Man you aren't going to find much better riding than in and around Arches/Moab -- both road and mountain. Unless you plan to come back and visit those places, I would highly recommend knocking out four hours each way to do so.

I would stay in Southern Utah, unless you never plan to hit Utah again. For a future trip spend a week in Moab and explore that area without the rush. In Southern Utah, you also consider Cedar Breaks, Natural Bridges , 4 corners area and a backpack into the Escalante. I would also take advantage of your locale and hit the North Rim. May is a great time of year to be in Southern Utah.

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spend the time in Zion,Bryce
do a search for hikes (Angels Landing) or rides mtn (Gooseberry Mesa) or road (Hwy 12)

Moab area deserves it's own trip and time to hike, ride

I'm considering signing up for St. George. Anybody have experience traveling from Chicago? Would you fly Las Vegas direct or 1-stop flight to St. George? And do you need a rental car no matter where you fly into? I'm tentatively planning on leaving Thursday evening and return Sunday evening or Monday morning.

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2017 races: St. George 70.3 May 6 | Madison 70.3 June 11 | IM Zurich July 30 | Chicago Marathon October 8

That is exactly what I ended up doing. Flying Southwest out of O'Hare direct to LAS and renting and driving from the airport, though I am staying a bit longer. Airbnbs are great in StG if you are going with a group. We have a full 3 bedroom house for 3 nights at $485 total.

I flew from Detroit to LAS in the evening. The drive to St. George was longer than I was thinking, so it ended up being a very long day with the time change. Next time I would either fly into St. George or leave earlier in the day from Detroit.

Personally, I would skip Bryce in favor of Canyonlands/Arches. The first view of Bryce is pretty cool with all the Hoodoos but I didn't find the hiking very fun after that. Basically, you hike from the rim of the canyon down to the bottom on big, wide crushed gravel paths so it's pretty anti-climactic.

Even if you didn't want to make the long drive down there, I'd still probably rather spend 4 days in Zion than split time between Zion and Bryce. You could probably spend 2 weeks in Zion and not run out of awesome hikes to do. But if you DO go to Arches, check out the Devil's Garden Loop. One of the best hikes I've ever been on.

Make sure you check to see if the north Rim of the Grand Canyon is open before you drive down there. Last time I was in St. George in early May, the road to the north rim was still closed because of snow.

Were planning for 3-4 hours Las Vegas to St. George. How long did it take you?

I was thinking 1.5 hours ... but it took about 2.5 to drive it. De-plane, wait for baggage, rental car line added another 1.5 hours. Got to bed at about midnight (2:00 am Detroit time). Rough when I get up at 4:am normally. That's why I'd take an earlier flight next time.

Oh..forgot to mention rental car garage is offsite, needing the shuttle bus to get there.

Thanks dlimer and bcagle. That was my exact conundrum - probably longer than expected drive vs. more expensive non-direct flight. It's a value judgment.

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2017 races: St. George 70.3 May 6 | Madison 70.3 June 11 | IM Zurich July 30 | Chicago Marathon October 8

Thanks. I think we might stop along the way for a short hike, but didn't realize the rental car fleet is off-site. Getting in early on Thursday at 9am will be a huge benefit.

If you aren't familiar with St. George and the race, my advice is to stay as close to the finish as possible. Corner of Main and Tabernacle. This is where the registration/expo is and where you load the bus to get to the start, which is mikes out of town. Much easier to get that bus rather than drive out on race day, because they close the roads until all the racers are onto the bike course, so your driver could be stuck there for 2+ hours. Easier to have them meet you in town after.

Just booked my flight! Flying in Thursday afternoon to St. George, out early Monday. It seems like I won't need a rental car, but I may grab one anyway and drive to Zion on Sunday. Good tip on staying close to Main and Tabernacle - found a cheap rate at Best Western a few blocks away.

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2017 races: St. George 70.3 May 6 | Madison 70.3 June 11 | IM Zurich July 30 | Chicago Marathon October 8