Canyonlands around Las Vegas

D

danski

Suspended / Banned
Messages
470
Name
Dan
Edit My Images
Yes
Just found out that I've got a work conference in Las Vegas at the start of May. I've been to Vegas quite a few times now, so no real need for photography tips for there, but I'm planning to add a week or so on to the end of the conference and take a trip around Canyonlands

Thinking at the moment, but very open to suggestions:

- Vegas to Zion
- Zion to Bryce Canyon
- Bryce Canyon to Monument Valley
- Monument Valley to Page/Antelope Canyon
- Antelope Canyon to Grand Canyon
- Grand Canyon back to Vegas

Can anyone give me any suggestions on what I might have missed out as well as things to shoot in each location?

Thanks as always
 
Im going to las vegas in june and i will be looking at zion or bryce to visit. but that said what you have there looks a good trip
 
I'd say a week isn't really long enough to do justice to all those locations.

For that length of time I might recommend a loop from Zion to Bryce then down to Page before visiting the Grand Canyon on the way back. Didn't visit it myself but the area between Bryce and Page looks very interesting with lots of unique formations.

An alternative might me to head right up to Moab, theres probably more to see in one location there than anywhere else, Arches and Canyonlands(more impressive/photogenic than the grand canyon for me) NP's plus the drive further up the Colorando towards the Castle Valley and if the road is open looping back to Moab though the La Sal mountains.
 
Last edited:
I hadn't thought about Moab - doing a quick itinerary on Google Maps it looks like it would only be an extra 100 miles on the overall trip to do this. 1,200 miles in a week is pretty doable as it would only really be around 200 miles / 4 hrs driving per day. I could have sunrise and sunset at each main 'destination' (Zion, Bryce, Moab, Monument, Page, Grand Canyon). I'd mainly be visiting each location for photography purposes, rather than trekking out into the wilderness.

Alternatively, if I were to limit it to Zion, Bryce, Page , GC then back to Vegas, that would only be 800 miles, so just over 100 miles a day and no more than a couple of hours between destinations.

I assume that there is accommodation near most of these places?
 
I'd go with the lower mileage option! Spend less time in the car are more time enjoying each location!
 
Certainly recommend Zion. Fantastic place.
 
danski said:
I hadn't thought about Moab - doing a quick itinerary on Google Maps it looks like it would only be an extra 100 miles on the overall trip to do this. 1,200 miles in a week is pretty doable as it would only really be around 200 miles / 4 hrs driving per day. I could have sunrise and sunset at each main 'destination' (Zion, Bryce, Moab, Monument, Page, Grand Canyon). I'd mainly be visiting each location for photography purposes, rather than trekking out into the wilderness.

Alternatively, if I were to limit it to Zion, Bryce, Page , GC then back to Vegas, that would only be 800 miles, so just over 100 miles a day and no more than a couple of hours between destinations.

I assume that there is accommodation near most of these places?
Click to expand...

In my experience a lot of the best locations actually took a good amount of walking or at least driving/bus catching within the park plus the best light isn't nesserally always at sunset/sunrise, especially given the natural colour of the area. Personally I think you'd get the most out of them spending a couple of nights at each location giving you a full day at each. Plus of course theres a lot to see when driving between them, you could easily spend most of the day doing that stopping off at viewpoints.

In a week the "small loop" crossing the Colorado at Page does seem more doable to me than the "big loop" crossing it at Moab if you wanted to spend time at each location.

In terms of accommodation, Zion has a lodge in the park and a town right outside(Springdale) with a good number of motels, Bryce has a lodge and a big Motel(Ruby's) right outside plus a town(tropic) about 10 miles away, Page has plenty of motels/hotels, the Grand Canyon has lots of park lodges including some less expensive ones and a few motels several miles down the road from the park. I'd recommend booking any of the park lodges if you want to use them although personally I just booked everything in advance to save the hassle.
 
Last edited:
Hi Dan

Having been to all of these places except Antelope Canyon, alebit over the course of two 3 week holidays, my advice would be to shorten your list and spend longer at each place. You quote "only 200 miles a day" but if you commit to that or more every day I think you will at some point regret not being able to stop or stay longer in one place.

At the start of May I guess you will be getting up very early to catch the sunrise??

It's a fabulous area to visit, I'll be spending our kids inheritance as soon as I retire on a megga road trip round this part of the world.

There has been lots of advice on here over the years about visiting this area, just try searching any of the places you are thinking about, like this

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/us-national-parks.496886/#post-5713360

Have a great time

David
 
I visited this area a few years ago. I covered slightly less ground than your initial suggestion (didn't go to Monument Valley). Our holiday lasted 17 days, and we still thought it should have been longer to really appreciate the area. I think you're bring far, far too ambitious, personally. All you're really giving yourself time to do is rock up to the most popular viewpoint every day with a crowd of other photographers at sunset or sunrise, and take exactly the same pictures as all the rest of them.

Maybe that's what floats your boat. But if you've never visited these locations before, you won't want to move on so quickly. It's impossible to describe in words how awesome this area is, especially Grand Canyon. We spent a whole day pottering around South Rim, on foot and on the NPS shuttle bus, and the way the view changes around every headland is just fascinating.

My recommendation is to limit yourself to a smaller number of overnight stop destinations, and spend 2 nights at each. That gives you a bit of time to explore each location. You can also flex it to spend a little more or less time on any particular place depending on whether you drive in the morning or afternoon.

My other recommendation is to plan your accommodation ASAP and work the trip around that. There really isn't very much in some of these places and it fills up. Stitch together a draft itinerary, check the availability of accommodation, and iterate until you get a solution that fits together for the whole trip.
 
I did a similar trip a few years ago over two weeks and it wasn't long enough. If I did it again I'd allow three weeks.
If I only had 1 week I'd skip Zion, Bryce and Antelope and spend 3 or 4 days in Moab. From there you've got Canyonlands Park, Dead Horse Point and Arches National Park, which offer endless photo opportunities. It's worth staying at the hotel overlooking Monument Valley, and do 2 nights at the Grand Canyon South Rim - you can spend a full day exploring the south rim road on the shuttle bus.
Before you book anything buy this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Photographi...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1394266527&sr=1-1

If you're not careful it will feel like you've spent the whole week driving and nothing else. You'll also leave a lot of locations disappointed because you didn't get the shots you hoped for, due to lack of time, or weather.
 
You want to leave plenty of time and allow for delays, bad weather, retakes and distractions. Perhaps concentrate closer on one area and then try something else if you have more time left. All parks are equally amazing, but bear in mind that weather and traffic may not always play the ball.
 
thanks to all for your guidance. It does make sense to spend more time in fewer places - in the past I've kind of sailed through and not managed to appreciate the place as much as maybe I should have, even if I have managed to get some pretty spectacular shots.

I've been to the Grand Canyon before, albeit 20 years ago when I wasn't as into photography. For me, Antelope Canyon is a must. Having seen some of Peter Lik's and Rodney Lough Jr's shots from there, it's something I'm very keen to see and photo. From what I've seen so far, both Zion & Bryce look like places I'd be happy to sail through, so maybe it's better to plan to spend a little more time in Moab and allow 2 nights in Page for Antelope Canyon & the Horse shoe.

How much will the weather really be an issue in mid-May? The times I've been to Vegas around that time of year it's been nothing more than blue skys and very hot temperatures?!?!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top