Spring Break National Park trip

[snowymountainsrock]

Hello,
My family and I are looking to do a quick national park trip over spring break, and are trying to figure out logistics and details. We are planning to drive to the Grand Canyon and hit some other National Parks in Utah on the drive out (Zion, arches, or Bryce).

Any recommendations on which parks, and which hikes to do? I've heard about the Narrows and Angels Landing in Zion, but was unsure about the other parks. Since its my whole family we're probably not looking for any super long or technical routes, but a little bit of scrambling/hiking through water/easy canyoneering would be great. And advice on any hikes/lookouts/stargazing or sunrise/sunset spots would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[Scott P]

Zion Narrows will have cold (and possibly) high water, so go prepared for that.

Bryce is at a high altitude, so snow will likely be around, so go prepared for that.

Stay away from Moab around Easter. It will be crowded in late March and April, but reasonable if it's not Easter Weekend.

Also, consider Grand Staircase National Monument. There is a whole lot to see there.

[peter303]

Southwest US national parks are popular this time of year and may have limited camground, hotel and hiking permit availability. Reserves ASAP.

As others have mentioned higher altitude portions of parks may still have winterish ice or snow conditions. This icludes the Grand Cayon rims, the Zion rims and the main road of Bryce.

[CoHi591]

While I absolutely love Arches National Park and the Moab area, I would recommend prioritizing Zion and Bryce. Arches has some opportunities for short hiking but you can pretty much see and do everything in a day and it will be really hard to get away from the crowds. I think Bryce is one of the most underrated places I've ever been, I thought it was incredble. I went in the end of April and there was still snow in some places but I did a lot of hiking without snow. Beautiful scenic hiking that wasn't challenging. Zion too has hiking for a variety of levels. If you're driving between the Grand Canyon and Zion be sure to stop at Lake Powell (I did some really beautiful beach camping there) and Horseshoe Bend (basically just a lookout off the side of the road but very beautiful and worth seeing!)

[Gabriel]

The needles area of canyon lands or coral pink won't be too crowded.

[acidchylde]

When is your spring break and how long is it? The earlier ones will probably still be in pretty cold territory, and the area you're talking about covering is pretty large. As Scott said, the Narrows in Zion is going to be fairly cold and possibly high depending on when the runoff starts. And be aware it's not a 'little' hiking through water - you will pretty much be in water the whole time, or at least wet. In addition to that and Angel's, I would also recommend Observation Point - a to-the-rim hike that actually lets you look down on Angel's and has a side trip into a hanging canyon. Also Canyon Overlook, which is short but interesting. In Bryce I would recommend the Fairyland Loop (imho best done clockwise), the Peekaboo loop, and a loop out of the Queen's Garden. There's also a short trail to an interesting waterfall among other things accessed from outside the main park down by Tropic (where I also highly recommend the pizza place).

I've been to the Moab area a number of times. Rather than duplicate what's already been said, I'll add there's also the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands which is fairly close to Moab and Arches, and mostly a half day/day trip kind of thing. I recommend the Grand View Point trail there, and if you have a vehicle with decent clearance, taking the Schafer trail/Potash Road back to town. In Arches, if you can take the Firey Furnance tour it would probably be a nice little adventure for the kids. If you can't, doing the Devil's Garden loop instead of just out and back gets you away from some of the crowd, but you will need some route-finding ability. Even though you can probably cover Arches itself in a day or two, there is a ton of stuff to do in the Moab area (Corona Arch, Negro Bill Canyon, list goes on).

If you go down the east side of the canyon (the Moab side) there's the canyon overlooks road and Needles as already mentioned (which is way back there) and Natural Bridges. If you go down the west side (Hanksville), there's Goblin Valley State Park and nearby Little Wild Horse Canyon (an easy slot). There's actually quite a bit to do based out of Green River for that matter. Our Zion trip was two weeks. We started out taking 70 to 15 to Hurricane. Five days in Zion, then over to Bryce for a few days. From there we went to Escalante for a few days, and most notable was three slots off the same trail - one of which is called Spooky. From there we headed to Capitol Reef for a couple of days, then back up to 70 and home. I have a feeling if you just have a week, you'd be better off hitting at most one other park besides Grand Canyon.

[snowymountainsrock]

It's March 20-27. I think we're planning on doing 4 or 5 days.

[kaiman]

It's March 20-27. I think we're planning on doing 4 or 5 days.

If you only have 4-5 days I would suggest picking one area and taking your time exploring that particular place (i.e. Bryce and Zions OR Moab OR Escalante). Because realistically that isn't enough time to really see them all and you'll just barely be scratching the surface.

If you decide on Moab there is a ton of hikes besides the short ones in Arches such as in Canyonlands Island in the Sky District (about 50-60 miles if you hike them all), plus driving south an hour will put you in the Needles District of Canyonlands (which has about another 100 miles of trails), and, as others have pointed out, there is also plenty of hiking around Moab outside the Parks.

Anyway, wherever you choose I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Kai

[Scott P]

If you only have 4-5 days I would suggest picking one area and taking your time exploring that particular place

I agree with this. 4-5 days is not enough to see all those National Parks unless you want to be in the car most of the time.

[snowymountainsrock]

I think we will try to hit one National park in utah on the drive through, Bryce or Zion probably, for one day/night of hiking and sight-seeing, and then head down to the grand canyon and spend the rest of the time there, unless time is really tight and then we'll just go to one (probably just the grand canyon).

What are the best hikes in the grand canyon this time of year (with the possible ice and snow)?

And thanks for all the input! It's been super helpful.

[Scott P]

What are the best hikes in the grand canyon this time of year (with the possible ice and snow)?

Do you mean day hikes or overnighters? For day hikes, the Rim Trails, Dripping Springs, Plateau Point, and Grandview Mesa are all good. For overnighters, personally I prefer the Boucher/Hermit trails and the Grandview/Hance Trails over the Bright Angel/South Kaibab.

I think we will try to hit one National park in utah on the drive through, Bryce or Zion probably

Since the main part of the North Rim is closed, Bryce or Zion aren't even close to being on the way to the main sites in the Grand Canyon, at least if you are coming from Colorado. They are on the way to Toroweap, which is a really scenic part of the canyon, but it is remote.

[Rollie Free]

If you only have 4-5 days I would suggest picking one area and taking your time exploring that particular place

I agree with this. 4-5 days is not enough to see all those National Parks unless you want to be in the car most of the time.

Agree 100%.

Back in another time I used to try to see the world in a week. The west is too vast for that. I finally figured out that it was better to absorb a few places rather than fly by so I could check them off of a list.

-One thing I disagree with (and its just a matter of opinion) is making sure you see Bryce. That is a genuine zoo, its been compromised by commercialism in a terrible way. If that is something that doesn't bother you then you should go, its pretty cool looking, but expect a caravan of tour buses next to you.

One suggestion, especially if kids are involved is Peek-A-Boo and Spooky Gulch. They are the desert version of a house of mirrors. A bit of a headache to get to but its a great 'hike'. The kids loved it but not as much as me. Slot canyons much better than Little Horse and about 1/10th the people.