I spent 24 days hiking through that area a few years ago, and there was still a lot that I didn’t see.
Bryce Canyon, Arches, Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Canyon were my favorite sights. Bryce is spectacular when you leave the rim trail and start exploring down among the “hoodoos.” And you “must” drive Route 12, from Capitol Reef to Bryce.
A quick THANK YOU!!!
Our itinerary so far:
7/9: a night in a Hampton Inn in northern Las Vegas
7/10: Drove to Kanab UT via Valley of Fire State Park in NV
7/11: Zion National Park (my fave so far this trip)
7/12: Grand Canyon North Rim
7/13: Bryce Canyon NP
7/14: Best Friends
7/15: Colorado River Discovery smooth-water rafting below Glen Canyon
7/16-7/18: visiting friends in Phoenix
7/19: Sedona (Sky Ranch Lodge which has great views) with friends. We did indeed stop at Rock Springs for pies to bring for everyone to chow down on that night 
7/20-21: Grand Canyon South Rim with friends. We stayed in Yavapai East lodge (not near the rim).
7/22-23: a hotel in Vegas. We’re at Yavapai at the moment but will be hitting the road in about 10 minutes. Hopefully see The Strip and Hoover Dam.
7/24: fly home (while I’m on a liquid-only diet for an upcoming colonoscopy, LOL, but that’s a different thread).
I have a bum knee so very limited hiking so 1 day per park has been enough, “sort of”.
And how were they? Were they as fabulous as advertised, or mostly hype? Inquiring minds want to know. Do I have to plan a stop in Rock Springs on my next Flagstaff road trip?
I’m happy to hear that the trip was a success. Ah, family vacations. Nothing like 'em.
I’m sorry I only saw this thread now - I did almost the same trip late last year, with an itenary that looked something like this in Google maps.
I also started a thread on it, with some excellent advice.
The pies were fabulous. Mixed reviews on the lunch we had there. I had a barbeque sandwich that I thought was great. My son had a chicken fried steak plate that would feed an army, or a single teenaged boy. He said it was good. My wife and daughter thought their lunches were so-so. I forget what they ordered, but I don’t think they went with Rock Springs’ strengths. Just saying.
Again, the pies were great!
The trip was great! The kids were great! 
The pies were indeed very good.
Now, if you have a decent local bakery, you’ll get pies that are just as good… but the Rock Springs cafe had SO MANY VARIETIES right there. That’s the real draw, I think - you can get pretty much any kind of pie you might have a hankering for!
I wouldn’t go all that far out of the way - as in I wouldn’t make a special trip down from Flagstaff (or up from Phoenix) - but if you are going to be passing by anyway, it’s definitely worth a stop.
Typo Knig is correct on the cafe food - we’d been told it was nothing special, and I concurred, but as we needed lunch anyway we ate it there.
I’m so excited that you did go to Best Friends - how was it? I have friends that go several times a year and stay for multiple days. I can’t wait to go myself.
Yay for pie!!!
Yeah, don’t know about the food myself as I’ve never had anything but pie, but they are good. Though I’ve been told that my chocolate cream pie is better than theirs.
Linus - if you’re headed from Phoenix up the I17, there really isn’t a reason to not stop for pie. Twice, even - once each way.
We used to make the road trip to Flag pretty often, but haven’t gone as frequently since we had the kids. But now that our girls are getting old enough to appreciate the trips (our last snow weekend was a HUGE hit) we’ll probably head up more often. Maybe we’ll try to squeeze it in next time we go.
I think the problem has been one of timing. On the way up, we usually don’t want to make a long stop that soon after leaving town and the hassle of packing up and hitting the road. And on the way home, we’re usually rushing because of the already late bedtime.
Actually, one of these days I’d LOVE to take an almost completely unstructured vacation. Just start driving and stop whenver the mood hits us, even if it’s 5 minutes after our last stop. Though we’ll probably have to save that for a time when the kids are having an overnighter with the grandparents.