Grand Canyon / Zion National Park Travel Guide

This trip was actually supposed to be flying into Detroit and driving to Toronto and Niagara Falls. But the strict and costly Covid testing north of the border scared us away from this trip. So, my sister and I pivoted to a complete opposite trip, Zion National Park. This has been a bucket list item for me since my friend visited a couple of years ago. Zion was the crown jewel of this adventure. But being that it’s only a 2.5 hour drive from Vegas, we could spend a couple days there and the other day and a half seeing the Grand Canyon West (2 hour drive from Vegas in the other direction) and Hoover Dam. We packed A LOT into this trip. Looking back on it, I don’t know how we were able to check off all of these sites. But this is the Broke-Traveler way. I never know if I will get a chance to make it back because of all of the places I still have to visit. So I try to see as much as I can during a trip, thinking it will be my only chance. The end result is I need a vacation for my vacation. But I don’t regret how much we saw on this trip. Being able to check off seeing Zion, the Grand Canyon, and Hoover Dam in one weekend is a freaking success. And the beauty of the Southwest is unapparelled. Without further ado, my Grand Canyon West / Zion National Park travel guide…..

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Grand Canyon West / Zion National Park Itinerary:

First Day: Flew into Las Vegas Friday morning. I always fly Spirit to Las Vegas because they have the cheapest flights and it’s non-stop from Nola. Of course, we had to eat at my favorite In-N-Out for lunch. It was my sister’s first time and now I have her hooked! Picked up water and snacks at Wal-Mart and then he hit the road for the two-hour drive to West Grand Canyon. Here’s the deal with West Grand Canyon. It’s not like the South Rim. You can’t do any hiking, it’s more of observation points that rival any views from the South Rim. But since it’s so close to Vegas it’s well worth the drive to say you’ve witnessed one of the seven natural wonders of the world. And on the way to the Grand Canyon you get to drive through the Joshua Tree National Forest of Arizona. Once you get past the Grand Canyon West entrance, you park your car at the Grand Canyon West Welcome Center and then board the free shuttle service to get to the West Rim attractions. The shuttles circulate throughout Grand Canyon West continuously throughout the day every 15 minutes, taking visitors to the three main areas: Guano Point, Eagle Point and Hualapai Ranch. For $59 you can get access to the Skywalk, which is a glass horseshoe shaped deck that extends out and offers views of the Grand Canyon and Colorado River 4,000 feet below. Honestly you can get this same view from Eagle Point, and the general admission price only costs you $45 as opposed to $59. You’re also not allowed to take your phones onto the Skywalk, encouraging you to pay $60 for a picture. The most famous “trail” on the West Rim is “Highpoint Hike.” This trail leads to the top of Guano Point. There’s a spectacular 360-degree view of the Grand Canyon and Colorado River. By the time we drove back and checked into our hotel on the strip it was getting late so we headed to La La Noodle in the Park MGM Casino close by for dinner. We stumbled upon this place walking down the strip. It pays to be spontaneous sometimes.

Second Day: My original plan was to leave around 5:30am to arrive at Zion as it was opening (2.5-hour drive from Vegas) but then I read on Reddit how everyone does this and the wait for the shuttles can be up to an hour long but if you arrive later around 11am-noon there’s hardly a wait for the shuttles. Reddit was right again! Also, didn’t realize that you lose an hour driving from Vegas to Zion due to the time zone change so that would’ve made waiting to get into the park even longer!  There’s limited parking inside of the park and it’s usually full by 9pm. Your best bet is to park in the town of Springdale (Located right outside of the park) and take the Springdale shuttle for free to the Zion park entrance. From there you pay for park admission. (Can only purchase at the park; $20 per person and valid for 7 days or $35 for private vehicle for 7 days). Since we were taking the Zion shuttle that day and driving into the park the next day, we just paid a one-time admission of $35. Once inside the park you walk to the Zion shuttle, which takes you up Zion Canyon Scenic Drive. This is a free shuttle bus that operates from mid-March to late November; cars are not allowed on this road during these months. There’s 9 stops along this road where you can hop off and on at each of the trailheads.

We hopped off at the last stop, stop 9 (Temple of Sinawava). It starts off with the Riverside Walk, which is a short, 1.5 mile walk that leads to the beginning of The Narrows. If you’re like me and out of shape from the Pandemic weight gain, this is the perfect hike for you. Most of the hike is paved with minimal elevation climb. However, the views along the Virgin river are amazing. My one regret on this trip was not renting water-proof gear (Rentals are located at the park entrance) to hike one of the premier hikes of the park, the Narrows. You literally hike through the Virgin River, witnessing the narrowest parts of the Canyon. After the Riverside hike, we boarded the shuttle and got off at stop 6 to take a picture of Angels Landing (FUCK hiking that death trap – 14 people have died in the last 21 years), then stopped at stop 5 (Zion Lodge) to hike the Lower Emerald Pools Trail, another fairly easy hike. Once you complete the roundtrip hike you can head over to the café and sit outside and rehydrate with a much-needed beer.

Another hike that offers great views with little effort is the Weeping Rock Trail (Stop 7). While we were there, three of the stops weren’t accessible due to rock slides earlier in the year, which included the popular Observation Point :/ The Springdale shuttle runs from 8am to 8pm and the Zion shuttle runs from 7am to 7:15pm. Don’t miss the Zion shuttle because it’s a long 8 mile walk back to the park entrance. If you’re staying in Springdale eat dinner at The Bit and Spur, surprisingly the best enchiladas I’ve ever had. After dinner we walked down the street and ate ice cream at the Springdale Candy Company.

Third Day: Ate breakfast at Café Soleil and then drove along the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway at sunrise to check out the East side of the park. The best views of the trip were at the Canyon Overlook Trail, and it’s only a one-mile round-trip hike to an incredible viewpoint over the valley. Short drives from there worth checking out are Checkerboard Mesa and Belly of the Dragon. On the way back to Vegas is the Valley of the Fire State Park ($15 admission). Quite a few movies were filmed there such as Star Trek and Total Recall. The red sandstone formations that were formed over 150 million years ago are unlike anything that I have ever seen and appear to be on fire when reflecting the sun’s rays. Notable sites are the Fire Cave / Windstone Arch, Fire Wave Trailhead, Pastel (Pink) Canyon Trail, and the Beehives. Explored Fremont Street that night and had a beer at Banger Brewing. Gambled at El Cortez on the Old Strip and ate dinner at Carson Kitchen (Devil’s Eggs with crispy pancetta and caviar is a MUST).

Fourth Day: Breakfast at Eggslut in the Cosmopolitan and Hoover Dam tour (30 min drive from Vegas and opens at 9am). There were no tours that day but we could still walk around and take pictures ourselves. When they do have tours, it’s first come first serve and can only be purchased on sight. $10 to park and $10 admission to Visitor Center that has an observation deck. Hoover Dam Fun Fact: Originally named Boulder Dam, then changed to Hoover Dam after President Herbert Hoover and used interchangeably depending on your political leanings until the Hoover Dam name was made official in 1947.

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Where to Stay:

Excalibur on the Vegas Strip. Casino is nice, hotel rooms are outdated but is very cheap compared to the other hotels on the strip. Parking is only $15 per day.

Holiday Inn in Springdale for Zion. Super convenient. Located a couple of miles outside of the park. If you can’t find lodging in Springdale, try the town of Hurricane. Located about 30 minutes away and has more restaurant and lodging options.

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Transportation:

Rental Car for driving to/from the Grand Canyon and Zion. Shuttles for Springdale and Zion. Don’t Uber to Fremont from the Strip. At 2 different times on a Sunday an Uber to Fremont was $30 and $60. Plenty of cheap parking close to Fremont Street.

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Tips:

• Buy beer right outside of Zion to bring on your hikes.
• Bring a tire pressure gauge with you if you are renting a car. Not all car models display the tire pressure and we had to scramble to find a gas station to purchase one when the low tire pressure alert flashed on the dash board. Turned out to be a false alarm.
• October is a perfect time to visit Zion. 60-degree weather and not as crowded as the summer.
• Be aware of the time zone changes traveling between Vegas and Zion.

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Bucket List:

• Hike The Narrows
• Muster the courage to hike Angels Landing
• Observation Point
• Kanarra Falls (Tried to purchase tickets online a week before but they were already sold out)
• Bryce Canyon National Park

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Maps: