Vegas + Parks in 7 Days on a Budget
Seven Days: The Full Loop, Including Antelope Canyon
Seven days completes the loop: Grand Canyon West Rim and Death Valley as single-day trips from Vegas, then an overnight swing through Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Page, Arizona for Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend before the drive back. This is the version where every major Southwest park in reach of Vegas actually fits, without stacking two parks into one exhausted day. Shorter on time? The 2-day through 6-day versions cover partial slices of this same route, and the Southwest parks from Vegas guide has the full pass math behind the numbers below.
Book these before you go:
- A South Strip hotel for night one , self-parking.
- A Springdale room near Zion’s south entrance.
- A room near Bryce Canyon , booked early; options are limited.
- A Page, Arizona room for the Antelope Canyon/Horseshoe Bend night.
- The Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend tour itself ; popular midday light-beam slots go weeks out.
- The rental car , booked before any of the above if your dates are tight.
| From Las Vegas Strip to… | Distance | Drive time |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Canyon West Rim (Hualapai land) | 120-130 mi | 2-2.5 hrs |
| Death Valley National Park (Furnace Creek) | 120-140 mi | 2-2.5 hrs |
| Zion National Park (Springdale) | 160 mi | 2.5-3 hrs |
| Grand Canyon National Park, South Rim | 275-280 mi | 4.5 hrs |
| Bryce Canyon National Park (direct) | 268 mi | ~4.2 hrs |
| Page, AZ (Antelope Canyon / Horseshoe Bend) | 272 mi | 4-plus hrs |
| Zion to Bryce Canyon (this loop) | 84 mi | ~1.75 hrs |
| Bryce Canyon to Page, AZ (this loop) | 155-170 mi | 3-3.5 hrs |
Day 1: Land and Settle
Budget South Strip hotel with free self-parking, rental car picked up that evening, free Bellagio Fountains before an early night on the Strip . Seven days of driving starts tomorrow, so don’t burn the first night on a late one.
Day 2: Grand Canyon West Rim
120-130 miles, 2-2.5 hours each way, Hualapai tribal land, no NPS fee. General Admission $67 a person, All-Access with Skywalk $99. Back in Vegas by evening.
Day 3: Death Valley National Park
120-140 miles, 2-2.5 hours from Vegas, $30 per vehicle for a 7-day pass. Stick to October through April; summer heat here is a documented safety risk.
Day 4: Drive to Zion, Overnight in Springdale
160 miles, 2.5-3 hours from Vegas. Check into Springdale, walk part of the shuttle route in the late afternoon, early night ahead of a full park day tomorrow. Zion’s entrance fee is $35 per vehicle for 7 days.
Day 5: A Full Day in Zion, Then Bryce Canyon
A proper Zion hiking day (the Narrows’ lower section, or Emerald Pools if you want less commitment), then the 84-mile, 1-hour-45-minute drive to Bryce Canyon in the late afternoon. Check in near Bryce for the night.
Day 6: Bryce Sunrise, Then On to Page
Catch sunrise at Bryce Point, spend the morning on the Rim Trail or Queens Garden loop, then drive 155-170 miles and 3-3.5 hours to Page, Arizona. Bryce’s entrance fee is $35 per vehicle for 7 days, and by now you’ve paid $100 across Death Valley, Zion and Bryce, $20 past the $80 America the Beautiful pass; buy the pass at Death Valley’s gate on Day 3 next time instead of paying each fee separately. Check into Page for the night ahead of an early tour tomorrow.
Day 7: Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, and the Drive Home
Antelope Canyon is Navajo Nation land and guided-tour-only: Lower Antelope Canyon runs from about $40 a person, Upper Antelope Canyon, the one with the famous light beams, runs $105-154+ a person for smaller groups and an easier walk. Book the earliest tour time you can get; midday light-beam slots for Upper Antelope Canyon sell out weeks ahead. Horseshoe Bend is a short walk from a $10-per-vehicle parking lot with no separate entrance ticket, best visited before the lot fills by mid-morning. Both fit into one morning, leaving the afternoon for the 272-mile, 4-plus-hour drive back to Vegas. It’s a long last day; leave Page by early afternoon so you’re not finishing the drive at midnight.
Can you really do Zion, Bryce and Antelope Canyon in one week from Vegas?
Yes, this is exactly the trip length where it stops feeling rushed. Five days compresses Zion and Bryce into partial days; six adds a full Bryce morning but stops there; seven is the version where Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend fit without cutting time from the parks before them.
Is Antelope Canyon worth the tour price?
Upper Antelope Canyon’s light-beam photos are the ones you’ve seen online, and they’re genuinely only visible on that tour, midday, in the right season. Lower Antelope Canyon is roughly a third of the price for a shorter, less crowded walk through similar rock formations without the light-beam moment. Budget travelers who don’t need the exact photo should book Lower.
Book the Antelope Canyon tour before anything else on this list. It’s the one reservation on this whole loop that genuinely sells out weeks in advance, not just on a busy weekend.