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Mamounia's avatar
Mamounia
Explorer
Jul 18, 2016

Las Vegas and canyons in february-march

Hi, I'm part of this forum for many years but I think this is my first message. I'm french speaking so a little uneasy with my written english, that's why I was discreet!

I'm planning a trip to Vegas with my husband and 5 children (well, young adults now as they are 17 to 26 years old and its very hard to have them all available for a trip, it will be a grand premiere since many many years!). The only problem is that it has to be from february 25th to march 5th and I'm a little insecure with the temperature in the canyons at that time.

We want to go in Zion, Bryce, Antelope canyons, Monument Valley and Grand Canyon. Plan A was to reserve houses at each place, which is done, and a 12 seats van to put everyone and their luggage. But, as we are camping lovers, I thought also (plan B) about renting a motorhome, which would solve a few headaches about planification of meals and luggages packing/unpacking.

My question : is it realistic, knowing it can be very cold and snowy at that time of the year in places like Bryce Canyon and Grand Canyon. Some campgrounds are closed, others are "first come, first served" (which stress me a little also), are the trails are opened to walk in the canyons. I know some parts of the canyons are closed at that time also.

So, do you have any experience, or advices about it? Plan A or plan B? Or "go elsewhere, you wont have fun at that time of the year" ?

Thanks a lot!
Roads and Routes
  • PawPaw_n_Gram's avatar
    PawPaw_n_Gram
    Explorer
    Jul 18, 2016
    Grand Canyon. I've visited it twice. Once in the first week of November, once on the last week of Feb/ first week of March.

    North Rim will be closed.

    South Rim will be open. There will likely be some snow on the ground. But unless there is a winter storm just before/ during your trip, the roads will be open.

    Hiking, some parts of the Bright Angel Trail never see sunlight - especially the steep parts nears the start of the trail. They will have ice on the trail.

    They sell pitons - those spikey things that clamp over your hiking shoes - at the store in the park. The mules shoes actually have spikes on them also.

    Many people hike without difficulty into the canyon through the ice. Just be careful.

    Zion should be fine either way. We are planning to camp there for a week in mid-Feb.
  • Naio's avatar
    Naio
    Explorer II
    Jul 18, 2016
    Very good answer for PawPaw_n_Gram.

    I would add that a motorhome might give you more flexibility to adapt your trip to the weather. The weather is not predictable, but there are so many beautiful places to go that you can choose whichever ones are comfortable!

    Camping or not, I suggest reservations for the weekends (or arrive on thursday and stay until sunday). During the week, I don't think you will have much trouble with the first come first served sites.
  • Mamounia's avatar
    Mamounia
    Explorer
    Jul 18, 2016
    Thanks a lot for your answers! Its a good point about the flexibility of a mototorhome compared to houses (that you can't cancel at the last minute). I'm waiting for a call back from the motorhome company to see what they will propose me, I definitely hope it will be doable!.
  • RoyF's avatar
    RoyF
    Explorer
    Jul 18, 2016
    The things you put on your boots are crampons. A piton is what you hammer into a crack in a rock face.
  • PawPaw_n_Gram's avatar
    PawPaw_n_Gram
    Explorer
    Jul 18, 2016
    Oops. The first ones I ever saw were during a snow/ice storm in Fayetteville at UofA - 40+ years ago.
  • Mamounia's avatar
    Mamounia
    Explorer
    Jul 19, 2016
    No problems for the crampons, we have a lot of that in Quebec :-)
  • 2gypsies1's avatar
    2gypsies1
    Explorer III
    Jul 19, 2016
    Zion, Antelope and Monument are very doable at that time of year. Grand Canyon 'might' be uncomfortable but beautiful if it lightly snows. Bryce will the the most 'iffy' park. It's a much higher elevation.

    If you have a RV and it's cold it will not be comfortable. If you happen to have snow you wouldn't be driving in it - hopefully.

    I think I would rent rooms at the parks themselves for a much better experience and no worry about the weather. RV rental is expensive and rooms could be comparable. I doubt you'll have problems getting rooms or campsites (if that's the way you'll do it) at that time of year.

    Have a great family trip! Sounds like fun.
  • Naio's avatar
    Naio
    Explorer II
    Jul 19, 2016
    That's a good point, that an rv is $$ to rent.

    I think if you can keep your destinations flexible it is a GREAT time of year to go -- so uncrowded!
  • Mamounia's avatar
    Mamounia
    Explorer
    Jul 21, 2016
    With the RV, its easier to keep the destinations flexible. If we rent a house (or two rooms in an hotel as we are 7 people), its non refundable at the last minute so we will have to stick with our choice. And that choice is pretty limited because of the number of people and our budget (I went through all the houses to rent in Airbnb and VRBO and even the cheapest ones are pretty expensive so the choice was very limited). So I have to reserve early to be sure to have : a-something b-something not too expensive.

    I did the calculations for both (RV + campgrounds, or van + house/hotel room, and gaz) and it's pretty much the same (a little cheaper for the RV).
    Thanks for your advices, its much appreciated!
  • Mamounia's avatar
    Mamounia
    Explorer
    Jul 21, 2016
    Renting a room in the parks would be perfect if we didnt need to rent two at the time. At 600-700$ a night, its not a option, I prefer to camp in the parks and bring a lot of blankets!

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