DAY 1

Upon meeting your guides and group in Las Vegas, you travel north by van to Utah to Bryce National Park, with several stops en route to break up the approximate 4-hour total drive. The first stop is at Kolob Canyon, where you not only stretch your legs along the ridge-top Timber Creek Trail, but also enjoy a picnic lunch looking out at the remarkable array of red rock cliffs of Kolob.

Returning to the van(s), you continue on to Bryce Canyon, which is located on the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. Bryce Canyon is especially appreciated for its unique geology of weathered white-pink limestone spires, and its horseshoe-shaped amphitheater. This afternoon’s walk begins at Sunset Point, with a descent of around 500 feet from canyon rim to canyon floor down Navajo Loop, passing the formations of Thor’s Hammer, Wall Street, and Two Bridges—a perfect introduction to this magical landscape with hoodoo rock formations along the way that inspire your imagination.

The return is by way of the Queen’s Garden Trail, where the ascent back up the canyon is a little more gradual at the end of the day. After your walk, you check into the comfortable and relaxed elegance of a 1920s park lodge, a National Historic Landmark. These privileged accommodations within the park allow unlimited access to the spectacle of the canyon rim, and stunning stars every night. Dinner tonight is served in the rustic yet elegant main lodge.
Bryce Canyon Lodge, Bryce Canyon National Park

DAY 2

After a hearty breakfast in the lodge’s dining room, today’s walk from Fairyland Point to Sunrise Point descends into a landscape—at once surreal and whimsical—with oddly shaped limestone rock formations, each more fanciful than the next. Passing by a wall of rock windows of all shapes, you arrive at the site of the park’s oldest living trees—bristlecone pines, said to date back over 2,000 years. Along the return leg of the loop walk, you are entertained by the chattering of violet-green swallows and white-throated swifts as they dive among the hoodoos.

After a picnic lunch, in the afternoon, several walking options are available depending on the weather and canyon conditions. One option is an easy walk to Mossy Cave in the northern section of Bryce Canyon National Park, which takes you up Sevier Creek to a natural grotto, leaning protectively over the trail, dripping with lichen and moss. A waterfall feeds the stream with refreshing pools to cool you on a hot afternoon.

This evening you linger over refined Western fare, perhaps a grilled steak or Alaskan salmon accompanied by a Utah microbrew, at the historic lodge dining room.
Bryce Canyon Lodge, Bryce Canyon National Park

DAY 3

This morning you may choose to join the guide(s) on a spectacular sunrise walk. Several short options are available to those who wish to stroll along the amphitheater’s rim.

After breakfast, you begin the scenic drive to Zion National Park (approximately 2 hours). Before entering the park, you stop to enjoy a short walk on the Overlook Trail, which offers expansive views of Pine Creek Canyon, the East Temple, and the west side of Zion. The entrance to Zion is breathtaking. You emerge from the historic Zion-Mt Carmel Tunnel, which was cut laboriously through 1.1 miles of sandstone, then descend into Zion’s main canyon, carved out of wind-blown sandstone by the Virgin River. Zion National Park is a true natural wonder, due not only to its unique geology and consequently stunning scenery, but also for the incredible variety of flora and fauna—from Peregrine falcons, to the desert tortoise and the Zion snail, found nowhere else on Earth. Part of the geological region called the Colorado Plateau—along with Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon—the three canyons comprise the Grand Staircase, a series of colorful cliffs. Amazingly, the bottom layer of rock at Bryce Canyon is the top layer at Zion, and the bottom layer of Zion, in turn, is the top layer at the Grand Canyon. In addition to its rich natural history, evidence of human history extends back 2,000 years to the Ancestral Puebloans, as well as the Paiutes 800 years ago.

After lunch this afternoon, you ride up into Zion National Park on the innovative, comfortable, and ecologically sustainable shuttle. On this afternoon’s walk to the Emerald Pools, you cross a bridge suspended over the Virgin River before continuing up a gently climbing trail into Heap’s Canyon. Wildflowers brighten the landscape; common are claret cup cactus, aster, shooting stars, and columbine. As you near your destination, passing the gentle spray of three waterfalls, an idyllic pool lies before you, surrounded by a landscape surprisingly lush and green.

Concluding the walk, you ride back to your home for the next three nights, an inn resort along the Virgin River, in the charming town of Springdale. After some time to unpack and freshen up in your spacious room, you venture out for dinner at a favorite local restaurant.
Desert Pearl Inn, Springdale

DAY 4

After breakfast in a nearby café, the first destination is Weeping Rock, from where you depart for the walk to Echo Canyon, a beautiful “hanging canyon” with gorgeous carved curves of orange sandstone, and towering Cable Mountain soaring overhead. Starting with a few uphill switchbacks, the paved trail continues to climb about 1,000 feet up to middle Echo Canyon, with its pools and undulating slickrock, a marvel of Nature’s artistry. You return by the same route out of this beautiful canyon.

Following a packed picnic lunch in the heart of the park, your guides offer an additional, short afternoon walk to the Gateway of the Narrows. This easy, popular walk along the Virgin River begins at the farthest end of Zion Canyon at the Temple of Sinawava. As you walk beneath massive cliffs, you pass a number of lush hanging gardens and pockets of wildflowers.

This evening, you return to Springdale for dinner on your own, with your guides offering many suggestions ranging from outdoor cafés to fine dining restaurants.
Desert Pearl Inn, Springdale

DAY 5

After breakfast, you set off from the Grotto trailhead on a moderate walk to Scout’s Lookout (elevation gain of 1,300 feet). A winding trail leads from the valley floor through a series of switchbacks into Refrigerator Canyon, where, as its name implies, you are sheltered and cooled from the desert sun. You continue through Walter’s Wiggles, closely cut switchbacks leading to the spectacular Scout’s Lookout. The park unfolds below, with views of the Virgin River and canyon walls. From here your option is to ascend the dramatic Angel’s Landing Trail another half mile and 500 feet up to a peak of rock in the center of Zion Canyon or hike a few hundred feet farther up the West Rim, where you’ll share a packed trail lunch with your companions under a Ponderosa pine on top of the world. Everyone will descend the same route to the river in the early afternoon.

The rest of the afternoon is yours to enjoy by relaxing at your inn’s inviting swimming pool and hot tub, or taking advantage of the visitor center at Zion National Park. Part of this visit may include viewing the film at the park’s IMAX theater, which features an excellent film highlighting the region’s fascinating natural and human history.

This evening you venture into lively Springdale for a celebratory farewell dinner at a favorite local restaurant serving fresh innovative cuisine.
Desert Pearl Inn, Springdale

DAY 6

Before departing Zion National Park, there is time for a final walk along the Pa’rus Trail, an easy walk along the water with views of the Watchman, West Temple, and the Sentinel. The trail name, Pa’rus, is from a Paiute word meaning “bubbling, tumbling water,” and indeed both Oak Creek and Pine Creek cross the trail as it parallels the Virgin River.

Late morning after the walk, your final stop is St. George for a short visit to the Dinosaur Tracks museum, followed by an enticing lunch at a lovely restaurant featuring locally grown organic fare with Southwest flavors in the town’s Ancestor Square. You then depart Utah for Las Vegas, an approximate 3-hour drive. You bid farewell to new friends and the colorful canyons of Bryce and Zion.

Itinerary Changes

Please bear in mind that this is a typical itinerary, and the actual activities, sites, and accommodations may vary due to season, special events, weather, or transportation schedules. We reserve the right to alter the itinerary since tour arrangements are made up to a year in advance, and unforeseen circumstances that mandate change may arise. Itinerary changes are made to improve the tour and your experience.

Nights 1 & 2

Bryce Canyon Lodge
Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

A National Historic Landmark, the renovated 1920s park lodge offers simple rooms, most with balconies, situated a few feet from the canyon rim at the heart of the national park.

Nights 3, 4 & 5

Desert Pearl Inn
Springdale, Utah

Local stone, Douglas fir beams, and reclaimed redwood are architecturally designed to create a perfect setting at the gates of Zion National Park. The inn’s spacious and stylishly decorated rooms have balconies overlooking the Virgin River and surrounding cliffs. A swimming pool and hot tub are welcome at day’s end.

Please note that this is a sample hotel itinerary for this tour. While these exact hotels are featured on most departures, we occasionally reserve other hotels of similar style and quality. If you are currently booked on a Country Walkers adventure, a hotel itinerary has been sent to you for your exact departure date. Please call Country Walkers at 800.464.9255 if you have any questions about the exact hotels selected for any of our tours.

Carolyn Beecher

Carolyn has guided, hiked, and canyoneered in the Utah canyon country for over 30 years, appreciating its geological drama and the cultural remnants of its first people. Although Utah lures her frequent visits, Carolyn lives in Montana where she also guides Country Walkers tour of Glacier National Park, and where she runs her own map company, practices yoga, and is a caretaker of property in Montana’s Mission Mountains

Heather Harding

Heather has been guiding for many years on both Washington's Olympic Peninsula, where she lives, and in the canyons and plateaus of the Southwest, where she earned college degrees in biology and Southwest Studies. Heather brings a world-wide background of whale research and Waldorf teaching to her guiding. Heather winters on Maui, where she runs her non-profit whale foundation, with her partner and frequent co-guide Eric Kessler.