Zion/Bryce in early December?

[Steve Goldstein]

The tickets to Las Vegas are bought, so we'll make a visit to Death Valley just after Thanksgiving (4th Thursday in November for non-US readers). I also realized that both Zion NP and Bryce Canyon NP are "in the area" - what sort of weather would be normal there for the first week of December?

Thanks all.

[jeroldharter]

I went there last February and it was sort of a bust. The snow was very deep so that I could not walk anywhere without falling in over my waist. The clouds were either dense so I had flat light with snow, or else blindingly harsh with no clouds and snow. Some of the roads were closed. On the other hand, Death Valley is wonderful when it is cooler and you could generate a year's worth of negatives there.

[Keith Pitman]

I think Jerold encounter some unusual bad weather. I've been to both Zion and Bryce a number of times in winter. The days are (usually) clear. Zion is comfortably cool; Bryce will be cooler. Nights are cooler, but I don't do night photography. :) If you have the opportunity, go for it.

[Dave Jeffery]

The good news is you can let the weather dictate what you would like to do. Bryce is at 8400 ft and will be the coldest area of the three that you mentioned but if there is little snow or just a light dusting then you may want to drive there. If it is freezing and there is a lot of snow then don't bother.

If the weather in Zion is nice then go there. Some areas are also at higher altitude and get more snow but the main canyon is often clear in December and you can drive anywhere you want to as the shuttles are not running.

If the conditions are terrible at both Bryce and Zion then you just can visit more areas in Death Valley and it's easy to spend a week in that park. Plan your travel well as the park is huge and the drive from Furnace Creek to Badwater is 60 miles as an example.

You can also visit many other areas of the desert which are not very cold in December. It's unusual for Las Vegas to get more than one light dusting of snow in a winter season and December is still typically very early for any bad weather.

If you plan to camp and have nice cooking fires pick up a load of apple wood or hardwood at Allied Wood Products in Las Vegas and also get some cheaper pine there as well to burn after cooking. Nothing like lamb chops seared over a nice campfire at night in the desert and one of my favorite nights camping ever was in Death Valley in early December. It was nice enough weather that all that was needed away from the heat of the fire was a light jacket.

There's a lot to do in the area so watch the weather and the potential snow build up at Bryce and try and put together a long list of areas to enjoy depending on what the weather does. Death Valley has Zabriskie Point, Dante's Point(overlook), The ghost town of Ryhyolite, Titus Canyon, the sand dunes at Stovepipe Wells, Scotty's Castle, Marble Canyon, the kilns (about a 4 hour drive from Furnace Creek), Keane Wonder Mine, Artist's Palette, The Racetrack, Badwater etc. etc. So much to do.


Have Fun!

[Eric Leppanen]

Exploring rural Nevada is a nice alternative if Zion and/or Bryce don't work out.

http://shop.photographamerica.com/product-p/058-pdf.htm
http://shop.photographamerica.com/product-p/113-pdf.htm

Cathedral Gorge State Park is an interesting place to shoot LF:

http://parks.nv.gov/cg.htm
http://www.photoseek.com/swusa8.html#Cathedral_Gorge

Also, Antelope Canyon (just outside of Page, Arizona) is a decent winter destination on a sunny day. It's not that much farther from Zion than Bryce. There are lots of posts here regarding Antelope Canyon if you'd like to pursue this. Be sure to keep an eye on the flash flood warnings, though!

[jeroldharter]

I think Jerold encounter some unusual bad weather...go for it.

Seems to be my fate. Fishing trips, photography trips - always something with the weather. But, if it was easy it wouldn't be so much fun. I wasn't trying to be too discouraging but a week is easy to fill in Death Valley area.

[Sirius Glass]

Many years ago my girlfriend [then] and I visited Zion in February and there were only five cars in the National Park. Four of them belonged to Park Rangers. There was some snow on the ground, icicles on the falls. We had the place to ourselves and took advantage of it. ;)

Steve

[AgentX]

I wouldn't pass up a trip to Zion or Bryce any time of the year...

[Drew Wiley]

Zion and Bryce are going to be a lot different from Death Valley! You probably can
get into Zion Canyon per se, but going to the upper end and then potentially to
Bryce, there might be delays due to snow on the roads. Zion is a reasonably short
drive from LV, with wonderful places like Valley of Fire in between. And Zion can be
beautiful that time of year, but is essentially a cold sink with deep shade in places, so warm clothing will be needed. Bryce us about 9000 ft in altitude, so will have a
nip in the air - and I personally wouldn't go there without a good sleeping bag in
the car (one can get stuck in a snowstorm). But it is an interesting place when snow
forms delicate tracery over all the hoodoos and such.

[Richard Raymond]

Steve,
Congratulations on the trip. In this string you did not mention how long you will be staying out here. Many have mentioned a lot of great things to see in Death Valley. My concern is with the travel times. You have mentioned going over to Zion from Death Valley. That will be at least a 5 hour trip (Boston to Albany, NY). It is another 2 hours to Bryce. It may be better for your time management to go from Death Valley to the eastern Sierras and see the stuff from Lone Pine to Bishop and beyond and then swing back through the north end of Death Valley on the way back to Vegas. Going from Death Valley to Bryce will result in about 14 or 15 hours of travel time that might be better used photographing stuff. Anyway, consider the mileage.
Best regards,
Ric

[Steve Goldstein]

Ric,

Thanks for the tip. Yes, it's starting to look like a lot of travel. We'll have 7 days in total, but my wife wants a day in LV (ack!) to see a show so that's 6 more on the ground. We may well skip Death Valley this time around and concentrate on areas east of Las Vegas. She also wants to see Bryce and Zion, and it's nearly 20 years since I've been there.

Drew, thanks for the tip about the sleeping bag, I hadn't thought about that!

[jeroldharter]

I would encourage you not to miss Death Valley. From a photography standpoint, I think it has a lot more to offer than Zion and Bryce and is much more accessible that time of year and has excellent weather. Just my opinion, but I went to Death Valley 2 Februaries ago and it was one of the best trips, and I went to Zion and Bryce last February and the weather/light was a real challenge. Just my opinion of course

[Sirius Glass]

Death Valley is great especially in the spring with the flowers.

It is wise to concentrate on southwest Utah, but also close to Los Vegas is Red Rock Canyon. http://www.redrock.org/

Steve