Yet another southern Utah travel thread!
 

A friend of mine from Sweden is coming to visit for about two weeks. I wanted to take her through southern Utah for at least a portion of the visit to see some of the stuff nature has given us to offer. I put together the following itinerary and wanted some thoughts on it.

Oct 18 - Wake up early! Drive to Arches National Park and Dead Horse State Park, time permitting. Spend night in Moab.
Oct 19 - Wake up early! Take Highway 24 through Capitol Reef National Park, connecting to Highway 12. Stop in Bryce Canyon and Cedar Breaks parks, and Kodachrome Basin, time permitting. End day in St. George, stay with friends.
Oct 20 - Zion National Park.
Oct 21 - Rest day, bum around St. George area, hike lava tubes in Snow Canyon.
Oct 22 - Grand Canyon*
Oct 23 - Las Vegas
Oct 24 - Return to SLC.

* - I am well aware of how long it takes to get to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon from Vegas or St. George. I'm guessing the North Rim will be closed by this time of year too. I'm going to try to talk her into doing one of the plane/helicopter tours of the canyon available from Vegas.

My biggest concern with this itinerary is October 19th - I don't know if this is sufficient time to see Bryce Canyon, especially since it seems to be the favorite among all southern Utah parks.

I have a few days leeway in either direction and can extend this trip a day or two if needed.

Any thoughts?

I think you are missing a lot of the best stuff on 10/19. Rather than drive 24 through Capital Reef, I'd cut down on Bullfrog Road and then through the old road in the park to Boulder.

Then, there are some amazing (and easy to do) back-road drives around Escalante that would be incredibly spectacular.

See this route: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=e...8,2.406006&z=9

Escalante Outfitters in Escalante are very good folks to give you some local info about the whole area.

Oct 19th looks very ambitious if you really want to enjoy the parks. I spent about 6 hours at Bryce. I'd split the day to 2 parks each. I'd also add a day to get to enjoy the Grand Canyon...the best times are sunrise and sunset.

Thanks for your input so far.

cblaisd, are you talking about the road the runs on the east side of Capitol Reef, and then cuts across to Boulder?

Google Map.

Also, with the shuttle system being mandatory at Zion, I guess I can't cut through on Highway 9 to get from Bryce to Zion, correct?

Yes.

See the link I added in my post above.

Yes, you still can. It will cost you $20, though. The shuttle goes to what the ranger described as the "more scenic" area of the park.

I have to say, though, that after driving it twice in the last four years I can almost not imagine what would be more scenic than Highway 9 itself.

Do stop here before going on 9 through Zion if for nothing more than to take a picture of the sign. :D

The shuttle is only in the valley itself. Coming in on UT 9 from the east, there is a tunnel which may be closed temporarily to let large vehicles (RVs and the like go through) I entered and exited the park this way in 2006. The shuttle is for those not staying at the lodge so you have to park at the visitor centre or at Canyon Junction and take the shuttle in from there.

You also might peruse this thread of mine, with three years of trips.

'06 and '08 are obviously more germane.

Don't miss Seat2A's post near the end of the thread.

Hurry. :(

Holy cow that itinerary has an awful lot of driving.

And since you're visiting the park anyway, it's only fair that you pay the entrance fee.:D

No disagreement. It's $20 well spent.

If you are visiting so many parks (looks like 5 nat'l fee areas?), a park pass is worthwhile.

I believe that in-the-park Grand Canyon North Rim lodging and food services do close before you will begin your trip - but that the park itself remains open to visitors until some weather event forces its closing. There is lodging available about 20 miles north of the park entrance but I have not stayed there so can make no comment on quality etc. I don't know if an entrance fee is charged that late in the season - that is, after October 15. If you decide to visit the North Rim please check on my information for I would hate to have you drive the 50 miles down that lonely but beautiful road from Jacob Lake to the entrance only to find the park closed!

Very good point.

I visited a few years ago ~November 1 and the park facilities (except for restrooms) were closed. And it snowed on us pretty heavily driving in from Jacob Lake.

The lodging options in Jacob Lake are rustic and basic, but it's a gorgeous setting.

The nearest other lodging would be in Kanab

So I'm thinking I may insert an extra day after Arches. Drive from Moab through Capitol Reef, and then spend the night in Escalante. That will let us spend a full day enjoying Capitol Reef and Escalante, plus give us more time the following day to hit Bryce, Cedar Breaks and Kodachrome. That sounds more reasonable, doesn't it? Now if they only had a Marriott there...

It doesn't come close to the original three week one we had planned that included all of this PLUS Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco before cutting back across on I-80!

That's kind of what I figured as well. I guess I'll keep an eye on the weather as travel time approaches - I can hope for a long drawn-out fall this year (unlike last year where we got snow in September). I think I'm going to try to convince her to do the plane/helicopter tour from Vegas if things look even remotely bad.

Much. Only wish I were going with you :)

If you're in Boulder, Utah, at any mealtime (they do a great breakfast), you should definitely stop in here: http://www.hellsbackbonegrill.com/

There are only a handful of lodging options in Escalante; these folks are acquaintances: http://www.escalanteoutfitters.com/ They have very basic "hikers' cabins." (I've stayed in them, and they are tiny and basic, and you walk to the common restroom/showerhouse). Free and reliable wifi. But DO eat dinner there; the pizza is great, and the homebrewed beer impressive. Hang around in the evening and you'll run into the guys from http://excursionsofescalante.blogspot.com/ who are great, great fun and know the area upside down.

PM me if you want some names :)

Canyonlands seems to be a notable omission. I rate it above Capitol Reef and Escalante. You get a little bit of the flavor of Canyonlands from the SP, but.....