Zion and Bryce in a single day

[SpitzNV]

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

 

[ecarfan]

I have not done it, but think you are not leaving yourself enough reserve considering that the EPA rating for your car is only 257.

 

[SpitzNV]

I show 261 RM on a range charge, which would leave 30 miles in the tank.
But the altitude changes are a serious concern.

 

[StaticDischarge]

You might try refilling in Springdale at one of the J1772s or HPWCs while you are on the shuttle in Zion.

 

[SpitzNV]

Good idea, StaticDischarge.
Though reports on PlugShare are that those J1772s are only 6kW and I only have time to spend around an hour there.
HPWCs are apparently only 24A too.
Couple that with the fact that I'll be just 45 miles off a full charge upon arrival and I'm looking at only getting in 15 miles of charge.
Still, could be the difference between making it or not!

 

[ecarfan]

You might try refilling in Springdale at one of the J1772s or HPWCs while you are on the shuttle in Zion.

But the OP says he is going to Supercharge in St. George, which is pretty close to Zion, so doing a slow charge at Zion won't make much difference. But it is certainly better than not charging there.

 

[dgpcolorado]

Good idea, StaticDischarge.
Though reports on PlugShare are that those J1772s are only 6kW and I only have time to spend around an hour there.
HPWCs are apparently only 24A too.
Couple that with the fact that I'll be just 45 miles off a full charge upon arrival and I'm looking at only getting in 15 miles of charge.
Still, could be the difference between making it or not!

There are a couple of L2 public stations in the visitor's center parking lot; cost is $5 unlimited use for several days and you need to get the code from the visitor's center which may take some time.

However, "I only have time to spend around an hour there." An hour to tour Zion? Even if you get lucky with the shuttle bus leaving as you walk up, I don't think you can get to the end of the road and back in an hour. Forget about getting out to see anything. Nice views from the shuttle bus windows I suppose. Or you could just take a look at the visitor's center, although that's not really experiencing the park.

 

[Barry]

An hour to tour Zion?

Exactly!

Are you just interested in checking off the parks on a checklist that you set foot in them?t. You need TIME to SEE the parks. You're missing so much, otherwise.

 

[Owner]

Bad idea. If you are just a "check it off the list" person its feasible. But I'd give a minimum half a day in any national park even if you are just a drive through and stop at the views.

This is some of the most spectacular scenery in the US (edit: the world)

If your one of the handful of folks who aren't into scenery and parks, it might be doable.

i'd change your itinerary honestly....

 

[StaticDischarge]

I used the HPWC at the Cliffrose in Springdale last apr. I was a guest, no idea if you could use it for an hour or two, though the chargers are just out in the side parking lot. Easy enough to call and ask. I have a check-in on Plugshare 07 Apr for that charger - on review, I see that I noted that it was 30A. My teslalog records show about 22-23 mph charge, 7.3-7.4 kW ave.

St George is about 40RM from Springdale, so you wouldn't benefit much past 2h, but you'd be full.

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

 

[dauger]

Last month I just took my family on a road trip, including visits to both Zion and Bryce. We visited them on separate days, so I'm hesitant to run your numbers because, for the sake of the giving these sights a fair shake, I agree with the others' advice to split the visits into two days because you'll want to spend a few hours each. You can check my logs:

In Zion we got there at 12 pm and left at 4:50 pm:

Tesla Model S - Zion Canyon

In Bryce we arrived at 10:30 am and left at 3:40 pm:

Tesla Model S - Bryce Canyon

That's 5 hours each limited to only what my 5-year-old could do, and my wife and I agreed next time we'll want to spend more time at each. We also visited Kolob Canyons, Red Canyon, and Cedar Breaks in the area, so I think these sights are worth your time.

I'd suggest adding a night at one of the two hotels on the Tesla Destination network next to Zion, Cliffrose or Flanigans. The vicinity looked like a nice little town, so we're thinking of staying there next time. Vegas-SpringdaleUT is 160 miles so St. George is kinda optional, then Springdale-Bryce-Beaver is 155 miles. I'd have to run more detailed numbers to account for altitude.

We did 2824 miles in 12 days and had a great time, so "8-day, 3200-mile" is definitely more "jam-packed" than how we roll.

 

[mikevbf]

Last month I just took my family on a road trip, including visits to both Zion and Bryce. We visited them on separate days, so I'm hesitant to run your numbers because, for the sake of the giving these sights a fair shake, I agree with the others' advice to split the visits into two days because you'll want to spend a few hours each. You can check my logs:

In Zion we got there at 12 pm and left at 4:50 pm:

Tesla Model S - Zion Canyon

In Bryce we arrived at 10:30 am and left at 3:40 pm:

Tesla Model S - Bryce Canyon

That's 5 hours each limited to only what my 5-year-old could do, and my wife and I agreed next time we'll want to spend more time at each. We also visited Kolob Canyons, Red Canyon, and Cedar Breaks in the area, so I think these sights are worth your time.

I'd suggest adding a night at one of the two hotels on the Tesla Destination network next to Zion, Cliffrose or Flanigans. The vicinity looked like a nice little town, so we're thinking of staying there next time. Vegas-SpringdaleUT is 160 miles so St. George is kinda optional, then Springdale-Bryce-Beaver is 155 miles. I'd have to run more detailed numbers to account for altitude.

We did 2824 miles in 12 days and had a great time, so "8-day, 3200-mile" is definitely more "jam-packed" than how we roll.

I stayed at Flanigans In June and give it a big thumbs up for location and quality. We did a whirlwind tour of the southwest parks in a couple of weeks and after we finished the kids (10 and 12) asked if we could go back to Zion again and stay at Flanigans.

 

[Barry]

I'd suggest adding a night at one of the two hotels on the Tesla Destination network next to Zion, Cliffrose or Flanigans.

FYI, Zion Lodge, inside the park, has 2 J1772 chargers at the far end of their parking lot. Spent 2 nights there last year.

 

[ecarfan]

FYI, Zion Lodge, inside the park, has 2 J1772 chargers at the far end of their parking lot. Spent 2 nights there last year.

I thought those were only for lodge guests?

 

[Barry]

I thought those were only for lodge guests?

When I was there, cars were not permitted to drive up Zion Canyon Scenic Dr. to the Lodge without a guest permit, so you're partially correct.

There's no sign on it indicating for guests only. Off season, when all park roads are open to cars, seems anyone would be able to park/charge there. It's probably 1000 ft from the main building, so no staff nearby.

 

[KJD]

To anyone touring Zions or Bryce please allow at least a full day in each park. There is so much there to do and see that anything less is just cheating yourself of a great experience.

As far as charging at Zions, there are J plugs at the visitor center and at the lodge. These are 2 different locations a few miles apart and people often get these mixed up with each other.

 

[dauger]

J plugs at the visitor center

When I charged at the J1772 plugs at the visitor's center, I recorded these GPS coordinates: 37.200002, -112.986283

http://tesla.dauger.com/roadtrip1608/zionCanyonCharging160815.jpg

The Rangers told us I could only drive to the Lodge if I had a reservation to stay overnight there.

 

[SpitzNV]

Exactly!

Are you just interested in checking off the parks on a checklist that you set foot in them?t. You need TIME to SEE the parks. You're missing so much, otherwise.

I have a limited time. Only a week. Certainly I could spend the entire time fully exploring Zion (I've spent longer at other national parks). But my idea was to get a preview for many parks that would help us decide where to deep dive in the future. Maybe that's not your thing and I respect that. Some people hate cruise ships for the same reason. But I personally enjoy them, as I do tasting menus, because it's often interesting to try lots of very different things.

 

[SpitzNV]

The Rangers told us I could only drive to the Lodge if I had a reservation to stay overnight there.

That's exactly what I read. And they're booked for the duration of my trip.

 

[SpitzNV]

To anyone touring Zions or Bryce please allow at least a full day in each park. There is so much there to do and see that anything less is just cheating yourself of a great experience.

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