Our twins are in 4th grade this year, and you know what that means - we had to make the most of their 4th grade national park passes!! 3 years ago when my son was in 4th grade, we focused on visiting Arizona (Grand Canyon, Phoenix, Sedona), and this year, we decided to focus on Utah (Zion and Bryce Canyon to be exact). Watch our fun video covering every single thing we did from our direct flights from Newark to Las Vegas, to our hotels, car rental, and every single activity we did!! From hiking at Zion and Bryce to a Navajo guided tour in Antelope Valley area slot canyons, to Horseshoe Bend and exploring casinos in Las Vegas, including "pro tips" for traveling to the southwest as well as traveling as a big family, and of course links to book everything yourself!!
Disclaimer: I earn commission from purchases made after clicking on my affiliate links (marked with * below) - which help fund my blog and our family vacations, thank you!!
DAY 1: Fly + Overnight in Las Vegas: Spring break can be tricky to find affordable flights, but we found tickets for under $350 roundtrip, direct from Newark to Las Vegas, which included free carry on and in seat entertainment. We didn't do any regional flights in the southwest and opted for driving instead, but if you're really crunched for time and want to see a larger area, you might consider it! We stayed the first night at Spark by Hilton Las Vegas Airport* because we arrived after midnight and needed some place close to crash before driving over to Utah, and it had free breakfast to boot! It was just your average chain hotel, nothing super special to speak of, but it got the job done and we were happy! I don't have a single photo though, because it took ages to get our rental van at the airport and we didn't check in til 3am!! Slept strait til 8am and then threw down breakfast and headed out! 
Rental Car*:
We didn't want to make the same mistake we did in Costa Rica which was thinking we could cram 7 people (and 7 people's luggage) into a 7 seater SUV... so we went all out on a 12 passenger van and it was glorious!! Everyone had space, and thankfully the land out west also has space, so my husband didn't have a single issue driving it. I love the idea of an RV but it just seems so difficult to drive and you really still need a regular car for getting around in towns. And if going with just your spouse or with 1 kid like a group of 4 or less, something like an Indie Camper could be fun!! 
DAY 2: Drive to Zion National Park + check into Kanab rental home It was about a 3 hour drive from Las Vegas to Zion, we took a couple of pit stops including lunch, and got to Zion around 2pm. It was CROWDED!! You have to park on the street in Springdale ($15) and take the free shuttle into the park. We decided to hike the "kid-friendly" Pa'rus Trail, and it was beautiful, but we were shocked with how many people (most!?) were on e-bikes!! They're $80 to rent for the day (maybe cheaper if you book ahead*), and you have to be at least 14 years old. Our kids begged but we didn't think the grand parents would be up for it, and I didn't trust myself on an e-bike with a 10 year old strapped on the back!! So... we hiked for about 2 hours, waited a LONG time in line to get the shuttle back to the car, and enjoyed some SPECTACULAR Zion sightseeing on the drive down to Kanab. I would have loved to hike The Narrows* but we didn't have time... it might be something worthwhile, wading through the river, how fun!! 
Kanab Rental House*: When you travel with a large group, constantly changing hotels can be a real pain in the butt. We prefer to have one base, where we can load up on groceries for relaxed breakfasts, where we don't have to repack daily, where we can do laundry and hit the pool, you name it! So I found this cute little town, Kanab Utah, and an adorable little rental townhouse, and it was PERFECT!! 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, full kitchen, washer and dryer, and a community pool and jacuzzi. It was a 1-1.5hr drive to all the places we wanted to go, so nice and central, and I can't recommend it highly enough!! When in Kanab at night, LOOK UP!!! I have never seen so many stars IN. MY. LIFE!!! Look at the photo below - can you see Orien's Belt!? 
DAY 2: BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK
Apparently in early April, Bryce typically still has 2 feet of snow on the ground. But this year, thankfully, it was significantly warmer meaning the weather was gorgeous, and ALL trails were open!! We parked at the main entrance and took the shuttle to Cedar Point. OMG. WOW. STUNNING!!! We took the shuttle to a few different spots and got lunch at the Bryce Canyon Lodge*. The park was absolutely breathtaking. But also very nerve wracking. Lots of paths had no rails, and I was just on constant alert that someone was going to go over the edge. Still, this park is a MUST SEE!!! 
DAY 3: Page, Antelope Valley Slot Canyon, + Horseshoe Bend
If you are 100% set on doing an Upper Antelope Canyon*, Lower Antelope Canyon*, or Antelope Canyon X* tour, book it. Like, as soon as you have your flight booked, next step is book the tour. Antelope slot canyons are on Navajo land and require a Navajo permit as well as a Navajo led guide. These tours are PRICEY, we're talking $100+ per person, for a 1 hour tour. I just couldn't do it. And after day 2 as we were sitting around after dinner going, what's tomorrow?? There were no Upper/Lower Antelope tours left except for $165 per person at 6am. NOPE. So we started looking for alternatives, and found this one, Antelope Valley Wind Pebble Canyon Tour with Navajo family owned Ligai Si Anii Tours*, that ended up being much cheaper and just so amazing. It felt like a private tour! There was literally no one other than our group (us 7, 2 more families, and our guide, Wally, a total of 14) in the ENTIRE CANYON for the entire 2 hours we were there!! Just such a great experience!! Wally was a great source of information, a great story tell, a great guide, and a great photographer - taking tons of vertical family panoramas within the slot canyons. There were ladders, climbing over some boulders, very narrow slots to traverse, but even my 70 year old in laws could do it! 
After working up an appetite, we went out to lunch, and then went to Horseshoe Bend. It was $15 for parking, but was $35 for our "oversized" van. It's a state park, not a national one, so the 4th grade park pass didn't help. It's a 15 minute walk or so out to the lookout which is a jaw dropper, and another place that just made me so nervous about someone falling over! Everyone leaning out over the cliffs to take a selfie. Just yikes!!! If you have more time and want to do an activity here, there are tons of tours and fun stuff like boating, rafting*, kayaking*, etc! 
DAY 4 - FLEX DAY Initially I had tentatively planned to go back to Zion on this day, but after so much driving the previous days, we decided instead to check out the cool spots more local to our base camp of Kanab! And it was a WIN!! Here's where we went: Moqui Cave Free parking, $7 per adult (a little less for kids and seniors). Very cool museum inside of a cave, make sure to ask about the owner (a Mormon who had 6 wives and 55 kids, and how he had to go to prison for 1 month per wife when Utah was made a state - such a fascinating story!!!). They have dinosaur footprints and fossils, a black lit section of stones, just lots to see, we really enjoyed it! 
Kanab Sand Caves I want to preface this with the fact that it was the scariest and most dangerous hike our family has ever done, and I had NO idea it would be that scary. Do not go into this hike like we did. Make sure you have GOOD tread on your shoes and that everyone in your party is ok with scaling sandy slabs of rock at a good 45 degree angle, where 1 big slip means you are at the bottom. Like. SCARY. But, that said, once you make it to the top, it's really really cool. Man made caves that look out, such a fun spot to explore, play in sand, and take tons of photos. Again, somehow, my 70 year old in-laws were able to climb this as were my kids, but my husband definitely helped some of us out. I found climbing like a crab gave me the best grip allowing me to have my feet flat on the slabs, with my hands down too, but it wasn't fun... One of my kids had bald sneakers and she had ZERO traction, needed my husband's hand most of the climb up and down. 
Belly of the Dragon After the sand caves, this one was easy peasy. A very quick stop if just doing the tunnel which is less than a quarter mile end to end, unless you follow the trail about 4 miles to see the slot canyon. Free parking, really cool man made drainage pipe that seriously looks like the belly of a dragon! I joke in the video but I really felt like we were giving a dragon a colonoscopy LOL! Fun quick worthwhile stop if you're in the Kanab area! 
Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park I don't think I would recommend this in summer, but early April when we went it was mid 70's, sunny, breezy, just couldn't have been more perfect weather to visit these sand dunes! $15 parking (a state park, so 4th grade park pass doesn't work) and $25 per rental board - they have sit down and stand up ones to choose from, make sure they give you a square of wax that you can use on the bottom to go faster. We decided to rent just 1 board and share it between the 5 of us (in-laws sat this one out), and it was a good call because it was a LOT of work getting back up that hill each time!! PRO TIP: consider bringing goggles for this one, our kids got so much sand in their eyes, it was quite painful!! I didn't have an issue, maybe because when standing I was out of the sand blowing around for the most part? Or maybe because I only did 1 sled run and didn't roll around in the sand like they did... They do sell them at the shop but they're $20 each I think... better to BYO! Another pro tip - if you want to ride or drive dune buggies or off road vehicles around Kanab or anywhere, book this AHEAD OF TIME!! We tried the day before and everything was booked. If looking for a fun tour, this one looks amazing - Sand Dunes ATV Ride, Sledding, + Slot Canyon*! 
DAY 5 - Drive back to Las Vegas + Explore It was a good 3.5 hour drive back to Vegas, with just 1 pit stop this time. We couldn't check in til 4pm so we parked the car and explored some casinos, which was fun!! We walked through Paris, Its Sugar, saw the Bellagio fountain show (in the day and nighttime), checked out the flamingo gardens at Flamingo, saw the canals and gondolas in the Venetian, and found the Sphere. 
PLANET HOLLYWOOD HOTEL & CASINO* For our last night of the trip, we wanted to GO BIG by staying at a hotel on the Las Vegas Strip and ended up going with (the cheapest rooms) at Planet Hollywood. It's a large hotel and the rooms were shockingly spacious, with a soaking tub and we ended up with a great view of the sphere! Nice unexpected bonus! If you have time, the pool is massive and there's corn hole and more to do up there, with great views! And I highly recommend Cafe Hollywood for breakfast - HUGE portions, definitely share!! 
DAY 6 - Omega Mart* + Fly Home Our kids had been whining the entire week about wanting to go to Omega Mart in Vegas. In the end it wasn't looking like we'd have time and they were melting down over it. So we made a last minute decision during breakfast on our last day that we would get tickets at 10am when they opened and spend a maximum of 2 hours there, before rushing to the airport to fly home. And you know what?! The plan actually worked!! The line at the entrance freaked us out but I guess people with timed tickets for first entry line up before it opens, but it took just a few minutes to get in and it was nice and quiet! By the end of our visit it was getting more crowded as the 11am and 12pm timed entrance ticket holders entered, so I definitely recommend trying to get the 1st slot when they open for the least crowds. And I'd say 2 hours was the bare minimum. If you want to actually get the Employee Pass and try to figure out the clues and all that, it could take many more hours. But after 2 hours, we (parents) felt it was good enough!! 
EXTENDED TRIP OPTION: Add on Grand Canyon, Sedona + Phoenix If you only plan to come to this area once, you don't want to miss Grand Canyon. From Page, drive 2.5 hours south to Grand Canyon (1 night), drive another 2.5 hours south to Sedona (1 night), and drive another 2 hours south to return your rental car and fly out of Phoenix. This add-on does require a few extra days and the added fee for a 1-way rental car and two 1-way flights, but you will get to see SO much in this single extended trip. We prefer a slightly shorter and slower vacation, so we split this up into 2 different spring breaks and highly recommend it!! Late March through April is honestly the best weather in the southwest, some parts have a chance of still having snow or dropping into the 30's overnight, but we found in general, it's dry and sunny and in the 60s-70s most days (our last day in Vegas was 90!). Here's our Arizona Vacation Guide and Phoenix-Sedona-Grand Canyon Trip highlights videos:
This was an amazing spring break, and we are so grateful my husband's parents could come from Japan to join us! So many memories made!!
Want more family vacation inspiration, and easy to copy-edit-paste trips!?
We got you!! Here are our family vacation guides to:
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
 
About ME:I'm a NYC metro area mom blogger living in NJ with my Japanese husband & our 3 kids (twins + 1), focusing on fun and honest product and travel reviews, helping busy parents find the best for their families! Find what you need in the menu bar or search section above! 
 Categories
All
Archives
May 2026
|
RSS Feed
Proudly powered by Weebly
