Road trip Southwest routes with Kenab, Utah plans

We think we should fly in and out of either Vegas or Salt Lake to get our round trip set and then drive. We are booking several days at Best Friends in Kenab, Utah and we would like to see the Grand Canyon ..if we fly into Vegas and hit the road right away and then wind up in Vegas at the end to spend some R&R days before flying out...what can we plan on seeing via a road trip? Should we drive up to the Grand Canyon and then onto Kenab? How much driving time is involved and what else can we see? Is San Francisco or Yosemite too much? We are planning a Thelma and Louise trip with lipstick instead of fire arms...any help would be so appreciated....Maggie

Welcome to the RoadTrip America Forum!

How much time do you have for this trip? If you had only one week, I'd say that San Francisco would be pushing it; but three weeks, then it's definitely doable.

Going from Las Vegas to Kanab directly is about 200 miles; if you go to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon then on to Kanab, that's another 300 miles. Unless you were planning on seeing the North Rim of the Canyon, which would add about 150 miles to your trip. If your time is tight, then I would recommend the North Rim trip. It's less crowded and has a different "feel" than the South Rim.

Kanab to San Francisco and back to Las Vegas is enough to take up two and a half days of driving.

At Kanab you will be perfectly placed to make day trips to:

Monument Valley
GC North Rim
Bryce Canyon
Zion NP

All must-sees in my books. You may even wish to go back to any of them, for a second day.

On a clear night, the North Rim near the lodge, is great to watch the sunset. It is a good, and easy road back to Kanab, even at night.

Thank you for the excellent advice about Vegas to the North Rim and Utah and the stops in between...another question, is there a great book I can get for day tripping around on a road trip in this region, including places to stay/eat, etc? What should we have in the car as we travel around...I know water, but what else? Best shoes to wear to trek around...we are real novices....does a GPS that works on foot, work up in these areas? Thanks again....we are getting really excited....p.s. we are leaving around June 4 and don't really have a return date until I get all the info on mapping it out but are assuming the trip will be around 7-10 days...MaggieMay

A GPS will work as long as it can see a few satellites. The only places where one won't work are essentially in tunnels and caves. I would recommend a good pair of hiking boots if you want to trek on trails. Buy them and get them broken in before your trip. If all you are going to be doing is a lot of walking on pavement, standard athletic shoes (trainers) are fine. I'd probably have both.

Wake up maggie I think I got something to say to you !!

[Rod Stewart at his best] ;-)


Once you have your start and finish points in place [Vegas seems good] and you can tell us how long you have, and how much of that you will spend in Kanab, and how much on the road we can help piece your trip together.

You mention San Fran and Yosemite, have you considered a one way trip starting in SF and ending in Vegas ?

Let us know !

We have our final details now...leaving May 31 for Vegas and driving June 1 to Kenab. In Kenab until June 4, heading for one night in Sedona and then back up to Vegas Lake Resort for two nights...

Any suggestions on interesting stops and day trips on the way to and from Kenab? Same for Kenab to Sedona and back to Vegas...we have our stopping points but no idea what to do when we are on the road and want to experience everything we can while out there driving...

It sounds like its a heat wave right now....will it likely be in the 90's during our road trip to Kenab and will it get cooler when we head to the North Rim and Sedona? Will the nights be cool or hot in early June?

We like to eat in popular eateries that locals go to rather than chain restaurants that offer no surprises on the menu. We would love great fun bars along the way again not built for the tourist trade and would like to avoid family fare as much as possible....

Of course we are taking our cameras and looking for once in a lifetime photo ops....any 'don't miss' ones that are above what I am guessing is the general landscape of breathtaking beauty?

What should we wear on our feet for hiking around out there? Anything special we should pack in the car so we are prepared? We will take our Gps', first aid kit, but what else?

Thanks everyone...we got a lot of great information here and the excitement is unbearable right now....

Maggie

Echoing much of the above.

Vegas to Kanab is about 4 hours. In theory, you COULD go through Zion on the way, but the park deserves more than a half day in my opinion. You may want to loop through Valley of Fire State Park a little bit out of Vegas on the way. Nice red rocks and used in one of the Star Trek movies I believe.

Zion is about an hour drive (each way) from Kanab.

Bryce Canyon is further, 2 1/2 hours (each way), but still doable as a day trip.

Grand Canyon (North Rim) is a little over 2 hours (each way).

All the above have spectacular hiking options and photographic opportunities. Given your tight timeframe you'll probably only have time to hike on the better maintained trails, so a good pair of sneakers should be sufficient. Have LOTS of water, use sunscreen, and have a good hat (I prefer a broad-brimmed hat) and sunglasses.

You may want to poke around www.wunderground.com to see historical weather values for your selected locations.

Did I mention have lots of water? You would not be insane to have a quart or two per person for a half day hike... maybe more.

On the way to Sedona you will likely pass through Cameron; you may want to stop and visit the historic trading post there; lots of authetic (and some historic) Navajo art (jewelry, rugs, baskets) to see and/or purchase.

A little past Cameron is a loop to Wupatki and Sunset Crater National Monuments; the former ruins of Anasazi (?) dwellings, the latter a volcanic feature; both photogenic.

If your are TRUE photo nuts (own a digital SLR worth more than $300), you should look into a photographer's tour at Antelope Canyon, near Page, AZ. You'll need a tripod. If you just want to wander through and observe, you can take a non--photographer's tour, but your guide won't let you use a tripod and your pictures will be disappointing. The experience won't be. Attached photo is one I took in 2006. Since this is high season, if you want to do a photographer's tour I would book ahead and make sure I showed up on time.

Flagstaff is a quaint older town with a local college (NAU), I would guess it should have some interesting food/nightlife options... but this is a guess.

Savage Point is right in the middle of town. It peaks out about 5600, which is about the average elevation of the platue around Kanab.

Been north of Kanab. Beautiful Country.

If you are going to walk often, and for long distances, I would suggest in a good pair of hiking boots.

Have a safe trip.

I have to admit I was torn on the hiking boot issue. Given they're flying, and it doesn't look like too many massive hikes I leaned toward saving weight in the luggage.

Maybe something in a low-cut?

In any case, whatever you choose to hike in should be well broken in.