Are you planning to explore Utah’s amazing National Parks? Then you will definitely find this Las Vegas to Bryce Canyon family friendly road trip itinerary useful. If you have not yet thought about visiting Bryce Canyon and surrounding natural wonders I hope this article will give you the inspiration to go. Las Vegas to Bryce Canyon road trip was one of our best and most memorable vacations and I am very happy to share all the planning details with you.
What is the best time to visit Bryce Canyon?
Every single National Park Ranger we talked to told us that the best time to visit Bryce Canyon National Park is in winter. Never is the Park more beautiful than in winter with the dusting of snow. There are no crowds. You can drive through the Park in your own car at your own pace rather than sticking to the shuttle schedule.
What is the weather in Bryce Canyon in winter?
Bryce Canyon’s hoodoos were formed due to a continuous process of freezing and thawing of water so in winter you can expect just that: warmer temperatures during the day (around 35 F) and much colder at night. Be prepared for snowy and icy weather conditions.
How to get to Bryce Canyon?
There are two major aviation hubs approximately the same distance from Bryce Canyon: Las Vegas and Salt Lake City. If you travel in winter, your air tickets will most likely be half as cheap if you fly to Las Vegas because Park City near Salt Lake City is a major skiing destination. Without traffic the drive from Las Vegas to Bryce Canyon is 4.5 hours.
Las Vegas to Bryce Canyon Day 1
Whichever way you look at it, you will be mostly driving from Las Vegas to Bryce Canyon on the first day. If this is the day you fly into Vegas and you are travelling in winter then the last leg of your trip will be in the dark along mountain roads (UT-20, UT-89 and UT-12). Be careful driving.
Where to stay in Bryce Canyon
I strongly suggest either of the two Best Western hotels in Bryce, UT in terms of convenient lodging near Bryce Canyon. Both hotels are located just a mile drive from the National Park’s entrance, have reasonable prices, free breakfasts and heated pools. See current deals on local hotels below.
Las Vegas to Bryce Canyon Day 2
If you are staying in Bryce, UT then I suggest spending this whole day in Bryce Canyon. Do the scenic drive, stop at all overlooks, check out the hikes that are open during your visit. If you are travelling in winter, some of the hikes may be closed and the ones open may be icy so National Park Service strongly recommends having traction devices attached to your shoes and I also personally recommend hiking poles.
You may not be able to hike a lot but you will be rewarded with the most magnificent views for sure. We hiked around Sunrise and Sunset Points as well as Inspiration Point. These are short hikes to see various overlooks. The Queen’s Garden trail, which is the most famous and kid friendly trail into the hoodoos, was very icy. We did not have traction devices with us so we did not venture out there but it will be a perfect trail any other season but winter.
If you catch a 20 minutes geology talk by a Park Ranger, it is totally worth your time. You will get to know why Bryce Canyon hoodoos are unique to this place and get formed here in such huge numbers.
Bryce Canyon surprised us with a small cafe and store that had a very decent food so you don’t need to worry about lunch, snacks and water in this National Park.
For the evening try to book a Dark Ranger Telescope Tour. It will be a huge hit with both kids and adults, I promise. In short, it is a 2 hours astrology experience consisting of viewing various night sky objects (stars, planets and even galaxies) through 3 super powerful telescopes and a subsequent indoor presentation.
Overall, Dark Ranger Telescope Tour is an amazing educational and fun experience which you can hardly get anywhere else in the U.S. because Southern Utah is one of very few places in the country with very little light pollution. It is amazing how many celestial objects you can see there even with a naked eye!
Las Vegas to Bryce Canyon Day 3
Bryce is located just a couple of miles away from scenic HW 12 which is also often called the “All American Road”. It is my second most favorite road in the U.S. after the Pacific Coast Highway.
One day you can drive East on UT-12 and explore this scenic road and a portion of HW 89 and another day you can drive West and enjoy Staircase Escalante National Monument.
On Day 3 of our Las Vegas to Bryce Canyon road trip we decided to drive East on UT-12. This portion of the scenic byway is famous for 2 main things:
1.Two gorgeous natural archers that span across the road
2. Red Canyon
You can hike several easy photogenic trails in Red Canyon if they are not completely covered with lots of snow, otherwise just enjoy the scenic drive and stop at various pull-out to take in the view. Both activities are absolutely FREE of charge.
After UT-12 we continued our trip South on HW 89. The biggest draw for us along HW 89 was Belly of the Dragon trail which is about 47 miles from Red Canyon. Just the name of it sounded very intriguing so we decided to check it out and we were so glad we did!
This is a trail that is also best hiked in winter. It goes through a long cave in the mountain, then you come out on the other end and walk in the bed of a dried/frozen creek (which may be flowing other times of the year and thus not walkable). The trail ends at a frozen waterfall. We were the only hikers there and it was an amazing experience. In my previous post you can find all the details about Belly of the Dragon hike.
Our original plan was to drive all the way to Kanab on HW 89 and stop at a couple of more attractions but it started snowing (there was a snow storm warning issued for the area) so we decided to turn back.
Generally, if you go to Bryce Canyon in winter you have to be very flexible and be able to change your plans in accordance with the weather.
Las Vegas to Bryce Canyon Day 4
On our fourth day in Bryce we were supposed to drive West on UT-12 but we had to cancel the trip because of the heavy snow. At that point we were happy that we chose Bryce as our base because Best Western Ruby’s Inn has a Winter Activities Center where you can have all the winter fun you need. We spent the day cross country skiing and ice skating.
If you are lucky there may be sleigh rides operating but it seems like there is no consistency with this activity. When we were there the director of the Winter Activities Center was on vacation. He (or she) did not leave any instructions for the staff whether they can run the sleigh rides. So they did not, which was a huge disappointment.
If the hotel management can pull their act together, your stay at a Best Western in Bryce, UT could be an amazing experience. But with this major hiccup (and some other minor hiccups as well) I can only rate our stay as average.
Las Vegas to Bryce Canyon Day 5
On Day 5 of our Las Vegas to Bryce Canyon road trip we decided to take a 2 nights detour to Capitol Reef National Park. It is a lesser known park compared to Bryce Canyon but no less beautiful. Weather permitting you can drive on UT-12 West all the way to Capitol Reef but that was not in the cards for us.
We took HW 89 route which is a major road and is always plowed first. The shortest drive to Capitol Reef is 110 miles but none of the roads leading to it are freeways so budget at least 3 hours for the journey.
In the end we were not disappointed that we took HW 89 because we stumbled upon the notorious outlaw, Butch Cassidy‘s, boyhood home – a historic site that is located right on HW 89. If you love Wild West history then you will like this attraction and it is FREE to visit.
We arrived in Torrey, UT, which is a gateway town to Capitol Reef, around lunch time on Christmas Day. We learnt the hard way that NOTHING is open in Torrey on Christmas. Not even a store at the gas station, not even a Subway so there is absolutely nowhere to eat the whole day and nowhere to buy food or drinks. We were lucky we had some fruit, eggs, cheese and chocolate with us which we rationed till the next morning.
It seems like generally in rural Utah no one is working on Christmas eve or Christmas day, even in the tourism sector. There was only 1 restaurant open in Bryce the whole time we were there and you can imagine the crowds of tourists trying to get a bite, all at the same time, on Christmas eve before the place was set to close at 7.30 pm.
But I digress. Nothing really detracts from the awesomeness of Capitol Reef. We headed to the National Park after 2 pm and since we only had a couple of hours before it would start getting dark, we decided to spend the little time we had on the scenic drive and the explorations of attractions right next to the drive. We left hiking trails for the next day.
If you only drive on UT-24 through the park your don’t pay entrance fee. The fee is charged only if you take Campground Road that later becomes Scenic Drive, which was closed when we were there due to inclement weather.
UT-24 has a lot of interesting scenic spots: Twin Rocks, Chimney Rock, Goosenecks Overlook, Capitol Dome and the Petroglyphs. To see all the petroglyphs you need to take a short walk on the boardwalk along the mountain wall. Just take your time to enjoy every scenic pull out and make tons of photos.
Las Vegas to Bryce Canyon Day 6
On Day 6 of our Las Vegas to Bryce Canyon trip we decided to spend our time hiking Capitol Reef National Park. We started the day with a stop at Visitor’s Center where you can find out current conditions of all trails in the Park. They also show a great 20 minutes long educational video about geology and history of Capitol Reef National Park.
There are two trails in the park that are perfect for families that we were planning to tackle that day: Grand Wash and Hickman Bridge, both of which originate from UT-24 road.
Grand Wash is roughly 2.2 miles one way trail going along a seasonal creek in between majestic mountain walls. It is wide and flat with no elevation gain so it is very easy even for the youngest of hikers. Kids will love multiple opportunities to climb in, on and behind the rocks and explore small caves en route.
Adults will enjoy scenic views all the way along the trail. It is such a relaxing and beautiful hike! It was spectacular in winter. In warmer seasons after the rain the creek may flood and parts of the trail may become impassable.
Definitely watch out for wildlife here. We saw fresh tracks a mountain lion and its prey.
Hickman Bridge trail is 1 mile one way that leads you to a beautiful natural bridge, aka Hickman Bridge. A couple of other longer trails brunch off from this one, which you can try too if you have time.
On the way we enjoyed amazing panoramic vistas. The trail has lots of ups and downs – totally different terrain compared to Grand Wash. It is probably best hiked in any other season but winter because portions of it become really icy. But if you have good hiking shoes, traction devices and hiking poles you should be fine in winter too. Below are my personal suggestions for a great winter hike either in Capitol Reef or Bryce Canyon National Parks:
Please, note that there are no food concessions in Capitol Reef National Park so take a packed lunch with you and water.
Where to stay in Capitol Reef National Park
There are several hotels in the town of Torrey, Utah, which is a gateway to Capitol Reef National Park. We stayed at the Noor. It is a small inexpensive hotel with no frills but it does have a free continental breakfast in the morning and Capitol Reef views out the bedroom window. Check the best current deals on Torrey hotels below.
Las Vegas to Bryce Canyon Day 7
On Day 7 of our amazing Southern Utah trip we were on our way back to Las Vegas. The drive from Capitol Reef National Park to Las Vegas is about 5 and a half hours. It is a long drive with kids so I suggest to make a stop on the way. If you have Jurassic Park fans and dinosaurs lovers in your family you absolutely have to stop at Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm located in St. George.
It is a must see museum that features real dinosaur tracks (hundreds of them!), bones, and fossils. Young paleontologists can participate in a site-wide scavenger hunt to discover prehistoric life and get a prize at the end.
One room in the museum is devoted to a unique exhibit: origami dinosaurs! They are amazing to look at but in addition to just observing, you can try creating an origami creature yourself (instructions provided).
After exploring the site kids can run off steam at a dinosaur themed playground.
Additional tips for your Las Vegas to Bryce Canyon trip
If you have time to spend in Las Vegas you will find the following articles helpful:
Family Friendly Shows in Las Vegas
Christmas Vacation in Las Vegas
10 Best Road Trips from Las Vegas
Other resources you will find useful for preparation for this trip:
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