Great Canyons of the Southwest
Bryce/Zion Alpiner   /  White Mountains  /  Canyon Country Classic

The rugged beauty of the Colorado Plateau; the countless wind-sculpted hoodoos of Bryce and the massive sandstone temples of Zion; sheer slickrock canyon walls; the incredible vastness of the Grand Canyon itself; the pinks and purples, oranges and yellows, the red and gold that overwhelm the senses; the contrasting alpine aura of towering peaks that wear a mantle of snow year-round — this is the fascination of the Great Canyons region of the Southwest.

We've planned an exciting array of adventures for our Great Canyons category for the coming season. We will again visit Bryce and Zion National Parks in southwestern Utah in the context of a 7-day Alpiner and incorporate the North Rim of the Grand Canyon as part of our 9-day Great Canyons Biker/Hiker.

We'll also offer another in our group of "signature" tours — the Canyon Country Classic, a 10-day adventure that not only explores Zion, Bryce and Cedar Breaks, but also ventures well beyond into the sparsely-traveled Grand Staircase/Escalante National Monument regions in the heart of the Dixie National Forest and on through the surreal rock formations of Capitol Reef National Park.

For pure hikers, our Grand Canyon series, Bryce/Zion, Big Bend and Capitol Reef programs are extraordinary southwestern hiking adventures (see Hiking Adventures).

Bryce/Zion Alpiner   /  White Mountains  /  Canyon Country Classic  /  Top

Bryce/Zion Alpiner   /  White Mountains  /  Canyon Country Classic  /  Top

Itinerary

Deep canyons, the startling hoodoos of Bryce and the rock temples of Zion, the breathtaking array of color, the variety of vegetation, the high alpine setting of the Dixie National Forest — all contribute to the excitement of the Bryce/Zion Alpiner. Our tour focuses on the southwestern corner of Utah, including Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks, and Cedar Breaks National Monument. An area of indescribable beauty, these parklands offer convincing testimony to the awesome forces of nature.

We'll assemble in Cedar City and head for Cedar Breaks National Monument early morning of Day 1. The ride to Cedar Breaks is singularly spectacular as we climb through beautiful Cedar Canyon along cascading Cedar Creek to Cedar Breaks summit at 10,200'. We'll visit the many viewpoints within the monument before a rapid descent to the ski resort village of Brian Head where we'll spend the evening at the Cedar Breaks Lodge.

It's on to Bryce on Day 2 in the heart of Utah's "Color Country." A beautiful ride through the sandstone formations of Red Canyon carries us to the open expanse of the Paunsaugunt Plateau and Bryce Canyon where we'll spend the next two nights and a layover day exploring this geological wonder. Several outstanding hiking and cycling options are available in Bryce for the layover day.

We'll leave Bryce on Day 4, descending through Red Canyon into the Sevier River Valley. We're headed to Mt. Carmel and an evening at the Thunderbird Resort prior to Day 5's short ride to Zion. The full afternoon of Day 5 is available for hiking in Zion, with an opportunity to visit the awesome summit of Angel's Landing.

Without a doubt, Zion is a fantasyland that offers an incredible array of hiking options and our greatest challenge for Day 6 will be to see how much we can cram into this day. Observation Point, featuring Zion's highest viewpoint (8 miles) is a must early in the day. Later that afternoon, we'll walk along and into the Virgin River toward the Narrows (3 miles).

Following a second evening at the Zion Lodge, we'll cycle leisurely through the high desert of southern Utah to St. George and then van shuttle on to Las Vegas, where our program concludes.

Total Cycling Mileage — 235
Total Hiking Mileage — 25

In the context of a new 7-day program, we’ll ride from the Verde Valley into Zane Grey country atop the Mogollon Rim. We’ll visit Payson, Show Low, and Pinetop-Lakeside, all portals to the recreational wonders of the Whites, before climbing beyond 9,000 feet into the heart of these rugged mountains. We’ll ride the beautiful White Mountains Scenic Byway to Greer, nestled in the high alpine Lee Valley at 8,525’ near the headwaters of the Little Colorado, and then challenge the awesome Coronado Trail, named Arizona’s most beautiful scenic road by Arizona Highways prior to our descent to the High Sonoran Desert at Safford.

White Mountains of Arizona assembles in Camp Verde north of Phoenix, and we’ll provide a van shuttle from Phoenix early enough on Assembly Day to visit the 800-year-old cliff dwelling ruins at Montezuma Castle National Monument. We’ll ride east from Camp Verde Day 1 along the sparsely traveled General Crook Trail, named for the U.S. General who waged war on the Apaches in the early 1870’s, leading to the relocation of the tribe to nearby Fort Apache. We’ll climb steadily from the valley into the Coconino National Forest on the Mogollon Rim and spend our first overnight in Payson.

Early morning of Day 2, we’ll ride into the Sitgreaves National Forest through Heber to Show Low, and then spend much of Day 3 engaged with the upwardly undulating, but scenically rewarding White Mountains Scenic Byway. We’ll spend the evening at the beautiful Greer Lodge near the Little Colorado and then we’re off to join the Coronado Trail the following day at Eager.

As we head south along the Coronado Byway, we’ll quickly climb into the ponderosa of the Apache-Sitgreaves Forest. The cinder cones that mark our course reveal the volcanic legacy of this region. We’ll continue to climb to the Alpine Divide north of the town of Alpine, our last town until we descend into Morenci at the end of Day 5. We’ll spend the night at the historic Hannagan Meadows Lodge and much of the next day riding in the high alpine wilderness of the Whites. With the exception of the San Francisco Range north of Flagstaff, Arizona’s highest peaks line our route; Reno, Rose, Mitchell, Coronado and Malpais stand as magnificent sentinels from north to south.

Clearly, we could go on and on as we attempt to convey the utter thrill of cycling the Coronado Trail. Know, though, that this day will rank among the elite cycling experiences in our entire program. We’ll conclude this extraordinary day with a long descent into historic Morenci, home to the second largest copper pit mine in North America.

Our descent continues on Day 6 as we leave the Whites and enter the high Sonoran Desert of the fertile Gila River Valley enroute to our overnight in Safford. We’ll continue through the Sonoran region on our final day to Globe and conclude our program with a visit to the Besh-Ba-Gowah Archeological Park before shuttling back to Phoenix.

Total Mileage — 462

Itinerary

In the course of the 24 years that we've been planning and staging bicycle tours throughout the Western U.S. and Canada, we've assembled a select group of programs that distinguish our organization from others. Classic Canada, Classic Colorado, the Odyssey Series, Beartooth, Wild River, Oregon Coast-to-Cascades, San Juans, Glacier Park and New Mexico Ramblers — these are the extraordinary experiences that have come to be known as our "signature" adventures.

Two years ago, Canyon Country Classic joined this elite group of cycling experiences. We had long been aware that some of the Southwest's most exciting cycling terrain lies remotely tucked within the eastern reaches of the Dixie National Forest in south-central Utah, and beyond the well-travelled loop embracing Cedar Breaks, Bryce and Zion. For some time, we longed to ride the Escalante, to climb to and through the shimmering aspen groves above Boulder, and to explore the surreal rock formations of Capitol Reef. Fantasy became reality with the introduction of Canyon Country Classic.

Canyon Country assembles in St. George and we'll ride through the Virgin River Valley to Zion National Park on Day 1. Much of Day 2 will be spent exploring Zion, including the opportunity to hike the Narrows or climb to Angel's Landing. Late that afternoon, we'll cycle the short distance to Mt. Carmel Junction, where we'll spend the evening at the Thunderbird Lodge.

It's on to Bryce on Day 3 as we climb gently through the beautiful red sandstone of Red Canyon. We'll spend the next two nights at Bryce, with a layover day that offers great hiking opportunities. We're headed east from Bryce to Escalante with an optional opportunity to visit fascinating Kodachrome Basin State Park near Tropic. Following an overnight at the Prospector, we'll ride into the heart of the Grand Staircase National Monument to Boulder and then climb beautiful Boulder Mountain. A long descent provides an incredible ending to this special day as we ride to Torrey, gateway to Capitol Reef National Park. We'll spend the evening at Capitol Reef Resort with its inviting outdoor pool, enjoy an unforgettable dinner at the Cafe Diablo and then explore Capitol Reef the following day before riding on to Loa.

Early-morning of Day 8, we'll ride the Sevier River Valley to Panguitch and then climb back into the Dixie Forest the following day. We're headed for Brian Head on Day 9 and a final evening at the luxurious Cedar Breaks Lodge. A short but "attention-grabbing" climb early on Day 10 is a not-so-subtle reminder that our adventure, though in its final day, continues unabated. We'll visit beautiful Cedar Breaks National Monument that morning and then its downhill, and we mean downhill, through Cedar Canyon to Cedar City. We'll end this extraordinary adventure on this dramatic note and van shuttle back to St. George.