Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, and Zion National Park
Trip Dates: March 27th, 2021 - April 1st, 2021 (Technically April 2nd because we had an overnight flight)
Things to note:
March was a good time to visit as most of these places were not as crowded. The weather was cooler in some places (Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, and Bryce Canyon) , but warm in others (Zion and Page), so we had to pack a variety of clothing.
Look up the national parks before entering as many popular parks have timed entry’s or permits for popular hikes. When we went, it was still peak COVID and the parks were just beginning to limit people. This is something parks continued after COVID for safety since foot traffic ramped up.
If just visiting the Grand Canyon and not hiking, I would still plan to go early. The line to get into the park was VERY long when we were leaving. I had family who went recently and said the same thing.
Anyways… ITINERARY!
Day 1:
Flew into Phoenix
Drove towards Grand Canyon, but stopped in Flagstaff to visit a couple friends for the afternoon. We continued on and stayed in the Grand Canyon Plaza in a tiny town right outside of the Grand Canyon. In total it was about a 3.5 hour drive.
Hike:
Fatman’s Loop Trail- 2.5 miles in the Coconino National Forest
View on Fatman’s Loop
Day 2:
This was our biggest hike…to the bottom of the Grand Canyon back up in one day! After our big day, we had a massive dinner at some local steakhouse and relaxed in the hot tub.
Hike:
South Kaibab, Phantom Ranch, and Bright Angel Trail -16.6 miles. We clocked closer to 18 miles, though.
Tips I wish I would have known for the hike:
Take the shuttle! You can park closer to the end of the trail and shuttle to the start of the hike (or vice versa). We parked closer to the start and walked/hitchhiked back to our car when we were finished. This is probably why our hike ended up being closer to 18 miles. I wish we did it the other way around because when you are done, you want to BE DONE!
The park services highly recommend NOT doing this in one day. After doing ignoring their reccomendation, I can 100% understand why. Going up is hard and a lot tougher than it seems. We have hiked a lot and we were focused on the number of miles, not the difficulty. It can be done in one day, but just be prepared! Spending time in the mountains usually prepares you to ascend first… you finish with the ascent on this one.
Dress in layers! We went in March and the top of the canyon had snow and ice. Spikes or trekking poles should have been used at the beginning of the trail. However, the bottom of the canyon was about 30 degrees warmer and we were sweating.
Pack water! We thought we packed an ample amount of water, but we found ourselves close to empty at the bottom. Thankfully, at the bottom they had a place to fill up our bladders and bottles, but I would not rely on this as some of the water spickets were shut off.
Have snacks to replenish your energy! Going down was easy. It was fairly fast and filled with AMAZING views. However.. going up was hell. You are mainly looking at the ground, step after step up a steep hill for 9 miles. It was brutal.
Wear sunscreen! Since I was bundled up starting the hike, I didn’t even think about sunscreen. But I ended up getting the worst sunburn I’ve ever had. There is no shade on this trail.
Day 3:
On this day, we woke up early and drove to Page, AZ which was about 3 hours away.
We rented Kayaks from Lake Powell Paddle Boards and Kayaks. They brought the kayaks to the water for us and provided us a map on how to get to Antelope Canyon. I believe it was around 2.5 miles from our drop off location (5 miles round trip). We were able to park our kayaks and tour the beautiful canyons which were very picturesque. No guides were needed! (Pro tip: they might warn you about the wind at certain points in the day. Take this seriously! If you’re not in good phyiscal condition, getting back in the wind might be too difficult. Anytime we stopped paddling to breathe, we started moving backwards.)
After kayaking we grabbed much needed dinner and then we rushed to the famous Horseshoe Bend for sunset.
We stayed in Page that night at a cheap hotel.
Hike:
Horseshoe Bend Trail- 1.5 mile round trip. Easy hike!
Day 4:
Took a 2.5 hour drive to Bryce Canyon.
We were able to see a good majority of this park by doing a longer hike. Looking back at photos of this park, I realize how picturesque it was. The photo with multiple switchbacks is popular on social media, but is usually very edited. I don’t edit mine (I don’t know how and want you to get the real deal), and I still find the red/orange tones to be super vibrant!
There was not many food options near the park. It was a pretty isolated small town. We stayed in a Best Western right outside the park.
Although it was cold, we woke up early to catch a sunrise at Bryce Canyon. I certainly recommend doing this! We went to Sunrise Point to catch it.
Hike:
Wall street, Queens Garden, and Peekaboo Loop- 6.3 miles. The beginning was fairly crowded, but as we ventured further in we found ourselves alone.
Day 5:
Drove to Hurricane, Utah, but took a pit stop for a hike in Kanarraville. Hurricane is about 2 hours from Bryce Canyon.
We planned to check out parts of Zion, or surrounding hikes in the area, but instead we ended up watching King Kong vs Godzilla at the movies for a much needed rest.
Hike:
Kanarra Falls- 3.6 miles. This hike was about 35 minutes from Hurricane. It was sort of like a mini narrows. We walked through water with canyon walls around us. It leads to a waterfall you can get on top of, but when were there it had a very sketchy ladder, now they have built something much safer. The creek is your trail, so wear appropriate shoes! (Permits are required for this and can be purchased on the website. Permits are limited so I would recommend getting this beforehand if possible!)
Day 6:
This day we drove about 35 minutes to Springdale which is the small town right outside Zion National Park. We rented bikes from Zion Cycles, so we could bike into the park and up to the trail head of Angels Landing.
Do yourself a favor and RENT BIKES! Going up wasn’t too bad since the incline is pretty gradual. Riding back down felt magical! You were able to coast the whole way down and just enjoy the beautiful scenery! After all the adventures we’ve been on, my husband still thinks this might have been his favorite experience.
After our day at Zion, we drove to Las Vegas (2.5-3hour drive) where we caught a flight at 1:00am the following day. I would definitely recommend staying a night in Vegas and getting some sleep, but we saved lot of money taking the crappy flight home.
Hikes:
Angels Landing Trail: 4.3 miles. This is a challenging hike filled with switch backs and chains. It’s scary if you don’t like heights. I felt that the crowds made it feel scarier. It’s very narrow and you have to take turns letting people up or down. At the time, they did not require permits to go on this hike. Due to increased popularity, a permit is now required. This can be found on Zion National Park website. I honestly think that this is for the better. It was BUSY when we went.
Zion Canyon Overlook Trail- 0.9 miles. This is easy but has a great view.
As I am going over this 4 years later, I don’t remember how much we spent… I can tell you that this was in the beginning of my travels and I did not have the budget that I do now. When going out west, you can definitely splurge or you can do like we did and get $40 hotel rooms and divide it by 3. Remember, you get what you pay for!
Photos Taken By: Dani, Bryce, and Shelby
