Offbeat Vegas and the Canyons: 7 Days
Seven days is enough to close the full Southwest loop: the same Grand Canyon West and Death Valley day trips, the same Zion-Bryce Utah run, then one more push into Page, Arizona for a slot canyon you can’t enter without a guide and an overlook that charges nothing to see, just $10 to park.
| Day | Focus |
|---|---|
| 1 | Strip arrival, one evening on the Strip |
| 2 | Grand Canyon West Rim, Skywalk |
| 3 | Death Valley National Park |
| 4 | Drive to Zion National Park, overnight Springdale |
| 5 | Zion National Park, drive to Bryce Canyon, overnight |
| 6 | Bryce Canyon sunrise, drive to Page, overnight |
| 7 | Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, return to Vegas |
Book these before you go:
- Skip the Skywalk drive yourself: book a Grand Canyon West Rim tour
- Antelope Canyon tours sell out 2-4 weeks ahead in peak season: book an Antelope Canyon tour
- Page fills up on the same nights as Zion and Bryce: check Page, Arizona rates on Booking.com
Day 1: The Strip, Kept Short
Land, check in, walk one Strip zone, catch the free Bellagio Fountains , and eat somewhere without a reservation. Six days of driving and three different states start tomorrow.
Day 2: Grand Canyon West Rim
Grand Canyon West sits on Hualapai land, not National Park Service territory, about 120-130 miles and 2-2.5 hours via US-93 and Pierce Ferry Road, the only Grand Canyon that fits a single day trip; the real South Rim is 275-280 miles and 4.5 hours one-way, a trip this build sets aside on purpose so the loop ahead stays realistic. General admission is $67 a person, $99 for the All-Access Pass with the Skywalk, two kids 5-12 free per paying adult.
Day 3: Death Valley National Park
Death Valley sits about 2-2.5 hours west, $30 per vehicle for seven days, and holds the record for the highest air temperature ever recorded on Earth. Visit in the cooler months if your dates allow it; 2024’s record summer contributed to roughly 490 heat deaths across Clark County, a genuine safety issue rather than travel-blog color. Badwater Basin, Zabriskie Point, and the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes cover the day.
Day 4: North Into Utah
Zion National Park sits about 160 miles and 2.5-3 hours northeast via I-15, better as an overnight than a same-day round trip. Drive up in the morning, check into Springdale, and spend the afternoon on an easy canyon-floor trail rather than anything needing an early permit slot.
Day 5: Zion, Then East to Bryce
Angels Landing requires a permit 24/7 via a recreation.gov lottery, $6 non-refundable to apply and $3 per person if selected; without a slot, The Narrows’ bottom section is the better-odds alternative. By early afternoon, drive roughly 90 minutes to Bryce Canyon via Highway 9 to 89 to 12, checking into Bryce Canyon City for a late rim walk before dinner.
Day 6: Bryce Sunrise, Then South to Page
Get to Sunrise Point or Inspiration Point before 7am in summer; Bryce’s hoodoos read a deeper red-orange in that early light than any midday photo captures. Entrance runs $35 per vehicle for seven days, shuttle included free mid-April through mid-October. From Bryce, drive roughly 2.5-3 hours south to Page, Arizona, the small town built almost entirely around Lake Powell and the two attractions waiting for you tomorrow.
Day 7: Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, and the Long Drive Home
Antelope Canyon sits entirely on Navajo Nation land, and there is no self-guided or walk-up access to either the Upper or Lower canyon at any price; every visit runs through a Navajo-authorized tour operator , Upper Canyon tours running roughly $105-189 (a $15 Navajo permit fee folded in) and Lower Canyon around $80.50 flat. Take an early-morning slot, then drive ten minutes to Horseshoe Bend, which flips the fee structure entirely: no entrance charge at all, just $10 to park (cash-only during major holidays), for a roughly one-mile round-trip walk to the overlook with zero shade. Both stops fit comfortably before noon, leaving the rest of the day for the 4.5-5 hour drive back to Vegas. Note that Grand Canyon National Park’s South Rim sits only about 2.5 hours further south from Page via US-89A and 64, close enough that a future trip could add it on rather than trying to fold it into this one.
Where to Stay
Strip nights one through three, Springdale, Bryce Canyon City, and Page for nights four through six, using the booking links above.
Getting Around
A rental car is mandatory for the entire week; nothing on this route works on rideshare pricing or availability. Fill the tank at every real opportunity through rural Utah and northern Arizona; services between towns are genuinely sparse.
For a version that stops after the Utah loop, see the 6-day itinerary ; for shorter Strip-based versions with no overnights at all, the 2-day and 4-day itineraries cover Grand Canyon West, Death Valley, and Route 66 without ever leaving a Vegas hotel bed. The full guide has every park’s distance, fee, and booking rule in one place.