"Awesome!" As a parent, you may try to avoid the word. But in this case, as you gaze out over the Grand Canyon, marveling at the play of light and shadow across endless expanse, it's perfect. And the words keep coming. Whether you're exploring a wonderland of hoodoos and pinnacles in Bryce Canyon ("sweet!"). Traipsing amid the soaring walls and hanging gardens of a slot canyon in Zion ("epic!"). Or laughing at fireside stories under a star-speckled sky ("those leaders are so fly!"). You'll try to contain yourself. But you can't. Because the whole experience is truly ... awesome.

Deluxe Camping

Sunset Campground (1 night): Set in a pine forest, just a short hike from the rim of Bryce Canyon.

North Rim Campground (2 nights): Our home, near the edge of the canyon in a meadow ringed with aspen, offers breathtaking views. 

Watchman Campground (2 nights): Nestled along the Virgin River with soaring cliffs all around.

Daily Mileage Options & Cumulative Elevation Gain

Day 1

• Level 1  1 Route Option Available
• Hiking 3.6 miles
• 600 feet elevation gain

Day 2

• Levels 1 to 2  4 Route Options Available
• Biking 9, 16, 26 miles
• 100 - 1000 feet elevation gain  
• Walking 1.5 miles
• 50 feet elevation gain  

Day 3

• Levels 1 to 3  2 Route Options Available
• Hiking (Adults) 2 - 7.4 miles
• 500 - 1500 feet elevation gain
• Optional Hiking 5 - 8.4 miles
• 100 - 500 feet elevation gain
• Mule Ride (Kids) 1 hour

Day 4

• Level 1  1 Route Option Available
• Walking 2 - 5 miles
• 20 - 150 feet elevation gain

Day 5

• Levels 1 to 3  5 Route Options Available
• Hiking (Adults) 2.8, 4, 4.2, 5, 8.2 miles
• 400 - 2200 feet elevation gain
• Canyoneering (Kids) 6 hours

Day 6

• Level 1  1 Route Option Available
• Biking 17 miles
• 500 feet elevation gain

Please note: On this Family Trip, our routes follow gentle terrain with no significant gain or loss in elevation. Liberal van shuttling is incorporated into the itinerary to facilitate our activities and mileage is kept moderate to enable you to spend more time exploring on your

Routes For All Abilities

Every Backroads trip is designed to appeal to a wide variety of interests and fitness levels. We know your pace may vary from one day to the next-and your traveling companion's may differ somewhat from yours. So we present a range of mileage options, and each day you decide exactly what and how much you want to do.

Activity Level	Average Time	Biking Average	Walking Average
Level 1	2-3 hours	10-20 mile	2-5 miles
Level 2	2-4 hours	21-30 miles	5-7 miles
Level 3	3-5 hours	31-40 miles	7-9 miles
Level 4	4-6 hours	41-55 miles	9-11 miles
Level 5	5-7+ hours	56-75+ miles	11-13+ miles

2012 Dates & Pricing*

FAMILY TRIPS

Plus 6.25% Utah state sales tax.

*Prices may change. Once you book your trip, your price is guaranteed.

Recommended Kids Ages

Minimum Ages:

• Recommended minimum age for the trip: 6 years
• Minimum age restriction to ride own bike: 7 years
• Minimum age restriction for canyoneering: 6 years
• Minimum age restriction for mule ride: 7 years

General Info on Minimum Ages:

We strongly encourage families to join our Family Trips, designed with kid- and adult-friendly features. Please note that we have a minimum age requirement of 1 year for all Inn trips and 2 years for all Camping trips. Other than that, we do not restrict trips to a minimum age except in the rare case of a hotel age restriction. We do, however, recommend minimum ages based on the following criteria:

• 12+ amount of cultural appreciation, difficulty of activities, routes
• 9+ difficulty of activities/activity age restrictions, routes
• 6+ several longer dinners; routes are difficult for pulling a Burley and therefore not appropriate for younger children; difficulty of activities/activity age restrictions

Please note that a trip may feature an activity with an older age requirement than the minimum age recommendation for the trip. Younger kids are still welcome on the trip and while they will not be able to participate in the activity, the leaders will suggest an alternate activity. For safety reasons, children under 7 may not ride their own bikes and are required to ride on a Piccolo or in a Burley. For certain destinations, children must be 9 or older to ride their own bikes.

Guest Trip Reviews

Awesome and awe-inspiring. I knew the locations were going to be eye openers. What I didn't realize was how Backroads would carefully construct and perfectly put together this family camping trip from considering how to make the most of every location for both parents and children, to the campsite logistics of arranging 3 sumptuous meals a day for 26 individuals (many with unique needs), to the putting up, arranging and taking down of our tents at each site, to providing informative breaks and activities on our long driving days. This was my first family camping trip (after 18 inn trips). You all outdid yourselves. I'm convinced that another camping trip is in my near future. I've come to know that with Backroads that the trip logistics and planning will be top notch. The thought and tiny details (playing in a water park for the kids to cool off, dessert at the rim of Grand Canyon, ice cream sundaes and smores for dessert) raise the bar and standards that Backroads set. I'm sold on family camping for the future.

Elizabeth Weisser - New York, NY

Every member of our family loved the trip. The scenery was incredible, our leaders were amazing, and we thoroughly enjoyed our fellow campers. I could not have imagined the uniqueness of hoodoos in Bryce, the awesome expanse of the Grand Canyon or the rugged beauty of Zion. Backroads provided the perfect way to see them.

Bob Shearman - Fort Myers, FL

Our trip was simply fantastic. The accommodations were great (and I had NEVER tent-camped before!), the food was out of this world (I never would have guessed that we would eat that well on a camping trip!), and our leaders were second to none. I can't say enough about it; we had the time of our lives! I was awed by the beauty of the Southwest as well as the top-notch service we received from Backroads.

Linda Omdahl - Jefferson, MD

This was a fabulous trip! We had a 19 year old and a 5 year old and neither has stopped talking about how much fun s/he had. I did not want to miss an activity because all were geared around seeing or doing something new. The climb to Angel's landing was stupendous! The campsite at the Grand Canyon was superb. We have been on several European trips and had heard good things about the family trips! They all underestimated the quality of the trip. My wife doesn't even care to camp and she did not complain once due to the superior trip planning and the support team we had. Well done and keep up the good work! We look forward to seeing Provence with you in September.

Gary Bacon - Carmel, IN

Best family trip we have ever taken! You actually got my wife to enjoy camping, which is a feat that I would never imagine happening. The spirit and soul of your guides was a surprise and a high point of our experience. Really, I could go on but words do not really capture what I call "Ruach" (which means "spirit" in Hebrew) and which your company and your guides have in abundance. My wife accuses me of a being a sentimental cornball (and she tends to be right) but the trip you had for us was deeply moving, both in the time I got to spend with my family, meet new friends (including your guides) and see wonderful places. It has been almost 2+ weeks since I have been home and I still get a smile in my heart and soul thinking about our trip with you. Thank you for that.

Steven Marcus - Libertyville, IL

The trip was outstanding. My son said "This was the best vacation of my entire life!" and we all agreed that this was the perfect vacation for our family. We loved the activities, the scenery, the friendships among the kids, and we were so impressed with the enthusiasm and energy of the trip leaders. We're already planning our next Backroads Family camping trip for next summer.

Linda G. - Encino, CA

The best compliment of all is that our kids all said this was the best trip we've ever taken. Our leaders were outstanding in every way – made us all comfortable and relaxed. They were a wealth of information about the parks and surrounding areas, handled the wide range of age levels in our group very well (kids ages 6-19), provided games to play, engaged the kids during "down time," and made their own tasks seem effortless and seamless. The food was superb and their positive outlook was contagious and uplifting. We can hardly wait to book our next trip!

Susan Hunt - McLean, VA

I am overwhelmed with the perfection of this trip. Part of the wonderful experience was made possible by the natural beauty of Bryce, Zion, and the Grand Canyon. But my family's enjoyment of these magical places was orchestrated precisely and flawlessly by Backroads - starting with the helpful trip consultant whom I spoke with way back in November and who recommended this trip as one that would fit well with my vision of our summer family vacation. The next Backroads guidance came from the emails and brochures that came my way, including the terrific packing list and detailed itinerary. But the crowning Backroads contribution - the one that made a summer trip into perhaps the best summer trip my family has ever taken - comes from the leaders. They are simply fantastic; they're smart, informed, helpful, cheerful, earnest, committed, lovely, capable, energetic, impressive human beings. They worked together like synchronized swimmers, seamlessly executing a daily dance that made every element of the camping experience an effortless joy for everyone. They were terrific with the kids. They were engaging, warm, and just plain fun with the parents. I cannot say enough about how much their truly excellent work (and it WAS work indeed - daily and nightly diligence that always seemed like their pure pleasure to do) made the whole trip into pure enjoyment.

Amy Silverstein - Chappaqua, NY

This is our third Backroads trip and we look forward to many, many more. The overall trip was great. The leaders were fabulous. Like the previous two trips, after about 24 hours you feel like you are vacationing with them (but they won't let you do any work) rather than them being your guides. That is not to say they were not superb leaders but that the comfort level is so good they feel like companions in a leadership role. They clearly know how to make people feel at home and are excellent at managing people's differences in a very professional way.

Scott Shulman - Atlanta, GA

Don't know how you continue to exceed my expectations. I don't usually give all 10s. Backroads is stupendous.

Rhonda Taubin - Atlanta, GA