Hi Sue, and Welcome to the Great American Roadtrip Forum.

Great trip you have planned there. You'll love it. Just a couple of suggestions I would like to mention, for your consideration.

If it is still possible think about reversing the trip, so that you can travel down the Pacific Coast Highway in a southward bound direction. You will then have all the scenic turn outs and pull offs on your side of the road. Not a deal breaker, but does make it more enjoyable, not having to cross over oncoming traffic each time you pull into and out of the overlooks.

You could drive from your accommodation in Yosemite to Death Valley, and stay overnight at Furnace Creek or Stovepipe Wells. Death Valley is an amazing place, especially for the night sky. It will be very hot in June. If you want to stay within the National Park, I would definitely book.

You could drive from Death Valley direct to Bryce and Zion. Bryce is one of those parks which can be seen in half a day, unless you want to go down in the Canyon and walk among the rock sculptures. For hiking, Zion is fantastic. Especially the River Walk and up through the Narrows. There are many other opportunities to hike in Zion. It is a wonderful park. One of the more popular places to stay, if you are not staying within the park, is the town of Springdale. There is the shuttle bus which runs from the town into the park. If you take that, you will not have to worry about parking in the park.

I would caution you about flying over the Grand Canyon. Most of the flights do not go over the National Park. They fly over the less spectacular areas of the western rim. There is absolutely nothing like standing on the Rim seeing the Colorado River down below, and 'feel' just how huge this park is. At the South Rim you can take the shuttle bus and explore the canyon further. At the North Rim you can drive yourself to the many overlooks and view points. Once again, staying within the park is highly recommended. It will also make it easier to experience a sunset or sunrise (or both) over the Canyon. See the walls of the canyon change colour as the sun rises and sets. Unforgetable.

I don't know who told you that Bryce and Zion are more amazing. All these parks are breathtaking, but if I could only visit one, it would be one of the great wonders of the natural world - The Grand Canyon. It is also a great place to hike a short way into the canyon. That enforces the huge size of the canyon.

(I suspect the advice you were given could be from folk who took a flight over the canyon, and never really saw the National Park.)

Lifey