henderson
The trip was amazing and felt like a perfect introduction to the amazing national parks that the Southwest has to offer. Do I feel like we have seen everything we wanted to? Not even close. I think we got the nest overview of Zion and Arches. I’d enjoy re-visiting Zion at a different time – perhaps the early summer – to be able to do the Narrows hike. Without kids I’d love to do the Angels landing hike (or when they’re older). I think Capitol reef and Canyonlands has far more to offer than we saw. Taking the time again I would make a stop at Capitol reef and spend longer in Moab. I would also take 2 nights in Bryce to allow a full day there.
This was all very possible with two daughters aged 10 and 6 years who are reluctant hikers! We found that the trails had enough interest and thrills to keep them interested for the full walk. Ensuring we had the afternoons generally free also helped bring them on board with doing the longer walks we had planned!
