LasVeg-->Zion-->Byrce-->Page-->Grand Canyon end of December uggestions

What do you want to do at these parks? Are you interested in a drive-by or actual hiking/ quality time spent on specific trails, some of which may be inaccessible? Bryce, for example, is currently at 24 degrees F, and at a high elevation - does that sound attractive to you? Do you have the right clothing to venture out and hike? If you're not prepared or have experience driving in snow or find the constraints (weather, access, etc) too limiting, I would highly recommend a nice Southern CA vacation instead. It would make for a much easier road trip, you'd get great weather and there is plenty to see.

You can run into some really nasty weather in these areas at that time.

I see you're from Florida, and you say "am concerned with snow driving...but not sure how much it ends up snowing..."

I'd advise a lot of caution here(!). At that time of year, most of these places can get snow, sometimes more than a little snow - although it doesn't take much to turn a road into an ice-skating rink. There's no way for anyone to predict the weather with any accuracy, so if I were you, I would expect there to be at least some snow/ice on some roads in this region. If you're not up for that...consider elsewhere.

Note that it's not just flights abroad that are super-busy at that time...domestic flights, too. Booking a trip at the last minute carries high costs (money, crowds and inconvenience) - it's already December, this is the busiest time of the year to travel, almost anywhere. Sorry to be the voice of negativity, but it's late to be booking much for this time of year...

You are going at a much better time of year to visit Death Valley than Zion or Bryce.

A friend of mine that's a Vegas local made this post to his blog several years ago about Dante's View, which is a great day trip from Vegas in the winter. I ran into very few people when I did this in December about five or six years ago.

https://www.nolandalla.com/las-vegas-two-hour-getaway/

I've been in and around most of those parks in late fall and early spring. It will definitely be cold because of high elevations. You could also run into snow, if there's a storm just before or during your trip. Zion and Bryce will be open, the north rim of the Grand Canyon will be closed but the south rim will be open. There could be weather-related temporary closures. I don't know about Antelope Canyons or Horseshoe Bend. January 1 may be a day when most places are closed.

If you're prepared for cold and weather-related uncertainties, you could certainly have a good loop trip from Las Vegas. Crowds will be minimal. If you want to stay in park lodges you should make reservations, you'll have less trouble with lodgings near park entrances. Rates will be lower than in the warmer months. There should be some good hikes in Zion Canyon and along the Grand Canyon south rim, but I'm not sure about Bryce.

If the weather looks too problematic, from Las Vegas you could drive down toward Los Angeles, the Palm Springs area, and San Diego. There's beautiful desert country around there, Joshua Tree National Park, Anza Borrego State Park (CA), and others. Weather should be better. San Diego is likely to have the best weather anywhere in the Southwest, once you've endured the crowded freeways and/or mountain passes to get there. Or, stay in Las Vegas and win enough to pay for a trip abroad next year! ;-)

EDIT -- Death Valley would be another very nice choice out of Las Vegas. Still cold but low enough not to expect much snow.

Bryce and Grand Canyon are higher elevation so will be cold and snowy. Zion is lower in elevation so should be warmer. It's been years but I spent a New Years Eve at Grand Canyon once and it was really too icy for me to feel comfortable hiking as you needed crampons. The next day we drove to Zion where we hiked in just long sleeves. One experience in the past may not be a predictor for what you'll find. I've also been to Bryce in Feb and it was still pretty cold and very icy. People were hiking but had on crampons for the ice and mud. I passed on that but walked along the rim trails.

I did see pictures of a big snowstorm at South Rim Grand Canyon last week and it looks from the official National Park Service website that there are still some issues with icy trails and roads.

I'd suggest you go to the official NPS websites for the parks you want to visit and take a look at the webcams (can't get Grand Canyon to load at present but you might have better luck).

Grand Canyon - www.nps.gov/grca
Zion - www.nps.gov/zion
Bryce - www.nps.gov/brca

Page and Antelope are not national parks so I don't have the websites for them off the top of my head.

Trip Advisor may be useful to you as well. There are specific forums for all of these parks with local experts. Read a few pages of threads before you post as you may find your questions answered.

Here is a link to the main Trip Advisor US States forums page so you can find AZ and UT and go from there.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ListForums-g191-i3-United_States.html

You are going at a much better time of year to visit Death Valley than
Zion or Bryce.

That is a great idea! Death Valley is amazing and that would be a good time to go. I've driven it in December and it was a magical place indeed. Totally unforgettable. You could also go to Mojave Desert SP and Joshua Tree NP.

Haven’t been to national parks/monuments in December or January, but have you looked at the Park Service Website at www.nps.gov ?

You can search for all sites within a state, then pick the ones you want. For Bryce Canyon in Utah, for example, they give a weather outlook (maybe what you've already seen?), and the current conditions, including specific closed areas and campgrounds.

By “Page,” are you referring to Glen Canyon and/or Vermillion Cliffs, in Arizona? The NPS Website also provides a link for downloadable trip planners and brochures, plus contact information for each NPS site, including mailing address and phone number, plus e-mail address, for obtaining more details, directly from the rangers at that site.

Have you looked at the national park site for each of your destinations?

Thanks for all the replies! Yes I’ve looked at many National Park websites, and will keep checking but I love first hand experience too so thanks to all!

As someone who grew up running around the Mojave and still has family less than an hour from the Grand Canyon I can't say I'd advise going out that way unless you really like snow and are prepared to be in a situation where if you get lost they may not find you for a couple days. The upper part of Arizona is HIGH desert. They already have snow and it's cold. There's not a lot of traffic into the parks and not a lot of road maintenance; things can get iffy.

Death Valley is cold too. And windy. But a lot better choice than the Canyonlands. Do the Vegas, Death Valley, Lone Pine/Whitney Portals, Anzo Borrego/Palm Springs route.

Death Valley, definitely.

Zion is my favorite place in the world, been there maybe 10 times, and all the national parks in the area, but never considered going at that time of year. On the other hand, I spent 5 nights over Christmas in Death Valley once and it was wonderful. Very chilly getting up in the dark to watch sunrises from the surrounding mountains, but by mid-morning, I was peeling down to short sleeves for hiking in the valley. Your problem may be finding a place to stay at the last minute.

If you choose Joshua Tree/San Diego, fly into LAX or San Diego, not Vegas. Going from Vegas to SoCal, there is one spot of high elevation (can't remember exactly where), but it gets snow and can shut down the interstate for hours and hours.

Checking in from Tucson here. I agree with everyone who is cautioning you about the weather. Even without snow and ice, the route you're considering is very challenging in terms of driving, especially if you have done most of your driving in flat, flat, flat Florida.

Except for I-15, your route is through mountains on 2 lane roads with steep slopes and curves. Even on I-15 there's a stretch on the way from Las Vegas to the turn off to Zion that crosses the northwest corner of Arizona. It's through the Virgin River Canyon. I love it, but I wouldn't do it in the next few weeks. According to Wikipedia, "The Virgin River Gorge section of Interstate 15 is one of the most expensive parts of interstate highway ever constructed. Due to the winding of the canyon, the highway within is also noted for its tricky driving conditions."

Something else to seriously consider is the elevations others have mentioned. The Grand Canyon is at 6000+ elevation. Bryce is more like 8000+. Some people actually get altitude sickness from being that high.

Ten days is not very long for any road trip in the west. I certainly get how enjoyable a road trip can be. But I agree that this is not the time to do it in the places you want to go. Southern California will be much more pleasant.