When to go? Spring/Summer/Fall

Imho, I'd choose the summer. We were there from middle June to July 4th and had a great time, great weather, and only small crowds. Speaking from a teachers point of view, I'd rather drive, site see along the way because I would be way more relaxed in the summer. We've done this trip twice and enjoyed breaking up the days by stopping and seeing other sites along the way. I treasured every trip we took with our son because we talked, sang, laughed, and listened to some funny books on tape or cd. Our son loved all our trips and still talks about them. At 17, things changed when his girlfriend came along, so treasure every minute now! Those breaks just seem so rushed to me. That's my two cents worth!!

Definitely Options 2 or 3. October or April are awesome times for those parks. April is not a wet season in the desert! It's nice, warm flower time.

That said, even summer can be tolerable. Remember . . you'll be in 'dry' heat so not like the humid south. I know, an oven is dry, too. During vacations you can expect a little discomfort. Bryce will definitely be the coolest and very nice temps and a favorite hiking place for us. Go down the trails and the kids... and you... will be in awe of the fairyland down there. Zion - be sure to do the river hike and if you can, get a camp site along the river - fun playing for the kids. Grand Canyon - place forest hikes during the heat of the day or do a day trip into Williams. Tour the hotels, gift shops, visitor center activities during the heat. Early morning or toward dinner/evening get out in the open and enjoy the view. Take the free shuttle get off and on and walk the Rim Trail - beautiful at those times of day. Moab - again, hikes early morning or late afternoon/evening. Take the Colorado River boat trip. Drive up to the cool forested LaSal Mountains as a day trip. Poke around town. Rent a Jeep or take a tour.

So I guess Option 1 is doable too! :) Enjoy your trip whichever way you go.

Agree with Kavoom. We prefer the North Rim to the South Rim and have day tripped to Bryce, Zion, Kolob Canyon, and Cedar Breaks from our base camp at Jacob Lake.

Amendment to my above message: For December change "No crowds" to "No people" in both Zion and Bryce. A wonderful, unique experience for us.

Twice we have flown into Las Vegas, rented a car, and explored S. Utah. The 1st time was a short trip Dec, 2009 and we stayed in Springdale, UT - Zion and Bryce Canyon NP’s. Wonderful: no crowds, VERY crisp air, and the roads were plowed. The 2nd time in March, 2011 was 11 days: Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, Arches NP’s, Monument Valley. We stayed in motels a few days in Escalante, Moab, Blanding, Page and explored. A great trip but lots of driving. Southern Utah is well worth it.

In March, 2012 we flew into and stayed a week in Durango, CO - Mesa Verde NP, Hovenweep NP, Silverton RR, Four Corners. Another wonderful trip.

With 2 kids you are limited to spring, summer, fall breaks. Been there, done that, but our experience has been that an airplane and motel(s) got us into and back home quicker than the RV. Now that we’re retired, time is no longer of the essence. We thank God for that.

One of my favorite areas in the world. You know, I grew up camping from since I can remember. My dad was a teacher and we took off on 45 day trips in the summers. I didn't play organized sports during the summer, but wanted to, we camped. I didn't do the things my friends were doing we camped. Then we actually brought a couple of my friends at different times. In retrospect 50 years later I feel sorry for all my friends who had to stay home. Take the kids RV it. One of my best memories is driving down the road in southern Utah with my parents "listening" as a family to the radio as Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon. It was better than TV.

I suggest base camps of Moab (hit moon flower canyon all the way one day)for Canyonlands, Arches etc. I highly recommend an NFS campground called Devils Canyon on the road south out of there simply for an overnight. It is an awesome place and from there you can see for a hundred miles including shiprock and the skies are amazing there like you have never seen.

I also recommend Durango for a base camp as you can see all the four corner sights sights and even head south for day trips into New Mexico and then up into the mountains for a day or two. Neat places most don't go are the Aztec Ruins in NM. Go up in the mountains and consider the narrow guage train ride. Depending upon how you plan, hit the great sand dunes as a side trip on the way out or coming back.

Then, I recommend avoiding the south rim of Grand Canyon and hit the north rim. Just as beautiful far fewer people. Stay at Jacob Lake and since it is up high you will have 70's vs 90's a few miles north in Kanab. You can do day trips to Bryce, Zion and the state parks and are only a beautiful 45 minute drive to the N. Rim.

Just my suggestions based upon 20 or thirty trips to the area in my life. And personally, I'd probably do the hot trip. There are ways to avoid people if that is your thing. Going to the North Rim is one example. Dress right bring hats and use airco when available and it is a "dry" heat different than humid let me assure you as a former midwesterner but I must admit 100 plus is 100 plus irrespective but then you just head into the mountains and it's all good. And like the trip from Jacob Lake to Kanab, or Durango up 30 degrees cooler is but a fun drive and an hour or so away.

If I was going to go I'd go in October when the weather has cooled off, and the crowds have all gone home. In late June, July, August, and probably the first half of September the temps in these parks are well over 100+.
The first time I went to Bryce Canyon was in mid May, and it being early in the season, the parking lots where full, roads where packed. Now Zion National park being my favorite park, until I went to Yellowstone this week. If your coming from Texas, I'd probably be thinking about flying into either Salt Lake or Las Vegas. Rent a car and drive up from Vegas to Zion, Bryce, Capital Reef, up to Canyonlands, and end at Arches. Drive west to Salt Lake, and return home. The state of Utah in one beautiful state. And there's a whole more to see in the rest of the state.

kyteacher wrote:
So the wife and I just finished our last summer trip and on the way home were discussing upcoming trips we'd like to do the next year or 2. We've got 13 and 10 year old girls and the years just seem to be going really fast.

Southern Utah (Zion, Arches, Canyonland, Bryce), Grand Canyon National Parks are a must trip for us. We live in Louisville, KY by the way. I was telling her that everyone that responded on this website about traveling to this area during the summer cautioned about how hot it is during June and early July.

This led us to this question: should we try a different time of the year. We know we will need more time to truly experience this area, and plan to do that later in life when our kids are grown. Right now we want to take the kids out there to see what a beautiful area it is and sports schedules, camp schedules, etc... don't allow for a month or two.

So here are the options we were discussing:

Option 1- Take about 18-21 days for this trip. We tow our 26' travel trailer. It's about 4 days out and 4 days back and we'd have about 10-14 days. That would likely be between mid-June to about the first week in July.

Option 2- Our fall break is the 3rd week in October. We'd fly in to Vegas, rent a car, use hotel/airbnb instead of pulling our TT. We'd have about 9 days to drive a loop through Utah/Arizona. No camper. Quick trip. Not how we'd prefer to do the trip, but maybe not as hot/crowded and no 8 days of driving out and back, but we could still see most everything we want.

Option 3- Similar as option 2, except go at spring break. Our spring break is the first week in April.

I know there are a zillion variables to consider. We want to see Zion, Grand Canyon, Arches and however many other National Parks other beautiful areas in between.


Opinions?

Lot of good relevant Info Here

For Images, look At Stan Parkers Album - organized and shows a lot of what is missed as many focus just on National Parks.

If you tie Elevation and Water in to the/your plans Utah can be done, just not Mid-Day - Bryce is Higher/Cooler - North Rim is Higher/Cooler - Lake Powell/Page is WET - Zion and the Narrows are WET - Moab has the Colorado River - Colorado is just a day's drive away (Elevation and COOL) and is an easy stop coming and going.

Having done this and been confronted with the time constraints you have TIME is the most critical thing to make this FUN.

Generally just one or two Outstanding Stops will Trump a long list on Great National and State Parks.

Best of Luck,

We visited southern Utah in mid April with the RV. Our daughter & family flew in to Salt Lake, rented a car & stayed in a motel in Moab. It worked well for both! I would fly in to Salt Lake & motel with your schedule. Moab is a great location for visiting Arches & Zion. There is plenty to keep you busy for a week. Bryce was fine, but optional for a 1 week trip. We were warm enough in April...

I have drawn my map with grids to plan for short trips when time is limited.

And a grid for longer trips.

Then supplement it with a calendar to when the kids are in vacation and for how long then plan the trip accordingly.