
This trip was loosely based on the Grand Circle, a tour of national parks that includes Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyonlands, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Mesa Verde, Petrified Forest, and the Grand Canyon. We didn’t have the time to do all of those the way we would want to, so we skipped the last four. We’ve been to the Grand Canyon and we’ll try to hit the others on a future trip. I dubbed this trip Our Golden Circlet because it’s not quite grand and not quite the circle. Since we planned a lot of hiking on this trip, we kept track of how many miles we walked each day. We didn’t keep track of driving miles.
- 15 days
- 2015 Fall
Food and Beverage $50 per day
Average per person per day. We sourced most breakfasts and lunches from the grocery store and ate dinner out.
Lodging $90-$156 per night
Panguitch (for Bryce Canyon National Park) was our least expensive and Springdale (for Zion National Park) was our most expensive.
Transportation $715
Our rental car was $345; the rest was gas. Driving from park to park was entertaining in itself. We didn't track mileage, but the point-to-point route is 1,056 miles.
Entertainment $80 per person
We bought an annual national parks pass. We visited enough parks for it to make sense (and we were also able to use it in Puerto Rico the following spring). There were also fees for Antelope Canyon and Monument Valley which are on tribal lands.
Days 1-3: Zion National Park
Planned Activities
- Angel’s Landing hike
- The Narrows hike
- Canyon Overlook hike
- Emerald Pools hike
Actual Activities
- Angel’s Landing hike
- The Narrows hike
- Canyon Overlook hike
- Emerald Pools hike
The Plan: Zion was all about hiking in the park. We bought dry bags and other gear to do The Narrows hike in the river.
The Reality: We did everything we planned but most of our hikes were abbreviated by weather. Even if we didn’t get rained on, rain in the area caused dangerous flash flooding.
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Angel’s Landing Hike

The Narrows Hike

Canyon Overlook Hike
Fly from home
Then drive from Las Vegas, 167 miles
Stay at Zion Canyon B&B
Homey and beautiful with delicious breakfasts
Get around by driving
We rented from Budget in Las Vegas
Days 4-5: Bryce Canyon National Park
Planned Activities
- Queen’s Garden and Navajo Trail loop hike
- Rim Trail hike
Actual Activities
- Queen’s Garden hike
- Scenic drive
- Red Canyon hike
The Plan: Bryce Canyon was also going to be about the hiking.
The Reality: Again the weather influenced our activities. We drove the rim rather than hiking because it rained that day, and the threat of rain had us not try the longer loop with the Navajo Trail. Red Canyon was a surprising bonus. It looked interesting driving by so we stopped.
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Bryce Canyon National Park

Bryce Canyon Scenic Drive

Queen’s Garden Hike

Red Canyon
Drive from Zion National Park
84 miles
Stay at Grandma's Cottages
Cosy and comfy, with great hosts
Get around by driving
We rented from Budget in Las Vegas
Days 6-10: Moab (Arches and Canyonlands National Parks)
Planned Activities
- Delicate Arch hike
- Grand View Point hike
- Upheaval Dome hike
- The Needles
- Devil’s Garden hike
- Windows hike
Actual Activities
- Devil’s Garden hike
- Mesa Arch hike
- Upheaval Dome hike
- Grand View Point hike
- Slickrock hike
- Delicate Arch hike
- The Windows hike
The Plan: Lots of hiking, with one longer or two shorter hikes planned per day. We’d have liked to visit a couple of nearby state parks but couldn’t fit them in.
The Reality: This was a good example of our half-day planning technique working. We’d planned different activities for each morning or afternoon and while we didn’t do things on the dates we’d planned, the days fit together well.
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Moab

Capitol Reef National Park

Arches National Park

Devil’s Garden Hike

Islands in the Sky

The Needles

Delicate Arch Hike

The Windows
Drive from Bryce Canyon National Park
263 miles, by way of Capitol Reef National Park
Stay at Silver Sage Inn
Clean, functional, and affordable
Get around by driving
We rented from Budget in Las Vegas
Days 11-12: Page
Planned Activities
- Antelope Canyon
- Lake Powell
Actual Activities
- Antelope Canyon
- Lake Powell
- Horseshoe Bend
The Plan: Page was a late add when I recalled seeing amazing photos of Antelope Canyon online. And Lake Powell was a nice extra.
The Reality: We also managed to fit in Horseshoe Bend which is nearby.
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Page

Monument Valley

Antelope Canyon

Horseshoe Bend and Lake Powell
Drive from Moab
269 miles, by way of Monument Valley
Stay at Suites on 10th
Beautiful apartment in an odd but convenient location
Get around by driving
We rented from Budget in Las Vegas
Days 13-15: Las Vegas
Planned Activities
- Walking the strip
- Hanging out by the pool
- Sampling the restaurants
Actual Activities
- Walking the strip
- Hanging out by the pool
- Sampling the restaurants
The Plan: Each of us had been to Vegas before, Steve in 1976 and me much more recently. We thought we ought to go at least once, and knew a long weekend would be all we needed. It’s also pretty cheap to fly to, so we used that as the jumping-off point for our tour.
The Reality: It went a lot like we expected, although it was so hot while we were there — over 100° — that we did a lot of walking inside the air-conditioned casinos when we needed to cool off.
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Las Vegas
Drive from Page
273 miles
Stay at The Mirage
Nice pool, good location
Get around by walking
We dropped off the rental car when we arrived back in Las Vegas because we didn't need while we were in town.
Resources
- Key resources for this trip were the websites for the various national parks.
- We may have used a guidebook but I can’t recall which one. I know I didn’t buy one!