The American southwest is home to a large concentration of national parks and protected spaces, and as a result will see a large amount of visitors planning trips that will begin in a nearby city. If you are not a resident of California, Nevada, Utah or Arizona, you are probably going to have to fly from your home to a starting city in order to begin your trip, as these parks are generally a minimum of four hours drive from even the closest major city. There is also limited facilities surrounding the parks when it comes to restaurants and hotels, so the idea of starting at a major city that you can call home base before setting out on your journey is a wise move. The two major cities that support commercial airline traffic and have ample hotels and restaurant choices are Las Vegas and Salt Lake City, and most people will agree that Las Vegas is a more logical choice simply due to the fact that it is a tourist attraction in it’s own right. For this reason, it is quite common for those who are planning tours of national parks to start in Las Vegas, and then also add a few extra days to the trip just to explore Las Vegas as well.
Using Las Vegas as a starting point gives you many choices as far as national parks you can visit within a short driving time. While the majority of these parks are around 4 to 5 hours drive, the most popular park in the area is actually only 2.5 hours away. Zion Canyon has grown quite popular in the last few years, probably due to the close proximity to Las Vegas and the ability to visit in one or two days. Zion itself is an amazing and beautiful place that offers sightseeing and hiking as well as camping and river activities. Zion can be reached and explored in a day, although you will probably be quite tired on the return trip. We suggest a two day trip with camping overnight.
Bryce Canyon is a few hours from Zion. If you were to drive straight to Bryce from Las Vegas it would take about 4 hours to get there, so you are probably not going to be able to do a Bryce tour in one day. We prefer to visit Zion for a day first then drive to Bryce from there. When visiting Bryce you will marvel at the hoodoos and have ample hiking and sightseeing opportunities.
Monument Valley is within a short drive from Bryce, and is essentially the type of place that is best for sightseeing. It is a long straight road leading up to gigantic mountain structures that rise from the flat desert floor. Monument Valley is used quite often to represent the desolation of the west in movies.
Antelope Canyon is not able to be toured without being part of a licensed tour group. This is due to the fact that flash flooding can happen without warning and has been known to injure or even kill visitors when it happens. It is a spectacular slot canyon that has to be seen to be believed, but it does involve climbing and scrambling to get there.
The Grand Canyon is the ultimate trip for people wanting to explore national parks. The best areas are located around 4.5 hours drive from Las Vegas, and are best explored as part of a multi-park tour so you can get there from another park with only a few hours drive in between. The Grand Canyon offers sightseeing, hiking, helicopter tours, water rafting and many other activities. It is best to spend an entire day at the Grand Canyon, as the park is really beyond belief and has to be explored to be appreciated.
If you are interested in tours of national parks near Las Vegas, contact us first. We are one of the most popular and awarded tour companies providing adventure tours from Las Vegas, and have multiple tour packages that will fit into your schedule.