Utah National Parks

[mrhind]

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

[PNW Judy]

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.

[Yeehaw]

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.

[sydtow]

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?

[mrhind]

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.

[PNW Judy]

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.

[mrhind]

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

[Southwest Dave]

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.

[Southwest Dave]

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?

[mrhind]

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?