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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We are flying into Las Vegas and doing Zion and Bryce over spring break (in April).  (The kids will be 9, 7, and 4.  We'll have to stick to easy hikes).

I have the hotels booked - Mandalay Bay in Vegas, right outside of Zion, and in the park in Bryce.

Can you recommend any must-dos - activities, food, etc.?  Is there anything I need to book in advance now?  (For example, a jeep tour of either of the parks, if that is recommended?)

I'm thinking of trying to keep us on East Coast time and more or less getting up early and going to bed early.

We are not national park experts but DCUM gave us great Acadia advice, which I still pass on!  THANK YOU! :)[/quote]

We did the same trip last year in April -- me, DH, DS1 (age 7) and DS2 (age 5). Flew into LV, drove to Zion, stayed at the hotel outside of the main Zion entrance (Cable Mountain Lodge, which was great), did a day trip to Bryce.

I haven't read the rest of the thread but my one tip is to wake up very early, walk into Zion, and queue up for the free bus that takes you to the various hikes. If you sleep in an wait until say 11am, the line is extremely long. Wait until after 12 noon and the line is Disney long, snaking out through the entrance. (This is not an exaggeration. Lots of tour buses. People who worked in the park said that they've never seen lines like that, so maybe this is a trend and you'll see the same crowds.) If you're coming from the East Coast, it should be easy for you to be up before the crowds arrive.

We skipped the challenging hikes because our kids were just not used to it and usually @ an hour and a half in, they started to get a little distracted. More than once we had to lead them down a mountain, both hands on a kid, so that they wouldn't walk right off the edge. It was a little stressful, and we missed some gorgeous hikes I'm sure, but the kids were wiped out and spacey. I witnessed a little girl, maybe @ 3 years old, running up a hike, the dad panicking and frantically chasing after her so she wouldn't head right off the edge. Maybe your kids will be able to handle it better but something to be aware of.

The hotels right by the main Zion entrance are on the banks of the Virgin River (which runs through Zion). It was great for the kids to play in the river at midday, after hiking.

I found both Zion and Bryce incredibly beautiful. Every hike and nature walk was gorgeous. It was, without a doubt, one of my favorite vacations. We're thinking of going back and doing a bigger SW National Park trip, and revisit Zion in particular. Have a great time!

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