A friend of mine is flying to the US with his family 12 April into Vegas and from there hitting :

• Las Vegas
• Death valley (tour)
• Hoover dam / Grand Canyon /Hermits Rest rd
• Helios boat tour / Monument Valley
• Mesa Verde
• islands in the sky (including horseshoe)
• Arches
• Capitol Reef
• Petrified Forest
• Bryce
• Zion

He's in a rental, so no real trail options, but anyone any suggestions on what he should do to see more/better than the average tourist?

Any local insight is greatly appreciated!
Okki

They are staying in hotel/motel/lodges. Since they are flying in from Europe, that means rental car and limited gear They do hike and should be coming prepared for that.

Thanks for the suggestions!
Okki

Moab?

They are doing Arches in Moab. Any other suggestions? They are staying in town. Some of the cool things around Moab (like Tushers Tunnel) they will likely not attempt due to the rental car.

April 12 be probably last time in high 80s or even 90s maybe in DV but with all the rain could be nice with all spring flowers , but all of the desert should be good ! Valley of Fire is short drive from Vegas is cool . Mt Charleston lots of snow nice short drive to lodge ?

Spend the $$ and rent a Jeep for a day in Moab and do some simple trails (Finns n Things, etc.) It's not cheap (around $300 incl. insurance) but for a small group it can be fun and a good life experience (assuming the friends don't have back roading experience.)

Valley of Fire / The Fire Wave and Rainbow Vista is awesome. You can walk around hors-piste and explore.

Another feature in the "area" that is little known is The White Pocket which a careful competent driver in a rental soft SUV can get to. Great geological feature to wander around in, great for photographers in evening or morning light, even more awesome if there have been recent rains or snow.



Capital Reef is scenic for a drive-through from Points A to Point C, but there's not that much to "do" without getting really involved.

Bryce you can see in a half-day. Zion, make sure you try and run The Narrows though in April the river might be running too hard.

Don't skip out on Needles District in Canyonlands, it will be on your way from Monument Valley to Moab, and offers very scenic day hiking options that aren't too hard (assuming you're reasonably capable.)



Obviously, sample the brews at Moab Brewery

It's a part of the world I could return to for weeks, every year, year after year.

Isn't there a loop of service-roads in Arches that provides a good alternative view of the park? Anyone have any details on that? I can't see anything that would indicate the road on the USGS maps of Arches.

https://viewer.nationalmap.gov/basic...opo%20Download

Found it:
https://www.trails.com/activity.aspx...=12&m=outdoors
Willow Flats Rd and Cache Valley Trail

Arches is going to suck. They are doing work construction so traffic is going to be bad.

What about Canyonlands or Dead Horse State Park in Moab.

Dinosaur National Monument if they want to come further North. Great Basin National Park in Nevada.

I have plenty of suggestions, but first ...
How many weeks does he have for this Grand Tour?
Does he have lodging booked, or is that flexible?
Does "Death Valley (tour)" mean a booked one-day in-and-out from Vegas?
And as have others have mentioned, does he hike? Is he into geology? Is he interested in native American culture?

If you read through this TVA's TRDP purchase and road trip thread you will find some advice I gave him for the area.

Don't mean to hijack, but is Moab worth making the weekend trip out there? I assume it's pretty easy to setup camp? If so, what are good routes for stock TRDP?

A lot of the information I have gathered seems very high level... I guess I should just pack up my things and just head out there...

I'd definitely skip these and spend 2 days more time in Utah or AZ.

* Las Vegas
* Death valley (tour)
* Hoover dam / Grand Canyon /Hermits Rest rd

Death Valley is cool place but comparing it to Utah/AZ just isn't fair. I've been to DV plenty, been nearly everywhere. Save the three days and go straight to next on the list.


How long will they be in US? How long for Utah? Given the places you listed I assume 2-3 weeks. At least 2 weeks right? Since they are flying in from EU I assume they understand it takes half a day to a whole day o get between many of the places on their list. You are talking a nearly week of driving along to do that list. Personally I would trim it down by half or at least enough to spend 2+ days time in a each locality. Then in Moab area allocate 5 days.


I really really recommend driving through the Canyonlands White Rim trail. You can do it in a basic jeep. Once in a lifetime experience. I took this pic right on the trail.

Vegas local since '12....

In a rental, go from the airport up to Boulder City, go to the Boulder City Brewing pub for lunch or if it's a weekend night for the live music, Check out the Hoover Dam and do the bridge walk above it, then head back towards Vegas and take the scenic route through Lake Mead national recreation area, before you get to Henderson theres a road that heads towards North Las Vegas in the park, take that and skip the exit to North Las Vegas, if you continue down the road (About 40 miles if I remember correct) it eventually leads you right into Valley of Fire State Park, the drive there is beautiful and makes you feel like you're thousands of miles from humanity, lots of hiking and swimming along the whole route and camping if they're up for that... From Valley of Fire just hop 15 north into Utah and the options are endless.....

GO TO PARK CITY UTAH! Most beautiful place in America!

Another Vegas local here. This is a real nice drive. I also spend a lot of time in southern UT. I would recommend after Zion, on the way to Bryce, hit Cedar Breaks National Monument if open. It's small but in my opinion much prettier than Zion or Bryce and it isn't far from the 89 on your way to Bryce. Snow may not allow for this though and I don't know when the road opens to it. I believe it is sometime in mid April.

We have rented Jeeps with another couple and they are the favorite memories from many trips to Vegas:

Las Vegas Jeep Tours

Both women also drove the jeeps in our trip to Logandale and they loved it. Rock climbing was mind-blowing but still very safe with the owner as a guide. Also ran the sand dunes which was cool.

Farabee Rentals & Tours | Death Valley and Colorado!
Rented jeeps for 2 full days. You get a satellite phone and plan your own drives which we really liked. Death Valley is an amazing place.