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.

Hi Maggie

we travelled from Vegas to Kanab last september it was a long drive about 4hrs but definatly worth it. Kanab is a lovely town. If you want good food try Grandma Tina's on the main st. Denny's wigwam is a lovely store with loads of gifts. Zion park is a must to see and look out for the buffalo on the way to the park.

When we left Kanab we went on to Lake Powell and Page then on the 89 to Cameron, the trading post is a must and the food at the restaurant is out of this world and so cheap.

We then went to the grand canyon from Cameron. You would have to get back to vegas via williams and Kingman az on the 40 part of the old 66 then back to vegas from Kingman on the 93 to Hoover Dam. Well worth doing though.

Enjoy your trip there are some lovely places to see.

Gemsmum

Loved the photo Weekend Wanderer! I have the Canon EOS with zoom attachment, so yes, I did invest in better than touristy camera equipment(although I use my cell sometimes and get pretty great shots in a pinch) so I am taking my tripod as advised and we are taking our hiking boots and good sneakers and LOTS of water. I did live in Phoenix for a while and learned the water thing the hard way. We figure we are mostly in khakis and shorts and T's so that eliminates a lot of weight and we would rather have the 'essentials'.

One last question: should we drive from Kanab to the North Rim one day while we are staying there, stop at the North Rim on the way to Sedona or stop at the Rim on the way to Kenab?

Appreciated the info on the different stops and hiking options especially for photo ops that I didnt see in any travel pieces....always better to get that information from someone who's been there, done it.

We are so excited and truly happy to see the heat wave is over and the weather is back down to the 80's.

MaggieMay

I have no strong opinion on the North Rim options you list... someone else may want to chime in here. It mainly comes down to where you do want to steal the time?

I would look at what other things I had planned, and which one looked most amenable to cutting a large part of a day out of.

I guess the "drive from Kanab while staying there" option gives you the most time to spend at the North Rim.

Quote:

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One last question: should we drive from Kanab to the North Rim one day while we are staying there, stop at the North Rim on the way to Sedona or stop at the Rim on the way to Kenab?

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If it were me, I'd stop at the North Rim on my way to Sedona. In fact, I'd then swing by the South Rim, too.

A route like this would work well. You could enjoy the North Rim one day, spend the night in Cameron AZ, and then get up early to enjoy the South Rim (including all the great stops along 64/Desert View Drive) and then drive south to Sedona that night.

I think taking the opportunity to see the Grand canyon NP from both sides is one worth taking but not on the same day, that's going to rush it to much. So to would be trying to see the North rim from Vegas and back to Kanab in the same day. I would try and get an early start from Vegas and visit Zion on route to Kanab and arrive in the evening. Visit the North rim whilst staying in Kanab and consider following Judy's route to Sedona via the South rim.