You may be asking, just two nights? That can be done? Is it enough time? What about travel time? What would I see? Well first of all, stop asking so many questions, geez. Second, yes it can be done and it’s SO worth it! Read on so we can answer all of your questions!

Trying to pack a lot in, in a short amount of time, takes planning. But that’s why you are here right? On a recent trip to Vegas to gamble, drink and do things we are ashamed of visit family we had our hearts set on seeing some sights outside the city. We have wanted to explore more US National Parks and this was our perfect chance!

Route and Accommodations
We were determined to see both Bryce AND Zion. The first part of planning this trip is to nail down your itinerary. Bryce is a 4 hour drive from Vegas and Zion is 2.5 hours so we decided to tackle the longer drive first. This meant that we needed to book the first night’s accommodations in Bryce and the second in Zion. As soon as you have your dates, book your accommodations. They fill up quickly in these areas and staying right near the parks makes it so much easier.

For Bryce we recommend Ruby’s Inn. It’s close to the park and has a convenient restaurant since there are very few dining options near Bryce. (Please note “convenient” does not mean the food is amazing, don’t try to say we promised you great food, but it’s edible. Certainly nothing to write home about, or in a blog for that matter). The food might not be fantastic but Ruby’s has a great expansive gift shop, a Native American art gallery and has a cult following on TripAdvisor.

For Zion, we highly suggest booking a hotel in Springdale. Anything near a shuttle stop is ideal. Springdale is so stinkin’ cute! There is a (FREE!!) shuttle bus route with stops along the main road of Springdale- which is fantastic for getting to the entrance to Zion, but also to the local restaurants and bars. This is important because Springdale, as small as it is, is a town where everything is pretty much along one long road. But the (Did we mention FREE?) shuttle system more than makes up for this. Timing is crucial however. Almost everything closes fairly early at around 9 or 10 PM. Which, if you are coming from Vegas like we did, is like closing before lunchtime. And there are NO cabs or Uber, so it will be a long walk back to your hotel. We stayed at the Hampton Inn and Suites, which was great, but anywhere along the main drag would be as well. As a last note, BOOK NOW! The prime hotels fill up FAST!

With our bellies full of pie (did we mention you must have the pie??) we ventured on to Bryce Canyon- it costs $35 per vehicle to enter. We had plotted ahead of time and read some great tips on blogs (blogs are the Best! Right? RIGHT?!) and knew which hiking trails we wanted to tackle. Najavo Loop and Queens Garden Loop- they connect and let you view much of the park in one hike. The views are stunning and we lucked out with perfect weather. You may see lots of tourists at the beginning of your hike, but from our experience, most of them only go a short way down the path and then turn around. We had the place practically to ourselves the majority of the time. And this was during Memorial Day weekend! This route took us around 1.5 hours and we stopped often to take photos. Pro Tip: Do this route counter-clockwise for an easier ascent at the end. Start at Sunset Point and loop around to the end at Sunrise Point. If you are starting later in the day like we did, you can watch the sunset from one of the many benches along the rim at the end. There are areas called Sunset Point and Sunrise Point but names aside, both are excellent spots to enjoy the sunset.

We checked into our hotel and hopped onto the shuttle bus to the park. There are two separate shuttle bus loops. One takes you from place to place (including to the entrance to Zion) from the locations within Springdale. The second loop is inside Zion and takes you to many stops for the various hiking trails. There are a lot of different trails so research them and choose according to your abilities. We decided to check out The Narrows. The Narrows involves a short walk (1 mile) along the river on a paved path (which is very pretty itself), ending at a spot in the river where you can hike in the water, wading between the tall cliff walls. Depending on the time of year and recent rainfall, the depths of the river hike can vary. When we arrived at the end of the path, we realized we need better equipment for this hike and will do the water portion at another time. If you do want to attempt The Narrows, waterproof boots and hiking poles are available for rent at local shops. We plan on going back in the future and renting these. We were certain that we would bust our butts without the hiking poles!

Since it was only a couple of hours before sunset at this point, we wanted a trail where we could enjoy sunset view. We chose the Watchman Trail (3.1 miles). There were not many people on this trail and it is not the easiest trail (at least for Floridians) as it’s a consistent climb for almost 500 ft. But the views at the end were very much worth the work. Pro Tip: If you bring a blanket, some cheese, crackers and wine, this could be a lovely romantic spot for the sunset! **As a disclaimer, check the laws and regulations as alcohol could be prohibited and in that case we totally suggest grape juice 😉

By the time we got back down we only had about 30 minutes until everything would be closed. We popped into Zion Canyon Brewing Company right across from the main entrance and the bartender was able to make us a quick dinner to go. And we were even able to enjoy some much deserved frosty beverages (they brew their own excellent craft beer!) while we waited.

The next morning we decided to tackle the Canyon Overlook Trail. This is a shorter trail (0.5 mile), which worked well for our timing as we had a 2+ hour drive back to Vegas that day. We would say this is a must do. The views at the end are stunning and it’s a really cool hike with the path carved out of the mountainside. The only downside to this trail is it is not located along the Zion shuttle route, so it involves driving and much worse- parking. There is a parking lot directly opposite of the trail that is very small. If you don’t luck out with a spot there, proceed down the road away from the tunnel and you will find more parking. It was pretty annoying – may the odds be forever in your favor!

To prove this was only 2 days-here is an outline of what we did:

Day 1 – half day drive from Vegas. Eat pie. Hike Bryce. Enjoy sunset. Stay over near Bryce.

Day 2 – drive to Zion while eating more pie. Pick out a couple of Zion hikes for that day. Stay over in Springdale.

Day 3 – tackle another hike (or two) and drive back to Vegas (no more pie).

So there you have it! 2 nights, 2 days-ish of hiking in two of the most gorgeous parks that Utah has to offer. You could spend more time of course, but we really wanted to highlight how you can avoid gambling your house away take a break from the fast pace of Las Vegas and enjoy the laid back and stunning scenery in America’s 45th state.