OKsprat Loc: Oklahoma

Agree with this tip. On the way to Page, you can check out the Vermillion Cliffs.

DMGill Loc: Colorado

I have spent 10 days hiking, camping, and photographing in Zion NP alone and didn't get to the Narrows. There is a lot of scenery and a lot of country to cover, but if you aren't comfortable in heat, avoid the summer. When I got back to the developed area in Zion the temperature was 117 degrees and felt cool after what we had been experiencing in the back country and on canyon rim. Carry extra water, you may need it.

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

One for the pace; one for the hydration suggestion:

ORpilot Loc: Prineville, Or

If you have the time, just do the Grand Circle. That is all the national parks that were previously mentioned plus Arches. Arches NP can be seen in a day. On your way in or out to see Canyonlands NP (10 mi from Arches NP) stop by Dead Horse SP. Just north of Arches on us191 almost to the Moab airport on a dirt road to the east is a spot that a Grad Student found Dinosaur tracks. A big meat eater fallowing a herbivore. Pour water in the tracks to make them stand out. Lots of Rock Art all around Moab. Haven't been to Monument Valley yet, but all the books advise staying at the Native American's hotel and hiring a local guide. That is on my bucket list. If you are flying in via Las Vegas, be sure to stop and see Red Rocks south west of Vegas, and Valley of Fire on your way north to Bryce Canyon. If you are in any of these parks during summer, be sure to take and drink lots of water. Heed the park rangers advice for drinking water, and be mindful of the weather for flash floods. Several people were killed in flash floods in the summer of 2015. Happy Shooting.

dfrost01 Loc: Princeton, NJ

I just got back. Terrific time to go because it's not full of tourists. From Zion, go to Bryce. God was on LSD when he created Bryce. If you go early in the morning, the light makes the hoodoos look almost translucent. Depending on how much time you have, from there you can go to Capitol Reef which is magnificent and most people overlook it. Then Moab and Monument Valley. Happy photo-taking!

dfrost01 Loc: Princeton, NJ

If you go to the slot canyons, book the photography tour. They hold up the crowds so the photographers can take their photos. They'll also take you to Rattlesnake Canyon which is not open to the public and is even more beautiful than Antelope Canyon. Just be sure to go with a tripod or they won't admit you to the photography tour.

rca1 Loc: Kanab Utah

North Rim Grand open in the middle of May! While in the area give me a call i may be able to help you. I live in Kanab. Coral Pink sand dunes, Pipe Springs N.M., 4 wheeling in the Kanab area, Best Friends animal center, Toroweap N.M. are a few to see while here. Have fun.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

BTW Pipe Spring NM is well worth the visit.

Ricker Loc: Salt Lake City, Utah

Bryce Canyon is super year-round, especially when snow has accumulated on the tops of all of the red rocks. There are green trees growing in the canyons and mule deer wandering around. With the clear blue sky, white snow on the red rocks and green trees, every shot is a "Kodak moment". Take a polarizing filter regardless of the time of the year... it'll make your images wonderfully saturated with color...no editing will be required.

Dead horse point is within 30 minutes of Moab...a small berg with inexpensive motels. You can arrive at dead horse point before 10 in the morning and take shots of the Green River Overlook. Both are close to 2,000 feet below you on the White Rim trail. Try NOT to be in southern Utah during mid-May or later as the temperatures will be oppressive.

I know; I live in Salt Lake City and have camped throughout the redrock country in southern Utah.

Zion is great, especially if you take some of the easy hikes (just hike along the trail until you reach a good vantage point for taking photos...you don't have to hike far on most trails to reach a great spot).

You will definitely find yourself/yourselves part of the "canyonland paparazzi" if you are in southern Utah in mid-May or later so, if possible, try to arrive next month. Have a great trip and take an OEM polarizer, not a cheap polarizer.

Best regards, Ricker

teamrjh

I was in Zion NP the later part of October which is the nicer part of the year and is a lot cooler than months up to. It can get very hot in the park due to the steep canyon walls. This is by far on top of my NP list as I have been to more than two dozen NP's in the western region over the past three years. Zion has some very nice scenic trails to hike. You must hike the trail to Angels Point. Great photo ops along the route overlooking the valley. Bryce is 90 miles NE of Zion and can get snow in early October. BTW, no cars allowed in the park during the summer all the way up to Halloween. You have to use the free shuttle. Free shuttle is also outside the park in town that can drop you off at the park entrance.

For other NP's a visit to Arches and Canyonlands NP are great too and also in UTAH. I was there last August (a little warm) in our RV for 10 days taking in several photo ops. Spring or late fall are the best times to go as these are hot climates in the summer. Hit me up in a private message if you want to know more.

skylinefirepest Loc: Southern Pines, N.C.

You lucky dude...yeah, within easy driving distance...Zion, Bryce, Arches, Canyonlands, Dead Horse Canyon, and several others primarily in southern Utah. And the beauty of it is that they are all spectacular in their own right. We used Cedar City as our base ( Best Western ) and visited about one a day. The Subaru ad on tv with the river running in a U shape around a plateau? Canyonlands! And if you see the ad and look quickly enough you'll spot a rock trail running around a curve on the left side...it is one car width wide and takes several hours to traverse and will possibly scare the devil out of your riders...my wife didn't even like the drive up to the top of the plateau off Utah 191 that was one lane in places and had a few ten percent grades that led to the Gemeni Bridge. The area around Moab is four wheel drive country with spectacular scenery and the beauty of it is that there are many trails that don't require four wheel drive at all. Moab definitely requires reservations ahead of time because it is one of the four wheel centers of the universe. You'll love Utah! Just remember that there are places that will require reservations unless you like sleeping in your car.

skylinefirepest Loc: Southern Pines, N.C.

Oh, while all these comments have been good there is one hint about Zion...take the shuttle tour which will take a couple of hours and then hit the main road through the tunnel and out to the "backside of Zion" which will take you to Escalante, back towards Cedar Breaks and Cedar City, Capital Reef, Hole in the Rocks, and so forth. The Hole is a sixty seven mile run, one way, with 4x4 required for the last seven miles and since it was 104 degrees and zero cell service we didn't go out there. At seventy three my walking is limited.

cbtsam Loc: Monkton, MD

I think Ralph meant Dead Horse Point State Park; at least as far as Google is concerned, there is no Wild Horse Point State Park. And Dead Horse Point does have one of the best grand views in the state.

It's hard to know what to recommend for ten days since it depends how deeply you tend to get into things. I'm sure you could profitably spend 10 days in Zion, if you like to do things in great depth. On the other hand, ten days is enough to run all the way across the southern tier of Utah, with many, many attractions, and still run down to the North Rim and to Page, AZ for Upper and Lower Antelope Canyons and Lake Powell, down to Horseshoe Bend, and further down to Monument Valley and Canyon de Chelly, and further east to Capitol Reef National Park, the Grand Staircase, Goblin Valley State Park, Canyonlands and Arches. For an excellent introduction, try Sandra Hinchman's book, Hiking the Southwest's Canyon Country. She covers more than ten days' worth, but she covers most of what's available in the four corners region, and she covers it very well.

I'd suggest you not worry too much about which sights you choose and which you leave for another time: it's hard to go wrong. Be prepared to take lots of images. I'm sure you'll have a fantastic trip.

kchamber4

With 10 Days, you can see most everything people mentioned here. Having lived between Zion and Bryce and in Moab, I think I know the areas well. Wild Horse State Park mentioned by one person on this thread doesn't exist. It is Dead Horse State Park. Here are some things to consider. 1st, from Zion to Canyonlands it is nearly 5 hours of driving, that is without any stops. This is big country and there are incredible vistas everywhere you go, so be prepared to make numerous stops. 2nd, for Arches and Canyonlads, Moab is the only place to stay that provides easy access to both of these locations along with Dead Horse State Park, Fisher Towers, Castle Valley, La Sal mountains. Farther south is Monticello and Blanding, but they are too far for easy trips to Arches. Moab gets full nearly every night from Easter Weekend, until Labor day weekend. You will need to make reservations early.

But you mentioned Zions as the main reason for going. That is on the other side of the state from Arches and Canyonlands. Stay with Polly's Guest House in Glendale, UT. You can find it on VRBO. It is right in the middle of nearly everything, which makes it a great base camp. They have room for up to 10 guests. If you can't find it, PM me and I can provide more info.

To the south is the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is less than 2 hours away (but it is only open from May until the first snow fall, normally late October early November). Zion is only 25 minutes away to the East Entrance. 25 miles south is Kanab, which is also known as Little Hollywood. Gunsmoke was filmed near there. Probably another 50 or more big screen westerns were filmed near Kanab. On the way to Kanab is the Coral Pink Sandunes. A lot of 4x4 commercials have been filmed here. Going East from Kanab is the Paria Wilderness area with lots of slot canyons. On the farside of the Paria is Lake Powell. Going south and west of Kanab is an old Fort called Pipe Springs. It is in Arizona about 15 miles from Fredonia. This would take 2-3 days just to explore this area alone.

Directly to east of Glendale is the western boundaries of Escalante Grand Staircase. North of Glendale about 50 miles is Bryce Canyon. Beyond Bryce is Escalante, UT which marks the Northern Boundaries of the Grand Staircase. Capitol Reef National Park is also about 90 minutes from Bryce. To the north west of Glendale is Cedar Mountain. The western edge of Cedar Mountain includes Cedar Breaks. This is like a miniature Bryce Canyon but looks west instead of East. Brian Head Ski Resort is 20 miles from Cedar Breaks and Panguitch Lake is about 30 miles away. Directly to the West is Cedar City, UT. They have one of the top three US Shakespearean Festivals. This runs from May until November. There are three different theaters presenting a different play twice a day. It is on the Southern Utah University campus. One of the prettiest campuses in the Western United States. Cedar Mountain was also used in a number of western TV shows including Centennial (if you remember that mini-series).

Going south on I-15 from Cedar City UT, which is only 50 miles to Cedar City from Glendale, is the Kolob section of Zion National Park. A lot less visitors here, but magnificent canyons and a couple of natural bridges.

In Zion, you have three incredible hikes that if you have the ability to do them are well worth it. One is Angels Landing. 5-6 miles round trip. You start at the bottom of Zion Canyon and hike to the top of the west wall. Nearly 2,000 foot elevation climb. There are some shear drop offs and are not for the faint of heart. (there is a chain to hang on to keep your balance). The second is Zion Narrows. If you really want to experience the narrows, you start 23 miles up at the Chamberlain ranch and hike the entire Narrows. This cannot be done during wet seasons or chance of cloudbursts due to the fact that the water from over 500 square miles is funneled into a slot canyon less than 20 feet across. The last 6 miles is all in the water. If you don't want to experience the entire hike, start at the bottom and go up as far as you can. The 3rd hike, which I haven't don yet, is the Subway. This hike starts in the Kolob section. It does require some technical climbing and rappelling. But everyone who has done it, raves about it.

On the west side of Zion is St. George (about 30 miles from the West Entrance). Lots of history there. Just north of St. George is Snow Canyon State Park. (Named for an early settler and not for the frosty moisture that seldom falls in St. George).

There are also a number of trout streams in the area for fishing. Horse back riding and ATV riding companies will take you into some of the back country as well.

Enjoy your visit. If you want to know more about Moab, and Arches, Canyonlands, Mesa Verde, Monument Valley, Chaco Canyon, Canyon De Chelly, the Goose Necks of the San Juan, and other spots over in the South Eastern Utah, and the four corners area, let me know.

john920

In addition to the excellent suggestions given, you might want to consider Natural Bridges National Monument (said to have the darkest skies in the United States) and the new Bears Ears National Monument. Bears Ears requires a little hiking, but if you're interested in photographing Native American ruins, that's the place to go. I agree with the comment, though, about limiting your trip and exploring one or two places. Utah has some amazing scenery, and it can change by just walking around a corner or driving a few miles. Still, if this is a once-in-a-decade trip, you may want to plan your campaign carefully to visit a variety of places. Google will be your friend. Have fun. The red-rock country of southern Utah restores the soul.