Bryce Canyon and Zion NP

My wife wants to go to Vegas; I want to work in a few days of shooting in Zion and Bryce. Never been in this area before. Any suggestions (how much time; where to go; what to see etc) would be greatly appreciated. Right now, we are looking at the last week of October.

Thanks.
John

Zion.
Any time around the 1st of November.
Peak Fall Color.
https://www.flickr.com​/search/?q=zion%20fall​%20color


Stay as long as you can. The notion that you can 'hit' a destination like this in X number of days is absurd.

Bryce is close enough to make a fine day trip. You'll encounter more colors en route. Once there, the altitude is so high that you any fall action will be over long before you arrive.

Geonerd - Thanks for responding. I agree with you 100% that you can't "hit" a destination like this in x number of days, I wish I had a week or more to do each park but unfortunately, I don't on this trip. Since I was so close, I wanted to at least get a first look at each park; so the next time I'm in the area, I'll have a better idea of where I want to spend my time. Would you be inclined to spend more time at Zion or at Bryce?

Thanks for the link to the photos. I did check it out; a lot of cool photos there. I really enjoyed them.

If you or anyone else has a favorite spot(s) in either one of these parks, I would love to hear about it.

Thank you very much.

John

You can get some great photos in a day at Zion. There are plenty of trails from novice to very experienced that will yield much better views if you have more time and are so inclined .

Try to stop at the Valley of Fire Park on the way there or back. A week's not really enough time to do everything justice but at least you'll know where to spend more time on the next trip.

Terry, I appreciate your comments. I'll look in to The Vally Of Fire Park. Do you have a favorite spot or trail at Zion?

Thanks,
John

We only spent one full day and had no time. Next time we'll make time. We'll spend a week or so between bryce and zion with a stop each way at valley of fire.

Terry
We probably will split 4/5 days between the two parks. I was hoping people who had been there or frequent there would share favorite spots. Thanks again for responding.

john

A great resource for places to shot in southern UT is the book "Photographing the Southwest, Vol.1 - Southern Utah" by Laurent Martres. Lists a lot of great locations and directions on how to find them and of course tips on how to get the best shots. I found the book to be very useful, even for a hack like me.

With 4 or 5 days between these two parks you can actually cover a fair about of ground. Bryce is the smaller park and could be covered with a one-night stay so that you have at least one shot at sunrise and sunset. You can get nice shots from the rim of the main amphitheater or you can hike below the rim a bit to get a different perspective.

Zion takes more effort to get to the better locations. It is a beautiful park, but honestly I like other area of southern UT better, so I'm not that well versed with where to shoot in Zion. But after seeing Geonerd's photos (great shots!), I will have to go back. The Narrows has been on my list for a while, but I just have not been back to the park.

If you can get 5 days, you might also want to think abut exploring along scenic highway 12 between Bryce and Capitol Reef. There are some great trails and wonderful scenery all along the route, particularly around Escalante. Devils Garden is easy to get to along the Hole in the Rock Road and further on that road you can try Spooky and Peek-a-boo slot canyons (there are other pretty slots in that area, but I have not visited those).

OhioHick
Thanks for your help. I've been trying to read everything i can,but much prefer info like yours. I had been thinking 2 days at each park,but maybe i'll switch and free up 1 day from bryce. Thanks for the tip about the book. Will try to look in to it.

john