The perfect guide to experiencing part of the Grand Circle and the beauty of the National Park system with stops at the Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches, and more!
Road Tripping Around the Grand Circle
I’m slowly getting all of our past family trips logged on the site but with news of the fires ravaging the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, I wanted to skip ahead to last summer’s vacation. It was, by far, my favorite trip we’ve ever taken as a family up to this point.
It was the trip that inspired me to reboot my blog, start selling my photos as digital prints and stock images, and see if I could somehow turn my experience planning out our family vacations and my new-found love for our National Parks into a side hustle. The cash isn’t flowing quite yet but I’m having fun with the process!
Visiting National Parks
A quick note about visiting the national parks! We hit 5 different ones and each had their own rules when it comes to entry fees, needing timed entry passes, which entrances were open, and things like that. Be sure to check each national park website before heading out because things can change.
If a park does charge an entry fee, it can range from $10 – $20 per person if entering on bike or foot or $25 – $35 per private vehicle. There are also a variety of paid passes you can obtain prior to your visit:
- Standard Pass: this will get you in to one park and is good for multiple visits over 7 days.
- Annual Pass: for $80, you can purchase an annual pass for multiple visits to a single park or park group
- America the Beautiful: this programs offers multiple annual and lifetime passes for various groups of people
- Seniors age 62+ can obtain an annual pass for $20 or lifetime pass for $80
- Current US Military members and their family can get free annual passes and Gold Star family members and veterans can get a free lifetime pass
- The Access Pass is a free, lifetime pass available to US citizens or permanent residents that have been medically determined to have a permanent disability (does not have to be a 100% disability) – this is what we have for our son who has Down syndrome. As long as he is traveling with us, we’re able to use his pass for our entire family.
- If you have a 4th grader this year, be sure to take advantage of the free 4th Grade Pass good for an entire year.
Again, just be sure to check ahead of arrival to see what kind of pass or if reservations are needed. Passes, campgrounds, hiking permits, and more can be purchased easily on recreation.gov.
And don’t forget to grab your passport so you can stamp it as you visit each one!
8-Day Grand Circle Road Trip Itinerary
Anyway, back to our trip! If you’ve browsed the site at all, you know we’re big on road trips. With Kansas City as our home base, it is so easy to look at the map, pick a direction, and hit the road. You can’t go wrong any which way you decide; just start driving! By now, we’ve gone almost every direction within a 8, 10, or 12 hour radius so this trip called for something a little more… ambitious.
And by psychotic ambitious I mean driving 2,700-plus miles and spending more than 50 hours in the car over 7 days.
Here’s how it all went down…
Day 1 – Albuquerque or Bust!
Kansas City to Albuquerque | ~ 12 Hours | 767 Miles
Believe it or not, this first day from Kansas City to Albuquerque was our longest stint. We had planned to leave around 5am but we had storms roll through the night before which meant poor sleep all around so it took a bit longer to get out the door.
The day was filled with standard road trip things: a dirt-road detour, a solo performance of the entirety of Celine Dion’s Falling Into You album by yours truly (iykyk) and plenty of pit-stops.
Twelve-ish hours later, we arrived in Albuquerque and checked into the Hilton Garden Inn near the airport. Nothing fancy, but perfectly comfortable for our crash pad after a long day. We grabbed a quick bite at Monroe’s and got some rest before hitting the road again.
Day 2 – The Painted Desert & The Grandest Canyons
Albuquerque to Tusayan | ~ 6 Hours | 464 Miles
Before leaving Albuquerque, we grabbed breakfast at Frontier Restaurant which was sooo delicious and a great way to start the day. Our final destination that evening was Tusayan, Arizona.
Petrified Forest National Park
We made a some-what spontaneous stop at Petrified Forest National Park. The north entrance was on our way and right off I-40 so we entered there and spent a couple of hours driving 28 miles south through the park. We made stops along the way to check out various sites and to stretch our legs. We exited at Highway 180 and took that back to the interstate in Holbrook.
If you’ve never seen 200-million year old rainbow-colored logs turned to stone or panoramic views of the Painted Desert, it’s absolutely worth the detour.
After the Petrified Forest we continued on and stopped for snacks (and beer!) at Historic Brewing in Flagstaff before heading north on Highway 89. I was determined to get to the Grand Canyon before sunset.
Grand Canyon National Park
We had only planned to visit the South Rim – we’ll have to go back some day after the North Rim recovers from the recent fires – and wanted to enter at the East Entrance. From there, we were going to take the Desert View Drive back towards the South Entrance, where our hotel was located.
After entering, we parked and walked towards the Desert View Watchtower where we had our first views of the Grand Canyon.
When I tell you it took my breath away… y’all. It was magical.
We timed it perfectly, too! I was geeking out. There was still enough daylight to snap some family photos and take it all in. Desert View Drive is a wonderful 23 mile road that has several lookout points along the way; I think we stopped at each one to get a different vantage point and snap photos of the sun setting over the edges of the canyon.
After the sunset, we exited and made it to our hotel in Tusayan, just outside the park’s South Entrance. We checked into The Squire for a two-night stay, unloaded the car, and grabbed a late dinner at the restaurant onsite there. The kids burned some energy running through the arcade for a minute before heading back up to our room to crash.
Day 3 – Exploring the Grand Canyon
Our day started early with a hearty breakfast at The Squire’s buffet. The park doesn’t have timed entry and doesn’t require reservations so we tried to heed the advice on the park’s website and enter before 10 am to avoid crowds and waiting in line to enter the park. It was also supposed to be hot so the earlier the better.
It worked out as we were able to easily grab parking at the Grand Canyon Visitor Center and began walking the Canyon Rim Trail from Mather Point. The trail is paved and offers jaw-dropping views literally every few steps. Hiking is still hit or miss with the kids so having the option to walk this (and push Baker in his trusty wagon!) and still see so much was so wonderful.
We took our time meandering towards the historic Village and had lunch at Harvey House Cafe. There are a handful of lodges and accommodations in this area so definitely check it out if you’re planning a trip and wanting to stay inside the park!
I couldn’t convince the kids to keep walking after a long lunch – it was quite warm – so we ended up grabbing the free shuttle and took it back to the visitor center. The kids were begging to swim so we made our way back to the hotel for some pool time!
After cooling off and relaxing a bit, we grabbed dinner across the street (yummy pizza!) and went back into the park. You better believe I made them all chase another sunset with me!
We did the entirety of Desert View Drive again and it did not disappoint. Seriously, do not sleep on the Grand Canyon – it’s a must-see and I can’t wait to visit again someday soon.
Day 4 – Zion National Park
Tusayan to Zion | ~ 4 Hours | 241 Miles
We said goodbye to the Grand Canyon and continued on our way to Zion National Park. Our goal was to make it there by early afternoon to explore before continuing on another 30 minutes to our resort. We also made a pit-stop in Kanab on the way to restock snacks and grabbed food to cook later that night for dinner. Perks of a road trip – traveling with a big ass cooler!
Even though we didn’t have the longest way to go, I definitely underestimated the timing of this day – by the time we actually got there it was extremely hot but we tried to make the most of it.
We entered the park through the East Entrance and took the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway to the visitor center. It was a really pretty drive in that included nice views and a tunnel that was a hit with the kids. We parked at the visitor center, filled up with waters, purchased cooling towels, and planned out our next move.
It was shuttle season within the park which meant we could not take our personal vehicle along the scenic drive – it was only accessible by the free shuttle route that consisted of 9 stops. With that, we decided to leave the visitor center and start walking the Pa’rus Trail towards the Canyon Junction stop (#3). This is a 3.5 mile paved trail which would be totally doable if it wasn’t over 100 degrees. There was very little shade, too, which meant we didn’t last long before everyone was done.
We only made it about 1.75 miles to the Museum stop (#2) only to hop on and go right back to our car. Like I said, the kids were done done. Ha!
In hindsight, we should have absolutely taken advantage of shuttles more because they’re air conditioned and it would have at least given us the chance to get into the canyon and see more than we did. If I had to do it over, I’d take the shuttle from the visitor center all the way in to at least The Grotto (#6) and back.
Hiking Zion With Kids
If you visit when it isn’t a million degrees outside, here are a few kid-friendly hikes I had pegged:
- Pa’rus Trail: 3.5 miles, paved (very little shade on the first half) and follows the Virgin River to the Canyon Junction shuttle stop
- The Grotto Trail: 1 mile walk that follows the roadway from the Zion Lodge to the Grotto
- Riverside Walk: 2.2 miles along the Virgin River canyon. The first 0.5 miles is accessible but may be rough terrain in areas.
- Lower Emerald Pool: 1.2 miles rough paved descent leading to waterfalls
Hiking Zion Without Kids
Someday we’ll have to go back – either without the kids or when they’re older – to hit up some of the more iconic hikes within Zion:
- The Narrows: 9+ miles out and back in the Virgin River canyon surrounded by tall sandstone walls
- Kayenta Trail: 2 mile unpaved climb with moderate drop-offs to the Emerald Pools
- Angels Landing: 5.4 mile round-trip hike that requires a permit – we have never tried entering the lottery for a permit so just be sure to read up on how to do that before your trip.
What little we did see of Zion was beautiful so it’s definitely on our list to visit again.
After leaving the park, we headed towards Orderville to check into East Zion Resort for two nights. I think this resort is one of the best places we’ve ever stayed. There are so many types of lodging to choose from – mirror houses, glamping tents, airstreams, tree-top cabins and the yurt of my dreams!
We got settled, cooked hotdogs for dinner, and took the kids for a swim before calling it a night.
Day 5 – Bryce Canyon National Park
The location of East Zion Resort cannot be beat – it’s between Zion and Bryce Canyon with about a hundred other things to do in between. I’d love to return to this area one day and spend a handful of days exploring here. The staff even sent a few emails ahead of our trip highlighting things to do with kids and other parks or trails we should take note of during our stay. Definitely recommend!
The next morning, we grabbed breakfast at The Shop before making our way to Bryce Canyon, which was about an hour away. It wasn’t supposed to be as hot this day which was encouraging and gave us a chance to hopefully see more of Bryce than we did of Zion.
We parked at the visitor center and took the free shuttle into Bryce Canyon Amphitheater. We disembarked at Sunset Point to walk back to Sunrise Point. The paved trail offered great views of the hoodoos – like the Grand Canyon, it was stunning.
I would have LOVED to go into the canyon to get an up-close view but we didn’t get around to it with the kids this time. I think there’s a theme developing here with this trip – ha! Traveling with kids is hard but worth it – even when you don’t get to see everything you want to see or do everything you want to do.
After the amphitheater, we stopped at the general store for a light grab-and-go lunch before catching the shuttle back to our car. I did convince the family to do one more short hike in the northern part of the park. They agreed after I promised it led to a stream and waterfall! Mossy Cave Trail isn’t paved (thank goodness for a carrier that’s made for bigger “toddlers”!) but easy and goes on for less than a mile before hitting the grotto.
After that we called it a day and headed back to our yurt for dinner from a food truck and swimming!
Day 6 – Arches National Park
East Zion Resort to Moab | ~ 4.5 Hours | 296 Miles
Believe it or not, we had one more park day left in us (barely) before making our way home. Arches National Park was the only one on our trip that required a timed entry. We had secured that a few weeks prior to enter between 2-3pm knowing we’d be driving in from Zion and Bryce Canyon and hoped it gave us enough time to explore for the afternoon. The drive to Moab was beautiful and we stopped for food at Tacos La Pasadita (no website, just a food truck!) in Green River before heading into the park.
I thought Arches was extremely easy to navigate and drivable. There’s a main road that takes you all the way through the park with viewpoints and hikes peppered along the way to get closer to the formations. However, very few trails offer paved sections so accessibility was a tad more difficult; if we had planned a hike we knew we’d be carrying our son most of the time.
We followed the road from the visitor’s center all the way up to Devil’s Garden Trailhead and back down. We could see several arches from the road and stopped to get a closer look at the following:
- Balanced Rock: You can see this from the road and a very quick and easy 0.3 mile loop takes you up to the base of the rock formation.
- Lower Delicate Arch Viewpoint: A quick walk up a sidewalk gives you a view of the most popular arch in the park; I could not convince the kids to take the 0.5 mile hike to the Upper viewpoint so we saw it from a distance!
- Skyline Arch: We found parking on the side of the road and did this short 0.4 mile walk to get closer to the Skyline Arch. It was warm and the girls claimed this was their last hike of the trip, ha!
- Double Arch: Since the kids were “so done” Justin and I both took turns walking up to Double Arch – my favorite one we saw!
- Park Avenue Viewpoint: Before leaving the park, we stopped here to look down the corridor of rock walls and took in the view.
I wish we would have stopped and done the Sand Dune Arch Trail (only 0.4 miles but walking through deep sand) and The Windows since it was right near Double Arch. Yet another reason to go back some day!
We left the park and headed to Moab to check into the Aarchway Inn. The girls thought this was the coolest hotel because we got a room that had three queen beds – perfect for a family! We grabbed dinner at Zax and spent a little time swimming before calling it a night.
Days 7 & 8 – Closing Out the Grand Circle
Moab to Denver | ~ 5.5 Hours | 354 Miles
Our marathon National Park trip was coming to an end. We left Moab and headed towards Denver to break up the long drive home. Our friends from Kansas City had moved to Denver a few weeks prior so it worked out well to meet up with them for a happy hour at their new place before grabbing dinner and catching up.
Denver to Kansas City | ~ 9 Hours | 604 Miles
I think the drive from Denver to Kansas City is about the worst drive you can make. It is seriously SO BORING! It’s flat and straight and by this time, we were all more than ready to be out of the car.
We finally made it home, ready to stretch our legs and sleep in our own beds. And look through 121913 photos of the epic canyons and views we saw along the way.
Take the National Park Trip
You don’t have to spend 50+ hours in the car touring the Grand Circle like we did, but if you’re contemplating vising a National Park – do it! There are 63 parks scattered throughout the country so there’s a good chance you’re within a day trip of visiting one of these wonderful places.
Each one is unique and I could have definitely spent multiple days in each location exploring and taking it all in. At the time, it was hard to gauge how much the kids got out of the trip and seeing these places but now, a year later, we still talk about that first moment seeing the Grand Canyon or how much fun we had staying in the yurt.
So yes, take the trip, even with the kids! They’re sure to drive you crazy and you’ll have to remain flexible but it’s always worthwhile!
National Parks Collection
My little Etsy shop is up and running – check out the National Parks Collection from Goods By Oakley!
