My wife and I are planning to fly into Vegas, rent a car and drive to Zion and Bryce and whatever places that looks good. We'll fly in May 9 and leave the 15th.
This is our first trip to this area and we are open to suggestions.
Mainly do we need hotel reservations this time of year and how crowded the parks are? We haven't come up with a detailed itinerary other than seeing Zion and Bryce, again we are open to suggestions. We'd like to do a few short 1-2 mile hikes but most of the time we'll be driving. Probably rent an SUV to hopefully find some less traveled roads
I have "Photographing the Southwest" by Laurent Martres and will spend some time reading that.
I'd appreciate any suggestions, also what weather should we expect in May? Low's and high temps.
Thanks,
Forest

Try capitolreef.org. There is a 7 day tour planner. You may wnat to try parts of it. There are some interesting unpaved roads throughout Escalante to try. Some may be rough but easily passible.

The park season will be in full swing in May. You will want reservations. Depending on where you want to stay it might be too late already. I can heartily recommend the Best Western Thunderbird in Mt. Carmel Junction. They are pretty well located between Zion and Bryce. There is also a discount for multiple night stays. Try to get a room in the older part of the motel facing the golf course. Call 1-435-648-2203 for reservations/info. No, I don't work for them but I do stay there when in the area.

Temps will probably range from 30-40 f in the morning at the canyon rims to 70+ f in the aftrenoon down in the canyons. A light packable jacket should suffice for the day if you are active. Bring plenty of water on hikes. The weather has been wierd here in Utah. It has been dry and cold lately. Last time I went to Bryce/Zion in mid April, there was snow on the rim at Bryce and it was green and hot down in Zion. Some of the trails were closed at Bryce due to snow. The narrows at Zion were closed due to high water levels. Have a prioritized itinerary so that if choice 1 is unavailable you can quickly switch to the next choice for that area.

just a link of a myriad of sources available for zion: http://www.citrusmilo.com/zionguide/maincanyon.cfm#obspoint

friends and i acquired a place in page,az and have and will be traveling through zion regularly. i meandered around the net and found the above link a good start.

Joe is a hiker i am sure, but there are some short trips to be found in his list.

enjoy your trip.

artyfact

While you're in the area, consider going to the north rim of the Grand Canyon too. The north rim (unlike the south rim) isn't far from where you're going, and it's (obviously) stunning.

Lisa

Stop at the resteurant in Jacob Lake and get a thick milk shake.

If you go to Bryce, and i would!! stay in the Bryce Canyon Pines Motel just a couple of miles outside the entrance, it's a great place to stay, very hospitable, and always has rooms. I always stay there in preference to Ruby's Inn, just by the entrance, to avoid the crowds, however i do always have breakfast at Ruby's after my Canyon sunrise shot