Los Angeles > Grand Canyon > Vegas - 10 days

[elanfear]

Hello everyone! I am currently planning a trip out west for the beginning of April and will be flying into LA mid-day on 4/3 and out of Vegas late night on the 4/12. I will be renting a car for the entire trip. I'm attempting to plan the best route while minimizing time on the road, and when we are on the road, making it an interesting drive.
Here are the main sites we are planning on visiting;
Hollywood
Venice Beach
(Possibly Malibu via Pacific Coast Hwy)
Grand Canyon
Bryce Canyon
Zion
Hoover Dam
Vegas

I'm not sure if my best route would be from LA to Grand Canyon via Needles. Then after GC around east end of GC to Bryce, then Zion or taking I-15 to Vegas then Zion, Bryce, GC, Hoover Dam. Basically, should I make the loop around GC clockwise or counter-clockwise?
I'm just beginning to get this planned so any help or suggestions would be appreciated!

Thanks!

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

The most efficient routing (not necessarily the 'best' since that word means different things to different people) would be counter clockwise, but seeing Hoover Dam on the way to the Grand Canyon. Entering Grand Canyon National Park via the South Entrance and leaving via the East Entrance would set you up to then head north through Page to Bryce, backtrack a bit to Zion and finish with a last leg into Las Vegas. All told, you'd only be looking at a little over 1,000 miles (not including your L.A. area destinations) which is roughly two solid days' worth of driving. Spread out over a week or so, that still leaves plenty of time to explore the major parks you've listed, as well as some of the smaller, lesser-known parks that abound in the area. For some further reading and general hints, have a look through these discussions of similar RoadTrips through this region.

AZBuck

[glc]

Slightly more efficient would be skipping Hoover Dam and making that a day trip out of LV at the end of the trip, or going there on the way from Zion to LV.

Going directly from LA to Zion and then completing the loop clockwise really isn't bad either. Yes, you have to go through LV, but you can just blow right through.

[Lifemagician]

Bonus with a clockwise loop is, you will be entering the Grand Canyon via the east entrance. As you drive there are many pull-offs at which you will want to stop. You will be entering the canyon the way the Colorado River does. It can be seen from quite a few of the view points, which, heading west will all be on your side of the road. Such a great way to see this natural wonder.

I'd stop at Hoover Dam on the way back to LV.

Lifey

[elanfear]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I guess one factor that will determine whether to go clockwise or counter clockwise is whether it is worth the extra time to drive from LA to the GC south entrance via I-10 south of Joshua Tree and then north to I-40 or to go to via LV.

[glc]

The quickest way to go from LA to the GC is I-15 to I-40. This is close to 2 hours quicker than going via Phoenix, and over 100 miles shorter. You can certainly cut across AZ on 60/71/89 but that is definitely not a timesaver.

Taking the most direct routes, you could make it from LA to either the GC or Zion in 1 day.