Hikes & sights not to miss, from Las Vegas to S Wyoming in early Aug?
February 22, 2022 7:24 AM Subscribe
My wife and I (50s, from upstate NY) have a week to hike and see beautiful sights between Las Vegas and southern Wyoming, en route to picking up our son in early August. What spots are not to be missed?
We have previously visited and loved Arches, Mesa Verde, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons. We don't really camp anymore - prefer cabins or motels. We're looking for great spots in (presumably) Utah and Colorado - Bryce Canyon is currently on the list. Are there worthwhile sights/hikes near Las Vegas? (We have no interest in gambling or shows.) Or should we head northwest immediately? Would it be crazy to try to cross Colorado to Denver and see a bit of Rocky Mt. National Park? (Have not been there in 40 yrs.) Or stick to the Utah & Wyoming regions?
We have previously visited and loved Arches, Mesa Verde, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons. We don't really camp anymore - prefer cabins or motels. We're looking for great spots in (presumably) Utah and Colorado - Bryce Canyon is currently on the list. Are there worthwhile sights/hikes near Las Vegas? (We have no interest in gambling or shows.) Or should we head northwest immediately? Would it be crazy to try to cross Colorado to Denver and see a bit of Rocky Mt. National Park? (Have not been there in 40 yrs.) Or stick to the Utah & Wyoming regions?
August can be pretty hot in Southern Utah.
Zion National Park
Goblin Valley State Park
Southern entrance to Canyonlands State Park, take the trail to the confluence of the Green and Colorado
Peekaboo Canyon, Grand Staircase Escalante
Alternately, head east to the base of the San Juans, and look at hiking near Durango, Silverton, Telluride and Ouray. I particularly like near Silverton, hiking out of Animas Forks to some of the high plateaus.
posted by nickggully at 7:37 AM on February 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
Zion National Park
Goblin Valley State Park
Southern entrance to Canyonlands State Park, take the trail to the confluence of the Green and Colorado
Peekaboo Canyon, Grand Staircase Escalante
Alternately, head east to the base of the San Juans, and look at hiking near Durango, Silverton, Telluride and Ouray. I particularly like near Silverton, hiking out of Animas Forks to some of the high plateaus.
posted by nickggully at 7:37 AM on February 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
seconding zion and bryce canyons. you could also hit valley of fire between vegas and utah.
posted by logicpunk at 8:38 AM on February 22, 2022
posted by logicpunk at 8:38 AM on February 22, 2022
Southern Utah and Vegas are going to be unbearably hot in August. The Wyoming area would be much cooler.
posted by WizKid at 8:41 AM on February 22, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by WizKid at 8:41 AM on February 22, 2022 [4 favorites]
If you like animals, I always recommend a trip to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, UT (about 90 min from Zion or Bryce Canyon). It's beautiful, they give tours, and you can sign up in advance for volunteer shifts. The pigs are the best, but walking dogs or playing with cats is also fun. They also have birds, rabbits, horses and goats, and do wildlife rehab. But if you do plan on visiting and doing a volunteer shift, and the pig shifts are booked, check every day for cancellations and please tell them that I love them and miss them and hope to see them soon.
posted by amarynth at 8:41 AM on February 22, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by amarynth at 8:41 AM on February 22, 2022 [3 favorites]
When you reach southern Wyoming, Vedauwoo is a spectacular and otherworldly place that is definitely worth pulling over at and doing a 2 hour loop. Seconding Wizkid that it'll probably be super hot in Nevada / Utah.
posted by blueberrypuffin at 9:01 AM on February 22, 2022
posted by blueberrypuffin at 9:01 AM on February 22, 2022
You'll be relatively close to Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks; US National Parks are always worthwhile, and these 2 are very popular, make reservations. Wyoming is huge, distances are great, but I'm so happy to have been able to visit Yellowstone & Grand Teton Nat Parks. I'd look for someplace special closer to your destination as a natural partway point to stop overnight. In a lot of that part of the US, there are plenty of options.
posted by theora55 at 9:02 AM on February 22, 2022
posted by theora55 at 9:02 AM on February 22, 2022
Seconding Valley of Fire. It's one of my favorite places on earth. It's magical.
posted by cooker girl at 9:17 AM on February 22, 2022
posted by cooker girl at 9:17 AM on February 22, 2022
One thing about Valley of Fire is that the colors reflected/refracted/whatevered off the sandstone are most intense when the sun is really low in the sky, which is to say right around sunrise and sunset, but to see that means you're likely driving in the dark. We timed our visit around an early tour of Hoover Dam, then drove around part of Lake Mead to get to Valley of Fire (passing a number of cool sandstone formations on the way). We made it to some of the larger petroglyphs before dusk, and sunset was amazing, but it was really dark by the time we got to the highway.
From Las Vegas the drive into Utah takes you through the Virgin River Gorge, which itself is intense. Once you get to St. George you can go to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, which is at higher elevation than the South Rim and generally less crowded, although the hiking options are a bit more limited.
Of the Utah parks the most surprising is Capital Reef, which is worth it for its night sky alone but pretty amazing in daylight too. Bryce Canyon's more interesting trails are down and up, but to us it felt like the hike was longer than it was interesting. Zion's hikes are up and down, and unless you climb up you will spend all your time down in the lower parts of the canyon. It's pretty lush because there's water to support plant life, but the crowds are an issue. We didn't try Angel's Landing because of rain, a decision we felt was validated when a very wet and exhausted hiker sat at the next table in the restaurant at the lodge that evening. She said she was having a lovely time until the rains hit, right as she was at the narrowest part of the trail. I did enjoy the hike to the Emerald Pools though, even in the rain. The rains and accumulated fatigue (Zion was our last stop on a long trip) also kept us from attempting the Narrows, although we heard from other people that the water level had never reached dangerous levels. If we went back we'd plan for the Narrows, but we might still pass on Angel's Landing.
The one place I wished in retrospect that we'd had time to explore was the Bridger-Teton National Forest, which you'll likely pass through when driving north from Utah. It's gorgeous and has miles of trails. And there are plenty of trails in Grand Teton National Park, so even if you've hiked there before there's probably something new to do.
posted by fedward at 9:53 AM on February 22, 2022 [3 favorites]
From Las Vegas the drive into Utah takes you through the Virgin River Gorge, which itself is intense. Once you get to St. George you can go to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, which is at higher elevation than the South Rim and generally less crowded, although the hiking options are a bit more limited.
Of the Utah parks the most surprising is Capital Reef, which is worth it for its night sky alone but pretty amazing in daylight too. Bryce Canyon's more interesting trails are down and up, but to us it felt like the hike was longer than it was interesting. Zion's hikes are up and down, and unless you climb up you will spend all your time down in the lower parts of the canyon. It's pretty lush because there's water to support plant life, but the crowds are an issue. We didn't try Angel's Landing because of rain, a decision we felt was validated when a very wet and exhausted hiker sat at the next table in the restaurant at the lodge that evening. She said she was having a lovely time until the rains hit, right as she was at the narrowest part of the trail. I did enjoy the hike to the Emerald Pools though, even in the rain. The rains and accumulated fatigue (Zion was our last stop on a long trip) also kept us from attempting the Narrows, although we heard from other people that the water level had never reached dangerous levels. If we went back we'd plan for the Narrows, but we might still pass on Angel's Landing.
The one place I wished in retrospect that we'd had time to explore was the Bridger-Teton National Forest, which you'll likely pass through when driving north from Utah. It's gorgeous and has miles of trails. And there are plenty of trails in Grand Teton National Park, so even if you've hiked there before there's probably something new to do.
posted by fedward at 9:53 AM on February 22, 2022 [3 favorites]
nthing Zion. While it's crowded in summertime, if you can score a room in the lodge, the crowds are gone by mid-afternoon and the sunlight on the rocks is spectacular. In most national parks, crowds tend to stay within a mile radius of parking lot, gift shops, etc. Hike farther in and the crowds disappear.
posted by Elsie at 12:12 PM on February 22, 2022
posted by Elsie at 12:12 PM on February 22, 2022
nthing valley of fire. So so so cool.
posted by wowenthusiast at 12:41 PM on February 22, 2022
posted by wowenthusiast at 12:41 PM on February 22, 2022
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Zion is only a couple hours from Vegas and it's probably my favorite of the national parks that I've been to. Unlike the Grand Canyon we're you're looking over a massive canyon, in Zion you're down inside it, looking up. They run a really nice shuttle service and there are some good hikes. It does get very busy there, in fact it's one of the busier National Parks, but if you plan it right you should be able to have a good time. I've heard they will be instituting a permit system for some of the more popular hikes, so look into that before you go. I did Angel's Landing this last October and it is one of the most spectacular hike I've ever done. I thought the danger was over-rated but the pucker factor is quite high in places. I was on the first shuttle in the morning so I managed to beat the crowds.
Near Vegas is also Valley of Fire State Park, which is also quite beautiful.
posted by bondcliff at 7:30 AM on February 22, 2022 [4 favorites]