Animal Lovers Tour

It takes a little time to get to our home in Kanab, but it’s so worth it! Your journey will start in Las Vegas, Nevada, where a ground shuttle will pick you up at McCarran International Airport. From Las Vegas, you will be transported to Kanab, Utah, watching the scenery change from glitzy lights to serene scapes. The drive delivers the perfect opportunity to meet and get acquainted with your fellow guests who’ll be on tour with you!

As we get near our destination, you’ll find the busy, hectic world falls further and further away, and your view opens up to the colors and calm majesty of the desert.
We will arrive at The Gathering Place by early evening, where you can unpack and unwind. A light meal will be served, and your guide will orient you on the week’s events.

Meals included this day: light dinner.

Start the day by getting to know the beauty and history of the Kanab area with a tour through Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, located just 5 miles away. A representative at the sanctuary will take you on a morning tour of the facility. You’ll learn about the fantastic work done at Best Friends, which extends beyond their large facility, housing over 1,600 animals! This non-profit facility is nestled in the ancient wondrous world of Native American Angel Canyon, as seen on the National Geographic Channel.

Lunch will be served at the Angel Canyon Cafeteria, where fantastic vegetarian and vegan dishes are on the menu. You may dine inside or on the patio, overlooking the splendor of the canyon.
In the afternoon, you’ll have the opportunity to volunteer in an area of Best Friends: choose from Dogtown, Catworld, Horse Haven, Wild Friends, Bunny House, Parrot Garden or the gift shop, where all proceeds benefit the sanctuary! . Please note that some areas fill up quickly so we can’t always guarantee that everyone gets their first choice.

Your guide will then bring you back to the bed and breakfast for a rest and refresh before dinner. Dinner will be at Wild Thyme Cafe which specializes in farm-to-table options.

Meals included this day: breakfast, lunch & dinner.

Founded in 1918, Zion National Park is Utah’s oldest national park. With nearly three million visitors per year, Zion is also Utah’s most popular park. On this tour, you’ll explore the land where the Virgin River has sculpted a profound landscape masterpiece. Together, we’ll venture into the heart of Zion National Park and hike trails to jaw-dropping sites like the Emerald Pools. As our groups are always kept small, the day will run at your pace, with as many stops for photos as needed!

Lunch will be served in Zion Canyon Lodge, where you can also find souvenirs for the park.
We’ll finish your day hiking the amazing Zion Narrows, one of the most famous trails in the U.S. The trail leads into the deepest reaches of Zion Canyon, where the walls are only 24 feet apart and tower to more than 1,000 feet high! The trail begins with an easy paved walk and ends at the mouth of the gorgeous canyon. Needless to say, the views are out of this world!

After exploring the park, we’ll head back to our accommodation for a rest and refresh before heading out for a group dinner at Escobar’s Mexican Restaurant.

Meals included this day: breakfast, lunch & dinner.

After a delicious breakfast, we’ll get on the road to start today’s adventure! Our destination, Bryce Canyon National Park, is about 1.5 hours away.

Your first view of Bryce Canyon is gloriously dramatic; rows of ancient pine trees veil the bright colors of the park, and reveal glimpses of what is to come!
To start off our visit, we’ll view the Sunset Point Amphitheater, full of beautiful red rock spires called “hoodoos”. If we’re feeling energetic, we can also hike the Navajo Loop and experience the mesmerizing rock formations throughout.

By now, we’ll have built up quite the appetite! So we’ll head to Ruby’s Inn for their famous buffet lunch, and afterwards, continue exploring the park, including Bryce Point and Inspiration Point. The park boasts many different climatic zones and diverse habitats, so keep your eyes open for countless species of birds, mammals and plants unique to the area.
To end the day on a high, we’ll stop at Peek-a-boo Slot Canyon just outside of Kanab. Here we’ll load into OHV vehicles, a fantastic and fun way to skim over the sand trails and dunes! Your guide will also show you the “hallway of stone”, a hidden gem that’s sure to deliver the wow factor!

Tonight’s dinner will be at the Vermillion 45, where we can get together and share our stories from the day.

Meals included this day: breakfast, lunch & dinner.

After breakfast, we’ll set off for today’s adventure to one of the 7 wonders of the world, the Grand Canyon! After about 1.5 hours on the road, we’ll arrive to the Grand Canyon North Rim, where crisp and refreshing air and a lush forest environment will greet us.

We’ll enjoy a relaxed horseback trek through some of the parks trails. You’ll find that this is the perfect way to take in the surrounding views and enjoy the park experience as a group.
For lunch, we’ll head to Grand Canyon Lodge which also offers a charming gift shop village for those with a shopping passion.

Our afternoon will be spent visiting special locations, unreachable by the the big tour buses. Your guide will take you to hidden viewpoints as well as the Tusayan Ruins, an ancient Native Indian pueblo, considered one of the major archaeological sites in Arizona.
Tonight’s dinner will be hosted back in Kanab at Angels Landing Amphitheater in the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. A local restaurant, Sego, will do the catering for us, so all we have to do is sit back and enjoy the food, the evening air and the company!

Meals included this day: breakfast, lunch & dinner.

Unfortunately, today is departure day, but not before a few more activities and adventures with your group! We’ll have breakfast, check-out of The Gathering Place, then load your luggage into the van.
Our drive to Lake Powell takes about 1.5 hours.

Once we get there, we’ll board a boat and experience the sparkling blue waters of Lake Powell in the best way possible, with towering red rock formations surrounding us and continuing as far as the eye can see. Be sure to have your camera ready to capture the undulating shoreline and slot canyons!

Next, we’ll visit Glen Canyon Dam and Museum where you can learn about the history of the area, including how Lake Powell was created. We will also feast our eyes on Horseshoe Bend, a jaw-dropping overlook of a 2,000 foot monolithic butte wrapped by the Colorado River. The view is truly astounding, making it an unmissable photo stop!

As our last day draws to a close, we’ll head back to Kanab for a late lunch and final meal at Rocking V Restaurant before our drive back to St. George. From there, you can catch the shuttle back to Las Vegas Airport, arriving there at 6:40 pm.

Meals included this day: breakfast & lunch.

Kanab is located in the very Southern Region of the State of Utah. Most guests fly into Las Vegas, NV or St. George, UT. We will pick you up in Las Vegas, NV and bring you to Kanab, UT (this takes 3.5 hours). Check out our How To Find Us Page for more arrival details.

At National Park Tourz our specialty is multi-day, all-inclusive tours. These tours include lodging, 3 meals per day, trail snacks, bottled water, entrance fees, activities, tour transportation and your friendly and experienced tour guide! You may want to bring some extra cash to buy souvenirs or to tip the adventure guides.

We suggest you bring clothing for each day (light layers), shoes and socks appropriate for hiking on rocks, sand, gravel, pavement, and in water. We’d also recommend a rain poncho or similar light rain gear, sunscreen, a hat and/or sunglasses, and a camera. National Park Tourz provides 3 meals a day, as well as bottled water, daytime trail snacks and a backpack to keep your belongings. If you have special dietary needs or preferences, you may want to bring a few of your own snacks.

For this tour, you will enjoy the excellent home comforts of The Kanab Gathering Place. We strive to accommodate the special requests and needs of our clients. Four of the rooms in this home have king beds, and two of the rooms have two double beds. The accommodations have two ground floor rooms and four rooms that require using stairs.
In the event that a guest needs an ADA room, we will arrange accommodations at a nearby hotel (for an additional $50 per day).

The longest hike we do is 2-mile round trip. Very easy, slow pace and the trail is paved. We do our best to customize your experience. Please let us know what you are comfortable with.

Gratuity or tipping is a personal option and is completely up to you. You may request to have it added into your tour balance or tip your guide directly at the end of your tour. Customary gratuity is between 10-15% of your tour price.

There is one local company, Xpress Car Rental. You can reach them by phone at 435-644-3408.

In Kanab, the summers are hot and mostly clear, the winters are very cold and partly cloudy, and it is dry year round, with the exception of our incredible monsoon season in August. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 22°F to 92°F and is rarely below 10°F or above 99°F. We schedule our tours in line with the best time of year to visit Kanab for warm-weather activities, which is from April to mid October.