Southwest National Parks Family Trip: Zion, Bryce & Grand Canyon

If you’ve ever wanted to cross multiple National Parks off your bucket list in one fun week-long adventure, this is the post for you! Today, we have Katie Walsh, teacher, explorer and mom of 2, sharing her family’s most recent national parks trip through 3 amazing national parks – the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, and Zion National Park. Plus they hit a handful of state parks and national monuments along the way. She’s sharing where they stayed, what to pack, the best kid-friendly hikes and info on getting those coveted Junior Ranger badges. Are you ready for an adventure?

Planning our national parks trip

We are a family of adventurers. There we stood looking at our National Park map. Tiny pins dotted the states representing the places we’d been. Up next? A spring break trip to the Southwest where we’d explore 3 amazing national parks – the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, and Zion National Park. Our 5-year-old and 7-year-old could hardly wait to lace up their hiking shoes and get started! 

These three parks had been on our bucket list for a while. We did a lot of research and planning on exactly where to go, when to go, what to do and where to stay on this national parks trip. But, first things first, we had to pack! Deciding what to pack for a whirlwind adventure that would take us to three different states and a variety of terrain seemed harder than planning the actual trip! 

What to pack

We were planning our trip for seven days of adventure in mid-March and would be visiting three different states. All of these states have different weather patterns this time of year. Packing light for our whole family was going to be quite a challenge!

The answer…layers! Oh, so many layers. We didn’t want to overpack, so here are the essentials that we took for each person:

• Wools socks
• Fleece jacket
• T-shirts
• Long sleeve tees
• Jacket shell
• Hat and gloves
• One pair of hiking/sturdy shoes
• 2 pair of pants
• 1 pair of shorts
• 1 Reusable water bottle for each (there are refill stations in the airport and at the parks)
• Sunscreen

One of the most important items to have on a national parks trip like this is sturdy shoes. We did a ton of walking, hiking, climbing and running around. Good shoes were a must. I recommend going with shoes that have grip on the bottom for hiking and climbing. Trust me, purchasing the right shoes for yourself and your kids is money well spent. We discovered this during our first hike up a sandstone trail. 

After doing some research, my husband and I decided on the Merrel Big Kid’s Moab FST Low Waterproof shoes for our children. They didn’t disappoint!

Trip details

With 7 days of traveling and many sights to see, we researched and put together an outline of activities before we left for our national parks trip. And of course, we made sure we had plenty of wiggle room to wander and explore built-in, just in case we found fun things to do along the way.  We booked an early flight to Nevada, and finally, we were off! We landed in Las Vegas bright and early, giving us a headstart (plus, a two-hour time change).  Once we hopped in our rental car, our national parks journey officially began!

Hoover Dam and Route 66

On our way to the Grand Canyon, we checked out the renowned Hoover Dam. While we didn’t take the dam tour (saying this never gets old), but there are plenty of turnouts to stop and admire this engineering wonder while completing the scenic drive.

From there, we hopped on the historic Route 66 and made our way toward Kingman, Arizona. With grumbling tummies, we stopped at Mr. D’z Route 66 Diner for lunch. It was the perfect spot to get out, stretch our legs, and enjoy a meal.

Grand Canyon lodging

The first night of our trip, we stayed at the Yavapai Lodge located in the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The North Rim is closed this time of year.  

Pro travel tip: To stay at one of the lodges in the Grand Canyon, get a reservation a year in advance. We were late to the party and lucked out due to a cancellation. We could only stay one night. Too bad. The lodge was perfect! Nothing fancy, but you’re not there for the accommodations, you’re there for the incredible view.

There were elk meandering the grounds. Guests are reminded to stay 100 feet away from these gentle creatures, but it became increasingly difficult as they wandered right next to the paths. Clearly, this was their home and we were all just visiting.

The South Rim has more opportunities for viewing the Grand Canyon. It also has many family-oriented activities and trails to experience with younger children.

The view was majestic. No words can describe this geological wonder.

Sunrise at Hopi Point

Bright and early on day 2, we got up early to enjoy the sunrise at Hopi Point. I highly recommend doing this! Although it was certainly a challenge getting everyone out the door on time (especially after the previous day’s travel), we knew we wouldn’t regret it. And we certainly did not! It was stunning!

6:27 am sunrise

Pro travel tip: If you go in March, it’s freezing in the morning! Bundle up!

We finished our cold adventure with a trip to the Lodge’s restaurant and enjoyed steamy hot chocolate and a plate of delicious pancakes. Once again, the elk stopped by to watch us enjoy our morning feast.

With full bellies again (notice a pattern? The key to hiking with children is always to have snacks and yummy food at the ready!), we set off to explore the Grand Canyon.

Pro travel tip: To get an overview of the Grand Canyon, I highly recommend watching the park film Grand Canyon: A Journey of Wonder at the visitor center. It’s a must see and as a bonus, one of the activity options to be completed for children to earn their Junior Ranger badge. The film covered the reintroduction of species such as the California Peregrine, the erosion and creation of the canyon, John Wesley Powell’s brave mission to be the first to chart the Colorado River, and how the Grand Canyon is an animal sanctuary and refuge for animals. It’s truly a wonderful film.

Desert View Watchtower

Next, we took a scenic drive to the eastern part of the canyon to explore the 70-foot historic stone watchtower. Perched on the rim, this watchtower reflects the architecture of the ancestral Puebloans. We climbed the narrow, winding staircase to the top to get a 360-view of the canyon, the Colorado River, and surrounding landscape.

Our kids also earned another Junior Ranger badge here.

Additional family-friendly trails/programs at Grand Canyon

If you’re looking for more kid-friendly and family-friendly trails and programs at Grand Canyon National Park, here are few that you should definitely check out:

• Bright Angel Trail
• Hermit Road Scenic Route (take by free shuttle, bike, on foot)
• Maricopa Point
• Powell Point
• Trailview Overlook
• Geology Glimpse (daily ranger-led program)
• Critter Chat (daily ranger-led program)
• Grand Canyon Special Event Calendar (including a star party for junior astronomers!)

Trail App

One of our favorite apps to use when searching for new trails is All Trails. This totally free app allows you to search by park, trail name, city, etc. to get a wealth of information on nearby hikes in your area. It provides lots of details on what you need to know before you go and even lets you upload photos from your hike.

Homebase – Kanab, Utah

From Arizona, we made our way to a beautiful town called Kanab located in southern Utah. It’s surrounded by towering Navajo sandstone cliffs and near three national parks, five national monuments, a renowned national recreation area, and two national forests.  Talk about a great location! 

Pro travel tip: Stop at the Kanab town visitor center for insightful tips and information. We learned that there are many areas with preserved dinosaur tracks. Our kids were super excited!

Kanab lodging

After doing some research, we rented a house through VRBO and made Kanab our “base-camp” for the next few days. The home was within a 30-minute drive to Zion, 90 minutes to Bryce Canyon, and 10 minutes to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Plus, the town is loaded with awesome trails to boot!

While there are many amazing options for camping, which we love to do, we chose to rent a house. Here’s why:

• It’s nice to have a home base, especially after a long day of hiking
• Washing machine and dryer = less packing
• A refrigerator = grocery shopping for the week = saving money on lunches and dinners
• Added perk (although not necessary) – the neighborhood pool!
• Price – we got more for the price that was nearly equivalent to a hotel

In the future, we’d definitely like to return and camp. There are many great sites that we discovered along the way, which I’ll briefly talk about.

Kanab kid-friendly trails & hikes

Right outside our backdoor the red cliffs towered above our neighborhood that was loaded with trailheads. It was nice to get up in the morning, go for a hike, return to the house for breakfast, map our plans for the day, then take off. Here are a few kid-friendly hikes and trails we liked:

• K-Hill Trail
• Squaw Trailhead
• Sand Caves- the climb was steep in parts along the slick rock
• Moqui Cave

Our favorite family-friendly Kanab restaurants

• Iron Horse Restaurant and Saloon – a yummy place for barbecue and old west ambiance
• Escobar’s Mexican Restaurant
• Peekaboo Canyon Wood Fired Kitchen (vegan/vegetarian)

For a sweet treat at the end of the day, we enjoyed Soda Fountain, a small ice cream parlor attached to the town’s drug store that was established in 1916. I’m pretty sure we became frequent visitors. Perhaps they know us by name?

Toad Stools in Grand Staircase-Escalante

Ah, yes. The Toad Stools. This was our children’s favorite spot to hike. Hidden along the roadside, it’s a short 2-mile roundtrip hike to see a land of balanced rock formations that look like mushrooms. Located in the Grand Staircase-Escalante Monument, this is truly nature’s playground for children. This was a great beginner hike to teach our children about following trails and proper footing while climbing.

Pro travel tip: There is climbing involved, although considered a moderate hike, children should always be supervised closely. Also, be prepared with enough water and sunscreen. This environment is an open and shadeless desert.

Zion National Park

Zion National Park was next on our national parks trip and it was magical! We were in awe of the red and white walls of Navajo sandstone, waterfalls, slot canyons, natural arches, and so much more. But it was busy! Due to the record amount of visitors and preservation of the area, you leave your car in a parking lot and take the free shuttle into the park. Buses arrive every 10-15 minutes.

Pro travel tip: Arrive at Zion by 8:00 am or earlier to avoid crowds and find parking. Parking lots are usually full from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. You can also park in the nearby town of Springdale and take a free shuttle into the park.

Favorite Zion National Park hikes with kids

• Emerald Pools- small streams and waterfalls with a view of Mountain of the Sun. It’s was beautiful!
• Weeping Rock Trail
• Riverside Walk
• The Grotto Trail

Due to flooding, many trails were closed, including the famous Angel’s Landing and The Narrows.

Bryce Canyon

Our next adventure on our national parks trip took us to Bryce Canyon National Park in Southern Utah. We fell in love with Bryce Canyon! We went from shorts and sunshine at Zion to snow, hats, and mittens at Bryce. It made it for a challenging, and often slippery hike, but well worth it. Bryce Canyon was much less crowded and the kids enjoyed earning their ranger badges while taking in the extreme rock formations known as the hoodoos, which are spire-shaped rock formations.

Due to an avalanche and melting snow, some trails at Bryce Canyon were closed. We discovered that in the winter and spring, the weather from park to park is very unpredictable. However, there is always something to be discovered, nonetheless! We got there just in time to watch the prairie dogs wake up from their winter hibernation. Let’s just say they were not happy to see snow!

Pipe Spring National Monument

While not a national park, Pipe Spring National Monument lies on the Arizona strip about 20-minutes west of Kanab, on the Paiute Reservation. Although a dry, desert area, this land has drawn a succession of people because of the aquifers that hold water underground and push it to the surface in Pipe Spring.

There is so much history here. We took a tour of the Winsor Castle and learned about the relationship between the American Indians and Mormon ranchers as well as the plants and animals that still depend on this water.

Our kids earned another junior ranger badge here at Pipe Spring.

You can take a self-guided tour or join a ranger for an educational talk.

Snow Canyon State Park in St. George, Utah

Continuing west on our national parks trip, we added a state park! We made our way to St. George, Utah to visit Snow Canyon State Park. This place was awesome and has so much to offer! Snow Canyon State Park is a 7,400-acre scenic park among lava flows and sandstone cliffs. The hiking is fantastic.

Pro travel tip: Be advised, there is a $10 entrance fee.

With more than 38-miles of hiking trails from easy to more advanced, a three-mile paved walking/biking trail, and over 15-miles of equestrian trails, it’s all about picking what’s right for you. We completed a moderate hike that was 2.5 miles to see the volcanic caves and tubes. And we did some additional climbing. There is also great camping here. We checked out the beautiful campground and agreed that if we return, this would make a great home base. Our kids didn’t want to leave. There is so much to explore!

Red Cliffs

One final place you may want to check out on your trip is Red Cliffs. Unfortunately, on the day we arrived, the grounds were full and there was no parking available. We decided to skip it this time to avoid the crowds. There are short, scenic trails that take you along the canyon narrows along with a little waterfall. Camping is also available at the Red Cliffs Recreation Area.

We’ll be back!

This national parks trip was absolutely amazing. The night before we left was somber – we didn’t want to go home! It was hard to say goodbye to the incredible landscape and magical beauty of this region. With so many more outdoor treasures to explore and be seen, you can count on us to return to this 4-season wonderland in the future. 

About the author

Katie is a mom of two adventure-loving children, a kindergarten teacher, and a writer for adults and children. She and her family love to travel, be outdoors, and live a sustainable life as much as possible. Katie enjoys finding ways to share these bigs ideas with the little ones who will shape the future of our world.

Follow Katie on Instagram: @adventuresparenting
Or learn more about her through her website: https://katiewalsh.blog