vferr000

Our family of 4, includes a 13 and 15 year old, will be flying in to LA to start our vac in mid July. We are planning a baseball game that night. We are renting a SUV for the week.
Day 2-head out early for Las Vegas and stay the night
Day 3- Hoover Dam and West GC skywalk, then drive down to Sedona
Day 4-sight see around Sedona-maybe four wheeler tour( can stay in Sedona or maybe head on up to Page this evening)
Day 5-Antelope Canyon/Horsebend and South Rim GC then head toward Zion or Bryce
Day 6/7 Start at Zion or Bryce Canyon and end at Moab (seeking must see recommendations)
Day 8 Mesa Verde
Day 9 fly out of either Albuquerque or Denver


I know this is a full schedule, are there any recommendations you have to make this not feel so rushed? Anything to remove? I've been told Sedona is one of the most beautiful places, is it a must do or skip it?

What are our must sees?

emalloy

I would re-think your plan with a thought for things that are my opinion having been to most of the places you want to see.

Here is a map with chart of times/distances that might help in organizing the trip:

http://ohiohickstraveltips.weebly.co...-utah-map.html

1. Why are you flying into LA? Is it just to see a baseball game? Could you go to a game somewhere else? Given what you say you want to see, doing a loop from Vegas, Albuquerque or Phoenix makes more sense and would not involve a drop fee for the car.

2. The drive from LA to Vegas is not nice and Vegas is likely to be very Hot in July why not head to Grand Canyon or at least to somewhere along the route closer to it?

3. West Grand Canyon is not the place to go to see the iconic views. Go to the National Park South rim.

4. The area around Sedona is pretty, but I found the town to be a bit of a downer with t-shirt shops and bad art.

5. Check the map you will be back tracking to do Sedona>Page>Grand Canyon South Rim>Zion or Page and will have no time to actually see any of these, just seats in the car.

6/7. Not even enough time to do a drive through. Each park is worth at least a day and Moab is worth at least 2 or 3.

8. Mesa Verde is also worth at least a day.

Some general observations:

There are some beautiful drives along your possible routes, so to see them you should only drive during daylight hours. This also lowers the likelihood of hitting a deer, elk, antelope or in the areas with "open range" a horse or cattle.

If you don't have lodging yet, get it in/near the parks asap.

It often takes longer than the time given by mapping programs to get from one place to another and you want to stop and see things along the way.

It usually is more cost effective to do a loop and avoid high drop fees for the rental car.

The first day, by a cheap cooler, fill with ice, snacks, drinks etc. Drink water even if you don't feel thirsty and make sure the kids do too.

If you click my name you can find some Trip Reports for the area and you can find lots more by using the search box at the top of the page.

bailey123

I grew up in Arizona and now live in Durango, 40 miles from the entrance to Mesa Verde. I agree with virtually everything emalloy says. Sometimes it is quite a bit less expensive to fly into LA and maybe you're fans of a baseball team that is playing the night you arrive so I understand why you may be starting your trip in LA. If neither of those issues are considerations and you just want to see a pro baseball team, you may want to fly into Phx. I agree that Las Vegas (and Phx.) are very hot, around 110-115, this time of year. So, unless you just must see LV, I would avoid it. It will be very hot, very crowded and at least for me it is not a draw. If you fly into Phoenix, you save a lot of driving time to Sedona. And, if you fly out of Phoenix, you save a drop off fee on your rental car. Note that from Mesa Verde, the Drive to Denver and the drive to Phoenix are virtually the same amount of driving. I could see wanting to go to Denver if you had more time to spend after Mesa Verde but it's a 7 hour or more drive to Denver from MV so not much time to enjoy the area between the two. Sedona's natural beauty is unique but having known it before it was discovered, I agree with emalloy, it's crowded and a tourist trap but it is worth a day. Driving north from Sedona, take Hwy 89A through Oak Creek Canyon rather than taking I17. Its far more scenic. I wouldn't go to the west end of the Canyon; the skywalk is tacky and kitchy. The south rim of GC is the iconic views and what you want to see. From Sedona, the road to GC is on the way to Page so no need to backtrack after Page. In Page, make sure you make your reservations in advance for Antelope Canyon and I highly recommend Lower Antelope over Upper. Its far less crowded and you don't have to ride in the guide's open dusty vehicle to get there. Also, be aware, Antelope is not accessible without a Navajo guided tour. Horseshoe Bend is most beautiful at sunset. If you follow these suggestions, the only thing that I think you are missing is Hoover Dam but instead you could check out Glen Canyon Dam, the dam that created Lake Powell and changed the flow of the Colorado River in the GC and even go on a tour, it's right in Page in fact you have to drive over it to get to your Utah destinations, very convenient to your travels.

cjdonohue

if you can fit it in a great take is the 3-4 hr. horseback/mule pack trip down Bryce Canyon, beside a walk with the rangers as he describes the walk.
I am very interested in the RV rental company??

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I just posted
Planning a trip through SD,WY,UT,CO next summer.

We (2 adult/2teenagers from NH.) are planning to fly in around SD to start sightseeing around Mount Rushmore, Custer Nat.Park and make a loop through Yellowstone, south through the Canyonlands of Utah/Grand Canyon and fly out of Denver via Four Corners and Mesa Verde.
Trying to find a very dependable RV Rental to serve our purpose around those areas. Hopefully there are some suggesting out there>
Thanks in Advance,
CjD

bailey123

cjdonohue, it's best not to hijack another's post. In this case, OP is referring to an SUV, not an RV; big difference.

vferr000

Great feedback emalloy and bailey123. I've researched some different flights and we could do round trip through Phoenix. We'll be flying Alliegent Air if we go through Phoenix and they only fly Fridays through Memphis (where we'll be flying from) so we'll lose a day since we'll be leaving on Friday instead of Saturday. That being said we wouldn't have the 2 days of travel from LA to Sedona so I think we'll still be better off. We can take in a game in Phoenix that Friday night when we arrive. The LA idea was for the 15 year old so he could see his favorite baseball player.
Vegas isn't a must see, thought we'd use as a stopping point and see Hoover Dam, which isn't a must either.

bailey123

If watching a major league game is important, note that Friday home games for Dbacks in July are only the 7th and 21st. Good news is if that fits your schedule, Chase field is air conditioned . Flying into Phx would allow you to easily see Sedona, GC and Page and be on your way to UT by Monday. On the return from Mesa Verde, you could take a route through Monument Valley, where many westerns as well as Forest Gump were filmed, for another scenic experience.

bailey123

If you follow my prior suggestion, that still only leaves you with limited time (sometime Monday morning from Page) to hit Bryce, Zion, Moab and Mesa Verde (leaving, at the latest Friday morning from MV for Phx.) When you make your reservations to return to Memphis, if you have the option for a late flight, you might want to consider that since the drive from Mesa Verde to Phoenix will take you 71/2 hours or more.

With that in mind, after you leave Page,you might want to consider covering SW Utah sights, Zion, Bryce, Escalante and maybe Capitol Reef on this trip and leaving Moab (Arches and Canyonlands) and Mesa Verde along with other sites in SW CO for another trip.

Another possibility is flying into SLC but I think you would be pressed to include Page and G.C. if you want to see Moab, Bryce, Zion and maybe Mesa Verde.

vferr000

We've had to make some choices and change things up. Looks like another trip is needed to see what we'll not see. New itinerary is:

Friday-Fly into Phoenix, drive to Williams for the night
Saturday-train ride to GC
Sunday-drive to Page to see Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend
Monday-Monument Valley-stay around Blanding
Tuesday-Moab
Wednesday-Mesa Verde
Thursday-drive back to Phoenix
Friday-fly back to Memphis-take in minor league Redbirds game to satisfy the 'game'- not MLB but meets the need.

Dayle

Im sorry, but this plan is just as bad. Unrealistic and rushed. Train ride to GC is very slow, not scenic and a waste of extremely limited time. 1 partial day for Moab? Why bother? Another partial day for Mesa Verde will not allow you to see what you are going to see. You need to sign up for the ranger led tours of the cliff houses in advance and usually you cant go same day. Have you even checked estimated drive times? Do that then add 30% more time.

bailey123

I agree with Dayle. Much of the time consuming part of your trip is still in your revised trip. There is a great deal of driving once you leave Page. The train ride to GC will add a great deal of time because you have to return to Williams to pick up your car rather than take the drive through GC and end up a short drive south of Page. If you would like to do a train ride, there are several better trains in the SW that you could include in a future trip. If you want to see Indian cliff dwellings there is Montezumas Castle between PHX and the GC. It's not Mesa Verde but is an alternative until you can see Mesa Verde on a future trip. Bryce And Zion will give you a lot of quality UT red rock experience with a much shorter drive from Page.

I would suggest PHX to Montezumas Castle to Sedona through Oak Creek Canyon to Flagstaff to GC to Page to Bryce to Zion and return to PHX.

On a future trip to the area, see Monument Valley to Moab to Mesa Verde to Durango and ride a much more interesting train to Silverton. This is a separate trip which is doable in a week and you have then covered all your must sees with enough time to enjoy them. Even though it has taken two vacations rather than one .

palmtree2384

I like bailey123's suggestions. We just got back from a month in Arizona. Thought Montezumas castle was cool, Sedona was absolutely beautiful!!! The Grand Canyon south rim park, just AMAZING!!! Do those for sure!!! If you can work it out.