My sister and I are planning a road trip to Southern Utah early next May. Besides the obvious Bryce, Zion and the other national parks, are there some things dopers recommend that we absolutely shouldn’t miss? Bear in mind that we are a couple of non-athletic oversized quite old ladies, so hiking is not on our agenda. We like scenic drives! Thanks!
Canyonlands and specifically Dead Horse Point. Right next to it is Arches NP and nearby the Waterpocket Fold of Capitol Reef NP. Those being NPs may already be on your agenda but, spectacular as they are, must be mentioned.
You’ll be close to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. It’s worth a visit and there are good views with no hiking involved. Check in advance, though; it closes for the winter (the 2013 opening was May 15th).
This may have been on your list already, but Grand Canyon doesn’t usually get lumped in among “other national parks”.
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Highly recommend the road from Escalante to Boulder and Torrey. Incredible view from inside your car. Before Boulder is Calf Creek Falls. A little hike, but worth it. And in Torrey is Cafe Diablo. I suggest you try their free range Texas, fried rattlesnake. Delicious! Then continue on to Capital Reef National park. Breathtaking. Enjoy!
I’ve added Dead Horse Point and Highway 12 to the itinerary. Thanks guys! How about hiway 89 by the Vermilion Cliffs and the Grand Staircase national monument on the way to Page? Is that as scenic as it sounds?
pohjonen, what’s your walking limit? How long is your trip? There are tons of things to see in Southern Utah. Be advised that Highway 12 can be a little hairy at times–it has windy parts with long drop-offs on each side. It’s not called The Devil’s Backbone for nothing. 
The Boulder area is very nice and it has a couple of foodie type restaurants. The Burr Trail Rd (which meets Hwy 12 near Boulder) is recommended for a few miles. It eventually becomes a dirt road but before that it goes through Long Canyon (it might be Red Canyon). Kodachrome Basin is worth a drive-through and there are some other minor parks along the way.
Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon Dam are fun. I believe you can take a day ferry from Page to see Rainbow Bridge National Monument. I recommend staying a night in Kanab at the Perry Lodge–movie stars used to stay there during the 50’s and '60’s while filming Westerns. They have a barn they use as a cinema that screens old Westerns for free.
If you’re going to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and Page take 89A. Near the Marble Canyon bridge you can drive down a road to Lee’s Ferry which is the only place you can approach the Colorado River in a car (for the pedantic–I’m excluding Lake Powell as I don’t consider it a river).
Antelope Slot near Page, AZ might be the best thing you’ll see. The drive through Monument Valley is spectacular. Goblin Valley is great.
Remember, anytime you are in a place that sells gas and you have less than a half tank, buy gas.
ETA: You can drive right to the Colorado River in several places near Moab. Take Hwy 128 for sure, also consider Hwy 279. Drive through Arches NP while you’re there.
I lived in Moab for 20 years; most folks say they prefer the Island in the Sky to Dead Horse Point. They’re on the same road.
Thanks for reminding me about Goblin Valley. That’s now definitely on the list. We are both retired so the trip can be as long or short as we want. We were thinking of staying two nights in Richfield and two nights in Kanab. Do we need to plan on longer do ya think?
My walking limits are very short. I developed an arrythmia last year that scares me and gets me winded very quickly. That’s why we like scenic drives so much. It doesn’t look like the Antelope Slot will be manageable if you gotta do those stairs. 
How are you getting there? Flying into Las Vegas? Another thing to keep in mind is the elevation. Bryce and Grand Canyon are over 9000’. Your first couple of days you’ll notice it.
Deeg - we’ll be driving down from the north. Richfield will be where we plan on staying first. Thanks for the heads up about the altitude. Yeah, Yellowstone was where I was when I first noticed myself getting winded so fast a few years back.
Upper Antelope (on the South side of the highway) is completely flat and less than 200 yards long.
You may know this already, but Richfield doesn’t have much in the way of tourist attractions. It’s a decent enough place to spend the night I guess, but I’ve always considered it as just a place to get gas and maybe a bite to eat.
One kind of off-the-wall attraction outside of Bryce is the Wildlife Adventure Museum. It’s an amazing display of wildlife from all over the world, all from a local who spent years as a big game hunter.
Blondebear, you’re right about Richfield. I’m thinking about changing the first motel location to Green River as it’s closer to the stuff on the east side and not as pricey as Moab. Thanks for the Wildlife Museum suggestion. That sounds like something we would enjoy, definitely.
Do try to visit the North Rim. It’s not nearly as crowded as the South Rim, and there are indeed places you can visit with minimal walking.
If you visit Page, there is a half-day smoothwater rafting trip that puts in at the base of the dam - no physical prowess required. It actually ends up at Lee’s Ferry (where you take a long bus ride back up to Page). You can also go for a swim in Lake Powell in a number of places - the water is rather warmer in the lake than it is when the rafting trip stops for a break (BRRRRRRRRR).
If you are driving north on I-15 you may wish to take the road into Zion NP which isd not connected with any otherr road in the Park. It’s a short drive past impressive sheer vertical sandstone cliffs to a point about 5 miles from the entrance from which the Grand Canyon’s North Rim can be seen.
From Cedar City a nice drive up to Cedar Breaks National Monument is worthwhile. The road (I think it is highway 14, but check your map) is not part of the Monument, but is a very scenic road with cliffs hanging over the road. I hear this area may become part of the National Monument in the near future. It is called the Ashdown Wilderness and is part of a national forest.
Cedar Breaks sounds interesting, however the NPS says it isn’t fully accessible until late May.
Natural Bridges National Monument, Hovenweep National Monument, and Goosenecks State Park are in the neighborhood. They are all fairly small and are easily seen with little to no walking.
I was there this past May and drove from St. George through Colorado City/Hilldale on Hwy 59, then to Kanab, then up US 89 and Cedar City via Hwy 14.
I’m not much for hiking either, but I enjoyed Pipe Spring National Monument, visiting Best Friends Animal Sanctuary just north of Kanab, politely gawking at the Fundamentalist Mormon families I saw in Colorado City/Hilldale, and of course visiting Zion NP (which was surprisingly accessible - you don’t need to hike at all to see the park, just hop one of the free shuttle buses). The drive from Kanab to Cedar City was on of the prettiest drives I’ve ever taken - within two hours you pass from red rock desert past the Vermillion Cliffs, White Cliffs, and Pink Cliffs, through a beautiful valley, and up through mountains where it started snowing a little!