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National parks tours are increasing in popularity as more and more people are skipping the modern tourist attractions in favor of seeing what America looks like without commercialization adn development. It is actually harder to experience than you would expect, as traditional activities like hiking and exploring will generally not produce the epic views and adventures that would be had within an area that has been protected as a national park or historic place. The federal government has provided protection for these areas for the specific reason of keeping them unmolested and pure, so that they can be experienced by all visitors while still having a semblance of structure and amenities. The national parks system has gone to great lengths to provide the sorts of things that people visiting would need in these areas, bathrooms, safety measures, paved roads etc, while still providing all of the wildness that visitors want to experience. The only other way to experience completely untouched areas would be to explore them on your own, which would entail a certain amount of danger that is not acceptable to most travelers. Especially in the southwest of the US, where temperatures can be unforgiving and perils can lay around every corner, the national parks solution is one that just makes sense.
Getting to a national park in the United States is more difficult than you would expect, generally seeing their locations as relatively remote from major urban areas. The majority of parks in the southwest are a minimum of two hours driving time from the closest major city, and although an option would be to use a smaller city as a launch point, the lack of adequate airport services and hotel choices will actually make it a far worse idea than a little extra driving time. This is one of the main reasons that so many of the national parks in Utah and Arizona are visited by travelers who consider Salt Lake City or Las Vegas as the most logical starting point.
For Bryce and Zion tours, it makes sense to not only start your adventure in Las Vegas, but also to use a tour company located in the city to provide you with an adventure that will impress you. The drive to these parks alone is going to be roughly four hours, which will make many people realize that not having to make that drive yourself is worth the price of the package on its own. Instead of driving an entire half day before beginning your adventure, you are able to rest the entire way while being driven there, learning about the area on the way and making new friends. The tour operator will have different methods of entertaining you depending on the type of tour you have booked, but most will provide some form of explanation of the sights and highlights that you are going to soon experience. Most companies will also map out a specific tour based on seasonality and availability that will touch on the most popular things to do in the area, ranging from hiking to camping and other activities. Your adventure will be quite varied based upon the company you choose, and can range from simply riding a bus and looking at sights through the windows, to actually experiencing the areas first hand as the antive do.
When you start your tour in Las Vegas, you will be able to take advantage of cheaper airfares and more hotel choices than in other areas, and you will also be able to utilize at least part of your vacation to explore a completely different type of tourist experience in a city that is built on tourism. Stay a few extra days, and make your trip one that experiences both completely modern development and rustic wilderness, all within a few miles of one another.
