Utah/Arizona Trip Plan Help Please.....

[deagle]

I'm from Michigan. After years of my wife commenting on the beautiful rock formations out West in every commercial/movie, we are finally going exploring. I have no idea what to see. She has some ideas, but she asked if I could post here for some roads or sights that are not to be missed.

We will fly into Vegas (is that an ok starting spot?), then have 3 days on a rented bike to see whatever we can. I think we'd like to see the Grand Canyon, Sedona, and Zion National Park.

Is there anything else that we should see instead or on the way? We only have 3 days riding, and probably won't iron butt anything. Either be on a Goldwing or an Indian Roadmaster, as those are on the short list for "someday".

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

Don.

 

[hppants]

Go to the Ride Report Board and search "Get Busy Living". This is my report from 2015 riding through that area. Ignore the crashing part, but I've got maps, routes, and plenty of pictures of what we saw.

Also, when are you going? If you could wait until late September, the temperatures should be starting to moderate a little, and you have an excellent chance to see some wonderful fall colors. We just returned from YFO and I can tell you that high temps in the 105 range now are a reality. "Oh, but it's a dry heat - it's different", they would tell me. Balony.

 

[deagle]

We are shooting for mid/late October. Thanks for the advice on the temps.

Going to your ride report now......

 

[marcusorelius]

Mid late Oct. will be good. To see a little bit of everything I would suggest 2 long all day rides. 1 to death valley 2 to Zion/Bryce canyon. And a day of local vegas area, either valley of fire/hoover dam or red rock canyon/mt charlston.

To see the grand canyon Nat'l park South or North rims or Sedona are all over 500 mile round trip rides. The Indian owned west rim (with the skywalk) is about 250, not really as spectacular views as the North or south rims & is about $80 to walk on the skywalk.

 

[deagle]

Ahhh, thanks for the tip on the $80 skywalk and the view. We'll keep that in mind.

The plan is to fly into and out of Las Vegas, but not return each night. Hopefully go in one big loop. Once I find the "don't miss" spots, I'll try and find places along the way to sleep. (no camping).

 

[Redfish Hunter]

If you can find a way to link Zion and the North Rim of the Canyon together... That would be splendid. I warn you that the road to the North Rim usually closes in October due to snow.

 

[Spud]

Watch weather / elevation when you're there. Bryce is a definite must see but is also near 9,000 feet. Zions is awesome for scenery. Lodging can be very scarce around those areas, and especially around Grand Canyon even in October. This is a great place to stay: https://www.rubysinn.com/

 

[erixun]

If you can route Hwy 12 in Utah in there, you will not be disappointed. North Rim, Grand Canyon, Zions, Bryce, Hwy 12 to Fruita Ut/Capitol Reef, also possibly Goblin Valley and Canyon lands.... the list goes on and on! Have a blast!

 

[HotRodZilla]

What Erixun said. Go see the north rim of the Grand Canyon. When you're done there, ride 89A northwest towards Fredonia and Kanab. Stay there somewhere, or try to camp near the parks. 12 intersects 89 just north of Hatch. You can make a big loop around to Cedar City. It's beautiful!

 

[russperry]

What Erixun said. Go see the north rim of the Grand Canyon. When you're done there, ride 89A northwest towards Fredonia and Kanab. Stay there somewhere, or try to camp near the parks. 12 intersects 89 just north of Hatch. You can make a big loop around to Cedar City. It's beautiful!

I like this one! 918 miles all the way around including Highway 12 to Capitol Reef - highly recommended!

 

[deagle]

Ok, so everybody says Zion is a must see. So hitting that for sure. The North Rim of the Grand Canyon and the lodges all close on Oct 15th. The road is open during the day only. We plan on going on Oct 21st. Is that a problem? Wife not crazy about Grand Canyon but if we are that close how do we not see it?

Also, nobody has mentioned Sedona. Not sure why my wife brought that up, but should we maybe skip that and spend more time in Utah?

And last question.....since we are not big hikers, are most of these parks things you drive through or things that take time off the bike to see? I mean, if it's 3 hours to Zion National Park, do you drive through it or is it something that takes 4 hours to see on foot? I understand you can probably spend days at each park, but we've got 3 days total. What is a realistic time spent at Zion or Bryce Canyon if one is trying to fit it all into 3 days?

Thanks for the responses so far!!!

 

[hppants]

Sedona is a beautiful city located in the heart of a wonderful Red Rock Canyon. The ride up there from the south is fantastic. Sedona has a ton of "spa" places, which might be appealing to your wife, but from what I (very briefly) saw, not much there for you except maybe a Jeep tour of the dessert.

You can hike Zion (Angels Landing is SPIRITUAL!!!!), but you can also just ride through it and doing so is well worth your time.

Unlike the crowded south rim, the north rim of the Grand Canyon is a nice ride into the park, and a very short walk to the edge. I'd plan your ride through there (as indicated above), hitting monument valley, etc. and if the road is open, go for it.

The reality is that you have (relatively) ZERO time to see a TON of things. I've spent about 2 weeks in those areas (over 2 separate trips now), and I've really just scratched the surface. However, do not let that discourage you. Take comfort in the fact that the entire region is just beautiful and whatever time you have will be well spent just taking in the beauty of a different part of the country. Don't dwell on what you will miss, but rather on what you will see.

One more suggestion - get a National Parks Annual Pass. You and your wife on the bike can use just one pass for both of you. If you visit just two parks, the pass will pay for itself and you have the rest of the year to see anything else you want for FREE.

 

[DesignFlaw06]

I recommend a stop in Page, AZ. Take a tour of Antelope Canyon and also check out Horseshoe Bend. The Glen Canyon Dam is a nice tour. Sedona is a great place to see. Go to the scenic overlook by the airport. I'd make your way to Jerome. Visit the Haunted Hamburger (https://thehauntedhamburger.com/) for lunch.

As Pants said, buy a National Park pass. Do it now so you have access to other National Parks before your trip (Sleeping Bear Dunes in Empire, MI perhaps). Skip Canyonlands. Not much to see and no good way to get there or back out. Bryce Canyon is a must. The Prospector Inn in Escalante has ginormous pancakes if you want breakfast before the climb up Bryce.

Kanab was an interesting city. It's was Little Hollywood for many westerns. A lot of John Wayne movies were filmed there. Outlaw Josey Wales was also filmed there. On Wednesday nights (pretty sure it was Wednesday), they show old movies filmed there in the barn where the horses used to be kept.

We did a similar trip a while back. Can't find the writeup on here, but the same thing is on the Nighthawk Forums. https://nighthawk-forums.com/index.php/topic,44.0.html

 

[Gnirtsnod]

I recommend a stop in Page, AZ. Take a tour of Antelope Canyon and also check out Horseshoe Bend. The Glen Canyon Dam is a nice tour. Sedona is a great place to see. Go to the scenic overlook by the airport. I'd make your way to Jerome. Visit the Haunted Hamburger (https://thehauntedhamburger.com/) for lunch.
As Pants said, buy a National Park pass. Do it now so you have access to other National Parks before your trip (Sleeping Bear Dunes in Empire, MI perhaps). Skip Canyonlands. Not much to see and no good way to get there or back out. Bryce Canyon is a must. The Prospector Inn in Escalante has ginormous pancakes if you want breakfast before the climb up Bryce.

My friend and I just spent a week in that area on a much broader swath. I will ditto the Page, AZ. reference and the stop and short hike to Horseshoe Bend is well worth it. Earlier reference to 12 is a good one IF you have time. Panquitch is a nice place to stay if you go to Bryce Canyon. ...Don

 

[NorCal FJR]

I did a trip out that way couple of years ago and based myself in Kanab. I was able to hit Bryce and Zion in the same day, then rode to Las Vegas to pick up my wife. Just fyi I didn't do any hiking, just rode through the parks and stopped for pictures. She flew into Las Vegas and I picked her up there to start her portion of the ride.

We rode from Vegas through Zion to a motel outside of the North Rim. We stopped in Zion, but didn't do any hiking, just gawking at the sights. Kanab is a good central location for what you are planning imho. I think if you are that close, the Grand Canyon is worth seeing. If you go early for sunrise like we did, keep your eyes open it was a good road, but plenty of large animals walking across the road.

Any way you split it up, this a great part of the country to explore.

 

[draco_1967]

I concur with what others have said: If you can fit Rt 12 in there, do it! It is a fantastic road with lots of very cool landscape.

 

[SacramentoMike]

First of all, don't "fit Rt. 12 in there;" BASE your whole trip on seeing as much of what lies along Route 12 as you possibly can. (Utah State Route 12, a National Scenic Byway, and the most incredible road you'll ever ride. Or drive.) And forget Sedona--just my opinion. It's in the wrong direction from everything else you want to see, and though the scenery there is great, it's basically a little of what you can see a LOT of all over southern Utah (on the opposite side of the Grand Canyon, a pretty major obstacle). It's also a very upscale and overpriced tourist town.

My son was a freshman at NAU in Flagstaff a while ago and "parents' weekend" was in late September. We decided to do a car tour of southern Utah on the way down to see some of the sights I'd seen on the bike. Assumed since summer vacation was over we'd be able to find lodging easily. Wrong. It's when the weather starts to cool down that they have their busiest season down that way! We hit the whole chain of amazing national parks in succession--Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, etc. and had to scramble for a room every night. Get your reservations first!

If you have time to swing back toward Vegas by a southern route, you can do that slot canyon tour in Page, AZ (I agree) and even Monument Valley if you do. Unfortunately, three days won't be enough to see all of what you'll REALLY wish you could see. If you can extend your trip AT ALL, every extra day will be solid gold.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Agree on Sedona. I've been there once, and the ride there wasn't bad, but the traffic sucked, and that's all their was. A town is a town.

 

[pegscraper]

You said you only have 3 days to ride and there is a ton of stuff you want to see.
That would mean you only have 2 nights on this trip. It will be a blur in that limited amount of time.

To get the most bang for your bucks is do what SacramentoMike suggests.

The main awesome NP to see for an overview would be Zion, Bryce and Hwy 12 to Torrey (Capital Reef).

The nights stay could be Ruby's Inn at Bryce and a stay in Torrey. Then you would have to slab it back to Vegas.

If you had more time, then I would fit in some of the things others have suggested.

But with only 2 nights, 3 days, you are not being fair to yourselves.

That's my $0.02.