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Five National Parks. Four National Monuments. One National Recreation Area. 60+ miles of hiking. Fourteen days.
When I started planning this trip, Mike and I were only looking at about a week to do Zion, Bryce Canyon, and the Grand Canyon. But looking at the map of all the U.S. National Parks, it’s hard to justify not doing more if you’re already flying out there anyway…right? Armed with our national parks passport book, we decided to cram in as many national park service sites as reasonably possible, including the “Mighty 5”: Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, and Arches National Park.
A word of caution: if you’re not a fan of hiking, this Utah road trip itinerary is not for you. Since Mike and I are such avid hikers we spent a large portion of our time each day devoted to hiking through the many parks (about an average of 6 miles up to 10 miles). Be prepared and somewhat in shape before tackling this amount of activity.
Day 1: Las Vegas, NV
The easiest place to start any major road trip in this area is Las Vegas. Whether you’re a gambler or not, you can’t deny the relatively cheap flights and even cheaper hotels surrounding the area. Fly into the Vegas airport, gather your rental car and get a good night’s sleep because you’ll be getting up early to drive to your first of 5 national parks at Zion. Alternatively, you may choose to make the drive out today and spend the night there to get an early jump on hiking one of the big trails in the morning. All of this depends on when your flight arrives and what you’d like to do after the long flight. If Vegas isn’t your thing, you could also choose to fly into Salt Lake City,
Pro Tip: Make sure you pick up a map of Utah and Arizona as in some places on this trip you won’t have cell service.
Where we stayed: Eastside Cannery Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas, NV
Day 2 & 3: Zion Canyon, Zion National Park, UT
Zion National Park is one of the most popular parks in the country, and was our first stop on our Utah National Parks itinerary. One look at Zion Canyon and it’s easy to see why – the landscape is spectacular. The park is so popular in fact that it has instituted a shuttle system between the nearby town of Springdale and the more interior parts of the park itself. For most of the year, the shuttles are the only vehicles allowed to drive the entirety of the park.
If you’re feeling adventurous you may choose to attempt one of the two most popular trails, Angel’s Landing or the Zion Narrows. These trails are not for everyone. Angel’s Landing is known for its steep climb to dizzying heights with sheer drop-offs and the Narrows for the need to sometimes wade through chest-deep cold water. Even if these aren’t your cup of tea, there are plenty of other options including the Kayenta Trail, Narrows Riverside Walk, Watchman Trail, and Zion Canyon Overlook Trail.
Day 4: Kolob Canyons and Cedar Breaks National Monument
On our last day we chose to check out the Kolob Canyons section of Zion National Park and then head north towards Cedar City, UT to check out Cedar Breaks National Monument for a few hours. If you are interested in seeing Cedar Breaks, I would recommend spending more time at Zion during the day and catching it on your way over to Bryce Canyon the next morning after spending the night in Cedar City. If you aren’t camping there isn’t a ton to do here aside from the beautiful drive to the overlook. The visitor center was also closed for the winter along with all the other facilities in November.
Looking back, I think I would have skipped visiting Cedar Breaks and spent more time in Zion or Bryce. Then on this day you could head straight from Zion through to Bryce Canyon and save yourself some driving time up to Cedar City. An extra day in Bryce Canyon is never a bad thing.
Where we stayed: La Quinta in La Verkin, UT and Clarion Inn and Suites in Cedar City, UT
Day 4 & 5: Bryce Canyon National Park, UT
Bryce Canyon is the smallest of these national parks by acreage, but it packs a lot of punch in a small package. Less than a two hour drive from Cedar Breaks National Monument, Bryce is famous for its towering rock pillars called hoodoos.
We spent two days at Bryce doing some of the more popular trails like the Queens Garden / Navajo / Peekaboo Loop Figure 8 Trail and Bristlecone Loop Trail. There are numerous overlooks along the main road to stop off for a few minutes and take in the view. It takes a few hours to drive the length of the park and stop on the way back at several overlooks, but I definitely recommend heading down into the canyon for a completely different experience. It is a tough hike back out of the canyon if you aren’t used to the high elevation, but I promise it’s more than worth it.
If you’re feeling ambitious, get up at sunrise on the second day for an incredible treat. We found the best views were at Sunset Point rather than Sunrise Point (and was also less crowded at sunrise). Really anywhere along the path here looking into Bryce Amphitheater is a good spot to sit and enjoy.
Where we stayed: Bryce Canyon Log Cabins in Tropic, UT
Day 6: Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument
Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument is easy to overlook surrounded by multiple national parks, but it’s worth taking a day to devote to exploring the area. We decided to check out Devil’s Garden and hike the 6 miles to Lower Calf Creek Falls. Escalante also happens to be along Scenic Byway route 12, so be prepared for some winding roads with magnificent scenery along the way.
I absolutely loved the Lower Calf Creek Falls hike, it wasn’t overly difficult (albeit very sandy) and you’re rewarded at the end with a stunning waterfall over 100 feet high. I could have sat here all afternoon, but with the sun setting it was time for us to head back to Escalante for the night.
Where we stayed: Escalante Cabins and RV Park in Escalante, UT
Day 7 & 8: Capitol Reef National Park, UT
After spending a night in Escalante, make your way north to the least visited of the Mighty 5, Capitol Reef National Park. Traverse the Capitol Reef Scenic Drive and catch the sunset overlooking the waterpocket fold at Gooseneck Point. Some of the more popular hikes include the Hickman Bridge Trail, Cassidy Arch Trail, and Capitol Gorge Trail to see the Pioneer Register, where many passing through the area would scrawl their names on the canyon walls. We also really enjoyed the Fremont River Trail and had the hike all to ourselves!
Looking back, Capitol Reef was one of the highlights of the trip because it was so quiet and serene. We spent 30 minutes just watching deer search for food in the Fruita orchards and never felt like we were fighting the crowds. If we would have had more time, I would have loved to explore some of the longer hikes or head farther into the back-country. Maybe next time.
Where we stayed: Capitol Reef Resort in Torrey, UT
Day 9: Island in the Sky District Canyonlands National Park, UT
Canyonlands National Park is broken up into 3 distinct districts: Island in the Sky, The Needles, and The Maze. No one can enter the Maze section of the park without a permit or guided tour, so we opted for one day each in the more accessible Island in the Sky and Needles Districts.
Admittedly, Canyonlands was our least favorite of the Mighty 5, but it did have a few great overlooks. We personally enjoyed the Grand View Point and Murphy Point hikes. If you are looking to get more into the remote areas of the park, I recommend taking a guided 4×4 tour here on the White Rim Trail, or in the Needles District of the park. We didn’t, but I kind of wish we would have to see more than we did in our short stop here.
Where We Stayed: La Quinta in Moab, UT
Day 10 & 11: Arches National Park, UT
Arches is also one of the smaller Utah National Parks, but it feels big with over 2,000 natural arches, including the famed Delicate Arch. We recommend taking a few days here to drive the park and stop to explore all of the trails. Besides the 3 mile trip to Delicate Arch, we loved exploring the Devil’s Garden area to the north of the park as well as the Windows section of the park during a sunrise. This was Mike’s favorite park and definitely more manageable to see in just a few days. We had time to just about all the major hikes in the park with a few exceptions.
Where We Stayed: La Quinta in Moab, UT
Day 12: Needles District Canyonlands National Park and Natural Bridges National Monument
As I mentioned earlier, Canyonlands was our least favorite of the National Parks in many cases because it doesn’t offer a middle ground between easy and strenuous hikes. After at least a solid week of hiking at least 6 miles a day, we weren’t really looking to take on one of the large strenuous Needles hikes in the Chesler Park area or an overnight backpacking trip. However, the only alternative to these very long hikes are some very short easy ones that just weren’t that exciting for us. Perhaps we were a bit jaded after all the incredible sites at the other parks.
For how long it takes to get out here (well over an hour detour), plan to do something more than a few of the short hikes or choose to take a 4×4 tour to get the most out of the experience. For us personally, it wasn’t really worth the long detour from our route and I would have preferred spending some extra time at Island in the Sky or Arches instead.
Since we weren’t particularly fond of Canyonlands, we chose to make our way down to Natural Bridges National Monument instead and do the short drive to each of the three major bridges in the park. If we would have had more time before it got dark, there are a few trails that go down to the bridges, as well as a larger loop trail that connects all three.
We chose to stay in nearby Blanding, UT for the night, a really small town with only a handful of restaurants. The town is also dry, so bring your own beer or grab some down the road. If you visit this area Stone Lizard Lodge was a great place to rest for the night and has a phenomenal breakfast with fresh sticky buns.
Where We Stayed: Stone Lizard Lodge in Blanding, UT
Day 13: Monument Valley, AZ and Navajo National Monument
Monument Valley is not a national park, but it doesn’t make any sense not to check it out on your way between Moab and Page, Arizona. Right on the border of Utah and Arizona, Monument Valley is part of the Navajo tribal lands. While you won’t be able to use your America the Beautiful National Parks Pass to gain entrance to the park, it is worth taking some time to stop and explore.
The best way to visit this area is to take a guided tour, as visitors aren’t allowed in many locations without a Navajo guide. You can however do a self driving tour around the 17 mile dirt road and explore the exhibit about the Navajo Code Talkers in the visitor center. If you’re going to drive through Monument Valley, allot at least an hour as you can’t drive much more than 15 miles an hour through the park.
We were planning on driving the rest of the way through to Page directly, but when we saw the sign for Navajo National Monument we decided to stop there as well and catch an extra stamp in our book. I was surprised by how well the Visitor Center and area was put together and enjoyed walking down the paved trail to the overlook to see the Navajo village. If we had planned in advance, I would have loved to take a guided ranger tour down to the buildings themselves to explore.
Where we stayed: Wingate by Wyndham in Page, AZ
Day 14: Explore Page, AZ and Fly Home
A trip to Page, AZ wasn’t on our original agenda (we were thinking Grand Canyon instead) but we decided to save that for another trip and loop back through Page instead. Here is the home of the famous Horseshoe Bend as well as the even more popular Antelope Canyon. Both are pretty much tourist traps, but we did manage to stop at Horseshoe Bend (a part of Lake Powell National Recreation Area) before heading back to Las Vegas.
It takes some time to walk down to Horseshoe Bend via a sandy path. If you are planning on taking photos, be conscious of how the light moves throughout the day. We ended up with a heavy shadow across half of the bend when we were there around mid morning. If it’s hot, be sure to bring some water with you as there is no shade anywhere in this area.
We chose not to visit Antelope Canyon due to the high cost of a most likely crowded tour, but if you are interested there are several tour companies that offer short trips through the different areas of the canyon.
Utah National Parks Road Trip Map
Planning a Utah National Parks Road Trip?
If you’ve read this far, I’m assuming you’re planning a Utah National Park road trip. Here are some tips for planning a southern Utah road trip:
- If you are planning on going in the off season, many places may be closed including local restaurants and in some cases visitor centers depending on the day of the week.
- Many of the roads on this route can be dangerous with ice or rockfalls, winding, and have steep drop-offs. Be careful driving, and if you easily get carsick or are afraid of heights, you may have difficulty driving on these roads. Bring some non-drowsy Dramamine to help.
- The air here is thin and very dry. Be sure to drink a lot of fluids and pay attention to the elevation if you typically live closer to sea level. Chapstick is also your friend to keep your lips moist.
- Be prepared to hike in loose sand that makes it feel like you are walking on a beach and end up dumping sand and red dust out of your shoes every night.
- Stop at a Walmart or a local grocery store on the first day to stock up on snacks, grab a few refillable gallon jugs of water, and supplies to make sandwiches in order to maximize your time in the parks. Here’s a list of some of our favorite hiking snacks.
- Pay attention to your gas gauge. Gas stations in some of these areas are few and far between, so be sure to fuel up ahead of time to avoid getting stranded with an empty tank.
- Get to the parks EARLY. These are some of the most crowded parks in the country, and there is very limited parking. We had a bit more luck in the off season, but the parking lots at places like Bryce and Zion were still filling up quickly, even in the middle of the week in November.
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