Who would think that early December is a great period to visit Las Vegas, Zion, Bryce canyon and more? We ended-up going at this time of the year for a short week and we were impressed by how good this decision was. The post below focuses on an amazing 3.5 days road trip to Bryce, Zion, and The Wave. The post here, focuses on our 2.5 days in Las Vegas.

Itinerary:

Day by day

Day 1: From Las Vegas to Bryce, Bryce Canyon Figure Eight trail (Sunday 10 December)

We left our hotel in Las Vegas early to go to the airport car rental center. When we arrived our car was ready and we were able to leave the rental center few minutes after 7am. We started driving north east toward Bryce canyon National Park. We took the road via Zion National park which is not the shortest one, but this goes via the perimeter to participate to The Wave daily lottery.

The first part of the Road in the Nevada has nothing specific. As we get closer from the Utah we started to see some mountains and impressive landscapes. We made a quick stop in St. George for a Starbucks and then continued to Zion. The road between the Zion entrance gate and the Mt Carmel junction offered us some amazing views: impressive mountains, Some bison just after the East Entrance Ranger Station, and a Bald eagle.

As we got closer to the Mt Carmel junction, we entered the Geofence perimeter for The Wave daily lottery. We stopped at Mt Carmel to do the lottery and continued our drive to Bryce (more info about The Wave lottery below). Arriving close to Bryce canyon I was already stunned by the red rocks of the Dixie National Forest. It’s an area that we would have loved to check more.

We arrived to Bryce around 1:30pm (1hr time difference between Nevada and Utah during day light saving), and stopped at the visitor center to check if the rangers had any recommendation, and to verify if we would have enough time for the Figure Eight trail. The ranger confirmed that if we were good hiker it would be good and told us that we would need spikes in one section of the hike.

Figure Eight trail

The Figure Eight trail (Alltrails link) is a 10km double loops which allows to see the most impressive parts of Bryce. We parked at the Sunset Point and started the hike clockwise (advised by the ranger). The view from Sunset point and Sunrise point were already amazing. We went down using the Queen’s Garden trail, taking pictures at every turns and at every natural (or man made) arch.

We then took the Tropic Trail and started the Peekaboo Loop (still clockwise). For this part we had more shadows and clouds but the landscape was even more mesmerizing. This section has multiple up and down and we did had to put our spikes to pass a very icy section on the south west part of the hike.

To finish the hike we used the Two Bridges trail of the Navajo Loop (the Wall Street trail was closed for maintenance). This trail brought us back to the parking about 30 minutes before sunset. For the sunset we drove to Rainbow Point and arrived slightly too late. Going to Bryce point would certainly have been a better idea.

For the dinner we didn’t found any open and tempting restaurant in Bryce area or in Tropic. We made a quick stop at the Ruby’s Inn which has a grocery section. We bought some food and few local beers that we tried in our Airbnb in Tropic. As we were eating dinner we received the result for the Wave Lottery. One of us was picked, it was an amazing news and it was also meaning that we had to be in Kanab the next day at 8:30am to get the permit. I also received the confirmation that we were picked for Angels Landing (only one of us participated to this lottery).

Day 2: Zion canyon overlook and Angels Landing (Monday 11 December)

We left Tropic early and drove to Kanab to arrive at the visitor center at about 8:15am. We recovered our permit and waited for the start of the briefing. At 8:30am the safety briefing started. We received instructions about the orientation and the safety on the site. At about 9am we were ready to leave the visitor center to go to Zion.

We took again the road between Mt Carmel Junction and Zion, and were again amazed by how nice this road is. We stopped just before the tunnel to do the Canyon overlook hike. The Canyon overlook (Alltrails link), is a very short hike (1.6km) which give access to a great view point. We arrived at the view point at about 10:20am and the light was still great for pictures.

We were back to our car at 10:50 and drove to the visitor center. At the visitor center we ask few advices to the rangers and drove to Zion lodge to do the Angels Landing hike. On our way to the lodge we stopped at the Court of the Patriarchs for a picture.

Angels Landing trail

Angels landing trail (Alltrails link) is one of the most famous hike in Zion. It’s a short but steep hike (6.9km 557m elevation), and the final part contains chains to help hikers go through the steep and narrow section. At this time of the year there was no bus in Zion so we were able to drive and park at the Zion lodge (The park rangers told us that the Grotto parking was already full).

We did first the short flat walk between Zion lodge and the Grotto stop, and then started the Angels landing hike. The beginning of the hike is along the Virgin river and is flat, we could easily see the objective which is the top of the mountain in front of us. The hike continued and got steeper until a flatter area between the two mountains. This part of the trail is actually called the West Rim Trail. After the flat area the trail became steep again for the Walter’s Wiggles. The Walter’s Wiggles is a famous part of the hike that we often saw in pictures. They are very short and steep zigzag going up to reach the Scout lookout decision point.

The Scout lookout decision point is already a very nice view point. From this lookout you can continue south to Angels Landings with a permit, or you can also go north to the scout lookout and further (there are also restrooms). We showed our permit to the ranger and started the final ascent to Angels Landing. This section follows the rim up to Angels landing submit. It contains steep sections with chains and great views. The trail was not too busy for us and we didn’t had to stop too many tomes to let people go down. The trail is perfectly safe as soon as you are on a dry day and without crowd. I can understand that it can be dangerous if too many people are present or if this is slippery.

Arriving at Angels Landing submit we were amazed by the 360 degrees view. Unfortunatly our pictures are not as great as what we saw. We had a difficult luminosity with the sun in front of us on the south side and already some shade on the north side. You can see below the pictures of the North and South view for reference.

We enjoyed a picnic at the top of Angels Landing and started to walk down using the same route. With the sun starting to go down the mountains to the West of the Virgin river were not receiving light anymore.

Overall it took us less than 3 hours with the picnic included. We started around noon and finished at about 3pm. When we were walking back from Grotto to the Lodge we saw some nice deer. Arriving to the lodge we checked-in as our room was already ready (We booked our room just few weeks in advance). We also went to the grill in the lodge to book a table for the night.

After a well deserved shower we drove back to the ranger station to observe the sunset from this location. It’s a great spot to see the mountains turning to a bright orange. We then went to the Zion brew pub to try some of the local beers. The beer was good, it was certainly the best beer we had during this trip.

To finish our night we went for dinner to the grill. We tried the fish and the steak, it was not Michelin star cuisine but the food and the service was good considering the price and the location. After diner we tried quickly some night picture and went to pack our luggage.

Day 3: The Wave, and Zion riverside walk (Tuesday 12 December)

We left the Zion lodge around 6am to drive to the Wave. We did a stop at Kanab for a coffee at the Best Friends Mercantile. This is a small shop for the hotel were they had coffee, juice and few breakfast pastries. We then continued our drive up to the dirt road section. This section took a little bit more time than forecasted by the GPS. We had a Rav4 and had no issue on a dry day (we would not go there on a wet day). We arrived around 8:30 and multiple cars were already parked.

We started the hike following the orientation guide of the safety briefing and the GPS trace from Alltrails. The first part is in a wash and then in a sandy plain with some low vegetation. We then crossed the saddle and entered the rocky area.

From this point we walked south following the map indications and the dark vertical crevice. The rock formation were already impressive in all this section. We then arrived to a sandy area and started the climb up to the wave.

The view at the entrance was already crazy. We did as everybody, entered the wave from the north and arrived in the middle of the wave (destroying the picture of all the persons already present). We then took multiple pictures with the wave still in the shadow. It took us a little bit more than 1 hour to arrive to the wave. When we arrived their was already about 10 persons taking pictures. Some of them arrived early to take low light pictures of the wave.

We were one of the first group to leave the wave to continue south west to the The Second Wave which was also nice. We started to hike up to reach the Melody Arch but stopped before reaching it. We took a snack watching the Wave area below us. After this break we went back to The Second Wave and explored the area between the two waves which was nice.

We finally went back to The Wave to take more pictures. The sun was now lighting the wave but also creating some shadows. It was good to see it with a different light exposure. For our next step we left the wave from the same trail we came in and walked west to the dinosaur tracks. They were exactly at the google map point, but I don’t think we would have found them without the gps map.

After the dinosaur tracks we continued South West to the Boneyard. This area has strange rock formation coming from the top of the mountain. It was a good addition to our visit as it enable to explore a little bit more. At this stage we were very satisfied about our day and started the walk back to the car. We did missed few spots like the Mini Wave but it was already an amazing experience.

We arrived to the parking at about 1:30pm (5hr after leaving), and had a picnic. We then drove back to Zion. We arrived to the Temple of Sinawava parking at 4:25pm and did the riverside walk (Alltrails link) just before sunset. It was a cool short hike to see the start of the Narrow. It took us about 45 minutes to do the hike and we were back to the car just after sunset.

For dinner we went back to Zion Brew Pub for a beer and some food. We then drove to St. George for the night. St. George hotels were a lot more affordable and it was on our way back to Las Vegas.

Day 4: Drive back to Las Vegas airport (Wednesday 13 December)

For our last day we drove back to Las Vegas airport to take our flight in the morning. We initially thought about stopping by the Valley of Fire State Park but we didn’t do it. The Valley of Fire looks cool but I don’t think we would have enjoyed it that much after The Wave. Also it was a good idea to be back to the car rental early because the airport was not the fastest one.

Reflecting on our itinerary

Overall the itinerary worked very well. I don’t think we could have done a lot more in 3.5 days and the driving was not overwhelming. We were having two options in mind: the one we explained above (that we were able to do because we got the permit for the Wave). If we didn’t had the permit for The Wave we would have done the second option:

• Day 1: Same
• Day 2: Do the sunrise in Bryce and spend a little bit more time exploring Bryce and the Dixie National Forest. Then transfer to Zion and do Angels Landing.
• Day 3: Try to get a permit to do Subway or do another hike in Zion
• Day 4: Same or maybe add the sunrise at Valley of Fire

Practical information

Offline Map

For The Wave, having a map on your phone available offline is a good idea. If you don’t want to pay the Alltrails premium you can download offline map on google map. Just ask Google how to do. The Google map also contains additional points (Boneyard, Dinosaur traks…)

Traveling during early December

Traveling early December (and maybe in January) to visit these parks was a very good idea. The parks frequentation was low, we could drive in Zion and Bryce, we could book the Zion lodge a couple of weeks in advance, and we could take pictures with only us in the pictures. The weather was good, Bryce was the coldest as it was bellow freezing during the night and just above during the day. We also had to use spikes and some jackets. Zion and The Wave were above freezing (maybe we were lucky). Coming from Boston we had no issue at all with the weather. We just travelled with the appropriate equipment following the typical weather forecast for these months. We were ready to hike in a snow storm if needed.

Permit:

We explored some locations that are very popular and which therefore require a permit (Angels Landing and The Wave). Permits for these locations can be obtained through lotteries multiple month in advance or few days before. The lotteries rules can change from on year to another and usually includes a reasonable fee. This is what we experienced for the daily lotteries in December 2023 (always check the national park app or website for the most recent rules):

Angels landing: We had to apply before 3pm the day before the hike. We then received the confirmation by email and had to show the confirmation (with an ID) to the ranger to hike the final part of Angles Landing. I think at this time of the year (early December) and during a week day, the odds of winning the lottery were very high.

The Wave: This lottery is a lot more technical and is actually called “Coyote Buttes North”. We had to apply 48hours before the hike and be located in a specific area at the time of the application. The specific area includes as example: Mt Carmel junction, Orderville, Kanab, Page (but Springdale or Bryce are not included). We received the result of the lottery at 7pm the day of our application. When accepting the permit we were asked to choose a location (Kanab or Page) to recover the permit. We selected Kanab meaning that we had to be at 8:30 (or slightly before) at Kanab visitor center to recover our permit and participate to the Safety briefing. After collecting the permit we were allowed to visit The Wave the day after.

The location restriction explained above (Geofence perimeter) is the reason why we drove to Bryce via Mt. Carmel Junction instead of taking the quickest road on the first day. Also make sure to have a stable connection when you apply to the Lottery. We tried applying while driving before Mt. Carmel Junction and lost the connection which screw-up the application. It’s better to stop at Mt Carmel Junction or Orderville with a stable connection to apply.

The odds to win The Wave lottery are very low and we were certainly very lucky. Based on what we could find online it seems the odds vary from 1% (or maybe less) to 5% (or maybe 10% but not more). We were certainly at the time of the year where the odds are the highest. During the previous years we tried multiple times the advance lottery and were never selected.

During the hike you have to display the permit on your back pack and on the car for the parking. Our permit was checked by a volunteer when we were in The Wave.

Map

You can use the Map below to see the full itinerary of our few days around Las Vegas.