Utah - Zion/Bryce/Moab

FC said:

Zion, Bryce, and Moab are places, or people you're thinking of traveling with?

TigerLilly said:

FC said:

Zion, Bryce, and Moab are places, or people you're thinking of traveling with?

If I find people with those names - I'll have no choice but to take them with me. ;-)

teneciah said:

Oh, and you can most definitely find people with those names in Utah.

I know this is an old thread, but we're thinking about combining a trip to Bryce and Zion and visiting my father-in-law who is about 2 hours east of Vegas, during April break.  Are 12 and 8 year olds the right age to appreciate those national parks?  Does anyone have hotel recommendations, in addition to Stone Canyon Inn, which looks great.  

Really depends on their attitude toward hiking and seeing natural wonders. My guess is that they would be more impressed by Bryce, but both parks are solid destinations. Bryce is especially interesting because it's different from most other parks (at least the ones I've been to), kind of other-worldy almost. 

yonti23 said:

I know this is an old thread, but we're thinking about combining a trip to Bryce and Zion and visiting my father-in-law who is about 2 hours east of Vegas, during April break.  Are 12 and 8 year olds the right age to appreciate those national parks?  Does anyone have hotel recommendations, in addition to Stone Canyon Inn, which looks great.  

You saw the Wave. I read it required a two day hike.

MelissaH said:
Hi TL,
Check out my newest album on Facebook. It was from my Zion/Antelope Canyon/Kanab/The Wave with a snowy day in Bryce trip.
Zion is my favorite park. I think though it's because it was also my very first National Park. I've been back three times since my first trip.
We've stayed in the cabins right in the park and it's nice to wake in the morning and be right in the park but I enjoyed staying right outside the park in Springdale Utah. We stayed at http://flanigans.com last time we were there. I liked it a lot. They had a buffet breakfast for I think $10 or so.
Springdale has many places to stay and they have lots of places to eat with many cute little shops too.

My favorite hikes in Zion are Observation Point, Angels Landing (although I go up to scouts peak not to the end because I'm too afraid of heights). The Emerald Pools are really nice too. All the hikes are great but those are my top three. I've never done the Narrows but that is supposed to be fantastic but it is closed at certain times when flooding could possibly occur.

Unfortunately when we went, the GOP shut the government down and they closed the national parks... But, it was still an amazing place to visit. In Bryce, we stayed at the Stone Canyon Inn, which is in Tropic, UT. There is nothing going on in Tropic - dead drive through town, but I was glad we stayed there because we really liked the accommodations. We stayed in the guest house, which is an actual house with a full kitchen, laundry, living area, grill and upstairs master bedroom and there was a murphy bed downstairs (it was just the two of us, so we didn't use that). It was nice to be able to get groceries (there's a store in town) and make our own breakfast. We even stayed in and grilled one night. They actually border Bryce Canyon so even during the shutdown, they drew out a little map for me to go behind their place and explore the canyon for the day. That area was a little rocky (tougher on the knees), but I literally had the canyon all to myself in a place that most people never see, which was really cool.

Although the national parks were closed there were still state-run parks that were open. We went mountain biking in one during the shutdown in Zion.

In Zion - we stayed at Zion Mountain Ranch - they have cabins with a little deck to watch the bison roam on by (literally - they're RIGHT in front of you). They have other animals at the ranch - horses, chickens, and a cow who thinks she's a bison. They also have a small kitchenette and bedroom. They also had bigger houses to stay in. Their restaurant was top notch. But, with kids, you may want to stay at a place that is an in-town location. There is NOTHING but a turkey farm around Zion Mountain Ranch. We liked it that way, but you may like to be in town to walk around a little and you do not want to drive through the switchbacks of Zion at night to get back to the ranch after being in town....trust me.

yonti23 said:

I know this is an old thread, but we're thinking about combining a trip to Bryce and Zion and visiting my father-in-law who is about 2 hours east of Vegas, during April break.  Are 12 and 8 year olds the right age to appreciate those national parks?  Does anyone have hotel recommendations, in addition to Stone Canyon Inn, which looks great.  

We visited Zion and the Grand Canyon back in 2012, with our then 9 year old.  He LOVED it!

At Zion we stayed in the park, in Zion Lodge (http://www.zionlodge.com/accommodations/zion-lodge).  We got a "cabin" with a fireplace.  It was wonderful.  It's located in the park and right near the shuttle stop for the park and some hiking trails.

Those should be great ages for introducing them to the National Parks.  My younger brother and I were about that age the first time we visited a National Park out West.  

We've stayed at the in-park lodges every time we've visited Bryce and Zion.  The biggest advantage at Bryce is that it is so close to the views--just a short walk back after you watch the sunset, for example. Also, there are fewer close by accommodations nearby at Bryce.  And, if your stays are short (1 or 2 nights) you can maximize your time in the parks.