Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon
May 23rd, 2006 Posted in Destination reports, General, Travel bargains
Last week I spent some time trekking through the strange landscapes of southern Utah and saw some things I have never seen before. I’ve circled the globe three times, but there are parts of the U.S. that are definitely unique and this area is one of them. Perhaps that’s why my stay at Ruby’s Inn at Bryce felt like an international conference. In less than 12 hours I heard people speaking Russian, Romanian, German, Japanese, Korean, and Dutch. And plenty of British accents.
Yesterday the Associated Press ran an article on how you can still find National Park deals, despite the recent rise in entrance fees at the 21 biggest ones. The thing is, at $20 a carload, the big ones still seem like a pretty good deal to me. With only two people, that still works out cheaper than Petra, Machu Picchu, and a lot of other World Heritage sites. The entrance fee is good for a week, so you can spend a couple of days hiking around. Or even go somewhere else and then visit again on your way back through, as we did at Zion. At these large national parks, there’s plenty to keep you busy for quite a while. I don’t feel bad about handing them my money either: 80 percent of it stays within the park to pay for staff salaries, maintenance, the shuttle bus, etc. 
Zion National Park is only about three hours from Las Vegas, or about an hour from St. George. Various drives are often touted as “scenic byways,” but in this case it’s an understatement. The drive from St. George to Zion, then Zion to Bryce is simply fantastic. One of the most beautiful stretches of road you’re likely to see anywhere. (On summer weekends, however, you’ll probably be looking at a lot of car bumpers as you inch along–try to avoid the peak times.)
Most people come to Bryce Canyon and just walk along the rim. If you take time to go down in it and go hiking, however, the scenery changes every few steps. Quite an alien world down there.
