Day 1: Touchdown Vegas 10:30 am 

From Vegas – Zion is a 2.5 hour drive. I scored a the car rental from Hertz at $17 a day with a 3% rebate by booking it through Ebates! The plan is to grab some waters and snacks – load up the car and hit the road by 11 am. The final destination is Zion National Park for an overnight stay but there are SO many places to see along the way. I use Roadtrippers.com to plan my road trips because I love their filter options for finding interesting stops.

Stop 1: Valley of Fire State Park:

Valley of Fire is about 1 hour outside Vegas and it’s a place worthy of exploring without digging too deep in your pockets. $10 will get you in and you can hike the fire valley slot canyon while you drive one of the most scenic drives in the US. Once you get into the park some famous formations will be obvious to you, including the Beehives, Fire Cave and Arch Rock. Make a left on Mouse Tank Road and you can Hike Balanced Rock or take the petroglyph canyon trail.

Listed below are a few other recommended hikes ↓ (*No Photos are my own)

Fire Canyon Silica Dome Hike 

About a 1/2 mile hike bear witness to the forces within the earth that have been powerful enough to cause thousands of feet of surface rock to fold and break. Today, erosion has worn away the top of one great fold, exposing the sharply angles layer of rock, and creating numerous canyons. Silica Dome is also where some climactic scenes for Star Trek: Generations was filmed.

Pink Pastel Canyon 

The loop is 2 miles in length, over fairly level terrain with just a few brief climbs and descents; sometimes along soft sand but mostly hard rock.

Fire Wave Hike

 About a 45 minute hike and 1.5 miles round trip with 175 feet of elevation change.

White Domes Trail Hike

Hiking loop with colorful rocks and caves -White Domes Road is one of the park’s excellent scenic routes.

I have found a ton of reasonably priced AirBnbs in Zion and also just outside the park. We will be staying in a fully furnished cabin with a kitchen and shower/bathroom for $115 a night. I also found a lot of “glamping” alternatives as well if you’re looking for a more intimate experience in the desert. There are many hikes to experience in Zion and the two that I have picked based on time, experience and difficulty: Observation Point and Angels Landing. Be careful and do your homework on knowing whether or not you need a permit to hike. I know for those 2 particular hikes it does not require a permit. But hiking to the Emerald Pools will require a permit. I’ve heard the Narrows is an awesome hike, but to be careful and aware of flash floods so although a guide isn’t mandatory, it is recommended.