Monument Valley to Bryce Canyon

[colonelhall]

Hi,
We've done this trip a few times and are gradually refining it. Here's our itinerary:
3 days staying with friends in S.F.
Day 4 Pick up car and drive to Yosemite - stay two nights
Day 6 Lone Pine ( Perfect location )
Day 7 Furnace Creek ( We love Death Valley, but have never stayed )
Day 8 Las Vegas Luxor ( Very good value ) 2 nights
Day 10 Grand Canyon (One day's drive will do it )we've got cabin with view!
Day 11 Phantom Ranch ( My wife and some friends - I'm driving round )
Day 12 North Rim
Day 13 Cliff Dweller's Lodge ( Very good )
Day 14 Monument Valley
Day 15 ?????
Day 16 Bryce Canyon 2 nights - The lodges are excellent
Day 18 Las Vegas
Day 19 Malibu ( Dine at Paradise Cove - a must!)
Day 20 Carmel
Day 21 San Francisco Airport

The two unknowns are Yosemite. What to do with a full day? and day 15 What's the drive like from Monument Valley to Bryce? Where to stay?

I hope I'm not hi-jacking your thread, but there are so many similarities, I thought I'd share my thoughts.

If we hadn't been before, we'd stay at least an extra night at the Grand Canyon.

Lone Pine rather than Bishop

The drives are magnificent, so don't underestimate how far you can go.

A day to the Canyon is fine. It's a long haul, but take in the Hoover Dam and enjoy!

Pick one of the big hotels at Vegas. They will all charge more for Friday and Saturday, but when you can get Sunday at the Luxor for $80 why complain?

Some of the newer hotels would be worth exploring, but be prepared to pay more.

Check out the free displays at the hotels. I particularly liked the one at Caesar's Palace ( quite cheap to stay there )

After Yosemite, take a short detour to Mono Lake - very weird.

[colonelhall]

As part of our Summer trip, we intend to take two days driving from Monument Valley to Bryce Canyon. We would approach Monument Valley from Marble Canyon and Page, so we don't want to go back that way. I can only see one route, which takes us across Glen Canyon and Capitol Reef. Any ideas as to what we might expect and where to stay?

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and Welcome to the R.T.A. forums.

It's a lovely drive from M/V to Bryce via Capitol Reef along Scenic 12 to Bryce country. If you like a challenge you can go up the 261 and the Moki dugway, a gravel mountain road with hairpins but easy enough to negotiate. [we done it in a 30ft R.V.] Have a look at our pictures for a better idea.


The thing that puzzles me is why are you not going to Monument Valley from the South Rim on the way to North rim and visit Bryce on the way.
That would free up time for a visit to Zion N.P. [A wonderful place].

unknowns are Yosemite. What to do with a full day?

Your only problem here is only having a full day. If you are staying in the valley explore some of that on arrival and the following morning and then head up to Glacier point. You can explore Tioga pass on the way to Lone Pine it has unbelievable views and plenty of stops.

[Lifemagician]

In 2007, I drove from Page to Bryce over Cottonwood Canyon road through Cottowood Canyon, Grosvenor Arch to Cannonville and on to Bryce.

Not for the fainthearted, but you sound as if you have travelled a lot around that area.

At the time I was in a 1998 Toyota Camry with more than 100000 on the clock. I called in at Big Water ranger station, and they assured me I would be ok. Warned that there are a few spots of sand on the road, so you need to know how to handle a vehicle in loose sand. And you may come across folk on horseback mustering cattle and walking them back to Cannonville.

It is an unmade road. The 47 miles will take a couple of hours, and if you stop to photograph and explore the canyon and the arch, add another hour or two.

One of these great off the highway experiences which I treasure.

Lifey who loves the back roads

[Bigfoot]

You definitely don't want to miss out on Glacier Point while in Yosemite. Amazing view and in my opinion best in the late afternoon so you don't get the sun in your eyes.

[Eris]

Pity but cowboy films seemed to have fallen out of favour these days. As an impressionable young lad I loved to watch the likes of Shane, Rio Grande and the many others made in the good old Western USA. The stunning film backdrops still motivate me to visit the different areas where they were made - bet you know what I mean.

Last year finally made it to Moab to do the area justice. Just a steady days travel via Moki-Dugway between there and Monument Valley. Stayed at
Red Cliffs Lodge with a log cabin which backed onto the Colorado River and surrounded by red rocks. Glorious.

The only trouble is you need at least a couple of days there to get any feel for the place. Just a thought.

[colonelhall]

Hi Dave,

The reason that we are going to M.V. from the North Rim, is that some of our party are hiking across the canyon! We have a cabin booked for both sides of the canyon. I will pick them up and we will head off for Page and then M.V.
It looks like Bryce cabins are all booked, so at the moment we have identified two nights in Escalante from where we will do a day to Bryce. This gives us a night in Zion before dropping some off to catch a flight from Vegas.
One more night in Vegas for us and then drop the rest off in Santa Barbara and the a couple of days to S.F. and a plane.
A bit exhausting perhaps?

[Midwest Michael]

If members of your group are hiking across the canyon, then you might want to start on the North Rim and them meet them at the South.

The north rim is about 1000 feet higher in elevation, so from a hiking perspective, its easier to walk down the longer north side and then up the shorter south side.

[Southwest Dave]

It looks like Bryce cabins are all booked, so at the moment we have identified two nights in Escalante from where we will do a day to Bryce. This gives us a night in Zion before dropping some off to catch a flight from Vegas.
One more night in Vegas for us and then drop the rest off in Santa Barbara and the a couple of days to S.F. and a plane.
A bit exhausting perhaps?

It'll certainly be busy.

Have you checked out Ruby's Inn for Bryce, it's situated right near the entrance.

If this is of no use I would spend one night at Escalante and get an early [ish] start to Bryce and rather than going back on yourself to Escalante I would carry on to Springdale [great little town] right on the doorstep of Zion.
Both parks are spectacular but Bryce is more about short walks to the view points to get the best views and Zion more about taking walks inside the canyon, making Bryce quicker to visit when time is an issue. If you want to visit the viewpoints in Bryce all the way down the canyon to Rainbow point then go to that furthest point first. Coming back up the canyon you will have all the viewpoints on your side of the road making it easier to pull in.

In Zion with limited time I would recommend the riverside walk, it's a gentle stroll along the Virgin river with great views. Another short walk will take you to Weeping rock. It's a beautiful place for sure.

[colonelhall]

Thanks for the advice. We are now booked for the whole trip. We decided on two days at Escalante, because we seem to have got a nice, relaxing cabin for six, so we can chill out after a long desert haul.
We will stay one day in Springdale, so I guess the river walk is the one for us.