This year for spring break, we checked off three new-to-us states on our quest to visit all 50 states as a family:
Utah, Nevada, and Arizona!
We flew Southwest from our home airport to Las Vegas on the first day of spring break, and spent the next week having an amazing adventure. Once we landed, we picked up our rental car and drove two (gorgeous) hours north to St. George, UT, where we stayed the next three nights. We spent the next two days exploring in the following ways:
ZION NATIONAL PARK
Never have I ever witnessed so much beauty. WOW. There are really no words for how expansive and stunning this park was. We drove in before the sun came up, and we got to watch the park wake up from the inside. It was indescribable. Truly.
Angel's Landing and The Narrows are two popular, viral hikes within the park that we would love to do one day, but didn't do this time. The hikes we did do, however, were extraordinary, too, and I would recommend them to anyone who visits the park:
Lower, Middle, and Upper Emerald Pools Trail Loop via the Kayenta Trail
(~6 miles)
Riverside Walk
(~2 miles)
We, also, spent time at the Visitor Center and stopped at the park sign on our way out. TJ and I had dreamed of experiencing this park for so long, and it felt pretty surreal to actually be there. Even better, to be there with our kids. The weather was a lot colder than we anticipated and were prepared for, but we lived to tell about it and really only remember the highlights. The other-wordly sights were worth every shiver, and I sincerely hope we get to spend another day here again in the future.
After a full day on the trails, we stopped at Oscar's Cafe for dinner and Deep Creek Coffee Company in Springdale, UT for a mid-day caffeine refuel. Both were divine and highly recommended by me and many others. If we ever have the chance to visit Zion again, I will try hard to stay in Springdale, which is right outside of the park entrance. It was an incredible place!
PIONEER PARK & DOWNTOWN ST. GEORGE
This park was so much fun! A hidden gem out in the open, really. It was a short drive from our hotel, and we spent our morning here hiking, climbing, and exploring for around 2.5 hours. I think our kids could have stayed here all day! We could see downtown St. George from the park, too, which was really cool.
After that, we drove into downtown and spent the next few hours walking and window shopping. We especially loved a particular bookstore (The Book Bungalow), coffee shop (Cafe FeelLove), and pizza place (The Pizza Factory) -- all of which were so wonderful. Another honorable food mention that was highly recommended to us: CafeRio. We ate that for dinner our last night in St. George, and it was delicious!
The next day, we woke up slowly, ate a buffet breakfast at our hotel, and began the trek back to Vegas. Before we officially hit the road, we had to do "the most Utah thing": drinks from Swig. We all got pink cookies and drinks ("Founder's Favorite" for me), and we were instantly big fans! It was such an easy, fun way to close wrap up our time in this stunning state.
From there, we headed back south to Vegas. We took a longer route so we could make an intentional pit stop at:
VALLEY OF FIRE STATE PARK
Oh my! I am not joking when I say that this is one of the most indescribable and fantastic places we have ever visited. We were in awe from start to finish! We drove through the park, taking in all the sights and wonders, and then hiked the most amazing 3.5 miles through the park. The terrain was genuinely magnificent; we had never seen anything like it! We hiked a big loop composed of three trails: Fire Wave, White Domes, and Seven Wonders. I will recommend this park and this particular trail to EVERYONE who asks!
Just look at this place...
After spending several hours in this unforgettable place, our journey continued on and we were back in Vegas in around an hour. We stopped for a late lunch at In-n-Out Burger (of course), and then checked into our hotel. We chose a hotel that was close to the strip but not on it, and it was fabulous. It had the Vegas "feel," but was in a quiet part of town. The kids were pumped about the pool, and we spent our evenings there for the remainder of our trip.
Las Vegas was our home-base for the next and final four nights of our trip, and we spent our days adventuring in the following ways:
LAS VEGAS STRIP
We walked over 20,000 steps while exploring this iconic street and its sights, and we lived our best Vegas lives without stepping foot into a casino. I had heard a lot of things about Vegas (I'm sure you have, too, LOL), but we had a really lovely day there. It reminded me of NYC's Time Square in many ways, and we all agreed that one day was plenty for us.
We loved walking through all the hotels and experiencing what makes them unique, and our favorite spots were NYC (we're all itching to go back to the real thing as a family!), The Observatory and Fountains (Bellagio), The Forum Shops (Ceasar's Palace), the Gondolas (Venetian), and the Paris hotel. We ate at BeerPark for a late lunch, and it gifted us with the best views of the Bellagio Fountain Show. I'm not sure we could handle the heat of this outdoor restaurant during summer, but it was perfect for March!
We went back to the hotel for more swimming and an early bedtime to prepare for the next day's epic adventure:
HOOVER DAM & GRAND CANYON WEST
Wow, wow, wow! What a total bucket list day!
We opted to do a self-guided tour of the outside of Hoover Dam, and it was perfect for us. It was, also, MASSIVE! We were all in awe of the structure and size of it, and we spent about 30 minutes walking and admiring and reading all the signage. Truly a unique work of art on top of the mind-blowing functionality of it. It was really cool introduce my kids to Lake Mead, as well, because I got to visit here while I was in college and it hold a special place in my heart and memories.
From there, we continued west for another two hours and crossed the border into Arizona to experience THIS for the first time...
Definitely a surreal and major "pinch me" moment!
I wasn't sure what to expect with Grand Canyon West, but it was ultimately our only option since Grand Canyon NP was a 4-hour drive from Vegas. It was pricey ($210 for the 4 of us), so we decided to only pay for General Admission tickets. They have add-ons for their famous SkyWalk, meal vouchers, zipline, etc., but we were happy with our basic tickets. We packed and ate snacks while there, and we did what we came to do: stand in awe of where we were.
We spent around 3 hours there, and it was absolutely incredible. we were bused from the parking lot to Eagle Point, Guano Point (the better view, in my opinion), and then back to our car. There was no one there when we first arrived, but it was pretty packed by the time we were leaving. The buses came often, though, and there was room to spread out. We hiked to the top of Guano Point (pictured here), which gave us less crowds and more amazing views!
After leaving the Grand Canyon and heading back to Vegas, we made one final stop for the day at:
SEVEN MAGIC MOUNTAINS
These were so fun and so BIG!
On our final day, we decided to make it a slow day and it was just what we all needed. After a packed week of adventure and nearly nonstop action, a morning at a local park, lunch at a local pizza place, and an afternoon in the pool was a perfect ending to a fabulous week.
This was truly a spring break like we’ve never had before. When we told people we were going to Vegas for spring break with our two young kids, we got plenty of surprised looks. Now having been, I understand. BUT this trip proved to be one of the most unforgettable and BEAUTIFUL trips that we’ve ever taken. I would absolutely do another week in & around Vegas just like this one again. What a week!
📌 SAVE this itinerary for your own family travels. Our itinerary was a good one:
With this adventure, we checked off numbers 22, 23, and 24 on our goal to visit all 50 states as a family! Almost halfway. So exciting!
Watch our spring break video here!
Never have I ever witnessed so much beauty. WOW. There are really no words for how expansive and stunning this park was. We drove in before the sun came up, and we got to watch the park wake up from the inside. It was indescribable. Truly.
Angel's Landing and The Narrows are two popular, viral hikes within the park that we would love to do one day, but didn't do this time. The hikes we did do, however, were extraordinary, too, and I would recommend them to anyone who visits the park:
Lower, Middle, and Upper Emerald Pools Trail Loop via the Kayenta Trail
(~6 miles)
Riverside Walk
(~2 miles)
We, also, spent time at the Visitor Center and stopped at the park sign on our way out. TJ and I had dreamed of experiencing this park for so long, and it felt pretty surreal to actually be there. Even better, to be there with our kids. The weather was a lot colder than we anticipated and were prepared for, but we lived to tell about it and really only remember the highlights. The other-wordly sights were worth every shiver, and I sincerely hope we get to spend another day here again in the future.
After a full day on the trails, we stopped at Oscar's Cafe for dinner and Deep Creek Coffee Company in Springdale, UT for a mid-day caffeine refuel. Both were divine and highly recommended by me and many others. If we ever have the chance to visit Zion again, I will try hard to stay in Springdale, which is right outside of the park entrance. It was an incredible place!
PIONEER PARK & DOWNTOWN ST. GEORGE
This park was so much fun! A hidden gem out in the open, really. It was a short drive from our hotel, and we spent our morning here hiking, climbing, and exploring for around 2.5 hours. I think our kids could have stayed here all day! We could see downtown St. George from the park, too, which was really cool.
After that, we drove into downtown and spent the next few hours walking and window shopping. We especially loved a particular bookstore (The Book Bungalow), coffee shop (Cafe FeelLove), and pizza place (The Pizza Factory) -- all of which were so wonderful. Another honorable food mention that was highly recommended to us: CafeRio. We ate that for dinner our last night in St. George, and it was delicious!
The next day, we woke up slowly, ate a buffet breakfast at our hotel, and began the trek back to Vegas. Before we officially hit the road, we had to do "the most Utah thing": drinks from Swig. We all got pink cookies and drinks ("Founder's Favorite" for me), and we were instantly big fans! It was such an easy, fun way to close wrap up our time in this stunning state.
From there, we headed back south to Vegas. We took a longer route so we could make an intentional pit stop at:
VALLEY OF FIRE STATE PARK
Oh my! I am not joking when I say that this is one of the most indescribable and fantastic places we have ever visited. We were in awe from start to finish! We drove through the park, taking in all the sights and wonders, and then hiked the most amazing 3.5 miles through the park. The terrain was genuinely magnificent; we had never seen anything like it! We hiked a big loop composed of three trails: Fire Wave, White Domes, and Seven Wonders. I will recommend this park and this particular trail to EVERYONE who asks!
Just look at this place...
After spending several hours in this unforgettable place, our journey continued on and we were back in Vegas in around an hour. We stopped for a late lunch at In-n-Out Burger (of course), and then checked into our hotel. We chose a hotel that was close to the strip but not on it, and it was fabulous. It had the Vegas "feel," but was in a quiet part of town. The kids were pumped about the pool, and we spent our evenings there for the remainder of our trip.
Las Vegas was our home-base for the next and final four nights of our trip, and we spent our days adventuring in the following ways:
LAS VEGAS STRIP
We walked over 20,000 steps while exploring this iconic street and its sights, and we lived our best Vegas lives without stepping foot into a casino. I had heard a lot of things about Vegas (I'm sure you have, too, LOL), but we had a really lovely day there. It reminded me of NYC's Time Square in many ways, and we all agreed that one day was plenty for us.
We loved walking through all the hotels and experiencing what makes them unique, and our favorite spots were NYC (we're all itching to go back to the real thing as a family!), The Observatory and Fountains (Bellagio), The Forum Shops (Ceasar's Palace), the Gondolas (Venetian), and the Paris hotel. We ate at BeerPark for a late lunch, and it gifted us with the best views of the Bellagio Fountain Show. I'm not sure we could handle the heat of this outdoor restaurant during summer, but it was perfect for March!
We went back to the hotel for more swimming and an early bedtime to prepare for the next day's epic adventure:
HOOVER DAM & GRAND CANYON WEST
Wow, wow, wow! What a total bucket list day!
We opted to do a self-guided tour of the outside of Hoover Dam, and it was perfect for us. It was, also, MASSIVE! We were all in awe of the structure and size of it, and we spent about 30 minutes walking and admiring and reading all the signage. Truly a unique work of art on top of the mind-blowing functionality of it. It was really cool introduce my kids to Lake Mead, as well, because I got to visit here while I was in college and it hold a special place in my heart and memories.
From there, we continued west for another two hours and crossed the border into Arizona to experience THIS for the first time...
Definitely a surreal and major "pinch me" moment!
We spent around 3 hours there, and it was absolutely incredible. we were bused from the parking lot to Eagle Point, Guano Point (the better view, in my opinion), and then back to our car. There was no one there when we first arrived, but it was pretty packed by the time we were leaving. The buses came often, though, and there was room to spread out. We hiked to the top of Guano Point (pictured here), which gave us less crowds and more amazing views!
After leaving the Grand Canyon and heading back to Vegas, we made one final stop for the day at:
SEVEN MAGIC MOUNTAINS
These were so fun and so BIG!
This was truly a spring break like we’ve never had before. When we told people we were going to Vegas for spring break with our two young kids, we got plenty of surprised looks. Now having been, I understand. BUT this trip proved to be one of the most unforgettable and BEAUTIFUL trips that we’ve ever taken. I would absolutely do another week in & around Vegas just like this one again. What a week!
📌 SAVE this itinerary for your own family travels. Our itinerary was a good one:
With this adventure, we checked off numbers 22, 23, and 24 on our goal to visit all 50 states as a family! Almost halfway. So exciting!
Watch our spring break video here!
