glennroby

not to pump up this company, but i took a tour with Road Scholar a few years ago. Itinerary was Las Vegas to Zion. Half a day there and the whole next day. Left for Bryce and again, half a day there and the whole next day. Left for the north rim of the Grand Canyon and again half a day there and the whole next day. Inside the park sleeping arrangements which means NO waiting. Most meals included. A pro photographer was one of our guides and was very helpful. I will use them again.

Stan Wieg Loc: Fair Oaks, CA

It will be a great trip - we went to the same places by RV last spring, and the weather was fine.
- Beware that you will need to make reservations as far in advance as possible; especially for vehicle access to the national parks. Even the shuttles at Zion require a timed ticket for most of the day.
- I second saving Grand Canyon for another trip. Grand Canyon, Meteor Crater and Petrified Forest are a nice loop and you can drop down to Sedona for the adults. South rim is where to go.
- Kodachrome Basin is just south of Bryce at Cannondale and very pretty; also Willet Creek Canyon is a classic slot canyon only a couple miles away and free, easy access and an easy walk - it is not developed and was not crowded.
- You didn't mention your route, but if you go through St. George there are nice restaurants (Painted Pony) and an interesting dinosaur footprints museum.

Mario22 Loc: Albany, NY

I’ve been receiving trip offerings from them for while but hadn’t known anyone who had ever gone on one of their trips. What you describe sounds interesting. My main concern with them is how much you have to rough it in the sleeping/room arrangements. I have a questionable back so camping is out for me and another senior. But a regular, non camp cabin, bed would be ok. I’ll look into it. Thx for the idea.

Mario22 Loc: Albany, NY

You mentioned places that I have heard of, or don’t remember; like Meteor Crater, Petrified Forest, Willet Creek Canyon. Thx so much! Lots more research to do. Plus I wasn’t aware of all the reservations needed for cars. Thx again.

Gallopingphotog

You'd have enough time to hit the highlights of Zion and Bryce and the Grand Canyon South Rim. Forget the North Rim. It is only open mid-May to mid-October, weather permitting. Snow in spring and early fall is not unheard-of. There are not as many overlooks and viewpoints as on the South Rim, and no developments other than the visitor center. (That being said, we are hoping to visit the North Rim for the first time on our way home from Vegas in May. It'll totally depend on if the road is open; if not, we'll probably alter our route slightly and visit Walnut Canyon and Petrified Forest instead.)
Myself, I'd prefer just hanging at Zion and Bryce and exploring those areas, but it does seem strange to come all that way and not get the Grand Canyon in as well. At Acadia everything is pretty close together and you can see/do a lot in one day. In the West, not so much.
Whatever time of year you go has plusses and minuses. Summer is hot and shoulder-to-shoulder tourists (not such a problem on the North Rim as it is everywhere else). Rest of the year you are always taking a chance on rogue storms but even with storm clouds those canyons are magnificent.
You will want a wide-angle lens (nothing too extreme like a fish-eye!) and a walking-around multi-use, a zoom maybe 70-200. Even without shooting any wildlife, you will want to get some close-ups of rock formations. Be sure to have waterproof covering for your gear; a sunny day can turn to pouring rain in a snap.
Having a split neutral density filter will help handle the difference between bright skies and the darker portions of rock below the rim. Also if you want killer sunrise/sunsets or wide panoramas, a tripod helps a lot. The viewpoints of all these parks are usually close to the road/parking lot, so it isn't like you'd have to lug a tripod through the backcountry.
I like to look at Trip Advisor for ideas on places to stay. Their reader reviews are usually pretty accurate on average.
Most importantly is for everyone to have fun and enjoy the experiences. Take time to savor what you are seeing, not just snap a quick shot and off to the next point.
You're making some wonderful family memories!

Stan Wieg Loc: Fair Oaks, CA

Willis Creek Canyon

Stan Wieg Loc: Fair Oaks, CA

Oops - Willis Creek Canyon

joecichjr Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA

An exceptional, iconic shot of the West
🔥⭐❤️⭐🔥

Wstrue

I made a 10 day trip in early March to Yosemite and Sequoia, then Grand Canyon and Monument Valley. Home is San Diego. Definitely had snow in all but Monument Valley. There has been some light snow in the past couple weeks at Grand Canyon, you can use weather app and add Grand Canyon Village, Bryce, Zion to list of places to monitor. Your gear sounds good. Should work beautifully for you. We stayed at the Grand Canyon Plaza Hotel just on the edge of the park, staff friendly, and a number of nearby restaurants. Very worthwhile to have a National Park Pass as you can bypass the long entry lines to the parks. There is lodging in the park, the very historic El Tovar is right on the rim, but expensive, need to book way ahead. The National Park Service web site has a listing of all their lodging. Monument Valley is worth an overnight stop. The View hotel looks very nice though haven’t stayed there. It is relatively new. We used “Dineh Bekeyah” tours, took the 1.5 hour tour in a very nice 4 wheel drive vehicle over some very rustic roads. Haven’t been to Bryce or Zion for many years, but as I recall we spent a day at each location when our kids were ages 2-10, and we all had a great time. Plan a few sunrise / sunset times for photos along south rim of Grand Canyon, amazing colors develop then. Bring a tripod if you can as I most often used my 70-210 f/2.8 with Z7ll camera for the long shots.

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xt2 Loc: British Columbia, Canada

You need a travel agent Mario...

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

I've been to all three and the Canyon was my least favorite. I liked Zion and Bryce better because you are in the canyon looking up at amazing scenes. With the Grand Canyon you need to venture down into the canyon to really appreciate it. I didn't and that is why it is the least favorite of my experiences. Maybe one day I will go again and be able to appreciate it by taking a jeep ride into the canyon. They do donkey rides into the canyon as well but I'd feel safer in a jeep!

David in Dallas Loc: Dallas, Texas, USA

I have been to all the parks you are interested in, but I'm not a hiker so have no information about that activity. At Bryce Canyon, if you don't hike down into it a couple of hours should suffice to see the hoodoos. One good lookout is at Sunset Point. Zion is beautiful, but travel inside may be limited to using the shuttle. The 2 NPs at Moab (Arches and Canyonlands) are both very scenic, but perhaps not too engaging for the kids. A visit to Glen Canyon dam (Page, AZ) would make a float trip on the river possible, and the kids would likely enjoy that (and the scenery is good, too). The Glen Canyon float trip was in 2009: https://www.flickr.com/photos/8712554@N02/sets/72157622692449120/.

I have pulled up a Streets & Trips map with a route from Albany, NY to Bryce Canyon NP, UT--it is almost 2300 miles and would take me about 4 days to travel it (33 hours driving time). I'm single--with a family it would take longer (with kids, quite a bit longer). I think I saw a comment that your trip would be 3 weeks, so I'm guessing a week each way to and from home and a week of sightseeing? Are you planning for any adventure stops along the way? That's a lot of country to cover and there are points of interest in it.

AirWalter Loc: Tipp City, Ohio

therwol Loc: USA

It is true that you need to go into the Canyon to appreciate it. But remember that as far as you go down, you have to go back up, and that's where the 7000 foot altitude comes into play if you're not fully acclimated to it. The Bright Angel Trail is the "easy" one that many people take. It starts near the main lodge at the South Rim and actually goes to the bottom and back up to the North Rim. During peak season, it's like a freeway of people. I've done it twice but always returning to the South Rim. I was much younger and in better shape than I am now. That climb out is a killer in hot weather, and you look at some of the people sitting down and sweating and turning red half way up and wonder how they're going to make it out. There is a side trail half way down to Plateau Point, and the view from there is spectacular. You're in the middle of the canyon lookup up, down and in all directions. It's still a formidable hike back up from there is you aren't in shape. When I was there years ago, there were mule trains carrying people down to the bottom. I don't know if that still goes on. There were a lot of complaints about ecological damage at some point. As for going down in a Jeep, I don't know how that would happen. I didn't see any roads in the canyon, and the hiking trails are too narrow to manage anything like a car. I was at the West Rim last year, and there were many helicopters flying through the canyon.

therwol Loc: USA

Bryce Canyon and Arches in 1975 with some anonymous young person in some of the pictures. Most likely taken with a Nikon FTn and 50mm lens on Kodachrome 64.

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