Hiking US National Parks

Hiking Tours / Private Vehicle (Sedan/Van)
7 Day
  • Itinerary

    Intermediate Hikes in US National Parks  

    A COMBINATION OF HIKING, SIGHTSEEING, and PHOTOGRAPHY
    Join us on an amazing trip to discover the National Parks of Arizona, Utah, and Nevada in 8 DAYS!!!
    Route: Phoenix - Sedona - Grand Canyon - Lake Powell & Horseshoe Bend - Antelope Canyon - Bryce Canyon - Zion National Park - Valley of Fire - Las Vegas
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    Group size: Maximum 10 participants (small group tour)
    Level of difficulty: THIS TOUR IS ONLY FOR INTERMEDIATE HIKERS 
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    ONE DEPARTURE in 2025:  SAT 01- SAT 8 March 2025 (8 days / 7 nights)
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    THIS TOUR WILL BE CONDUCTED BY "IAN CLARK", ONE OF THE BEST CANADIAN-AMERICAN HIKE LEADER SPECIALIZED IN ARIZONA HIKES, Photographer, Sunset & Waterfall lover, and much more :)
    WFR Advanced (Wilderness & Remote First Aid Program) - Ontario Hike Certified.
     
    *********************** ITINERARY *************************
    Day 1 - SAT 01 MAR 2025) Toronto – Phoenix – Sedona
    Direct Flight from Toronto to Phoenix, AZ on Air Canada. AC1287 Toronto, CA (YYZ) - Phoenix, US (PHX) 08:35AM-11:28AM (Non-stop, Duration 4h 53m)
    Arrive at Phoenix Airport. Drive to Sedona upon arrival (194 km = 2 hrs drive)
    - Visit Red Rock Ranger District Visitor Center in Sedona Check in to your hotel - Arroyo Pinion Hotel, Sedona
    - Afternoon drive to The Sedona Airport Overlook. Lookout point with views of the town & rugged red sandstone hills that are illuminated at sunset.

    Day 2 - SUN 02 MAR 2025) Sedona – Grand Canyon
    - Boynton Canyon Trail to the Vortex (spiritual) has developed a reputation as a site of a spiritual energy vortex. Whether or not you follow this belief, you'll no doubt agree the beauty found among these towering buttes, crimson cliffs, and natural desert gardens are divine.
    Afternoon drive to Grand Canyon (183 km = 2.5 hrs drive). Check in to your hotel - Best Western Premier Grand Canyon Squire Inn in Grand Canyon
    - Sunset at Hermit’s Rest (23km = 40 min drive)

    Day 3 - MON 03 MAR 2025) Grand Canyon - Page
    - South Kaibab Trail to Skelton Point (tough) (Ooh Aah Point - Cedar Ridge) offers wonderful views all along the trail making it very easy to lose track of how far down you have hiked.
    Additionally, the steepness of the trail is very misleading on the way down. Plan on taking twice as long to hike up as it took to hike down. Cedar Ridge has great views and is an ideal day hike.
    Afternoon drive to Page (212 Km = 2.5 hrs)
    - Horseshoe Bend Overlook. Check in to your hotel - Best Western Plus At Lake Powell, Page AZ

    Day 4 - TUE 04 MAR 2025) Page - Bryce Canyon
    - Visit Antelope Canyon (Lower Antelope Canyon in Page, AZ).
    Afternoon drive to Bryce Canyon. (250 km = 2hr 45 min) Check in to your hotel - Best Western Plus Ruby's Inn in Bryce Canyon.

    Day 5 - WED 05 MAR 2025) Bryce Canyon - Zion area
    - Visit Bryce Canyon, UT in the morning Hat Shot (see a cluster of balanced-rock hoodoos) Peekaboo Loop (Steep, spectacular hike through the heart of the park. See the Wall of Windows.)
    - drive to Sunrise Point - Lookout - Queens Garden/Navajo Loop Trail - Inspiration Point (Lookout) – Natural Bridge Arch (lookout) - Rainbow Point and Yovimpa Point (both Lookout)
    - If we have enough time, we may visit the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park as well on this day
    Your hotel: Holiday Inn Express Springdale - Zion Natl Park Area.

    Day 6 - THU 06 MAR 2025) Zion area
    Morning drive to Zion National Park, Utah (120 km = 1.5 hrs) Zion National Park (East Entrance)
    - Angels Landing Hike (steep) - SUBJECT TO PERMITS & WEATHER CONDITION
    - The Narrows (will need to rent waders) - SUBJECT TO PERMITS & WEATHER CONDITION
    - Drive Mt Carmel Hwy - Canyon Overlook Trail: 1.5k - EMERALD POOLS: 4k – Riverside Walk - Weeping Rock 
    Your hotel: Holiday Inn Express Springdale - Zion Natl Park Area.

    Day 7 - FRI 07 MAR 2025) Zion – Valley of Fire – Las Vegas (390 km = 5 hrs drive)
    8 AM to 3 PM: Valley of Fire (East Entrance) - Elephant Rock - Lookout - Seven Sisters - Fire Wave 2.5k - Rainbow Vista - Lookout - Arch Rock - Lookout Valley of Fire (West Entrance) Depending on weather conditions - because of a flood, snowmelt.
    Check in to your hotel before 4.00 PM - The LINQ Hotel + Experience on the Las Vegas Strip.
    Tonight, you can enjoy your free time on your own, do optional activities, or join your guide to see:
    • The Volcano erupts at the Mirage
    • The Dancing Waters, Conservatory & Botanical Garden at the Bellagio 

    Day 8 - SAT 08 MAR 2025) Las Vegas area – Toronto 
    Today, you can enjoy your free time on your own, do optional activities, Hotel hopping on the Las Vegas Strip: • The Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian...• You may use Las Vegas Tram (free) to get up & down the Strip • Fremont Street Experience – ‘Old’ Vegas  
    You can also join your guide for an excursion to RED Rock Canyon (30 Km west of Las Vegas)
    8.30 PM: Transfer from our hotel’s lobby to Las Vegas Airport for the return flight to Toronto. Direct on Air Canada 
    AC1284 Las Vegas, US (LAS) - Toronto, CA (YYZ) 10:40PM - 06:55AM+1 (Arrive on SUN 09 MAR 2025) - (Non-stop, Duration 4h 15m)
     
    NOTE: YOU CAN JOIN "AIRPORT TRANSFERS" IF YOU BOOK THE SAME FLIGHTS AS THE GROUP. GROUP FLIGHT DETAILS ARE MENTIONED BELOW FYI.

    Price & Inclusions

    Book Early. Save Big.

    PACKAGE PRICE
    · Per person, Double occupancy: CA$3000 (taxes are included)
    · Per person, Single occupancy: CA$4100 (taxes are included)
    The Single Supplement is CA$1100
    ONLY a $300 deposit is required to secure your spot.
     
    We have limited availability on this tour. Please book early to avoid disappointment.
    >> The prices are per person, in Canadian dollars 
    >> If you need a roommate, please notify us when you order online. We usually have many single travelers looking for a roommate, and we try to find one for you. But, it is not guaranteed!
    >> If you are two people/family/friends and want to pay separately, PLEASE place separate orders from the beginning!
    >> Prices are subject to change without notice.
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    Payment & Cancellation Schedules:
    * A $300 deposit is required to secure your spot. Non-refundable, but can be credited for future use in case you cancel. 
    * The balance is due (by 15 DEC 2024). You can pay the balance HERE *You will receive a Balance payment Reminder!
    * If you book after this date (if available), full payment is required at the time of booking.
    * 50% Penalty if canceled between 16 DEC 2024 and 15 JAN 2025.
    * 100% Penalty if canceled between 16 JAN 2025 and the departure date.
     
    Payment modes: We accept Credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex), Debit Cards, PayPal, and E-transfer. 
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    What's included:
    • 7-night Hotel accommodation: 1 night in Sedona, 1 night in Grand Canyon, 1 night in Page, 1 night in Bryce Canyon, 2 night in Zion, 1 night in Las Vegas
    • 6 Breakfasts at the hotel
    • Resort fee at your hotel in Las Vegas - includes Daily in-room high-speed internet access, All local calls, Fitness center access for two daily
    • Private Air-Conditioned Transportation by a Van
    • Airport Transfers (IF YOU BOOK THE SAME FLIGHT AS THE GROUP)
    • This tour is conducted by Ian Clark (your professional hike leader)
    • Water/fruits/Snacks
    • Admissions to: Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon, Bryce Cayon, Zion National Park + And visiting/hiking other places that are mentioned in the itinerary...
    • All hotel taxes
     
    What's NOT included:
    • International flights (Toronto - Phoenix & Las Vegas - Toronto) 
    • Lunches and Dinners are not included
    • Breakfast in Las Vegas is not included
    • All Gratuities to Hotel /Guide-Driver 
     
    *********************** FLIGHT INFORMATION *************************
    You need to book your own flights based on the following details. You can book through the Expedia website (OR) Air Canada Website 
     
    DIRECT FLIGHTS ON AIR CANADA (Milti-city)
    SAT 01 MAR 2025: Toronto – Phoenix  
    Outbound Flight: AC1287 Toronto, CA (YYZ) - Phoenix, US (PHX) 08:35AM-11:28AM (Non-stop, Duration 4h 53m)
    SAT 08 MAR 2025: Las Vegas – Toronto 
    Inbound Flight: AC1284 Las Vegas, US (LAS) - Toronto, CA (YYZ) 10:40PM - 06:55AM+1 (Arrive on SUN 09 MAR 2025) - (Non-stop, Duration 4h 15m)
     
    NOTE: YOU CAN JOIN "AIRPORT TRANSFERS" IF YOU BOOK THE SAME FLIGHTS AS THE GROUP.  

    Pickup

    You will be picked up at Phoenix Airport by your tour guide "IAN".  

    Tour Attractions

    Sedona, Arizona
    The Red Rock Ranger Station has an amazing visitor center where visitors and locals alike will enjoy learning about the area’s many scenic wonders and world-class recreation opportunities.


    Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
    Grand Canyon National Park, located in northwestern Arizona, is the 15th site in the United States to have been named as a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, which is often considered one of the Wonders of the World. The park, which covers 1,217,262 acres (1,901.972 sq mi; 4,926.08 km2) of unincorporated area in Coconino and Mohave counties, received more than six million recreational visitors in 2017, which is the second highest count of all American national parks after Great Smoky Mountains National Park.[5] The Grand Canyon was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979. The park celebrated its 100th anniversary on February 26, 2019.


    Zion National Park “Utah's First National Park” is a southwest Utah nature preserve distinguished by Zion Canyon’s steep red cliffs. Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions, the park has a unique geography and a variety of life zones that allow for unusual plant and animal diversity. Numerous plant species as well as 289 species of birds, 75 mammals (including 19 species of bat), and 32 reptiles inhabit the park's four life zones: desert, riparian, woodland, and coniferous forest. Zion National Park includes mountains, canyons, buttes, mesas, monoliths, rivers, slot canyons, and natural arches. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrF1cSzaeAY&list=RDQM-2HACxu7gis&start_radio=1


    Antelope Canyon in Arizona
    Most-visited and most-photographed slot canyon in the American Southwest.
    Frequently subject to flash floods, Antelope Canyon can only be visited through guided tours because of the extreme danger. Still, it has managed to become the most-photographed and most-visited slot canyon in all of the American Southwest due to its beauty. Formed by millions of years of wind and water erosion, Antelope Canyon’s magnificent smooth and flowing shaped sandstone has made it one of the most famous slot canyons in the world. Located within the LeChee Chapter of the Navajo Nation in Arizona, Antelope Canyon is actually two separate canyons, the upper canyon and lower canyon. (We will visit the LOWER Antelope Canyon) VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4nM1FoUqYs


    Horseshoe Bend in Arizona is one of those rare places that is absolutely breathtaking, yet it is accessible to people of all hiking skill levels. A very short hike off a highway takes you to the top of a cliff overlooking Horseshoe Bend and the Colorado River over 1100 feet below. Horseshoe Bend is a horseshoe-shaped incised meander of the Colorado River located near the town of Page, Arizona. Horseshoe Bend is located 5 miles downstream from the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell.


    Bryce Canyon in Utah (Red Rocks, Pink Cliffs, and Endless Vistas)
    Over two million visitors come to experience the otherworldly magic of Bryce Canyon National Park each year. Bryce Canyon National Park in Southwestern Utah is famous for the largest collection of hoodoos (the distinctive rock formations) in the world. Bryce Canyon’s red-orange-pink amphitheaters stage a Norse myth 70 million years in the making. The park’s main road leads past the expansive Bryce Amphitheater, a hoodoo-filled depression lying below the Rim Trail hiking path. It has overlooks at Sunrise Point, Sunset Point, Inspiration Point and Bryce Point. Prime viewing times are around sunup and sundown. Nowhere else in the world can you find rock pinnacles with fantastic shapes like the ones found in Bryce Canyon National Park. Located in the High Plateaus region of the Colorado Plateau in Utah, Bryce Canyon’s elevation, erosion, climate and rock type are all elements that, when combined, form fantastical shapes called Hoodoos.

    VIDEO: https://youtu.be/p7kC0EpClCM


    Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park
    Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park is a state park in southwestern Utah, United States, located between Mount Carmel Junction and Kanab, south and west of U.S. Highway 89 in Kane County. The park features uniquely pink-hued sand dunes located beside red sandstone cliffs.


    Angels Landing Hike (steep)
    Angels Landing is a strenuous trail in Zion National Park with steep drop-offs and very narrow sections - it is also the most popular hike in Zion. ... The last half-mile (0.8 km) follows a steep and narrow ridge from Scout Lookout to Angels Landing itself, a fantastic observation point 1500 feet above Zion Canyon.
     

    The Narrows (will need to rent waders) CAN BE SEEN ONLY IF IT IS OPEN
    The Narrows is the narrowest section of Zion Canyon in Zion National Park, Utah, United States. Situated on the North Fork of the Virgin River and upstream of the main canyon, The Narrows is one of the premier hikes in the park and on the Colorado Plateau.
     

    Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada
    Valley of Fire State Park is a public recreation and nature preservation area covering nearly 46,000 acres located 16 miles south of Overton, Nevada. The state park derives its name from red sandstone formations, the Aztec Sandstone, which formed from shifting sand dunes 150 million years ago


    Las Vegas, Nevada
    The City of Las Vegas and often known simply as Vegas, is the 28th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County.
    Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city, known primarily for its gambling, shopping, fine dining, entertainment, and nightlife. The Las Vegas Valley as a whole serves as the leading financial, commercial, and cultural center for Nevada.


    Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area (about 30 km west of Las Vegas) lies in Nevada’s Mojave Desert. It’s known for geological features such as towering red sandstone peaks and the Keystone Thrust Fault, as well as Native American petroglyphs. Panoramic viewing spots dot the 13-mile Scenic Drive. The sheltered Ice Box Canyon has seasonal waterfalls. To the south, Spring Mountain Ranch State Park features historic buildings and hiking trails.


    **Optional activities in Las Vegas:
    • Attend a show - check the schedules here: https://www.vegas.com/shows/
    • Fremont Street Experience – ‘Old’ Vegas
    • Hotel hopping on the Las Vegas Strip
    • See the Volcano erupt at the Mirage
    • View the Dancing Waters at the Bellagio + Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Garden
    • The Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian
    • Visit the Mob Museum (National Museum of Organized Crime) // Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition // The Neon Museum // Madame Tussauds - Las Vegas
    • Ellis Island Casino & Brewery
    • The LINQ Promenade: an entertainment, shopping, and dining district located between The LINQ Hotel and Flamingo Las Vegas
    • Enjoy a great dinner buffet in Las Vegas. Suggestions: https://www.lasvegashowto.com/top-10-las-vegas-buffets

    Note

    >> Please READ the itinerary and make sure it suits your interests/ability before making any booking
    >> Level of difficulty: THIS TOUR IS ONLY FOR INTERMEDIATE HIKERS. Some of the hikes are challenging.
    >> You will be invited to a WhatsApp group chat 1 month before the trip. We believe this is a great way to connect, deliver information and updates in real time, and distribute photos during our trip.
    >> The itinerary is subject to change at any time without prior notice due to various circumstances including weather conditions.  
    >> Regarding roommates: If we introduce you to a prospective roommate to share a room (based on your request), please note that: if things don't work out with your roommate and you face any issues during your stay and wish to change your room, you will have to pay the associated cost.
    >> We strongly recommend comprehensive Travel Insurance to protect the investment you made on your trip. It can also help with emergency medical costs, flight delays/cancellations, baggage loss/damage, travel accidents, unforeseen events, and unexpected travel costs
     
    TRAVEL PROTECTION PLANS
    For your protection, we strongly recommend that you purchase Comprehensive Travel Insurance with Emergency Medical, Trip Cancellation, and interruption. Here is a list of some Travel Insurance companies for Canadian Travellers:
    Travel Insurance Coverage on your credit card: If you have travel insurance on your credit card, please make sure about the details of their insurance coverage.
     
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    Travel Documents
    US Immigration requires that all travellers MUST have a valid passport (or Nexus or EDL cards).  If you do not have a Canadian or USA passport, please make sure that you have the appropriate permissions or documentation to travel to the USA. YOU CANNOT TRAVEL IF YOU DO NOT HAVE ALL REQUIRED TRAVEL DOCUMENTS, SUCH AS PASSPORT AND VISA (if applicable).
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    Weather in the destination: IN MARCH
    Phoenix, Arizona: Average High: 25 C , Average Low: 11 C
    Page, Arizona: Average High: 20 C , Average Low: 6 C
    Grand Canyon, Arizona: Average High: 12 C , Average Low: -4 C
    Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah: Due of its high elevation climate, the weather at Bryce can be relatively cold. Visitors need a jacket! Average High: 7 C , Average Low: -7 C
    Zion National Park, Utah: Average High: 13 C , Average Low: -1 C
    Las Vegas, Nevada: Average High: 24 C , Average Low: 8 C

    Driving Distances in KM. daily:
    Day 1) 186 Km = 2 hrs
    Day 2) 183 Km = 2 hrs 10 min
    Day 3) 215 Km = 2 hrs 25 min
    Day 4) 245 Km= 2 hrs 45 min
    Day 5) 200 Km = 3 hrs 
    Day 6) 95 Km = 2 hrs
    Day 7) 390 Km = 5 hrs 
    Day 8) 60 Km --- Flight back
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    If you have any questions, please email to info@funtours.ca  - or call: 416-897-3020