Las Vegas Area Travel Guide (Part 5)

The Las Vegas Area Travel Guide is a resource for Las Vegas visitors who wish to sample the Southwest's great scenery and outdoor recreation. All destinations within the guide are no more than five hours' drive from Las Vegas. Included are sites close to Las Vegas, such as Hoover Dam, Lake Mead and Red Rock Canyon, Arizona locales (including Grand Canyon, Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon, Historic Route 66), Utah (Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park), and California (Death Valley National Park, Mojave National Preserve). Details include descriptions and links to many references. Notable Las Vegas attractions also are included.

Navigating the Guide

Open the Locater Map by clicking on image at right. Place your mouse pointer on any map icon. A brief description will appear. Click on the link in the icon info window for details. You may also use the Pull-Down Menu or the Las Vegas Area Travel Guide Index at the bottom of the page.

Las Vegas Area - Utah National Parks Loops

This symbol indicates links into the American West Travelogue.

Southwest Utah offers excellent attractions for both tourist and recreationalists. Two of Utah's most popular national parks, Zion and Bryce Canyon, are an easy drive from Las Vegas, heading north on I-15. Zion National Park is 163 miles, about a three-hour drive. Bryce Canyon National park is an additional 87 miles, another two hours of driving. It is possible to do a long day trip to Zion but spending at least one night at each park would be much more enjoyable.

Las Vegas visitors can also make an excellent loop road trip, the Grand Circle, heading south on US-93 via Hoover Dam to I-40 heading east to Flagstaff, with optional visits to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and/or Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon. From Flagstaff, US-89 takes you north to Page, Arizona and Lake Powell where there are numerous recreational opportunities. Route US-89a offers access to Lee's Ferry (Glen Canyon) and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon before reconnecting with US-89. (Generally, most people visit one rim or the other. The South Rim is more easily accessible and has the best vistas into the canyon. However it is very, very crowded. The North Rim is more remote and has far fewer visitors, creating a more pleasing outdoor experience.)

From Page, US-89 continues north into Utah. Hikers and backpackers may want to visit the Paria Wilderness and Coyote Buttes about thirty miles north of Page. Both are available by reservation only. North of Kanab, Utah, the route gives access to Bryce Canyon National Park - east on Utah-12 - and Zion National Park - west on Utah-9 which eventually reaches I-15 with a quick and easy return to Las Vegas.

The Grand Canyon - Lake Powell - Bryce Canyon - Zion loop can be completed in less than a week. It is about 850 miles of driving. A week to ten days would be much more enjoyable and less rushed.

Visitors with more time, two weeks or more, can complete the spectacular larger Grand Circle loop. Continue east from Flagstaff on I-40, then north on US-191 towards the Four Corners area. This provides opportunities to visit Petrified Forest National Park with its outstanding views of the Painted Desert, Canyon de Chelly, Monument Valley, and other great locations. US-191 continues north into Utah to I-70, reaching two more great Utah national parks, Canyonlands and Arches. The loop then turns west through Utah's Capitol Reef National Park, then reaching Scenic Utah-12. This great route passes through the surreal landscapes of Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument before reaching Bryce Canyon National Park from the east. From there you head south to Zion and the return to Las Vegas.

• Grand Canyon Area Travel Guide
• Lake Powell Travel Guide
• Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon Travel Guide (includes Verde Valley, Prescott, and Jerome)
• Northern Arizona Travel Guide
• Southern Utah Travel Guide (includes Grand Staircase)
• Canyonlands / Four Corners Travel Guide
• Paria Canyon Guide (includes Coyote Buttes info)
• Zion Narrows Hiking Guide
• Utah Destinations (Bryce - Zion articles)
• Zion National Park (NPS)
• Bryce Canyon National Park (NPS)
• Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument (BLM)
• Paria Canyon - Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness (BLM)

Las Vegas Area Travel Guide Index

• Hoover Dam, Northern Arizona, Route 66, Grand Canyon
• City of Las Vegas
• Las Vegas Area - East (Lake Mead / Valley of Fire)
• Las Vegas Area - West (Red Rocks / Mt. Charleston)
• Utah National Parks Loops
• Death Valley Area and Mojave National Preserve
• Travel Itineraries

• Northern Arizona
• Grand Canyon Area
• Southern Utah
• Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon
• Lake Powell