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Hi,
As part of our roadtrip we are stopping at Farmington. We were planning to go from Farmington to Bryce Canyon. However, we have seen some info on boat-trips at Lake Powell which look amazing. Is it possible to go from Farmington to Lake Powell then to Bryce Canyon in the same day? Or is it more sensible to go to Lake Powell then to Zion NP and miss out Bryce NP?
Any advice would be much appreciated as I may have to cancel our Bryce Canyon hotel and book a hotel in Zion NP.
Thanks,
Matt
It's about 225 miles from Farmington to Lake Powell. Figure five hours if you don't stop at 4 Corners or any of the other fantastic sights along the route. It's about another 3.5 hours to Bryce. That's a long driving day and I don't see how you'll be able to fit in a boat trip, too. Zion is still about 2.5 hours away so you're only saving an hour. I still think it's pushing it to get there after doing a boat trip, too.
You could always spend the night right there in Page or maybe Kanab. I think I'd go onto Kanab myself. If your boat trip gets over early enough anyway. Lake Powell to Kanab is only about 1.5 hours.
If you have time, I'd visit both parks. I prefer Bryce but I know some that prefer Zion. They are both amazing and very different from each other. If you're cool with doing more of a quick tour of both parks without any real hiking into them, you could do it in one day if you get a real early start. It's about 1.5 hours to Bryce. You can visit all the major lookouts in about 3-4 hours, then zip on over to Zion about 1.5 hours away, and see the highlights in the afternoon/evening and spend the night nearby, possibly Springdale.
Of course, if you have a full day for each park, that would be great and let you explore in a bit more depth.
Even without stopping it's a 7 hours drive Farmington to Bryce so if you want to make a Lake Powell boattrip or do the Colorado rafting trip, you can't do that in one day. Not to mention some great places like Monument Valley north of Kayenta and Antelope Canyon in Page.
Hi Matt!
That's a tough one! I agree with Judy, if you can find the time then definitely visit both Zion and Bryce. We have also looked into exploring Lake Powell and actually spent the night in Page intending to do some water activities but ended up going to see the Grand Canyon for a second time instead (with a side trip to Horseshoe Bend!). Lake Powell wasn't too much fun without having the extra cash for boats, etc.. And with an $80 parks pass you can hike to your heart's content. Keep us updated! Utah's awesome! How many days do you have?
Hi, Thanks for your replies.
Ideally, we would like to see Lake Powell, Bryce and Zion but we are leaving Farmington on Monday morning and are booked into a Grand Canyon hotel for the Tuesday night. Is it possible to go to Lake Powell and get a boat tour on the day or would I have to book in advance? If the boat-trip takes too long then maybe I will do what you said Judy and drive from Farmington to Kanab to stay Monday night then on Tuesday we can go to Bryce, Zion then on to Grand Canyon.
Have any of you been on a boat-trip on Lake Powell and would you recommend it? If not, I will drive straight to Kanab.
Where are you planning on going after the Grand Canyon. I don't understand the scope of your entire trip. If, for example, after your trip you're planning on going to Las Vegas, it really makes far more sense to go to the Grand Canyon first and then go up through Page and the Lake Powell area to Bryce and Zion. Then onto Vegas.
So, really, you could do Farmington to Grand Canyon. Then go to Page/Lake Powell. Then Bryce, Zion, Vegas. Does that make sense?
But it's hard to give you the best advice for this without knowing what's next on your itinerary and how much time you have for this.
We are planning to leave Farmington on a Monday morning and aim to be in Vegas around Thursday early pm. We just need to decide what to see and in what order between Farmington and Vegas. We wanted to leave Grand Canyon as the last place before Vegas, Grand Canyon is a place my Dad has always wanted to see so we are sort of building up to that. Is it possible to do the following:
Monday - Farmington to Kanab (stay the night)
Tuesday - Kanab to Grand Canyon via Bryce and Zion or just Zion maybe
Weds - Grand Canyon all day
Thurs - Grand Canyon to Vegas
i can't comment on the boat trip as i have no experience of one but i'd say something needs to give or else you will just end up driving through these places with no real time.
as said before both zion and bryce are stunning and if it was me i would be looking to get an early start from farmington,forget the boat trip and head for springdale right on the doorstep of zion.if you got there mid afternoon it would give you some time to see some of the canyon that day[free shuttle buses run from springdale to the canyon]and have a nice meal in town. the following day you would have the options of either seeing more of the canyon and then have a quick tour of bryce before heading to the g/c [bryce is very easy to see from the viewpoints with little walking required].or leave early and take a bit more time at bryce. there is another option but thats got me thinking,i am presuming you mean the south rim of the g/c? [or non of this will make sense,lol!]but i was wondering that an early start to bryce,an overview, may just give you time for a boat trip whilst heading back towards the g/c. personally i'd still leave that and enjoy the time at the other places. what ever you decide you can't go wrong it's alovely area.
aha! now with vegas added i agree with judy,it would save you a lot of time and miles going to the grand canyon first then bryce,zion and down the 15 to vegas if thats possible?
Thanks for the advice. I like your ideas. Like you say, we need to sacrifice something and I think Lake Powell will be the one. We are booked in at Tusayan near GC Village. What is the best route from Farmington to Springdale? Is it via Monument Valley, Page and Kanab?
Do you have any idea how long it would take if I did what you suggested above:Quote:
Originally Posted by gommy
Farmington to Grand Canyon?
Grand Canyon to Zion NP?
Zion NP to Vegas?
Thanks
yes that'll be the quickest way,springdales a lovely town with plenty of accomodations and restaurants to choose from. sorry i can't recommend a place to stay as we were in an r.v. but we had a nice meal in the pioneer lodge that also had rooms. it's also a lovely drive from zion to bryce which will take you through red rock canyon thats worth a stop for a 20min break.Quote:
Originally Posted by mrhind
A couple of months ago, I stayed overnight at the Majestic View in Springdale. Although it is right on the highway, each room have awesome views of the approach to Zion. Food in the steakhouse was OK -- not extraordinary -- but OK. If you like "stuffed" animals -- there is a very impressive collection of taxidermy that belongs to owner. Nice spa too. Very comfy beds. I recommend it.
Mark
straight driving,not incl stops i'd estimate @Quote:
Originally Posted by mrhind
farmington-g/c aprox 5 1/2 hours
g/c-zion aprox 5 1/2 hours [another 2 1/2-3 hours for bryce]
zion to vegas aprox 3 hours
Thanks for your advice Judy. We are going to go from Farm'ton to Grand Canyon then on to Zion and Bryce. Thanks for the advice. On a different subject, I have seen on USA Today that there are alot of tornadoes at present across Arkansas. We are driving from Memphis to Oklahoma. Are there alot of small towns/places to stop should we come across a tornado?Quote:
Originally Posted by Judy
The southern Plains tend to be the section of the US that sees the most tornadoes, but Tornados can and have formed in every state in the country.
If you "should come across a tornado," you need to get out of your car immediately and into the first available shelter you can find. If there is no shelter nearby, get out of your car and lay in the lowest lying area you can find - be it a ditch or someplace else. The National Weather Service has a whole bunch of information on Tornadoes and Tornado Safety.
Now having said that, the odds of you actually encountering a tornado during your roadtrip are pretty small. But its always important to know what to do if you find yourself in a severe weather situation, know matter what kind of storm or what time of year your are talking about.
Just about all of the roadtripper enthusiasts active on this Forum carry a weather-alert radio that provides alerts about severe weather situations. A huge piece of advice -- if you manage to be lucky enough to be near a severe weather cell capable of producing a tornado, you will, no doubt, see folks stopping under bridge crossings in the mistaken belief that this is a good idea. DO NOT DO THIS. Like Michael says, you want to get into the lowest place you can find (usually a ditch is the safest place to be ) -- here is an excellent book with all sorts of tips about how to avoid injury when faced with extreme weather situations.Quote:
Originally Posted by mrhind
Mark
Where are you going after Zion & Bryce?Quote:
Originally Posted by mrhind
We are going to Las Vegas after Zion.Quote:
Originally Posted by Judy
Thanks for your advice. Can you recommend a weather alert radio, also, any idea where I can get one, Ebay maybe?Quote:
Originally Posted by Editor
Cheers
Yeah, they're a good thing to have. Here's an article that might give you some ideas. However, it's a few years old so I'm sure there are newer, better radios out there now. I suggest just doing a web search as there are many websites that focus on safety gear. Some portable NOAA radios are also FRS radios or CB radios or AM/FM radios...or a combination of several of these. Some are crank-operated so you don't need batteries. Some also have flashlights or sirens. There are numerous options so you would just need to pick the one that is right for you. The cheaper options seem to be about $30 or so, and the prices (and features) go up from there.
You might want to look for something with SAME technology. This is a bit of a mixed blessing for the roadtripper, especially if you're going to be going over multiple states. SAME means that you plug into it codes for the areas your driving through. So, if you're traveling a lot, you will need to do this fairly often and will need to print out the list of codes to have with you. The advantage is that you will only receive warnings for the area you're in. You don't want to be in Nebraska and get warnings for Kansas. Especially when you're traveling as you may not realize the warning doesn't apply to you when you're not familiar with the names of towns, etc.
Thanks Judy,
Is the radio on the following link OK do you think? Sorry for all the questions but I have no experience of weather radios -
Oregon Scientific is one of the major companies making these types of radios so I'm sure you'd be safe with one made by them. However, I'm no radio expert so I'm just taking a guess.
Since it has SAME, you'll want to make sure to bring a list with you of the codes for the different counties. You can print it out from here.
Thanks again for all your help!!
Ask more questions as you have them and come back here when you return home to let us know how your trip went, OK? Happy Travels!
Thanks, I will let you know how it goes when I get back.Quote:
Originally Posted by Judy
Hi,
I have just got back from my roadtrip, started in Washington DC and finished in Vegas, we drove around 3600 miles in 2 weeks. Sounds alot but the roads are so good in the US, driving long distances is great fun rather than a chore. Thanks to all of you that gave me advice for the trip, it was very useful.
There were a few places that stood out. The biggest surprise for us was Nashville, what a great place for live music. The bands/singers were all amazing. Great memories. Memphis and Vegas were excellent and Zion NP was great, driving through the canyon was a great experience.
All in all, an amazing trip and I can't wait to go back to the US!!!
Thanks again,
Matt
glad to here that you had a great time! i also found the driving fun and was amazed at the scenery and towns you come across on your travels between A and B. and non stop adventures along the way.
i too,can't wait to go back :-)
We do have incredible scenery here so it does make the driving fun, doesn't it?
If you have time, we would love to hear more details about your trip sometime. Pictures are always good, too (hint! hint!). :)