Canyon Explorer

Day 1: Arrive in Las Vegas

Welcome to Las Vegas! Everyone has to visit here at least once in a lifetime and today is your day! Let your hair down, enjoy yourself, take in a show, try your hand at gambling and otherwise let yourself be entertained!
Standard Hotel: Best Western Main Street Inn
Deluxe Hotel: Luxor Hotel and Casino

Day 2: Las Vegas to Zion National Park

Since it is a very short distance from Las Vegas to Zion National Park, you have to take a day trip to Glen Canyon. Begin with a visit to Rainbow Bridge National Monument, followed by a very scenic drive through the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. Along the way you’ll see Vermillion Cliffs National Monument and Marble Canyon, some rarely beautiful natural scenery that’s off the beaten path.
Standard Hotel: Best Western Zion Park
Deluxe Hotel: Zion National Park Lodge

Day 3: Zion National Park to Bryce Canyon National Park

At Zion, “the grandeur of natural land form unites with brilliancy of color.” From sunrise to sunset, the changing scenes pass before you in awesome hues as the light plays upon the rock and immerses you in a dazzling light show. If you’d rather ride than drive, this park has a convenient shuttle system with frequent runs throughout the day. Drive to Bryce Canyon at the end of the day to be well positioned for tomorrow.
Standard Hotel: Best Western Ruby’s Inn
Deluxe Hotel: Bryce Canyon Lodge

Day 4: Bryce to Capitol Reef National Park

Bryce is not a canyon at all. It is a series of horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters that centuries of eroding frost and rain have shaped in colorful bizarre slot canyons, windows, fins, and spires called "hoodoos" tinted with colors too numerous to name. The formations of Capitol Reef reminded early pioneers of the nation’s capitol. The Waterpocket Fold, a 100-mile long “wrinkle” in the earth’s crust, extends out from Thousand Lakes Mountain to the Colorado River. Traveling the Park’s Scenic Drive, you’ll marvel at the slip rock scenery, punctuated with colored cliffs, domes, canyons and arches.
Standard Hotel: Best Western Capitol Reef
Deluxe Hotel: Skyridge Bed and Breakfast Inn

Day 5: Capitol Reef National Park to Arches National Park

The densest grouping of stone arches in the world that make up Arches National Park can be explored in a few hours. Over 2,000 arches range in size from a three-foot opening (the minimum considered to be an arch), to Landscape Arch which measures 306 feet from base to base. Towering spires, fins and balanced rocks complement the arches, creating a remarkable assortment of landforms in a relatively small area.
Standard Hotel: Best Western Greenwell Inn
Deluxe Hotel: Sunflower Hill Luxury Inn

Day 6: Canyonlands National Park

Using Moab as your home base, today you can take a side trip to Canyonlands National Park, one of nation’s last relatively undisturbed areas. The landscape of canyons, mesas, and deep river gorges carved out of vast rock deposits is filled with remarkable natural features. Temperatures can fluctuate as much as 50 degrees a day in the "high desert." Island in the Sky offers the most expansive views from overlooks along the paved scenic drive. A drive out to Grand View Point gives you access to an area evident by its name.

Day 7: Moab, UT to Mesa Verde National Park

Mesa Verde National Park was the home of the famous cliff dwellers who lived in an expansive dugout area sheltered by massive rock cliffs in what appear to be adobe brick “houses.” Bring your sense of adventure as you tour Cliff Palace, going up and down ladders and through tight spaces. The 6-mile Mesa Top Loop Road driving tour takes you through 700 years of Mesa Verde history.
Standard Hotel: Best Western Turquoise Inn and Suites
Deluxe Hotel: Far View Lodge

Day 8: Mesa Verde to Durango, CO

Since Mesa Verde is less than an hour from Durango, you may want to spend another morning exploring the cliff dwellings before heading into town. If you think you’ve seen Durango before, it’s a perfect Old West town that has starred as the background for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, City Slickers and Cliffhangers. The nightly show at the Strater Hotel is right out of the old West.
Standard Hotel: Best Western Mountain Shadows
Deluxe Hotel: Strater Hotel or General Palmer Hotel

Day 9: San Juan Skyway National Scenic Byway

Today, you can look down on another kind of canyon between the massive peaks of the San Juan Mountains. Watch scenery unfold around every curve as you drive the San Juan Skyway National Scenic Byway. If you want to ride instead of driving, take the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, originally built to haul silver and gold down the mountain and now carries travelers through the dramatic scenery.

Day 10: Durango to Canyon de Chelly

On your way to Canyon de Chelly, you’ll find that Monument Valley is not a valley, but a wide flat landscape with red mesas and buttes jutting up to 1,000 feet high. Canyon de Chelley’s three major canyons hold many well preserved Anasazi ruins that reveal the culture of the ancient peoples who lived in the area.
Standard Hotel: BW Canyon de Chelly Inn
Deluxe Hotel: Holiday Inn Chinle

Day 11: Chinle to Grand Canyon

At 277 miles long, 6,000 feet deep and 15 miles wide at its widest point, the Grand Canyon is one of the seven wonders of the world. The canyon rim is only a short stroll from the Canyon View Information Plaza and Hermit Road takes you to great views of the river at Hermit’s Rest, and Hopi, Mohave and Pima Points. The 25-mile scenic Desert View Drive delivers views of the canyon and the Colorado River at Moran Point, Lipan Point, and Desert View. Take a 30 minute flight over the canyon for the best view of all.
Standard Hotel: BW Grand Canyon Squire Inn or Yavapai Inn
Deluxe Hotel: El Tovar or Kachina Lodge

Day 12: Explore Grand Canyon

Tale one more day to explore this natural wonder. Visit the West Rim and venture out over the new Skywalk.

Day 13: Grand Canyon to Las Vegas

Enjoy your last day traveling through the red rock landscapes of the American southwest.
Standard Hotel: Best Western Main Street Inn
Deluxe Hotel: Luxor Hotel and Casino

Day 14: Depart Las Vegas