How We Spent 4 Kid-free Days in Zion & Bryce Canyon

Every year, Mr. RFL and I try to get away for at least one kid-free vacation (usually around our anniversary). Once again, the pandemic kept us closer to home this year. Instead of something fancy and far away, we dusted off our Annual National Park passes from last year’s trip and opted for a four-night road trip to Bryce Canyon and Zion Canyon National Parks.  

Since we don’t intend to live in Arizona forever, we’re trying to get to as many of these wondrous places as we can while they’re still within driving distance. Plus, I’ll take a good road trip over the hassle of flying any day. It allows for more spontaneity and adventure.

Just like last year, this trip was good for the soul and our relationship. Spending a few days in nature always recharges me. With a little planning and strategy, these National Parks are both easy to get to and enjoy. Bryce Canyon was our favorite, but we’d highly recommend both!

Four Nights and $1,543 in Bryce & Zion Canyon National Parks

First off, let me say that we lucked out on the weather for this trip. Monsoon activity pounded both parks (and our home) during the week before our trip. The weather forecast also had rain or storms for every day of our trip, so my expectations were low. Fortunately, it hardly rained and we only suffered a few minor inconveniences on the trip due to the weather.

Day 1 – Road Trip!

Bryce canyon is a 7-hour drive from our home in Arizona.

We strategically decided to visit Bryce Canyon first, since we were staying at the modest accommodations within the park for our two nights there. Whereas, for our two nights in Zion, we booked a suite at a boutique hotel.

Bryce Canyon Lodge is basic and a bit run down, but it has an unbeatable location. We were just steps from the canyon rim! Additionally there is very limited internet and cell service within the park. That said, I would absolutely stay there again for the convenience and the forced unplugging from life. However, this is why we saved the nicer hotel for the second part of the trip.

Like all our road trips, we left the house early in the morning, with a cooler full of PB&J sandwiches, snacks, waters, and some adult beverages to enjoy at our destination. Road trips have also become one of the rare times we treat ourselves to Starbucks these days.

Arriving at Bryce Canyon

We had an uneventful drive and arrived at Bryce Canyon around 6pm, just after afternoon thunderstorms had swept through. Because we were staying in the park, we dropped our things off and wandered over to the rim (2 min walk) to stretch our legs and enjoy the views between Sunrise and Sunset point. This is the most popular 0.5 mile section of the rim within the park.

Afterwards we picked up a couple burgers from the Lodge restaurant, which were delicious, albeit pretty expensive. Because of COVID they were only providing food for takeout service. So, we brought dinner back to our balcony before heading back out to the rim to catch sunset.

The lack of internet or reliable cell service within the park was frustrating at first. However, it ended up being good for us. Like most people, we spend way too much time on our devices or social media, so it was nice to truly disconnect for a couple days.  

Day 2 – Exploring Bryce Canyon

We set an alarm to walk out to the canyon rim just before sunrise. There were only a few other people out there, waiting for the day to begin. Despite a moderate layer of clouds blocking the sun’s splendor, the sky was still beautiful.

From there, we set out on a hike along the southern portion of the Rim Trail to Bryce Point, one of the most iconic viewpoints within the park. The trail is a couple miles long, but not very difficult. It follows the canyon rim, so the views along the hike are nonstop.

Starting early in the day is key to enjoying National Parks, including this one. We only saw a few people despite the trail’s popularity.

From Bryce Point, we took the free shuttle back to the Lodge, where we had coffee and breakfast on our balcony before setting out for another hike.

Unfortunately, storms from the previous week had washed out several sections of trail within the main amphitheater, so we were unable to hike some of the most popular trails in canyon such, as the Navajo Loop and Queens Garden. I remember hiking portions of these trails when I was a kid and feeling awestruck while walking beside the hoodoos.

Because our options were limited, and more storms were on the forecast, we decided to hike more of the Rim Trail, heading North this time. The views were just as stunning, but this trail was even more secluded (despite the fact that the main canyon viewing areas were more crowded by this time of day). A couple hours of hiking and more gorgeous views.

The rest of the afternoon was spent lounging and driving the 18-mile scenic drive through the park, exploring the pull-off viewpoints along the way.  

#1 Tip for visiting Bryce National Park

Just go! Bryce Canyon is a pretty small national park compared to others in the system, but it’s stunning! There are hiking trails for all fitness levels, and we like that it was far less crowded than our trip to Arches National Park last year. Obviously, early morning starts will help to minimize the crowds. In my opinion, Bryce Canyon is one of the most underrated National Parks.

Day 3 – One more hike, and then on to Zion

We woke up for the sunrise again. This time, greeted with fewer clouds and a beautiful sunrise over the canyon. I included a photo in last week’s post.

Although the main amphitheater trails were still closed, we wanted to go down into the canyon, so decided to hike the less popular Tower Bridge trail into the depths of the canyon. The 3-mile trail was moderate, but secluded and beautiful. We didn’t see a single soul on our way down, and only a couple on our hike back out of the canyon. The views changed as we walked down into the canyon, going from walls of hoodoos, to rolling orange sand dunes, to pine trees and sheer cliff walls as we walked along the riverbed. It ended up being one of our favorite hikes of the entire trip.

After some breakfast and cleaning up, we headed off to Zion National Park.

Arriving in Springdale, UT

We arrived in Springdale just as an afternoon thunderstorm was ending and checked into our suite at the Cable Mountain Lodge. The hotel was actually nicer and more convenient than I had expected, located a 2 min walk from the pedestrian entrance to Zion National Park in a little village with everyone thing you would need within a 2 min walk: brew pub, coffee shop, grocery store, camping gear, and gift shop. We also had a great view of the river and cliffs from our living room window and front porch.

We dropped off our things and headed next door to the Zion Canyon Brew Pub for an early dinner and some craft beers. If you read this blog regularly, you know that we’re big craft beer fans. If there’s a brewery nearby, you can be sure that we’re going to check it out. This brewery had a couple really nice sours, perfect for the summer heat in a hiking town.  

Day 4 – Exploring Zion Canyon National Park

Since we’d heard rumors of unbearable crowds at Zion National Park, we once again set out at sunrise. You can’t drive within the park anymore, but there’s a free shuttle to get into and around the park which starts at 6am. We walked over at 6:20am, and hopped right onto a shuttle with no wait.

We got off the shuttle at the Zion Lodge, near the trailhead for the Emerald Pool hikes. No one else got off at our stop as the shuttle continued onward. It was almost eerie walking across the main green space. There wasn’t a single person in sight! From the bus stop to the trailhead, we saw only a few deer, who according to signs in the park, like to fight humans.  

We spent a couple hours hiking the three Emerald Pool trails. The upper pool is the most challenging to get to, but also the most scenic of the three.   

Once we got back down to the green, there were a few more people around, but it was still pretty empty. We picked up a few coffees from the café and sat on a bench to eat our breakfast (another PB sandwich, of course) while enjoying the views.

After breakfast, we hiked through the Grotto, and took the shuttle over to the Riverwalk trail, which is the entrance point for hiking Zion’s famous Narrows. By 11:00am, the buses were packed, the trails were packed, and it was a whole lot less enjoyable than it had been just a few hours earlier.

We completed the Riverwalk, but it felt more like we were cows being herded than hikers trying to enjoy nature. Because of the crowds and the intensifying heat, we headed back to the hotel to shower and relax before a nice dinner out.

Eating out on vacation…

One of the ways we save money when we travel is by eating only one big meal out most days. For our fancy dinner, we walked over to the Spotted Dog Café a family-owned restaurant in Springdale with a farm-to-table vibe. Although it was our most expensive meal of the trip, it was also delicious. Because we had brought a bottle of wine from home, we skipped the alcohol and just ordered two entrees and a dessert.   

After our food settled a bit, we changed and walked back over to Zion to stroll along the river on the paved Par’us Trail as the sun set behind the mountains.  

# Tip for visiting Zion National Park

Get there early! I promise you, it’s so worth it to be able to explore Zion in peace and quiet… the way nature is meant to be experienced. Zion is one of the most heavily visited National Parks, so crowds are guaranteed. If you’re planning to do the Angel’s Landing or Narrows hikes, do those first since they are some of the more popular trails that are currently open. The Emerald Pools trails also get very busy with families later in the day as well.

How much we spent on our four-night road trip to Bryce Canyon and Zion Canyon National Parks

Overall, the cost of our trip was pretty reasonable at $386 per night, and well worth it to us. Could we have done the trip cheaper? Absolutely! However, the pandemic has drastically reduced our traveling over the past two years, so we were happy to splurge on accommodations to improve our experience.  

Here’s the breakdown of how we spent $1,543 at Bryce Canyon and Zion Canyon National Parks.

That’s how we spent our four-night and $1,543 road trip to Bryce and Zion Canyon National Parks.

Our next trip isn’t until October, when we’re planning to head to the Great Smokey Mountains for a family wedding & reunion. Unfortunately, due to the distance, flying is the only reasonable option, so hopefully the current pandemic surge settles down by then. We’ll keep an eye on things as the dates get closer.

You can find details for the rest of our July expenses here. 

Where’s your next trip going to be?

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