The Ultimate Road Trip: Zion, Bryce Canyon, Antelope Canyon/Lake Powell
Southern Utah and Northern Arizona are home to some of the most iconic spots in the country – Zion, Bryce Canyon, Antelope Canyon, and Sedona. They’re all just a few hours apart, meaning you see rolling mountains of bright red rocks and breathtaking views everywhere you go. We recently packed four of these amazing spots (Zion, Bryce, Antelope, and Lake Powell) into a four-day road trip that was equal parts adventurous and relaxing. If you’re looking for the ultimate desert escape, this is the exact itinerary I’d recommend to anyone.
How to Get to Southern Utah: Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) + A Rental Car
The easiest way to get to Zion National Park is going to be to fly into Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. Here you’ll pick up a rental car and hit the road towards Zion National Park. The drive is about 3 hours from the airport but it’s fairly easy as you stay on one main freeway nearly the whole way. If possible, depending on where you are flying in from, I highly recommend getting in as early as possible to make the most of this first day. Note: When you pass the Utah border, you will move from PST to MST which is one hour ahead.
Where to Stay: Kanab, Utah
We wanted one home base for the duration of the trip so we didn’t have to keep packing up or needing to embark on drives >2 hours during our trip outside of the to/from LAS airport journey. Kanab, Utah was the perfect destination for this. This western town has everything you could need – great restaurants, small business shops, groceries, and a beautiful backdrop of red rock mountains all around. Kanab sits right in the middle of all three parks – Zion, Bryce, and Antelope Canyon – meaning you will only need to drive up to 90 minutes from your Air BnB to each of these places each day. It’s also much more affordable than the more touristy options right outside these national parks.
Some Key Tips
Plan your visit for the Shoulder Seasons
Given these national parks are all in the desert, it can get really hot in the Summer months. This is also when tourism peaks where I’ve seen videos of Disneyland-like crowds trying to catch the shuttle through Zion. We went at the end of April / early May and the crowds were super light and weather was perfect (mid 70s).
Stay at an Air BnB instead of a hotel
Staying in a house allows you to have access to a full kitchen which was so helpful. Zion and the nearby cities are not known for their food, plus there is little to no food within the parks. It was ideal to grocery shop and pack our own lunches / snacks each day to enjoy on our hikes.
Get the National Park Pass
If you are visiting many of the locations discussed in this article, the national park pass will work for each place (Zion, Bryce, and Lake Powell Antelope Canyon). This is $85 total for the vehicle versus paying $35 for entry each time. This pass also lasts for an entire year if you are planning to visit any more parks across the country.
Day 1: Zion National Park (Day 1 of 2 in the Park)
We made it into Springdale around 1pm, picked up lunch at a local grocer right before Zion’s entrance, and then made our way into the park. We did Angel’s Landing on this first day which ended up being perfect. By starting in the later afternoon, we skipped most of the crowds and had the trail almost entirely to ourselves outside of a few people hiking down. We were there in early May so the sunset wasn’t until 8:30PM, leaving us plenty of daylight hours left.
Angel’s landing is a 5.4mile roundtrip hike with about a 1,500 foot elevation gain. The trail is gradually uphill until you hit about 1.5 miles of constant switchbacks which is where most of the hike’s difficulty comes from outside of the permitted chain portion. Once you get to the infamous chains, you will need a permit to make it all the way to the top. The chains themselves can be quite scary for those scared of heights so be cautious!
If you have a full-day here, I highly recommend also tacking on the Emerald Pools hike (the trails starts at the same start/end point of Angel’s landing) and/or the Canyon Overlook trail. These are two shorter, beautiful hikes in the park that can be done in the same day as Angel’s landing.
Day 2: Lake Powell, Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend
While Lake Powell, Antelope Canyon, and Horseshoe Bend are all three major attractions, it is very doable to do all three of these within one day as they are all within a 15 minute drive of one another. Key Reminder: Page, Arizona is on it’s own Navajo time zone which is one hour behind Zion/Kanab. Be sure to take this into account when planning out your day!
Lake Powell
We started the day off by hitting the road early (7:30AM) and kicking off early morning kayaking in Lake Powell. We rented our kayaks from Paddle Lake Powell which is the only rental service which has kayaks directly at the kickoff band on the water. It was very seamless, with us getting onto kayaks and onto the water within 20 minutes. The guy working here was also super friendly, cliff jumping with us into the lake when we finished up in the afternoon.
The kayak journey is about 2.5 miles out through Lake Powell, into the canyons, until you hit the hidden beach at the end. Once you arrive at the beach, there are trails in the canyons only accessible to those via kayak. I could not recommend this activity enough! We packed sandwiches and snacks which we ate from our kayaks as we took in the stunning views. We all agreed this was our favorite activity of the weekend; seeing the canyon walls from the water itself is something I will never forget.
Antelope Canyon
Post kayaking, only an 8 minute drive away, is where you will go for Antelope Canyon. It is quite literally on your drive from Lake Powell into Page, AZ so you can’t miss it! Be sure to book your tour for Antelope Canyon in advance during busy season as you are required to enter Antelope Canyon with a native Navajo tour guide given it is protected land. We booked ours through Get Your Guide and had a great experience. The tour was about 90 minutes as we stopped frequently to capture photos throughout. This was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen in my life.
The trail itself is very accessible outside of climbing up/down a few narrow metal steps that take you down into the canyon below.
Horseshoe Bend
Just a 15 minute drive away from Antelope Canyon is Horseshoe Bend. You’ll have to pay $10 to enter the grounds and walk about 20 minutes from the parking lot to the viewpoint. This is a faster stop, requiring only about 45 minutes total, but it is so worth seeing while you are in the area.
Day 3: Bryce Canyon National Park
On Day three, we drove 90 minutes north to Bryce Canyon which is one of the most underrated national parks we’ve been to. When walking through the amphitheater, it feels as if you’ve been transported into the desert. The red rocks are absolutely stunning and the cracking of the rocks creates natural pillars like nothing I’ve ever seen before.
We did the Queens Trail to Navajo Loop trail which is the main hike in the park. It cuts through three of the main hiking trails so you basically get a “best of” views of many of the longer hikes. It was just under 4 miles and about 600 feet in elevation gain which all comes at the end with steep switchbacks as you climb out of the valley up to Sunset Point. We personally used this day as a lighter day to keep energy high for our four days, but if you are looking for longer trails, the Peekaboo Loop and Fairyland Loop trail came highly recommended to us by friends.
Day 4: Zion National Park (Day 2 of 2 in the Park)
This is the day for The Narrows! Be sure you leave early as it is quite a journey to actually get to the start of the Narrows Hike. You’ll want to drive to Zion Outfitters which is right outside the visitor center/park entrance to rent gear for the hike. It was a warm day (~72 degrees) when we went so they recommended against the waterproof overalls and we just got the boots and hiking stick. This was perfect; we heard from many others that the overalls slowed them down a lot and you naturally dry pretty quickly anyway under the sun.
After renting your gear, you will need to take the park shuttle to Stop 9 (Temple of Sinawava) which is about a 45 minute shuttle ride in the park. You’ll then walk about 1 mile from the shuttle stop to the start of the trail! You’ll start the hike by walking right through the river. I highly recommend hiking until the fork in the road (~2.5 miles in), and then turning left to hit ‘Wall Street’ which is the most photographed part of The Narrows.
This hike is truly about the journey versus the destination. This entire hike is such an experience like nothing else; you will walk in and out of the creek, walk through water sometimes up to chest level, in between roaring canyons and waterfalls. Be sure to bring a change of clothes for after the hike since you will be soaked! I also highly recommend a walking stick to help keep your balance as you hike over thousands of slippery rocks in the river itself.
We left that night on Day 4 but you could continue your trip into Grand Canyon and Sedona if you want to extend your trip! For Sedona, be sure to checkout my Travel Guide to Sedona, AZ.
