Zion & Bryce Canyon National Park

While sitting at home during the COVID lock down we received an email from Frontier Airlines advertising a sale. We clicked on the link out of curiosity and were surprised to see tickets for only $11 from the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport to Las Vegas.

As with many of our adventures, we quickly said “why not?!” Fortunately travel was slowly starting to open back up, and after checking the Hawaii entry requirements, we booked two round trip tickets for a grand total of $44 dollars! For some tips and tricks on how we find flight deals, check out our Flight Deals 101 guide.

Day 1

Our adventure started at the Cincinnati Northern Kentucky airport where we boarded our direct flight to Las Vegas.

We arrived into Vegas just after lunch. We picked up our rental car and spent a few hours exploring the strip before heading out of the city towards our hotel for the night.

Day 2

Due to limited parking spaces, we read online that you had to to arrive to early if you wanted to guarantee yourself a parking space at Zion National Park.

We arrived at 4:30 a.m. and didn’t see another car when we arrived at the park entrance. Since the gates were open, we drove into the park to see if we would be able to get to trailhead parking or if they were stopping traffic further in. After a few curves we found the line… at 4:30 a.m. we were number 92 in line!

Since the park didn’t open until 6:30 a.m. we laid our seats back and waited. Ashley was able to get an extra hour or so of sleep while I enjoyed the sunrise.

Once the park opened we were able to secure a parking spot at the Angel’s Landing Trailhead. Angel’s Landing is one of the most popular hikes in the park (and the entire park system) that takes hikers up steep switchbacks and culminates at a very exposed section that takes you along a narrow ridge line.

It was a gorgeous hike. Unfortunately the chains section of the hike was closed when we visited due to COVID restrictions. While some people were ignoring the closed signs, we decided it was best not to risk the $10,000 fine!

Once completing Angel’s Landing we decided to make the short hike to the Upper and Lower Emerald Pools since they started at the same trailhead. Due to the park being at capacity, there was a risk that once we moved the car it could be difficult to find another parking spot.

After finishing the Emerald Pools hike we were ready for a break and were okay if we had to sit in the air conditioned car for a bit while we found another parking spot. After waiting in a short queue, we were able to get a parking spot at the Riverside Walk Trailhead.

The Riverside Walk is an easy 2 mile out-and-back stroll that is mostly paved. The trail ends at the entrance to The Narrows. The Narrows is the most popular hike in Zion and the trail is, well, the river. The trail follows the Virgin River through the slot canyons and the water level ranges from ankle-deep to waist-deep. Unfortunately we didn’t have time on this trip to complete the hike but we did spend some time wading around at the entrance and taking in the views.

After enjoying some time by the river, we headed out of the park and stopped for a late lunch at Zion Canyon Brew Pub and then headed towards our AirBnB in Panguitch, Utah to put us near Bryce Canyon.

Once in Panguitch we ate dinner at the Cowboy Smoke House before catching some rest.

Day 3

Since we didn’t have to worry about park capacity issues, we didn’t start our day at Bryce Canyon National Park until around 9 a.m. We parked at the Sunset Point Road trailhead and after taking a few quick pictures, started our hike on the Navajo Loop and then connected with the Queens Garden Trail.

After making it to the bottom, Ashley had to go to the bathroom so we ended up having to hike back up the steep incline before resuming our hike!

We had a blast hiking through the slot canyons and around the “hoodoos” that Bryce Canyon is known for, which are tall and skinny rock formations throughout the park.

We ended our park visit with a quick stop at the Bryce Point lookout that provided an awesome view of the Bryce Amphitheater area.

Since we had an early flight home, we drove back to Las Vegas and stayed the night at The STRAT Hotel. Even though we had booked a non-smoking room, the first room they assigned us smelled heavily of smoke. Luckily they were able to find us another room but we would recommend staying elsewhere if possible.

Day 4

Our Frontier flight departed the Las Vegas Airport around 6 a.m. and we were back in Kentucky a few hours later.

Final Thoughts

Both Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park were beautiful and fun to explore. While Zion is by far more popular (3.59 million to 1.46 million visitors) both Ashley and I favored Bryce Canyon.

Someday we would like to visit Zion again to complete the chains section of Angel’s Landing as well as hike The Narrows.