Bryce Canyon one day itinerary

My wife and I will be camped in Moab starting next Friday. We would like to make a two day swing to see Bryce and Zion. We would stay overnight near there.
Can someone recommend  the best use of our time to get some good shots? 
Thanks

You are going to be hard pressed to see these parks in just one day each! For Bryce, getting early morning shots of the park are generally the best. I would recommend you try walking a little on the rim trails, maybe a walk down into the hoodoos if you have time. I would also drive the entire length of the park and grab as many shots you can from the pullouts.

As for Zion, you need to try and get the sunset shot from the bridge looking down the Virgin river at The Watchman. North of the bridge is closed to private vehicles if you are not staying at a lodge or campground; so you have to ride the park bus.

Doing these two parks in just 2 days is going to be a challenge. Good luck!

Seeing a good chunk of Bryce in one day is far, far easier than seeing any meaningful amount of Zion in a single day.

If you spend a day at Bryce, hike a much of the rim trail and/or drive to the amphitheater viewing points and then spend a couple of hours hiking the Navajo Loop and/or Queen's Garden trails, you'll have obtained a pretty good taste of what the Bryce experience is all about. There's plenty more to see at Bryce (Fairyland Canyon, etc.), but the aforementioned features will allow you to see and photograph the quintessential Bryce Canyon.

Zion...yep, you'll have to rely on the shuttle bus to visit anything beyond Canyon Junction which, frankly, pretty much is ALL of Zion Canyon outside of the Watchman and the Towers of the Virgin (behind the Zion Museum). You can, of course, drive through the tunnel up to the Plateau and check out Canyon Overlook, Checkerboard Mesa and the arid areas in between.

As for Zion Canyon...if time is really, really limited I'd take the bus all the way to the end of the line (the Temple of Sinawava) and stroll the Riverside Walk. It's about a mile each way, paved surface, and provides some really nice views of the canyon as it tightens. The walk ends at the Gateway to the Narrows (the Narrows hike is outstanding, but it means getting wet and it's always crowded, except first thing in the morning on a weekday).

Have fun.

So you will leave Moab early in the morning, spend 1 night near Brice and be back in Moab in the evening? I think it's too short, I would skip Zion and spend some (little) time in Capitol Reef instead.

Day 1: leave before sunrise, hwy 24, drive the scenic road in the south of Capitol Reef, hwy 12 with the idea to be in Bryce for the end of the afternoon for the sunset and maybe a few viewpoints from the top.
Day 2: sunrise and a little walk in Bryce than come back with the same route. On hwy 12, at Boulder, you should drive through Long Canyon, the beginning of the Burr Trail. At the end of the canyon either you come back or you can continue and you will reach Capitol Reef and hwy 24, but check the road conditions before as a good part is unpaved.

Side stops if you have too much time : Kodachrome State Park (maybe a good place for the night but about 1 hour from Bryce), Devils Garden, Goblin State Park

Thanks for the replies. Your answers have me rethinking just finding an RV Park/campground near Bryce and using that as a base to explore the area for a week. Any recommendations for a good place to camp near there? I still can cancel at Moab up to the 23rd.
Thanks

Mark,

Ruby's Inn and RV Park is probably the best place to camp. I stayed in their hotel while visiting Bryce two years ago. They have a decent restaurant, store, and gas station.

http://www.rubysinn.com/rv_camp.html

If you decide to stay in Moab and have the time go to Goblin Valley, its about a 2.5 hour drive, and Dead Horse State Park.  I agree with the others and would just stay in one place or the other.  All the places mentioned have great photography but there is a lot of driving to get from one to the other and once on site you need to spend the time exploring.  I tried to do both Zion and Bryce on a condensed time frame and it just did not work.  I did not see much of either park and I was always in a hurry to get to the next spot.  Good luck.  You will enjoy the trip.  

Thanks again for all the replies. I have decided to move to Bryce Canyon Pines for our trip. This will allow us to explore this area much better for an entire week. Only 2 and 1/2 hours further from home.

There's a nice book on Bryce Canyon called "Bryce Canyon National Park" with photography and text by Fred Hirschmann. It has a lot of nice images for inspiration, if you can find it.

Joe

I agree with Kerry. Be in Bryce for the sunrise and then for early morning sun. Bryce is considerably different from Zion but in early morning sun the light bounces around and is absolutely gorgeous. You drive from one view to another. It is not a continuous view. You can walk down among the hoodoos, but I would take a very wide angle lens if you do. The trails I walked were quite long and I was a little disappointed in the photos I was able to get--not a wide enough lens.