Best US national parks to see near Las Vegas or Salt Lake City

AFTER VISITING ALASKA WE PLAN TO FLY TO SALT LAKE CITY OR LAS VEGAS, RENT A CAR AND SPEND FIVE DAYS VISITING NATIONAL PARKS. CAN YOU SUGGEST AN ITINERARY AND ACCOMMODATION. D. COLEMAN, FITZROY NORTH VIC

Starting at Las Vegas is going to make more sense than Salt Lake City with the limited time you have available. Also, there are more flights into Las Vegas from just about everywhere, so less time spent getting there. Start with the south rim of the Grand Canyon, and spend the night at Grand Canyon Village: it puts you in a prime position for viewing the canyon at sunrise and sunset, when it's at its most spectacular.

Next stop is Monument Valley, about a three-hour drive. The View Hotel (monumentvalleyview.com) is my number one pick for accommodation, with classic views from the rooms that you'll probably recognise from old Hollywood Westerns. There are several more hotels in Kayenta, about 30 kilometres from the national park.

The drive west to Zion National Park will take about four hours. Zion Lodge (zionlodge.com) is the number one choice but there are several more relatively close including the Best Western Plus Zion Canyon (bestwestern.com), Cable Mountain Lodge (cablemountainlodge.com) and Cliffrose Lodge and Gardens (cliffroselodge.com).Next stop is Bryce Canyon, about a 90-minute drive, and Bryce Canyon Lodge (brycecanyonforever.com) is the standout with Stone Canyon Inn (stonecanyoninn.com) and the Best Western Plus Bryce Canyon Grand Hotel (bestwestern.com) as alternatives.

The drive from Bryce Canyon to Las Vegas should take around four hours. When you get to the Grand Canyon buy an America the Beautiful pass, which will give you free entrance to all national parks for a driver and all passengers in your vehicle, valid for one year, at a price of $US80.