San Francisco Bay Area to Zion, Bryce and back.

[metaphysique]

I've got March 21-31 to drive to Zion and Bryce Canyon. I'll be the only one driving, so my first question is whether this can be done without too punishing a schedule. I'd also appreciate suggestions for especially beautiful routes, stops, and good places to stay.

[AZBuck]

All the advice you received the last time you asked this question is still just as applicable today. Ten days is more than sufficient to make this trip at your leisure, and there are many other sites to see along the way.

AZBuck

[metaphysique]

Would you recommend stopping at the north rim of the Grand Canyon, or is it better to go to the south rim? What about the southerly return to SF?

[Southwest Dave]

The north rim probably won't be an option when you travel as Highway 67 from Jacob Lake is typically closed until mid May. As the Tioga pass across the Sierras [CA120] will also be closed it would make sense to create a loop as suggested last time and head north around the mountains one way and around the south the other.

You could visit Monument valley with a detour on the way to the south rim and afterwards you have many options depending on time remaining. You could go further south to Sedona and the Prescott valley and possibly Joshua Tree NP, or east along I40 you could detour onto a section of original route 66 through Seligman, visit Hoover dam and Death valley or perhaps Lake Havasu and the Mojave National preserve. From either of these you could then head either to the coast and up to SF, or perhaps visit Sequoia NP.

There are no single 'best' options, as the most important thing is what appeals to the individual, things like did you do the previously planned trip and what did you see and what did you miss, how long do you want to spend at Zion and Bryce and how much time on other sites. These are the questions only you can answer and once you have figured out the basics of your trip we can certainly help with filling in the blanks and the fine tuning.