Heading out west for 3 weeks

[tony]

GF and I hit up a few national parks a year, and this years trip is:
Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, Arches, Bryce, Canyonlands, Capital Reef, Zion, 4 corners, and going to try and get Great Basin in this time.
Flying into Vegas on end of May, getting a rental car and hitting the road. Ending with 2 days in Vegas. First trip to Vegas we went to Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire and the Hoover dam.

Any tips, tricks, things to see along the way?
Places to eat would be huge.
Outdoor, gun shops to look at? GF has this planned down to the minute pretty much, so I'm hoping try and squeeze in a few side route if possible.

 

[mighteywhitehunter]

Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe bend. If you go by Kanab you have to stop at Muley Crazy just to see the bones Ryan Hatch has.
I did a similar trip a few years ago the only thing i wish i would have done is drive a little less and do a Helicopter Tour of GC.

Have Fun on the Trip!

 

[Mighty Mouse]

Arches: make the short hike to watch the sun set at Delicate Arch

Canyonlands: if you're really feeling adventurous, rent a 4×4 and drive Elephant Hill Road

Zion: Angel's Landing hike if you're not afraid of heights (permit required), wade up the Virgin River to the Narrows if water levels allow

Bryce: Fairyland Loop hike (long but has many very unique rock formations along the way), watch the sun rise and set at the aptly named Sunrise and Sunset Points

Antelope Canyon near Page is neat...Lower is better but Upper is good too. Reservation required through local guide service.

If you like slot canyons, add Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument to the itinerary. Drive Hole-in-the-Rock Road and make the short hikes to Zebra Canyon, Spooky Gulch, and Peekaboo Gulch.

 

[Backyard]

Be sure to buy your National park pass ahead of time. It’ll save you if you’re planning on hitting that many.
Get an apple pie in Fruita in Capitol Reef after a short hike into Hickman Bridge. Get there early tho.
Heads up on Angels Landing: timed permits are required now. Ever since covid Zion (all the parks for that matter)has basically been an overcrowded sh#tshow.
Check out the YouTube channel Americas Parks. This guy has been to anywhere you’re wanting to go and has a lot of great info on hikes in all of them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Gman12]

Not sure if you are planning to pass through Grand Junction, CO which is not too far from Arches/Moab but Colorado National Monument is certainly worth seeing. It is like a miniature version of the Grand Canyon mixed with Sedona, AZ. Pretty cool place. Also, if you are going to Mesa Verde, I would recommend taking at least a day and checking out SW CO. It is a beautiful part of the state with several cool towns such as Tellluride, Ouray, Durango, Silverton, etc. The scenery is amazing and the drive on the Million Dollar Highway is spectacular.

 

[thegrouse]

Some of those parks you need reservations for this year. You can make them on recreation.gov Have fun

 

[11boo]

Not sure if you are planning to pass through Grand Junction, CO which is not too far from Arches/Moab but Colorado National Monument is certainly worth seeing. It is like a miniature version of the Grand Canyon mixed with Sedona, AZ. Pretty cool place. Also, if you are going to Mesa Verde, I would recommend taking at least a day and checking out SW CO. It is a beautiful part of the state with several cool towns such as Tellluride, Ouray, Durango, Silverton, etc. The scenery is amazing and the drive on the Million Dollar Highway is spectacular.

i second that. Even if it’s just a car tour for a couple hours. These are all over the Colorado nat monument



Camelbaks or similar will be needed for any hiking on your trip.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

Outdoor, gun shops to look at? GF has this planned down to the minute pretty much, so I'm hoping try and squeeze in a few side route if possible

We know who the boss is in that relationship. Try to have fun, and enjoy gun shops.

 

[tony]

She has booked :
Antelope canyon, the narrows, no go to angels, she’s afraid of heights and cliff sides
We buy the park pass every year. And she has made all the reservations.
I mean this trip is literally planned to the minute. She hates because i just get up and go somewhere with no planning and take my chances.
Will look into all the recommendations

 

[roadrunner]

3 weeks may not be enough time with the places listed. You should add Chaco Canyon to the list though since you're hitting Mesa Verde.

 

[fngTony]

I would cut out the 4 corners. And bring sunscreen

 

[Phaseolus]

GF and I hit up a few national parks a year, and this years trip is:
Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, Arches, Bryce, Canyonlands, Capital Reef, Zion, 4 corners, and going to try and get Great Basin in this time.
Flying into Vegas on end of May, getting a rental car and hitting the road. Ending with 2 days in Vegas. First trip to Vegas we went to Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire and the Hoover dam.

Any tips, tricks, things to see along the way?
Places to eat would be huge.
Outdoor, gun shops to look at? GF has this planned down to the minute pretty much, so I'm hoping try and squeeze in a few side route if possible.

When you drive through Green River, Utah, stop and get a Great burger at Ray’s Tavern.

 

[NV HUNTER]

Stay in Durango Colorado and ride the train. My daughter went to college in Durango and that was an amazing thing to do.

I live in vegas. What kind of food do you like? I can give you recommendations.

 

[CorbLand]

When you drive through Green River, Utah, stop and get a Great burger at Ray’s Tavern.

For the rest of Green River, drive 95 so you get out of there as quickly as possible.

 

[MuleyFever]

She has booked :
Antelope canyon, the narrows, no go to angels, she’s afraid of heights and cliff sides
We buy the park pass every year. And she has made all the reservations.
I mean this trip is literally planned to the minute. She hates because i just get up and go somewhere with no planning and take my chances.
Will look into all the recommendations

Stop at Kolob Canyons. All the hikes in Zion are cool. Hopefully you arent going soon as the Narrows will probably be closed for a bit longer. I would skip the 4 corners if it meant getting to Great Basin.