National Parks Grand Loop: 5 Days from Las Vegas

Why five days, not fewer

This loop links three of the most-photographed landscapes in the American Southwest — Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon — into a single circuit that starts and ends in Las Vegas.

Add up the driving and it comes to more than 13 hours: roughly 2h45–3h to Zion, 1h30–2h from Zion to Bryce through the Zion–Mount Carmel Tunnel, about 4h30 from Bryce to the South Rim via Kanab and US-89A/Flagstaff, and another 4h30 back to Las Vegas via Williams and Kingman. Compressing that into 3 or 4 days means either driving after dark through unfamiliar desert and mountain roads, or cutting park time to almost nothing. Five days lets you spread the two long transfer legs across separate days, each broken by an overnight stop, so no single day of driving runs past about 5 hours.

Day 1: Las Vegas to Zion National Park

Leave Las Vegas in the morning — the drive to Zion is about 2h45 to 3 hours via I-15 north through the Virgin River Gorge, one of the more dramatic stretches of interstate in the region. Base yourself in Springdale, the small town at Zion’s south entrance, or in Kanab if you’d rather save mileage for Day 2.

From March through November 2026, private vehicles are not permitted on Zion Canyon Scenic Drive — the free park shuttle is mandatory during this season, and it’s worth building your afternoon around its schedule rather than fighting it. Spend the rest of the day riding the shuttle to a couple of the main stops: the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive guide covers which shuttle stops pair well with a short first afternoon. If you have energy left, The Narrows offers a wading hike right from the last shuttle stop, though a full Narrows hike deserves a longer visit than one evening allows.

Two details worth knowing before you arrive: Angels Landing requires an advance permit obtained through a lottery, so it isn’t a spontaneous option, and Utah runs on Mountain Time — one hour ahead of Las Vegas — so build that hour into any dinner reservation or shuttle cutoff time.

Overnight: Springdale or Kanab.

Day 2: Zion to Bryce Canyon via the Mount Carmel Tunnel

Give Zion a proper morning before moving on — a second shuttle ride or a short trail covers ground you’ll have missed the evening before. The Zion Canyon Scenic Drive guide is useful for picking a route that doesn’t retread Day 1.

By early afternoon, head east out of Zion on UT-9 through the Zion–Mount Carmel Tunnel — a narrow, historic tunnel bored through sandstone in the 1920s, with height restrictions that occasionally require oversized vehicles to pay for a one-way escort. The drive to Bryce Canyon from Zion takes roughly 1h30 to 2 hours including the tunnel crossing.

Bryce sits at higher elevation than Zion or Las Vegas, and afternoons here are noticeably cooler — a welcome change if you’ve been in desert heat since Day 1. Arrive with enough daylight to walk the rim near Sunrise Point and Sunset Point before dinner; save the full Navajo Loop descent for the following morning when the light and your legs are both fresher.

Overnight: near Bryce Canyon, or backtrack slightly to Kanab if lodging near the park is scarce or overpriced for your dates.

Day 3: Bryce Canyon in the morning, then the long transfer toward the Grand Canyon

Start early. Bryce’s hoodoos photograph best in the first couple of hours after sunrise, and the Sunrise Point, Sunset Point and Navajo Loop combination is the classic way to see the amphitheater up close without committing to a full-day hike.

By late morning, begin the transfer toward the Grand Canyon’s South Rim — this is the longest single leg of the loop, roughly 4h30 via Kanab and US-89A through Flagstaff. It’s a genuinely long day of driving on top of a morning hike, which is exactly why this itinerary treats it as its own day rather than tacking it onto Day 2 or Day 4. Stop in Kanab for lunch and a stretch, and again in Flagstaff or nearby Williams if you’re arriving late.

If your dates and stamina allow a short detour, this stretch is also where travelers sometimes add a side trip toward Page and Antelope Canyon — but note that Page and the surrounding Navajo Nation observe daylight saving time even though the rest of Arizona does not, so double-check local time before booking anything with a fixed slot. This itinerary stays on the direct route to the South Rim rather than adding that detour, since it would push total driving time well past what a 5-day loop can absorb without cutting park time elsewhere.

Overnight: Williams or Tusayan, both a short drive from the South Rim entrance.

Day 4: Grand Canyon South Rim

This is the day the whole loop is built around. Enter Grand Canyon National Park early — the South Rim is the actual National Park Service unit, distinct from Grand Canyon West and its Skywalk, which sits on Hualapai tribal land closer to Las Vegas. Spend the day working along the rim: the South Rim viewpoints guide lays out a sensible order for Mather Point, Yavapai Point, and the longer drive out to Desert View.

If you’re willing to get up before dawn or stay out past dusk, the light along the South Rim at sunrise or sunset is considerably better than midday, when haze and flat light mute the canyon’s colors. For anyone with energy and proper footwear, a short descent below the rim on the Bright Angel or South Kaibab trail gives a sense of scale that the overlooks alone don’t. Entrance fees here are separate from Zion’s and Bryce’s — expect roughly $35 per vehicle for a 7-day pass at each park, so this loop’s three parks add up to around $100 in entrance fees unless you’re covered by an annual pass.

Overnight: Williams or Tusayan again, or push partway back toward Kingman if you’d rather shorten Day 5.

Day 5: Grand Canyon South Rim back to Las Vegas

The return drive to Las Vegas runs about 4h30 via Williams and Kingman on I-40 and US-93, crossing back through Hoover Dam territory on the final stretch. Leave a cushion of time — this leg, combined with the transfer on Day 3, means the loop carries two genuinely long driving days bookending two full park days, which is the trade-off a 5-day version of this circuit makes deliberately rather than by accident.

If you’d rather not do all the navigating and driving yourself, a guided option covering Zion, Bryce, and Antelope Canyon over two days — the Zion, Bryce Canyon and Antelope Canyon two-day tour — handles the first half of this loop with a driver, though it doesn’t extend to the South Rim.

For a different pace entirely, a UTV adventure through the terrain around Greater Zion or a jeep tour through Sand Hollow near Hurricane can be worked into Day 1 or Day 2’s afternoon as a change of pace from shuttle rides and viewpoints.

Planning notes for the full loop

Leg	Distance/time	Route
Las Vegas → Zion	~2h45–3h	I-15 via Virgin River Gorge
Zion → Bryce Canyon	~1h30–2h	UT-9 via Zion–Mount Carmel Tunnel
Bryce Canyon → Grand Canyon South Rim	~4h30	Via Kanab and US-89A/Flagstaff
Grand Canyon South Rim → Las Vegas	~4h30	Via Williams and Kingman
Total driving	13+ hours	Spread across 4 travel days, not 1

A few things this loop assumes: a rental car for the full 5 days (see renting a car in Las Vegas and desert driving safety before you go), the Zion shuttle mandate in effect March–November, and entrance fees of roughly $35 per vehicle at each of the three parks unless you’re carrying an America the Beautiful annual pass, which pays for itself after two parks. If your dates fall outside the shuttle season, Zion Canyon Scenic Drive opens to private vehicles and the pacing of Day 1 loosens up slightly, though the rest of the loop’s driving times don’t change.

Grand loop FAQ: Zion, Bryce, and Grand Canyon South Rim from Las Vegas

Can this loop be done in fewer than 5 days?

Not without real trade-offs. The route covers more than 13 hours of driving across four transfer legs, and compressing that into 3 or 4 days forces either late-night driving on unfamiliar roads or cutting the actual time spent inside Zion, Bryce, or the Grand Canyon to almost nothing. Five days is the minimum that keeps every driving day under about 5 hours while still leaving a real morning or afternoon in each park.

Do I need to book the Zion shuttle in advance?

The park shuttle itself doesn’t require a separate reservation in the way a timed-entry ticket does, but from March through November 2026 it is the only way into Zion Canyon — private vehicles are not allowed on Zion Canyon Scenic Drive during this season. Arrive early, especially in peak summer months, since shuttle lines can be long.

Is Grand Canyon West the same as the South Rim on this itinerary?

No, and this loop visits only the South Rim — the actual Grand Canyon National Park unit run by the National Park Service. Grand Canyon West, home to the Skywalk, sits on Hualapai tribal land much closer to Las Vegas and is a completely separate destination with its own entry system; it isn’t part of this 5-day circuit.

What time zone confusion should I plan for?

Utah runs on Mountain Time year-round, one hour ahead of Las Vegas’s Pacific Time, so Zion and Bryce Canyon are effectively an hour ahead of home base. Arizona as a state does not observe daylight saving time, but the Navajo Nation does — this mostly matters if you detour toward Page or Antelope Canyon, since the South Rim itself sits in Arizona’s non-DST zone.

How much should I budget for park entrance fees?

Plan for roughly $35 per vehicle for a 7-day pass at each of Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Grand Canyon National Park — around $100 total across the three parks on this loop. An America the Beautiful annual pass covers all three and is worth it if you’re visiting more than two national parks in the same year.

Where should the two overnight stops be?

Kanab or Springdale work well for the first two nights near Zion and Bryce, and Williams or Tusayan work well for the two nights near the Grand Canyon’s South Rim. Splitting the loop this way keeps the two long transfer days — Bryce to the South Rim, and the South Rim back to Las Vegas — from also being the days you arrive somewhere exhausted after a full morning of hiking.

Is a rental car required for this loop?

Yes. There’s no practical way to link Las Vegas, Zion, Bryce Canyon, and the Grand Canyon’s South Rim on this schedule without a private vehicle, since the towns and trailheads along the route aren’t connected by public transit. Guided multi-day tours exist for parts of this route, but none currently covers all four stops in one continuous circuit.

Can I skip the Bryce Canyon stop and just do Zion and the Grand Canyon?

You could, but it removes one of the loop’s most distinctive landscapes for relatively little time saved — Bryce adds roughly a half-day detour off the direct Zion-to-Grand Canyon route. Most travelers who’ve come this far find the hoodoos worth the extra driving.