Here's my Canyon and Desert guide, adapted from an earlier posting.
I would highly recommend that you get this excellent book
Photographing the Southwest by Laurent Martres from Amazon
http://SPAM/3h869e
Lots of out of the way places to see. Some requiring some hiking. Some just a short walk from parking. It's well worth buying, but needs careful reading and planning to see if a particular spot justifies the hike, given time available. This book has lots of colour pictures, but be aware that other titles he does may have black & white pics. I bought a couple of others of his at the same time and found this. They had only a few photos as well. It wasn't mentioned in the Amazon Blurb and they lacked the impact of the above one. Consequently I barely looked at them.
Bryce is excellent. I've been there 3 times now. It has a series of viewpoints to travel between by car. Once I walked down in to it, and around the tall columns of rock, but when I was last there a couple of years ago I didn't seem to be able to find the track leading down from the car park. I don't know if they've changed things, or stopped it, or made it a guided thing now. Bryce makes for good sunrise/sunset shots, but you'll be ok pretty much most times of the day.
Accommodation - there's Ruby's Inn near the entrance which is a big tourist trap. But back down the road at the junction with the main road there's a perfectly adequate motel for half the price. More motels in Bryce town.
There's Red Canyon on the road to/from Bryce. It has rock formations similar to Bryce, on the roadside. I've never walked anywhere from the car, but the roadside rocks are very photogenic.
I've been through Zion a few times and have found that to be underwhelming. To be honest I've only driven through and stopped on the roadside. I haven't seen anything to tempt me further from the car.
In the above book - Mokey Dugway - a twisty road up a mountain and down. Excellent drive with fantastic views. Scenic area with parking at the top. You can navigate it on the way from Monument Valley to Arches. You can also take in Highway 95 - very scenic and worth a drive. I did part of it during daylight and part as it was getting dark and just had to re-plan the next day, go back and cover the bit I missed due to nightfall.
Cedar Breaks Utah - a mini-Bryce. Ok but not worth a big detour. Kodachrome Park and Snow Canyon - not worth it. Valley of Fire near Vegas - pretty good. It has some very interesting rocks full of holes.
Grand Canyon - the south side has lots of stopping areas. I haven't ever done it in the summer season, but I think at this time you have to park at a main car park and use a shuttle bus to get to some of the viewpoints. If you can't get accommodation in the GC vicinity then Page is feasible as a base, doing Antelope at the same time. The north side of the GC does not offer good value, timewise, and not worth doing. As for time of day for photos, late afternoon, sunset, as usual for the south side. Sunrise too, if you're up to it. Mather Point is good for both sunrise and sunset, and Hopi Point for sunsets. All these southside view points are fairly close together and you should get good pictures from any of them.
Regarding that glass bridge thing, I haven't heard a single glowing recommendation. Pricey, a long journey on a very pot-holed road, and they won't let you take your camera on it or take photos.
You can get GC helicopter flights from the GC airport. If you can decide on a specific date when you will be there then you can pre-book online - recommended in tourist season.
Monument Valley - make sure you drive down in to it from the parking area and take a couple of hours driving around the various formations. You can get guided tours which take you to normally inaccessible places.
Antelope Canyon, near Page. Must. It's a narrow, wavy, tall sandstone rock canyon, famous for the shaft of sunlight photos (midday-ish, and only lasts for a couple of minutes - you'll be lucky to catch it, given that there will be others there too) Do both upper and lower canyons, on opposite sides of the road. The lower gets overlooked but it's worth a look. You have to do a tiny amount of insignificant climbing, and down a staircase. The upper, which is the most popular, gets crowded in tourist season, but I have been once where I was the only one there. It was in March though. A tripod is useful, but if it's crowded it may be inconvenient. You can get by with handheld shots with a bit of skill. You can get tours from Page main street, or just drive to the entrance yourself, which will give you a bit more freedom.
There's also a horseshoe bend river not far away - on the same road - which is worth a look. I didn't quite get to see it as dark caught up with me. Again, in the book.
Cottonwood Canyon Road - need a 4x4 or SUV type of vehicle. It's not serious offroad stuff and I have seen saloon cars on it if you're confident and sure the weather will stay dry (and you had better be sure!). Dirt track/gravel road, scenic, exciting to drive and worth a go.
Gooseneck State Park - a series of horseshoe bends visible from a parking area. A quick stop, only one view, but nice.
Arches national park. A good place to spend a day. But don't forget Dead Horse Point State Park not far away, with a nice view of a spectacular horseshoe river bend, and Thelma and Louise Point (from the film). Yes, it was here, not the GC. There's also a road below (Potash Road) that you can drive. Again, a 4x4/SUV vehicle required.
On the way to DHP you can enter part of Canyonlands. It's a vast area and you'll only see part of it, but there's a really scenic viewpoint. If it's within your resources, then take a scenic flight with Redtail Aviation from Moab airport for spectacular views. I did one across Canyonlands down to and around Monument Valley, land for a short break, then back across Canyonlands via a different route. Spectacular scenery, sometimes like another planet. Nearly 3 hours for $230 (as of a couple of years ago, so it may have gone up a bit - or not). Well worth it.
Goblin State Park Utah - unusual and worth a look if you have time, but not worth busting your gut to get too.
I've driven through Yosemite a couple of times, stopping off along the way, but haven't any real insight in to any off the road places. Stayed at Tahoe for one night in the Californian side without the casinos. Ok but nothing outstanding. Stay away from Reno. Sleazy dump.
Death Valley. Interesting, and some scenic parts. Hot as hell in summer. 124F when I was there - in a September. There's a haunted motel you can stay in if you're up to it. I did. The seventh most haunted place in the US. I was the only person there. No staff, nobody. And I did hear a couple of things, but saw nothing.
Would you be stopping in Vegas perchance? If so, best elevated views are from the Eiffel Tower. Can get a bit crowded but the normal tourists soon drift away and you can get to your chosen photo spot easily. You can get GC flights from North LV airport too.
Hoover Dam. Spectacular, iconic, real wow factor.
At the entrance to your first national park, think about getting one of the annual passes that covers all national parks for a year. It was $80 when I was last there. Given that entry is normally something like 10 to 25$ it may save you money if you're going in a number of them. Prices for these national parks from my last trip Yosemite - 20, Arches - 10, Death Valley - 20, Bryce - 25, GC - 25, Canyonlands - 10. Bear in mind that this is for National parks - not State parks. Some of the parks may be State parks, but entry is usually cheap, like $5. Entry for all parks is per car, not per passenger.
That's all I can think of off the top of my head.
the GC, amazing place...go into the Canyon, Get in one of the lodges on the South Rim and go for a long, hot walk!
