To visit three National Parks in Three days is a big task! Longer to explore would've been ideal but given our tight time frame and winter weather conditions, three days is what we had. We planned our route to make the most of our time, so that we were seeing sights while still covering some travel distance.
The first thing you will need to do is buy an America The Beautiful Pass. This link will take you to the page that helps you plan and decide the best pass for you. For three parks in three days the Annual Pass was the best value for us. We are a family of four, Mum, Dad and two teenagers. The fact that they are teenagers means we often have to pay for for adult entries to any attraction as family passes are for younger children. You can buy your annual pass at the entrance to the park.
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| Our America The Beautiful Annual Pass |
We will start our three days in The Grand Canyon. We drove there from Tucson, Arizona the evening before. You can read that post here, Road Trip from Tucson Arizona to The Grand Canyon - Including Costs.
This is where we stayed in Tusayan, only 14 minutes drive from Grand Canyon Village. The motel was fine, nothing to write home about but perfectly adequate. It was a great base to start our three days from being so close to the first stop!
Day 1 - The Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon - Horseshoe Bend - Kanab (Driving Time: 3h 35min)
The Grand Canyon is amazingly huge! These photos just don't do it justice at all. The vastness of this giant hole in the ground is unbelievable. I can just imagine the first people stumbling upon this great big hole and just about falling in! It is not until you are very near the edge that you can see it is there.
We left our motel early, had breakfast and got straight to exploring. The bonus of going in winter time is that it is very quiet. So much available parking and you are allowed to self drive around areas you cannot in peak times. No shuttle waiting for us! Our first stop was Grand Canyon Village and the trail along the rim of the canyon there. We went for a short walk, found a coffee shop to warm up and then went for a drive down Hermit Road.
We then headed east on Desert View Drive towards the Desert View Watch Tower. We stopped at almost all the viewing points along the way, Lipan Point and Navajo Point included. This was an amazing drive with lots of wildlife spotted in the trees as we drove. When we reached the car park for the watch tower there was a little crowd gathered near the entrance. There were two female and one male elk right there. They were clearly used to people and were not running away. You need to be careful as they can charge if they feel threatened.
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| Elk at Desert View Watch Tower - Grand Canyon, Arizona |
Just a short walk from the car park was the Desert View Watch Tower. This historical tower is full of beautiful art work, 360 degree views and a gift shop. The climb up to the top is a good workout for the lungs too!
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| Desert View Watch Tower - Grand Canyon, Arizona |
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| Art inside the Desert View Watch Tower |
After you have had your fill...or manage to drag yourself away from the views, it is time to head for Page, Arizona. Page is the home of the infamous Horseshoe Bend, and is the next stop on day 1. It is just under 2 hours drive away. The drive is very scenic with lots of stunning views as well as road side stalls selling jewelry and jerky mostly.
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| Horseshoe Bend - Page, Arizona |
After a couple of hours in the car you will be ready to get out and have a little stroll. The entry fee is not part of the National Park Pass so you will have to pay. The cost is US$10 to park, or per vehicle. Make sure you come in the entry as the exit has those one way spikes to pop your tyres if you try to sneak in! The walk to the bend is all downhill and a nice wide path. This of course means the way back up is uphill but after all that time sitting in the car that is probably a good thing!
We stopped in at Walmart in Page for some groceries and snacks. Now the next stop is Kanab and we are finally crossing the state border into Utah! A shorter 1 hour and 10 minute drive.
We stayed at this very clean, modern and beautiful motel. Kanab is a smaller picturesque town near both Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks. This motel had a sleeper sofa as well as two queen beds. This was a life saver as the teens had spent enough time together in the car and needed some individual space. Breakfast was included and delicious! There was a waffle maker, cereal, bacon, fruit, coffee and lots of juices. I really love a breakfast I don't have to make!
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| Driving into Kanab, Utah |
Day 2 - Zion National Park
Kanab - Zion National Park - Bryce Canyon National Park (Driving Time: 2h 30min)
A little less driving today, yay! Although the drive time does not include the time driving around inside the parks. But Kanab to Zion is only just over half an hour. Right before the entry to the East Entrance Ranger Station of Zion National Park we spotted a paddock full of buffalo. It was great to be able to see these beautiful beasts close up with the safety of a very solid looking fence! As you drive down into Zion NP you go through a long tunnel with openings to outside, I guess for ventilation in the tunnel. Once you pop out the other side there is a series of switch backs with some of the best scenery I have ever seen.
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| Panorama of Zion National Park, East Entry |
Now I know you shouldn't pick favourites but the peacefulness of being in the bottom of the canyon is something else. It was winter time and freezing but since there was no wind in the bottom it felt lovely and warm in sun. Absolutely stunning!
We were again able to drive around areas normally reserved for shuttles and drove as far as we could in all directions. We ended up at the information center and gift shop. We drove back through it all again taking any turns we had missed the first time around.
We stopped for a few short strolls and a picnic in a sunny spot. This was hands down one of my favourite parts of our whole trip. This three day national park tour was part of a 14 day USA Road Trip which in turn was part of a 6 week USA and Europe family holiday. So it must be pretty amazing to be at the top of my favourite places to visit. Next time I would love to do some more longer trails and explore a whole lot more.
Bryce Canyon National Park
As difficult as it was, I had to drag myself away from Zion National Park with the promise that more amazing sights would follow. The next drive is a little longer at nearly 2 hours but could be quicker depending on conditions. The altitude is gaining quickly and so are the icy conditions, so if you travel here in winter please take care!
Not long after the turn off from US 89-N to UT 12-E you will come across this beautiful red arch. It instantly made me think of Road Runner and Coyote! You can see the snow off the side off the road, there was enough for the teens to get out there in their Crocs and have a little snow fight. It seems Crocs are very popular with teens in NZ but not so much everywhere else.
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| Ruby's Inn - Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah |
With family recommendations we stayed at Ruby's Inn. It is made up of a main building with a restaurant, grocery/convenience/gifts shop, swimming pool, accommodation and much more. There are many of these big lodge style buildings which are separate from each other and the main building but still close. The complimentary breakfast was incredible, buffet style with a server bringing your drinks. So don't forget to bring some cash for a tip! We ordered a roll away bed, and after a bit of rearranging the room, everyone had their own space. This room came with a lake view, which is of a small lake and was frozen solid.
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| Frozen Lake at Ruby's Inn - Bryce Canyon, Utah |
The teens had had enough of sight seeing and chose to stay in the motel while we went and had a look at Bryce Canyon in the sunset. It was so beautiful and so absolutely freezing! I had on a puffer jacket, with a singlet, t shirt and a merino cardigan underneath and was still cold. I understand when they say the wind bites, it sure felt like it! So glad I am not camping in a tent!
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| Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah at Dusk |
We drove around stopping at all the lookouts until the light dropped and we could no longer see. The roads were icy in places and snow had been cleared but there were still piles in places. It was one of those experiences I'll never forget. Up at 8000ft above sea level, beautiful sights, yet an element of fear with the conditions and lack of experience driving in them.
We headed back to the motel and had a dinner of left overs and some treats from the motel store. The brave teens wanted to swim! The pool was fully indoors in a glass surround in the middle of the motel, Trip Advisor has a good photo of it here. We walked back to our lodge and in that time their hair froze solid!!! We had left some water bottles in the car boot (trunk) and the next morning they were at that perfect point that if you knock them they freeze, much fun was had! The car thermometer read 14° F (-10°C).
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| Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah at Dawn |
Much to the teens disgust we forced them to go back up to the canyon in the morning even though it was apparently 'boring'. I decided they could not have come this close and not even gone for a quick look at the canyon. They would regret that for the rest of their lives at the missed opportunity if they never made it back.
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| Bryce Canyon at dawn in winter, Utah |
The contrast between the colours in the brightness of dawn, compared to the night before was huge. The hoodoos almost glowed in a warm light. So much more detail was visible and the warm sun made it so much more enjoyable. The wind had also died down which was great. So we made another full loop of driving around and stopping at the best vantage points, taking short walks to lookouts and enjoying the morning sun.
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| Frozen path at Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah |
Mind those slippery paths!
I hope you enjoyed our three national parks in three days trip. I highly recommend you take more time if you can, but if you can't it is definitely still worth going!
Total Cost of our 3 National Parks in 3 Days Family Road Trip
You can see we did not eat out at all really. The NZ$8.57 was just for a couple of drinks. We did have a little bit of snack food left over in the car, and the teens did buy a few snacks with their own money. The activities category is the America the Beautiful Pass and the US$10 entry to Horseshoe Bend. Miscellaneous is the roll away bed.
NOTE: I am counting from the Morning of Day 1, so these totals are for 3 Days and 2 Nights.