Cross Country trip Utah: Zion and Bryce National Parks

We left the Airbnb in California at 8 am with a car full of gas and all my son’s belongings. I offered to drive the first leg and pleasantly discovered the light morning traffic leaving the Los Angeles area.

Google maps led us up highway 15, past Las Vegas in Nevada, through a bit of Arizona and then onto a scenic climb to Springdale, Utah at the south entrance to Zion National Park.

I downloaded a fun app for our trip called GuideAlong. This app knows your location and the narrator tells interesting facts, stories, and where to stop for scenic overlooks. We used the tour for driving from Zion to Bryce and it was very helpful.

We checked into the Marriott Suites in Springdale around 4:00 pm. Since the shuttles run into the park until 8:00 pm and it’s the only way to see the canyon, we hopped on a shuttle.

We took the town shuttle to the visitors center, then the Zion shuttle into the park. It stops at 9 places in the park.

After taking it to the end, we realized we had enough time for a short hike to the lower Emerald pool. It was a pretty hike but we were in the bottom of the canyon so no views from above.

Zion is fun for families and their wet kiddos as they took the shuttles back with us after hiking through the “narrows” where you walk down the Virgin river.

The shuttle brought us back to the hotel and we ate at a nearby restaurant.

The included breakfast at the hotel was great and then we were in the road to Bryce Canyon. It is a 2 hour scenic drive from Zion to Bryce and we enjoyed our narrated tour all day.

Bryce was truly a stunning park. The first time you look at the amphitheater overlook, your jaw drops at the magnificence of the landscape.

Our GuideAlong kept warning us about the huge crowds we were going to encounter since it’s summer and how we should use the shuttle. We were pleasantly surprised to find the crowds were not there! Not sure why as it’s the week the 4th of July.

We chose to drive into the park and make a few stops. Inspiration Point, Sunset point and a few others. Our hikes were minimal due to the fact we had 4 more hours to drive on our cross country trip but I would definitely come back to this park again.

We ate lunch in a small town called Kanab which was used in the movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”.

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We passed Antelope Canyon which I hear is worth the visit but it was getting late and we didn’t have time this trip. We enjoyed all the scenery along the road and finally both of our phones were down to under 5 percent and we had not made it to tonight’s accommodations.

We kept entertained after the narration ended with downloaded comedy shows and a crossword puzzle from my local newspaper I had brought along for a photo.

Luckily the View Hotel is like the only thing on the highway we were on and the huge sign pointed us toward it when we got close. I have never been awestruck by a hotel room before, but when I opened the curtains to take in the view – I almost cried at the beauty of this place.

The hotel is on Navajo Tribal Park and a guided drive is offered around the monuments. The restaurant serves breakfast and dinner, the gift shop offers pricey Native American arts and crafts but the hotel gives you a $20 gift certificate to use toward your purchase.

After dinner, everyone gathers to take photos of the sunset reflecting on the monuments and some enjoy the outdoor John Wayne movie.

I woke up to watch the sunrise today and it was one of the most spectacular events ever. I highly recommend staying here if you are ever traveling across the country.