National Parks of Utah (plus Vegas and the West Rim!)
- jennylynncotton
- Jun 26, 2024
- 13 min read
Date of Trip: April 2024 Number of Days: 8 Who went: Jenn, Terry, Boone (13)
If you're into national parks, then you're probably familiar with the "Mighty 5" in Utah (Arches, Canyonland, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon and Zion). Visiting these parks has long been on my bucket list, so we decided to tackle the trip for Spring Break 2024.
Top takeaways if you are planning a similar trip:
Make reservations in advance for e-bikes in Zion for every day you are at the park (hopefully, at least 2).
Get to Arches and Canyonlands early... allows you to enjoy sunrise and avoid traffic at the visitor's gate.
In Moab, don't miss Quesadilla Mobilla and Hell's Revenge!
Do better planning for Bryce that I did...
In five days we visited all five parks, walked 132K steps (56 miles!) and made countless memories. Here is how we did it!
Day 0 - fly to Salt Lake City We took a late flight from Charlotte into Salt Lake City, landing around 930PM. We went straight to the Springhill Suites by Marriott which was perfect for a quick night's sleep. I'm a fan of Springhill when we travel with Boone... it allows us to have a separate space for him without breaking the bank. Day 1 - SLC to Moab We needed to be in Moab in the afternoon, so we didn't have any time to spend in Salt Lake. We did stop for breakfast at Penny Ann's Cafe, which ended up being our favorite meal of the entire trip. I had a waffle with bacon cooked into it... words cannot describe the deliciousness. Definitely make this stop! I've got candid photos all over our house, but I wanted a special family picture to blow up and frame from this trip. I used Flytographer to find a local photographer (shout out to April from SLC who was awesome!) It's a great site to find locals for quick and affordable photo shoot (we did 30 minutes at Neff's Canyon for $285, including photos). We've used the service all over the world... highly recommend.
The drive to Moab is about 4 hours. We spent 3 nights in Moab and fell in love with this little town. I think it would be a blast to spend a whole week exploring Moab and the surrounding area. There is so much to do!
We had lunch at Quesadilla Mobilla which was our 2nd favorite meal of the trip (no joke, our first two meals were that good!) This is both the best food truck meal and the best quesadilla I've ever had. If you go to Moab and miss it, shame on you. Go early... they schedule to close at 5P and can close early if they run out.
We spent the afternoon on this Canyoneering Tour in Bow & Arrow Canyon with Moab Canyon Tours. This was a private tour (just the 3 of us) that lasted about 4 hours. We hiked up the canyon before rappelling down 4 times. I'll be honest... I found this terrifying (the older I get, the more heights freak me out). Terry and Boone (especially Boone) loved it. It was a great experience and I'm glad I did it, but I'm not sure I would do it again. Our guide was amazing... we never felt unsafe, I'm just irrationally afraid of heights.
We ended the day with dinner in Moab at the Food Truck Park (which is right next to the Quesadilla Mobilla). We tried fried chicken, hot dogs and sushi. All was good, local and fairly quick.
We stopped at the local grocery (City Market, which is owned by Kroger) for supplies for breakfast (at the rental house ) and lunch (we packed a picnic for each park we visited). I packed an insulated cooler in our luggage which turned out to be a genius idea.
We spent 3 nights at this great VRBO which is within walking distance to downtown (and the Food Truck Park!) We loved having separate bedroom/bathroom from Boone and it was great having a full kitchen and washer/dryer. It was clean, safe and well appointed. We would definitely stay there again.
Day 2 - Arches National Park
Arches was at the top of my list for National Parks to visit, and we did not leave disappointed. Any research you do for this type of trip will mention finding a place to watch the sunrise. We decided since we were still adjusting to the time difference, we would take advantage of being up early and catch the sunrise at Arches.
Note - From April 1 - October 31 entrance to Arches requires reservations. We were there on March 31 so we avoided this need... but we did see that the lines for entry got pretty long during the day. The early entry avoids the need for reservation and the crowds... so if you're going to pick days to get up early - this should be one of them (so should Canyonlands).
The drive to Arches from Moab is only 10 minutes, but keep in mind that is only the time to the visitor center. The park is huge, so plan for another 15-30 minutes to get to your sunrise viewing spot (we didn't and I wished we had). We got to the Windows Arches Viewpoint right as the sun was rising and it was spectacular. There were a few other folks there, but it wasn't crowded and we loved watching the sun rise through the Arches.
We then headed to Devils Garden Trail which was one of our favorite hikes from the whole trip. We did all the spur trails except for Dark Angel, they were all well worth it (this is where we found some of our favorite arches). The 7 mile roundtrip (Devils Garden + Primitive Trail) took us about 3.5 hours. In my opinion, this hike is a must-do at Arches.
We had worked up an appetite, so stopped at a picnic table for lunch at the trailhead before hitting the visitor center.
We ended our day with the iconic trip to Delicate Arch. This 3 mile out-and-back hike proved more difficult than I expected, but it was absolutely worth it. Expect large crowds and mind the edge of the canyon (did I mention that fear of heights?!?), but the payoff at Delicate Arch is magnificent. Don't skip it.
We stopped at the Courthouse Towers Viewpoint on our way out and all agreed that if we had another day we would spend more time in this area, but we had enough miles logged for the day and no one was in the mood to venture out onto another trail.
We headed back to Moab around 5P (the entrance sign is at the corner of 191 and Arches National Park Road - be sure to stop for a photo on your way out!) We enjoyed some delicious pizza at Antica Forma before heading "home" for a good night's sleep.
Day 3 - Canyonlands National Park
We made it another early morning and caught sunrise at Mesa Arch. This is easily the most beautiful sunrise I've ever seen. Get there early (plan an hour from Moab to the trailhead + 15 minute walk to the arch), it's popular. Make sure you view the sunrise both through the arch and from the overlook up and to the left. It was breathtaking.
Note - We left Canyonlands around 1P and the line to get in was over an hour long. This is another reason to get there early... the visitor gate is not manned so you can drive right through - we experienced no traffic.
After sunrise, we took the scenic drive to the Grand View Point overlook (we stopped at every overlook in Canyonlands. Even if only for a few minutes, they were all stunning). We used this guide for our day in the park, which was super helpful. We opted for the White Rim hike (easy and beautiful) and the Upheaval Dome trail (super cool, the second overlook was our favorite).
We had a picnic lunch at Shafer Canyon Viewpoint (absolutely stunning). There were no picnic tables here, but we found some driftwood to sit on and enjoyed the view. We hit the visitor center on our way out and headed back to Moab around 1P.
We took a couple of hours to unwind at the rental house before heading out to experience Hell's Revenge in a UTV. Terry and I took turns driving the UTV and this was an awesome experience. There are a ton of operators to chose from... we were VERY happy with Epic 4x4. Their vehicles were definitely newer and nicer than others we saw and our guide took us on some extra obstacles. Do this! You won't regret it!
After UTV we were tired, but very hungry! We had several locals suggest Proper Brewing which was a great spot for burgers and drinks.
Day 4 - Capitol Reef National Park
My expectations for Capitol Reef were fairly low, and they were blown out of the water. We didn't have a lot of time at the park (we needed to get to Bryce in the evening), but the time we had was awesome.
The drive to Capitol Reef is about 2.5 hours. We left early and got there around 10A.
TIPS - 1. Stop at the Gifford Homestead on your way into the park. We waited to stop on our way out and they were out of pie (we had talked about what kind of pie we were going to get for our entire hike, so this was a big disappointment). 2. While we did not find the park to be crowded, parking at the trailhead for Cassidy Arch was very limited. At 1030 we got one of the last spots. On our way out, we saw people parking a long way from the trailhead and we were grateful we got that spot. I would aim to arrive at the park by 930 to have time to get pie and a parking spot.
We opted for the Cassidy Arch trail which Terry and I both declared our favorite hike of the trip. The 3.5 mile out-and-back hike took us about 2.5 hours. I swear every time we rounded a corner the view blew my mind. At the end of the trail you'll be at the viewing point for Cassidy Arch. I recommend taking the walk to the top of the arch for the picture (even with my fear of heights it was not scary).
At the bottom of the Cassidy Arch trail, we opted to take the left on the Grand Wash trail (right would have taken us back to the car). We loved walking through the dry river bed, and went for about 45 minutes before we turned around. Flat, easy and beautiful!
We ate our picnic lunch outside Gifford (no pie!) before hitting the visitor center and heading to Bryce. Since we missed out on the pie, we stopped in Torrey for ice cream. Color Ridge Farm & Creamery (which I had read about) was closed, but we had delicious soft serve across the street at a walk up window. It wasn't pie, but we enjoyed it!
Scenic Route 12 adds about 30 minutes to the trip from Capitol Reef to Bryce (total 2.5 hours) but is truly awe-inspiring and not to be missed. We arrived in Bryce around 4P and checked into the Best Western Bryce Canyon. There are 2 Best Westerns here that are basically part of the park ecosystem... I'll just say they aren't great. If I did it over, I'd work harder to find someplace else to stay. We were only there for one night, so it was manageable. Any longer than that would not have been ideal.
We had a mediocre dinner at Ruby's Inn. To be fair, we knew it wasn't going to be good when we walked in, but we had failed to make reservations anywhere else and had no options (TIP - plan ahead for dinner in Bryce. Options are super limited once you get there).
I had planned a star-gazing tour and was super excited about this Telescope Experience. It was... interesting. Problem #1 - it was freezing. We underestimated the drop in temperature with the change in altitude. Problem #2 - the guide ("call me Dark Ranger") was just weird. Mid-way through the experience we were treated to a presentation about alien theories... we ended up leaving during the presentation. Problem #3 - we were tired. Plan a nap if you want to star gaze. Bottom line - star gazing is popular in this part of the country for a reason. I wish we had found a better operator. I believe that the National Park System has some options... if I was doing it again I would start there.
Day 5 - Bryce Canyon National Park
In hindsight, we were not set up for a day of success at Bryce. The crappy dinner, late night with the Dark Ranger and musty hotel didn't put us in the best headspace. The biggest problem was parking. We were unfortunate enough to be there 2 days before they started the shuttle service for the season. The hotels were packed and we had no option but to drive. Parking lots were all full (we had to wait in line to park) and it just made things difficult. We took a lovely hike into the canyon (Queens Garden to Navajo Loop) and the short Rim Trail to Bryce Point and Inspiration Point. All beautiful!
We wanted to get a horseback riding trip in during this trip, and I had read this was a good place to do it. Unfortunately, we were there 2 days before the option to do it in the park opened (the website says April 1, we were there on April 3 and it was not open yet). So, we opted for the ride from Ruby's Inn. This was not a good experience. It was early in the season, they had a teenager as their 2nd guide (his first week on the job). They were trying to break in a horse on our trip... the horse got spooked and the teenager was in over his head. One of the horses was so misguided that a rider opted to walk back (about a mile). This was tense and stressful. They may get their act together later in the season, but I simply cannot recommend this outfit.
If I could do Bryce over, I would: Make dinner reservations for the night before, find a decent hotel and get a good night's sleep. And if there is any way to schedule it for when the shuttle was running and we could go horseback riding in the park, I would!
We left Bryce for Zion around 6P. The drive is about 90 minutes and it's a beauty... especially once you get into the backside of the park. I had wanted to have dinner at this church turned pizza/noodle restaurant but it was packed and we were hungry. So, we opted for Camp Outpost which was very tasty and had killer views. Splurge #1 - We spent the next 2 nights at Under Canvas Zion. This glamping experience has long been on my bucket list, and I thought this was the perfect time to try it out. The resort was awesome and I believe worth the splurge... however, not with only one full day in Zion. Since we only had one day at the park, we didn't have time to truly enjoy Under Canvas. Add to that it's about 20 minutes from the park, it wasn't very convenient. If I had time to spend a 2-3 days in Zion/Springdale and then 2 nights at Under Canvas... I would do it. But I would not repeat this itinerary.
Day 6 - Zion National Park
Spoiler alert - one day is NOT enough in Zion National Park. This may be the most beautiful place I've ever been, but we just scratched the surface. I think 3 days is probably ideal if you have it.
There are 2 iconic hikes in Zion: Angles Landing and The Narrows. With our limited time (and the fact that Angels Landing looks terrifying to me), we opted to take on the Narrows, and it was epic (Boone's favorite hike!) In April, the water was freezing so we rented the Dry Bib Package from Zion Outfitter.
We also rented pedal assist e-bikes from Zion Outfitter. This is one of the best choices I made when planning. They have a limited number of e-bikes available (and I never would have made it up the canyon without the assist). We parked in the parking lot ($30ish) and walked our bikes into the park (dressed in full Narrows gear!) The shuttle was open, but the line was very long... the bikes were a huge timesaver. Once you get past the lodge, no cars are on the road (only shuttles), so it's an easy ride.
The Narrows was amazing. We went for about 90 minutes in (3 hours total). We were knee deep for most of it and chest deep a few times. A true experience. If you are adventurous, I recommend it! Once we finished the hike, we had to return to Zion Outfitter to return our dry bibs. The ride down the canyon on the e-bike was pure bliss and one of my favorite parts of the trip. I recommend reserving an e-bike for every day you are in the park. Make sure you reserve in advance!
We were starving by the time we got back to Zion Outfitter. We headed to Zion Canyon Brew Pub because it is in the same parking lot. We were pleasantly surprised, we had delicious burgers and lemonade. I highly recommend it. After eating we biked back into the park to check out the visitor center before returning the bikes. We finished one last quick hike up the Canyon Overlook Trail (entrance is outside the park gates, definitely worth it if you can find a parking spot!) It was an amazing day. I wish we had another one to spend at Zion. We will be back.
Day 7 - Las Vegas After breakfast at Under Canvas we hit the road for the 2.5 hour trip to Vegas.
When I asked Boone what he wanted to do on his first trip to Sin City, he had two requests: Pawn Stars and the Las Vegas Sign. So, those were our first 2 stops!
Watching Boone see Vegas for the first time was pretty cool... we hit the family-friendly spots: Buffet lunch at Bellagio (we've been to Bacchanal at Caesar's in the past - it's better), The Forum at Caesars, shops at the Palazzo, Bellagio fountains, roller coaster at New York, New York. We were entertained by the Blue Man Group before checking out the lights at Freemont Street and calling it a day.
Day 6 - Grand Canyon West Rim
Splurge #2 - After seeing the bottom of several canyons, we thought it would be awesome to see the Grand Canyon from above. We were picked up at the hotel in a shuttle bus by Maverick Helicopter for an awesome ride to the West Rim. This was a super fun experience - it was cool flying over the strip, Hoover Dam and ultimately the Grand Canyon.
Note - you can get to the West Rim via a 2 hour drive (and there are a ton of tours that will take you), so the helicopter ride is not necessary. But we thought it was fun and are glad we did it!
Terry and I have hiked Rim to Rim at the Grand Canyon (North to South). So, we've definitely experienced what the Canyon has to offer. The West Rim is very different, as it is not run by the National Parks (it is owned and operated by the Hualapai Tribe). There isn't nearly as much to do, and it's a little more rugged. But, the Canyon is beautiful and the Skywalk is fun.
I would consider this the Myrtle Beach of the Grand Canyon. 2 hours here is more than enough time to experience it all.
We got back to our hotel around 5P and headed out to dinner at Nacho Daddy. It was a fun experience and the nachos were delicious.
We then walked over to the Sphere Experience for a 7P show. The Sphere is the hottest new venue in town, and when there isn't a live event, they show a movie on the world's largest hi-res LED screen. It's an amazing movie and a cool experience (you get to interact with some pretty advanced AI robots pre-show).
After the show we headed to the airport for our red-eye to Charlotte. This was a full trip and we went home tired... but it was worth it for the lifetime of memories we created!
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