Zion and Bryce in a single day

[SpitzNV]

I did your route in the reverse direction. Pretty nice. Any plans to get to Great Basin NP from Beaver?

Current plan is to head to Arches after Beaver, and go through Capitol Reef on the way. Is Capitol Reef worth the detour?

 

[purplewalt]

I have previously been to both Parks in an ICE, I have no idea how you could possibly visit, immerse and enjoy yourselves in both Parks in one day.

In my opinion, Bryce Canyon is best experienced at Sunrise or near Sunset, when only the tops of the Hoodoos are lit by the early or waning rays of sun.
Make time for a (surefooted) horseback or mule ride into the canyon for a better up-close perspective of the scale of the canyon.

Zion National Park is immense.
Most people visit the main part of the park, and unless they are hiking, never explore the Kolob Canyons portion of the park to the Northwest.
And it is very different and worth the time to visit.
IIRC, it is almost 30 miles to drive around to the other entrance off of Highway 15.

With today's opening of Page, AZ Supercharger, this really opens up a lot of opportunities to explore Southern Utah Parks and access to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in your Model S or X.

 

[p-f-g]

Is Capitol Reef worth the detour?

Capitol Reef is beautiful, as all the roads in the area. I think the Tesla will not make it across the river to visit the north part but the paved scenic road in the south is short and spectacular.

Ideally you should go back to Bryce and follow hwy 12, a very scenic road. But Beaver to Moab without charging will be difficult...

 

[dauger]

What were your favorite things to see and do at each?

I started with the paperwork from the National Parks themselves:

https://www.nps.gov/zion/planyourvisit/upload/Zion-Summer-2016-Web.pdf

https://www.nps.gov/brca/learn/news/upload/Hoodoo_Summer_20160415_final_SmallestFileSize.pdf

These are pdfs of the handouts they give at the park entrance. Zion's, like that of most National Parks, has an entry entitled "Zion in Three Hours or Less" on page 6. I interpret that as: "these are the highlights". We heeded their advice.

The Bryce pdf didn't quite say that, but have a look at the middle insert listing the Easy and Moderate hikes. We chose the Sunset to Sunrise and Mossy Cave hikes, which had great things to see, and ran out of time to do more.

Before the trip I downloaded and printed these out so that the night before I could plan my attack. Depending on your preference, you can whittle down your targets from there. Good hunting.

 

[Barry]

Maybe that's not your thing and I respect that. Some people hate cruise ships for the same reason.

Didn't mean to get on your case. You're right - to each, his own. Enjoy your trip. And yes, I do hate cruise ships!

 

[eyespii]

Hi All,

I'm planning the first road trip for our MX 90D -- a jam-packed 8-day, 3200-mile odyssey where we intend to hit 15 national parks and monuments. i believe I have most of the charging stations figured out but I'm still a little worried about one leg where we'll hit both Zion and Bryce in a single day (and single charge).
Current itinerary looks like this:
Leave Vegas in the late morning (likely after doing a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon in the early morning)
Fully charge at the St George supercharger while having lunch
Tour Zion
Tour Bryce Canyon (to Rainbow Point and back, time/charge allowing)
Continue to Beaver supercharger and have dinner at Timberline Inn.

evtripplanner is showing 231 miles, which seems doable by itself.
But what scares me is this:
Up Feet: 18,760
Down Feet: 15,492

Has anyone done this successfully before?

Thanks in advance!
John

I've never done this, but the thought of leaving myself only a 30-mile range buffer, particularly on unfamiliar roads and with family in tow, would make me rethink it. Hit some bad weather, a strong headwind, or an accident, and you're toast. If it was me, I'd give myself at least a half day at zion, if only to juice up. Even 3 or 4 hours might give you 60-80 miles of range, and would be the bare minimum amount of time you'd need in zion anyway.

If it's open, check out the narrows hike. Rent some wetsuits from the local shop, and enjoy one of the most unique and beautiful hikes ever. Or if you want a workout, hit angel's landing.

 

[Barry]

Or if you want a workout, hit angel's landing.

That's the one we did last trip. I recently saw an online article titled, "The 20 Scariest Hikes in the World," and it was on the list. It was pretty scary while traversing the ledge, holding on to the chains!

 

[Lump]

We were perfectly happy skipping Angels Landing after seeing theses pictures & sticky to the family friendly hikes recommended on Joes guide Joe's Guide to Zion National Park - Angels Landing Photos (2)

30 mile range buffer is plenty for me, on our trip from Cliffrose Lodge to Bryce & back we had a storm moving in with 40mph headwinds so between hypermilling & driving below the speed limit I was confident we would be fine, keep an eye on the trip energy graph.

 

[ForeverFree]

Thanks for the advice. What were your favorite things to see and do at each?

One of the best short hikes in the world: Angels Landing in Zion. Right in the main valley. Only 2.5 miles each way. And, utterly unforgettable.

Also very much worth checking out, right between Zion and Bryce: Cedar Breaks. Lesser known. But, at least as spectacular as Bryce. Also has several very short hikes with amazing photo ops.

 

[SpitzNV]

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. After learning that Cliff Palace will be closed for the duration of our trip, I've removed Mesa Verde from our itinerary altogether which frees up a half day for us to spend at Zion (overnighting at Cliffrose Lodge), and another at Bryce (overnighting at Ruby's Inn), followed by half days at Arches, then Canyonlands. Will skip Capitol Reef this time - just too hard to find decent chargers without massive amounts of rerouting/backtracking.

 

[p-f-g]

Which roads will you take from Bryce to Arches? Hwy 12 and 24 to the Green River supercharger is about 220 miles.

 

[SpitzNV]

Which roads will you take from Bryce to Arches? Hwy 12 and 24 to the Green River supercharger is about 220 miles.

I'm currently up in the air.
One option is to go to Green River via UT-62=>UT-72=>I-70.
evtripplanner claims 196 miles and a drop of 3,500 ft of elevation.
If I get a full charge from my overnight at Ruby's, that's a pretty safe bet.
Another option (which is the same time according to Google Maps but almost 30 additional miles) is to take US-89 around to I-70.
That route goes right through the Richfield Supercharger, but looking online doesn't seem to be a lot there.
So if I can avoid it, I probably will.

 

[purplewalt]

Just be careful of the terrain.
Lots of very high mountains, range after range.
After range.

Green River to Richfield looked like it was no big deal.
On the Map.

Going down is a breeze, but going up, needed to really limit my speed, as I miscalculated how much range I might need // use.

Sides of the Mountains near Richfield are beautiful: red and white stone layers.

Capital Reef NP is very interesting, as is Shiprock in NW New Mexico (might be out of your way).

 

[SpitzNV]

Just be careful of the terrain...
Capital Reef NP is very interesting, as is Shiprock in NW New Mexico (might be out of your way).

Noted!
Unfortunately won't have time to hit Capitol Reef or pretty much anything else, as we have only 8 days.
On the return to San Jose, we hope to visit Four Corners, Petrified Forest and Joshua Tree.
But other than those, just a LOT of driving!

 

[AudubonB]

Four Corners is a gimmick in my opinion. Just as is driving north from Fairbanks to reach the Arctic Circle - even though that latter intangible is, at least, a geographic entity rather than a sociopolitical one. There really, truly, is utterly nothing to see there.

If your route to Petrified Forest takes you through the Monument Valley area, OR Canyon de Chelly, OR both, then those are exquisite features of that part of the country whose memories you will cherish.

The single most favorite nugget I have in the region (nugget as opposed to the Fort Knoxes like Zion), is to ferret out the Moki Dugway although, sadly, you might not be able to fit it into your itinerary (but try!). Especially if you can hit it in the South---->North direction.

As a hint, you will swear on your grandparents' graves the road is about to disappear....and, then, all of a sudden, HolyMotherOfGoodnessGraciousSakesAlive - there it is! Not possible!

And then that revelation pales against the blanchness of your face when you actually drive what has just become apparent...

 

[SpitzNV]

Four Corners is a gimmick in my opinion

Yeah, my expectations are low. I'm coming from the supercharger in Blanding going to the supercharger in Gallups, and it's essentially on the way.

Moki Dugway - as awesome as it looks - definitely NOT on the way.

But Canyon de Chelly is a maybe. It all comes down to charge. I'll see if we can swing it.

Thanks much for the suggestions!

 

[p-f-g]

I'm currently up in the air.
One option is to go to Green River via UT-62=>UT-72=>I-70.
evtripplanner claims 196 miles and a drop of 3,500 ft of elevation.
If I get a full charge from my overnight at Ruby's, that's a pretty safe bet.

Through 12 & 24 it's about 20 mi more and higher elevation gain but it's MUCH more scenic. You could maybe plan a stop at an RV park in Torrey or Hanksville?

I'm coming from the supercharger in Blanding going to the supercharger in Gallups,

Have you ever been to Monument Valley and Page area? If not I would consider Blanding-Page-Flagstaff instead as, again, It's more scenic.

As you will not have much time to wander around, you should try to maximise the most interesting roads.

 

[Barry]

p-f-g - how did you produce those elevation profiles?

 

[p-f-g]

p-f-g - how did you produce those elevation profiles?

Not sure if it's the easiest way, but I exported the itineraries as kml from google maps and imported them in google earth.

 

[Owner]

I'd actually skip Canyonlands. Not that it isn't a nice place, but it isn't as spectacular as the others. Arches is my favorite, I spent a week there last year with on a volunteer stint.

I would free up that time to just see where things go. Take the great hike at the end of the drive in Arches (can't remember the name) instead of more driving that day.

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. After learning that Cliff Palace will be closed for the duration of our trip, I've removed Mesa Verde from our itinerary altogether which frees up a half day for us to spend at Zion (overnighting at Cliffrose Lodge), and another at Bryce (overnighting at Ruby's Inn), followed by half days at Arches, then Canyonlands. Will skip Capitol Reef this time - just too hard to find decent chargers without massive amounts of rerouting/backtracking.