The order might depend on the time you get flights. If you get into Vegas by noon, you could be at the south rim before night and get to do some hiking and see sunset there. I would do two nights there, the kids could have a day for hiking and the Jr. Ranger program and then spend a morning for more hiking etc and head for Bryce for a 2 or 3 days and then Zion for 2 or 3 days.

If you get into Vegas later, do the loop the other way as Zion is only 3 hours from Vegas.

The real deciding factor might be where you can get the lodging you want.

Did you look into flying in to SLC? You could go by way of Price (prehistoric museum) down to Goblin Valley for an hour or two and then spend the night at Torrey. If the weather is good, stop briefly to see the cliff drawings in Capitol Reef along Rt. 24.
Head the next day over Rt. 12 which is amazing. 2 days at Bryce should be enough. After Bryce the choice is yours as to whether to go to Zion or the Grand Canyon (north or south rim).
If you stay with the Las Vegas option, be sure to stop by Hoover Dam while on the way to the south rim GC.

I really don't think the order matters in the overall scheme of things. Plan it depending on where you get your lodging and as stated your time of arrival in LV. The only obvious thing is that if you go to the South Rim you'll want to do Zion and Bryce back to back. If you do the North Rim then you really can head to any of them first, last or middle.


While three days will be great for Zion and Grand Canyon I think it might be a bit much for Bryce. If you'll be heading to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon (or maybe even if you aren't) then consider a day for Page where you can visit the Glen Canyon dam, and Antelope Canyon.
Be sure to stop at the Big Water Visitors Center just north of Page for a great presentation on dinosaurs.

I wouldn't feel too sad about either Goblin Valley or Monument Valley. One place that might replace Goblin Valley is the Paria Toadstools not too far from Kanab. It is a short walk to some fun little formations.




And Monument Valley is mostly about purely scenic vistas which kids have a much harder time enjoying. So no big loss in my book.

I would consider - depending on your energy level - taking a day from Bryce - and spend one more at the Grand Canyon - and then doing a day trip from the South Rim over to Monument Valley - a two and a half hour trip.

If you left early - you could take in the sunrise on the east side of the GC Rim, and also make at least a short stop at the Navajo National Monument (a half hour west of Kayenta) - and see the Cliff Dwellings there. http://www.nps.gov/nava/index.htm

I suggest you leave it at at three days each and then one of the days from Bryce do a day trip to Calf Creek Falls. That way if you fill up all your time at Bryce you can just skip it but if you find you have the time it's a slightly different feeling experience than the National Parks. It was something we had not planned to do (were planned Willis Creek but the thunderstorm threat that day was too high so the ranger advised us to do Calf Creek Falls instead) but that was a highlight. I think it was close to three miles (each way) but the scenery was breathtaking and the falls magnificent. And in fact, if you get up early and get good weather you could probably do both Calf Creek Falls and Willis Creek in one day trip from your lodging at Bryce. http://www.pbase.com/annforcier/image/137817750

With 10 nights, you could easily stick with your original plan.
What do you plan on doing at each place. That will determine how much time you need at each.
Arches is probably my favorite park of Utah. Monument Valley would be my least favorite. I just love Goblin Valley-in the land of unusual rocks-this place is the most unusual.

It just depends on what you are doing. For me 1 night would be more than enough at Grand Canyon unless you are doing some serious hiking down into it. I think 2 days for Zion and 1 full day at Bryce. Again, there are miles of hiking/horse riding/etc to do, so you could certainly spend more time at each.

If you did decide to stay near Kanab area, you should try to hike The Wave. Getting a permit is the trick--only 10/20 per day allowed.

I hadn't realized how many places you wanted to go when you mentioned the Grand Circle trip on your other thread about lodging.

You listed 9 places to visit in 7-10 days. Sure, you could double up some days but you are right to cut back on the number of parks and limit your driving. However, I think you've gone a bit too far in the other direction and given yourself too much time.

Generally, one night at the Grand Canyon is enough unless you are doing a lot of hiking. Same goes for Bryce, although Bryce is probably a bit more hiker friendly than the Grand Canyon. But considering that you have kids and want them to do ranger programs and hike, you can make it work for longer than a day.

Like others have said, the order is dependent on flight times (and I would assume since you're coming from Chicago and planning way in advance that you can get any flight time you want). It's also dependent on the exact days you are travelling - like I said before, Memorial Day weekend is awful at Zion. Of course it would be crowded at the Grand Canyon as well, but somehow I think that wouldn't be as bad since it is so much bigger than Zion. So I'd base my order on flight times and avoiding Zion over Memorial Day.

My itinerary would be (assuming you are starting on Memorial Day weekend for 10 days):
Day 1: Arrive in Vegas in the AM, drive to Grand Canyon South Rim with a stop at Hoover Dam along the way
Day 2: some hiking/ranger programs at South Rim, exit park via East entrance and drive to Page, get the kids in the water at Lake Powell
Day 3: float trip on the Colorado River in the AM, drive to Grand Canyon North Rim and hike/sightsee/programs
Day 4: North Rim activities
Day 5: drive to Bryce in the AM, hike/horseback rides/ranger programs
Day 6: Bryce and/or Calf Creek Falls/Willis Creek
Day 7: Drive to Zion in the AM, stay there for 3 nights (day 7,8,9)
Day 10: return to Vegas for flight, stop at Snow Canyon or Valley of Fire on the way back

Altogether, 1 night at South Rim, one in Page, 2 at North Rim, 2 at Bryce and 3 at Zion.

I think this would balance out your desire to have your kids be in park doing nature things, with their desire to spend time at the pool. Instead of jumping in a hotel pool in Page, go to Lake Powell and do the float trip - that would be a good compromise between the pool and nature. If you can do the Narrows at Zion, they'll be walking in water for that so again, a compromise. Also, they could go tubing in the Virgin River just outside Zion. The southwest is dry - for kids that love hotel pools, you're going to have to work to make sure they get some water time without sitting at the hotel every day.

I'm thinking if you want to keep the kids happy and engaged, you'll want to change things up every couple days or they'll be bored, so rather than 10 days in 3 locations I added a few more things and moved you around a bit more. But the total amount of driving isn't much more than if you just stuck with Bryce/Zion/GC.

Between the North Rim and Bryce is Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, you could stop there and let them run around on the dunes or rent some dune buggies (not sure on an age limit). For something different, I'd think about doing a horse or mule ride in Bryce. The North Rim and Bryce would have the best views of the night sky - there's a new moon a few days after Memorial Day so that would be perfect for viewing the stars.

I'm with spiro in that with 10 days you can do it all.

I'm also with isabel. From Bryce you can go to Willis Creek and Lower Calf Creek Falls. With this option I would also add Devil's Garden in Escalante which I consider a somewhat grownup version of Goblin Valley and is right in the middle of this area.

You can see my photos of most of these places at:

www.travelwalks.com

Select Utah trips 2007, 2008 & 2010.

Day 1
Vegas to Grand Canyon(buy a National Park Pass--good for 1 year). See views, hike the rim a bit. Consider hiking down into the canyon a short distance. See sunset. Overnight @ Bright Angel Cabins or other.

Day 2
See Sunrise, Have Breakfast @ El Tovar
Head to Monument Valley and overnight there. Consider doing a tour with a guide to get the most out of it. This is on Navajo land and is really a different world, IMOP. This is another pretty place for sunrises and sunsets

Day 3
Drive to Moab. On the way see-Goosenecks of the San Juan, Moki Dugway, Natural Bridges National Monument-specifically do the hike down and stand directly under Sipapu Bridge (amazing!!)
Picnic Lunch along the way somewhere
Overnight in Moab. I would imagine you would arrive in time to either Hike to Delicate Arch at Sunset(almost everyone will disagree with me on this, but I like Delicate better first thing in the morning)or to Landscape Arch.
Overnight in Moab somewhere with a swimming pool, since that seems to be a common theme from everyone(not me).

Day 4
See more of Arches National Park
Consider seeing Deadhorse Point-it is a very similar look as that of the Grand Canyon though.
www.deserthighlights.com is my all time favorite adventure. I dont know how adventurous you kids are. This is very very safe and totally "the bomb"!!!! overnight in Moab

Day 5
Goblin Valley
Little Wildhorse Canyon (provided no rain is in the forecast)See the very large orchards in Capitol Reef. If fruit is in season, then you can pick and eat for free(I don't know when cherries start- they are the first thing) See Petroglyphs. Maybe do a short hike here somewhere. Overnight in Torrey @ Austin's Chuckwagon. They have a pool too.

Day 6
Have pie in the picnic area(almost always deer here)in Capitol Reef. Purchase your pie in The Gifford House(a 2 minute walk from the picnic area). Pie is made from fruit from the Orchards
Drive HWY 12(isn's scary at all, in my book). I personally wouldnt hike to Calf Creek again, but it is nice. The water is butt kickin cold. Way to cold for me to get in. Perhaps stop at Devils Garden in Escalante. This is about 10 miles down a very nice dirt road). Overnight @ Bryce

Day 7
Bryce
Hike Queens Garden/Navajo Loop
perhaps do a horseback tour too
perhaps do Willis Creek Slot Canyon(could do day 6)
Overnight @ Bryce

Day 8 and 9
Zion National Park
Angels Landing, Rent what equipment you might need for The Narrows at Zion Adventure Co.
Have on lunch out under the big tree in front of the lodge
Overnight in Zion

Day 10 Back to Vegas


This still leave one extra day for something else and traveling.
You might consider a helicopter tour @ the Grand Canyon. You might consider a small airplane tour at Moab. The airplane would be much less expensive and much much long of a flight. I would do the one hour tour with www.slickrockair.com. Ask for the guy that use to be the Chief park ranger @ Canyonlands. He is now retired, but still does some flight tours with them.

oops
Day 1 should include a short visit at Hoover Dam

Spiro - I love it! This is what my original itinerary looked like - but I wasn't sure if I was trying to cram too much into it. Thank you!

There are ranger led talks and programs in the evening at the park lodges. If you decide to stay in any of the parks, these are nice to attend.

Although your children perhaps cannot imagine a vacation without a pool or tv, part of the national park experience is just that.. enjoying nature, seeing the deer come out in the evening on the lawn in front of the lodge at Zion, seeing the night sky. So you may want to consider a stay in the park at one of the three parks and the more conventional motel/hotel at your other stops.

its too early for the spring programs but check back on each park site, and see what ranger programs will be available on the days you will be there.

Will there be more than one adult driver?
Check out the mileage and see what makes you comfortable, and then determine how many stops you want to make before reaching your lodging each day.

I am sure you and your family will have a trip to remember

maxima mention ranger talks.

Bryce has one of the very best. They provide huge telescopes to look through. Be sure and get out in Utah in a couple of places to see the night sky/stars. Very amazing. I think Bryce calls their nightly program Night Rangers or something like that.

Spiro's plan looks good to me too. Do make sure day 1 does not include the flight from Chicago unless it gets in very early.

The trip could be done in the opposite direction too, starting by going to Zion then Bryce etc. If you get into Vegas by early afternoon you could easily get to Zion before dark.

You do want to limit driving after dark, both because many of the roads are curvy, hilly and have random animals crossing them and because you will miss some of the spectacular scenery along the way.

Have a great trip!

I think avoiding Zion at Memorial Day weekend would determine which direction I went. I think the rest of the parks might be busy, but we'eve experienced all of them, but Zion over Memorial Day (iv'e been to Arches twice on that weekend) and never really thought much about the crowds.

Oh my goodness, as a mom I totally applaud your idea to do LESS on VACATION!!!!! There is just no way I would do all that "get up early", drive here for a day, then there for a day, and tell the kids this is the park system. um no. How much wine do you want to have to drink to make it through this vacation? Simplify, make it EASY.

1. Stay on the west side of the state--GC, Zion, Bryce.

2. Don't do giant all day outings--go for half day modules you can mix and match. That way you can always regroup and go on if someone has a melt down.

3. Doing more in one park is more restful for you and your kids.

So--try 3 days in GC, 2-3 days in Zion and 1-2 days in Bryce.

If you need to fill in a day or so, you can go to Cedar Breaks near Bryce/Zion or hike Red Canyon outside of Bryce. There is also an awesome place (state park) just outside of Vegas that I cannot name right now. The Hoover Dam is really cool--stop there. If you go through Kanab from GC to Zion, go to the film museum there. There are lots of little things that you could plug into the equation if you needed to do so. I plan a basic itinerary and keep those other things in my back pocket.

Again, this is vacation, not a sprint. And, if you are like most moms, this isn't really a vacation for you--its more of a business trip You still have to organize everybody and keep them going and fed and happy etc. Why make more work for yourself??

And then come back next year and do Moab/Arches etc.

Good chance Cedar Breaks might not be open. It was closed the year we were(2011) there for Memorial(was an unusually high snow year). I don't think it opened until much later in June or even July.

It just depends on what you are going to do at each place. That will determine how much time you stay there. I am a firm believer that the longer one stays the more one gets out of the place.
Your going to really need to figure out what hikes, horse rides, excurions, etc. For instance, you could probably get enough of Bryce just doing Navajo Loop/Queens Garden hikes(4 hours or so). But, you could do fairyland loop, ride horse, peekaboo loop, several other trails.

At Zion, most people consider Angels Landing and The Narrows to be "not to miss" major major (in most people Top Ten dayhikes in the US book). You could do those in a single hard day. But, Emerald Pool Trail and Canyon Overlook Trails are great too. There is also horse riding there, tubing the Virgin River, back county rv tours(outside the park). Capitol Reef, Zion, and Arches/Canyonlands all have outfitters for canyoneering. Moab has enough to keep you busy there for several days. Even military hummer ride that we did.

So, it just depends on what you want to do at each place. I am not one that like to pack up each morning either, but we normally do more of this in the parks. Have done it several times in Utah, Yellowstone, Olympic National Park, Oregon, etc.
One thing on the plus side, is that most of the driving is very scenic and not boring at all.
But, as Stanton says, you could easily cut it in half.
The things I would consider the least inviting to me(IMOP), is Monument Valley and Cap Reef. Some people love Cap Reef because there are very few people there. Monument Valley is awesome, but I think the formations in Arches are just as good and it has a lot more to offer besides. Your going right thru Cap Reef anyway, so stop there for at least a little bit.
I really think one day is enough for Grand Canyon, unless you really want to do some hiking down into it.

I have no idea how your kids are/behaved. I have ten year old twin neighbor boys that I spend some time with. Knowing them pretty well, I think they would like a fast trip or a more relaxing one. I think either way is good.

The funny thing is nobody's even mentioned a bunch of other places in the area, that just goes to show you how much there is to do and how it's impossible to see/do everything in one trip.

Slide Rock State Park near Sedona would be perfect for your family. Flagstaff has a major observatory for looking at the night sky, that would be cool to get an educational experience on the same trip that you just go outside at Bryce to see the stars. Sunset Crater, Wupatki and Walnut Canyon are all near Flagstaff. There's ghost towns, rock art/petroglyphs and dinosaur tracks by Moab (and elsewhere). The list could go on and on.

You really just have to decide how much you want to see, and how much you want to experience. That's the difference for me, whether to see a lot or have a more in-depth experience kind of trip. I will say the more research you do and more questions you ask, the more places you'll discover that you want to visit until it gets completely overwhelming. So at some point you just have to sit back and ask yourself what you want out of the trip, then it'll be clear which path you want to take.

Star gazing at Bryce is not to be missed.

Be sure to get hot dogs, fries and soft serve ice cream to eat sitting on the lawn under the big tree at the Zion Lodge. I loved doing that almost as much as hiking the trails there.