Zion, Bryce Canyon and Grand Canyon national parks are part of a 900-mile ‘Grand Loop’ in the Southwest

I never thought I’d see the lights of Las Vegas, counting it as one of the last places I’d choose to visit.

This Disneyland for adults is just not my idea of a good time. However, the area piqued my interest in another way – as a point of embarkation to Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion national parks. These environmental gems are part of the “Grand Loop,” a 900-mile circuit of perhaps matchless beauty.

So it was with some excitement that I discovered a bargain airfare to Las Vegas. After an interesting trip on legendary Route 66, now almost devoid of traffic, my companion Jen Dunton and I arrived at the Grand Canyon on a bright 70-degree April day.

Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion national parks, www.xanterra.com; 888-297-2997.

We had planned a trip to Phantom Ranch on the Colorado River, 4,500 feet beneath the rim. You either hike to it, about 8 miles each way, or ride mules there on guided expeditions. However, it is difficult to get reservations at Phantom Ranch, even at that off-season time of year.

Instead, we hiked about 1,100 feet down the South Kaibab trail, a spectacular walk. The trail drops immediately down a steep face of rock by means of a series of blasted-out switchbacks. From there, it follows the side of a canyon for a short distance before opening onto a ridgeline with expansive views of the Grand Canyon.

We went about a mile and a half to Cedar Ridge, encountering a couple of mule caravans returning from Phantom Ranch.

The trail provides awesome scenery, and I’m told it is better than the Bright Angel trail.

One good decision the National Park Service made is to restrict motorized traffic to shuttle buses along the rim drive west of the lodges. The free buses make a number of stops along the 8-mile road. You can get off and on whenever you want.

We chose to walk a significant length of the adjoining trail, a mostly level hike along the rim of the canyon. There are periodic overlooks and spectacular scenery. The bus got us back to our quarters, a rustic cabin at the Bright Angel Lodge.

The next afternoon we continued on our journey, arriving at Bryce Canyon National Park a day later. Bryce is not actually a canyon but a series of horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters of eroded limestone, sandstone and mudstone formations called hoodoos.

We took a room at the Park Service lodge near the rim. The sun was low in the sky when we walked to the edge of the rim, and the shadows from the hoodoo spires were compelling. Next to us stood a bristlecone pine, perhaps 1,600 years old.

We found a nice little bench on the rim and enjoyed the sunset.

Grand Canyon, Bryce, and Zion lodges are all architecturally interesting – they are on the national register of historic sites – and comfortable. But the meals were generally overcooked and bland.

In the Bryce dining room that evening I noticed the lack of a wine list and inquired.

“Welcome to Utah,” our friendly waiter responded. “You have to ask for it. We are not allowed to offer alcohol or in any way bring it to your attention.”

The following morning we hiked down into the hoodoos by means of the Queen’s Garden and Navajo Loop trails, passing through Wall Street, a narrow avenue between sheer-walled formations.

The soil and rock formations vary in color but are mostly reds, off-whites and pinkish reds. The trails wind among the spires and fins, and through small tunnels in the rocks.

Along the way are Ponderosa pines and the ancient bristlecones, whose gnarled, twisted forms are accented by exposed root systems, the product of many ages of surface erosion.

The weather had been deteriorating since we arrived and, at nearly 8,000 feet, we felt a few snowflakes.

The next day, a surprisingly short drive brought us to Zion National Park. It reminded me of Yosemite in terms of the bucolic, river-runs-through-it valley, which is enclosed by soaring, dome-shaped rock formations. One difference is that Yosemite geology is granitic, Zion sedimentary.

We learned that Zion, Bryce and the Grand Canyon are part of what is known geologically as the “Grand Staircase.” The bottom layer of rock at Bryce Canyon is the top layer of Zion, while Zion’s lowest stratum is topmost at the Grand Canyon.

At Zion we took perhaps the most unusual hike I have ever done in a national park: the five-mile roundtrip Angel’s Landing trail.

Surprisingly, some of this trail is actually paved with what appears to be a sandstone composite. Erosion is a big problem here and the paving was done to protect it. It blends with the environment reasonably well.

The trail switchbacks steeply up the face of a hanging valley, briefly leveling out as it turns inward through a narrow canyon. Shortly the trail again rises abruptly by means of Walter’s Wiggles, a famous series of short switchbacks carved out of a rock wall in 1926.

At the top of the switchbacks the trail reaches a plateau. I thought we had reached the high point, but a hiker we encountered on his way out just smiled.

“You’ve got a little more to do,” he said with a coy expression.

Shortly we arrived at the top of a narrow ridgeline, no wider than several feet in spots. On either side were sheer precipices dropping 1,500 feet to the valley floor. Below us I could see climbing groups making their way up these faces. The elevation gain and difficulty are sufficient that many climbers choose to bivouac overnight on hammocks suspended in space.

Ahead the ridge climbed another 500 feet to a narrow summit. Because of the real danger of this trail, the Park Service has installed metal poles sunk in the rock and linked by chain ropes. It’s not for everyone – I could feel my heart pounding as I negotiated some of this terrain.

Returning to Las Vegas we found it uncharacteristically rainy and cold. The following morning we boarded our plane for Seattle, arriving to find the Northwest had better weather than we had most of the week in the Southwest. Now, isn’t that the traveler’s curse?

Barry Brower of Everett is a librarian, freelance writer and musician. You can e-mail him at barrybrower1@comcast.net.