Curious for those that have done this before. I am trying to help a friend with their travel itinerary and they would like to visit both of these parks and go for a hike.

Anyone have advice on where to park and what trail to take? Nothing overly technical as he will have his 7 and 13 year old kids with him.

I've only been to Zion. When we went, we parked at the beginning of the park, and they had shuttle buses that would take you and drop you off at various points within the part. There were several places where you could hike a good ways. I would suggest logging on to the parks website, and looking at the trails available, etc.

Don't forget Capitol Reef. I'd argue that it's better for kids...

WestGalvestonAggie said:

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Don't forget Capitol Reef. I'd argue that it's better for kids...

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Tell me more why you say this?

Zion has designated parking spots at the beginning of trails. We did the Angles landing hike. Stop at Scouts because if you try to hold that steel cheater safety bar while crawling on the huge rocks, there's about a 10% chance you fall to your death. It's fricking dangerous!

At Bryce, the most important thing is your wear long pants and bring a sweatshirt. It's hot on the bottom and snow on the top. 9,000 plus feet has a huge temperature drop associated with it. We paid about $500 for two sweatshirts at the top. We parked at the restaurant/shopping spot/hotel. It was too cold to hike.

Don't forget to tell them to get to the trail head and start hiking early. That way they can be finished when the bus loads of foreign tourists get dumped out at the trail head. Reminded me of the popular tourist places in Iceland

Bryce is not really technical - more like a walk in the park for the most part.

Zion…. the parking lot and shuttles were good for us…
Bryce Canyon ….. rent the shoes and get a pole…. young ones that might be rough.
At Zion there are some short out and backs that are easy enough with not much elevation change

edit….. never mind about bryce canyon and renting the shoes…. thats the Narrows at Zion… old age playing tricks on me!!! lol

ForeverAg said:

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WestGalvestonAggie said:

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Don't forget Capitol Reef. I'd argue that it's better for kids...

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Tell me more why you say this?

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Much less crowded for one thing. They have orchards where kids can pick fruit from the trees. Critters. It's not nearly as popular as the others, but I honestly don't know why. It's a very nice park.

WestGalvestonAggie said:

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ForeverAg said:

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WestGalvestonAggie said:

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Don't forget Capitol Reef. I'd argue that it's better for kids...

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Tell me more why you say this?

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Much less crowded for one thing. They have orchards where kids can pick fruit from the trees. Critters. It's not nearly as popular as the others, but I honestly don't know why. It's a very nice park.

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Plus, Goblin Valley SP is less than an hour from Cap Reef. Kids that age would love Goblin Valley

malenurse said:

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Plus, Goblin Valley SP is less than an hour from Cap Reef. Kids that age would love Goblin Valley

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Plus, Little Wild Horse Canyon (non-technical slot canyon) is across the street from Goblin Valley. I like it even better!

Two uncrowded trails we hiked in Zion.

Second Angel's Landing.

TAM85 said:

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Second Angel's Landing.

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For a 7 year old?

Not for a 7 yo. We did it with a teenager.

When are they going?
My 11 year old son and I were there 3 weeks ago.

Zion is crazy busy right now with potentially long shuttle wait times. Get there super early to get parking and catch the first shuttles. We opted to spend more time in the less crowded side of Zion: Kolob Canyons. The Taylor Creek Trail was a fun 5 mile round trip hike with beautiful views and wasn't too strenuous. The scenic drive was pretty too.
We didn't do the main part of Zion justice but it was Disney-level crowded and 115 degrees.

We loved Bryce Canyon! We hiked the Queen's Garden/Navajo Loop trail, and Bristlecone Loop Trail, and walked along the rim. We also did the half-day mule ride in the National Park. Worth every penny! We also drove the scenic drive and rode the shuttle a few times. Bryce has a "I hiked the Hoodoos" scavenger hunt that is fun.
Parking was much better at Bryce.

We stayed at a great AirBnB in Hatch, UT that was conveniently located between both NPs. If you want more info let me know.