LA Southwest Road Trip: 7 Days
A full week out of LA is the only version of this trip that completes the whole Utah leg: Vegas, Death Valley, the Grand Canyon’s West Rim, Zion, and finally Bryce Canyon , 85 miles past Zion, before an 8-plus hour drive straight home. Only have six days? Drop Bryce from the 6-day version . Full details on every stop live in the LA to Vegas, Zion and Death Valley guide .
Book these before you go
- A rental car in LA , you’re covering roughly 1,500 miles this week
- A Springdale hotel at Zion’s gate
- A Bryce Canyon City hotel , close enough for a sunrise start on the rim
Day 1: LA to the Strip
270 miles up I-15, 4 to 4.5 hours. Check in, note the resort fee, walk one stretch of the Strip, catch the free Bellagio Fountains.
Day 2: Vegas to Death Valley
About 2 to 2.5 hours to Furnace Creek. Entry $30 per vehicle for seven days, cashless, no reservation. Afternoon at Zabriskie Point and Badwater Basin, overnight at Furnace Creek.
Day 3: Death Valley back to the Strip
Sunrise at Dante’s View, then back to Vegas, 2 to 2.5 hours. Second Strip night.
Day 4: Grand Canyon West Rim, there and back
120 to 130 miles each way, 2 to 2.5 hours. General admission $67 plus tax, or $99 for an All-Access Pass with the Skywalk included (about $113.54 with tax and fees), confirm current pricing on Grand Canyon West’s official site . Third Strip night.
Day 5: Vegas to Zion, overnight in Springdale
About 160 miles, 2.5 to 3 hours up I-15. Entry $35 per vehicle for seven days, plus the new $100 non-U.S.-resident surcharge from January 1, 2026. The free shuttle needs no reservation and runs March 7 through November 28, 2026, current schedule on the NPS Zion page . Hike the Riverside Walk or Emerald Pools, then overnight in Springdale.
Day 6: Zion to Bryce Canyon, sunset on the hoodoos
A short morning trail before checkout, then roughly 85 miles and under 2 hours east to Bryce Canyon, its own separate $35 vehicle entry and the same non-resident surcharge, alerts on the NPS Bryce Canyon page . Time your arrival for late-afternoon light at Bryce Point or Sunset Point, then check into a hotel in Bryce Canyon City.
Day 7: Bryce sunrise, then the long drive home
Bryce’s hoodoos read better at sunrise than sunset, so get to Sunrise Point or the Navajo Loop trailhead before the day-trippers arrive. Then start the real work: 530 to 548 miles back to LA, 8 to 8.5 hours direct, the longest single driving day of the entire trip. Break it up with a proper stop in Las Vegas or St. George rather than trying to push through on gas-station coffee alone.
Is finishing at Bryce Canyon worth an 8-hour drive home, or should you cut it at Zion?
Worth it if you’ve got the extra day, Bryce’s hoodoo amphitheater is a genuinely different landscape from Zion’s canyon floor, only 85 miles and under 2 hours apart. Cut it at Zion (the 6-day version ) if an 8-hour final drive sounds miserable rather than epic, that’s a fair trade for one less national park.
At a glance
| Day | Distance / drive time | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LA to Las Vegas, 270 mi / 4-4.5 hrs | Strip check-in, Bellagio Fountains |
| 2 | Las Vegas to Death Valley, ~120-125 mi / 2-2.5 hrs | Zabriskie Point, Badwater Basin, overnight Furnace Creek |
| 3 | Death Valley to Las Vegas, ~120-125 mi / 2-2.5 hrs | Sunrise at Dante’s View, second Strip night |
| 4 | Las Vegas to Grand Canyon West Rim and back, 120-130 mi / 2-2.5 hrs each way | Skywalk, Eagle Point, Guano Point, third Strip night |
| 5 | Las Vegas to Zion, 160 mi / 2.5-3 hrs | Riverside Walk or Emerald Pools, overnight Springdale |
| 6 | Zion to Bryce, 85 mi / under 2 hrs | Sunset at Bryce Point, overnight Bryce Canyon City |
| 7 | Bryce to LA, 530-548 mi / 8-8.5 hrs | Sunrise on the hoodoos, long drive home |
Keep your park passes and hotel confirmations on your phone and on paper both, cell service drops out for long stretches between Bryce and the Nevada line.