American Canyonlands October 2023
Hello, We are looking forward to our first Tauck tour. We know good walking shoes/boots are suggested as are layers for warmth in the mornings. We are wondering if our folding hiking/walking sticks are needed. Any chance they are provided? We are hoping to travel carry-on only but could check a bag or ship ahead if needed. Thank you.
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We took the equivalent family tour that returned just last month. You don’t need walking sticks. But they are not provided either. When we took the river walk at Zion, we saw lots of people with walking sticks, but you only need them if you want to cross the river, otherwise it’s a paved path. There was no time to walk through the river when we went and it was an optional trek you could do on your own. We took the Canyonlands tour years ago, we just love the scenery. You should be able to manage with carryon luggage, most of the tour is in park lodges so very casual.
We did the Canyonlands tour last fall. We were given a variety of hiking options - our TD described the trails and difficulty levels. We didn't take walking sticks and I was comfortable doing the hikes we chose. There was a more difficult hike at Bryce that we chose not to do. I've included a picture of the trail on our Zion hike - it is fairly typical of the trails on our hikes. There were occasional rocky areas (not many) - the second picture is at the end of the sunrise hike we took at the Grand Canyon. I think your decision about walking sticks will depend on how you feel about your physical ability and whether you anticipate doing some of the more challenging hikes. We are doing Yosemite/Sequoia in September and plan to pack walking sticks so we have them if we think we need them.
We were recently advised that alot of time seemed wasted getting people off of buses and into and feeding people their meals and back on the buses. Does anyone who has taken the America's Canyonlands trip have any insight on this subject? -- Thanks
If available, consider a small group tour to minimize wait times. This is merely my opinion and is not meant to start a debate on group size.
Having taken both this original tour and the Family equivalent plus going to the areas independently in the past, we certainly think a tour is the most efficient way to see all the sites, especially if you only have a small amount of vacation time to do it. Some advantages include being able to get accommodation in the parks unless you book about a year in advance, not having to worry where to find bathrooms, more hard to get restaurant reservations in the parks and being able to look at scenery while others drive.
I took this tour in October 2019 and do not recall any significant issues with getting people on/off the bus.