Rockin’ Road Trip through Utah
Utah has been on my list for a while, so I finally took the opportunity to do a 5-day road trip with my sister, Abby, squeezing in as many State and National parks as possible. Although we didn’t get to everything on my list, we got pretty close. A bunch of friends replied to my Insta stories asking for my itinerary (one of the reasons I decided to start a blog was to avoid over-posting photos on my Instagram and annoying people), so hopefully this info below is helpful. This is my first official blog post that I’m sharing, let me know what you think!
We took an early flight out of Newark, NJ Sunday morning and landed in Salt Lake City mid-day. We had 5 days to make it over to Moab, drive to southwest Utah through Natural Bridges and Monument Valley, across the border to Page, AZ, up to Bryce Canyon, over to Zion, and then fly out of Las Vegas early Friday morning. It was a lot to fit in (especially when some hikes were 6+ miles in 100+ degrees weather), but that’s kinda how I like to do trips - see and experience as much as possible in one place and then move on to the next before I have a chance to get bored.
TO DO ahead of time:
Get a backpack. Obviously if you’re hiking you’ll want a backpack that can fit the essentials and lots of water
Book a rental car and insurance. We went with Dollar and the pickup was super easy from Salt Lake City airport
If you’re renting a car it’s usually a good idea to check for damage and take photos of anything you find and of the mileage before you leave the lot
You’re supposed to get insurance ahead of time, I would do this so you aren’t charged a higher fee on arrival
Plan to get a National Park pass. They are $80 for an annual pass and so worth it (some parks are $30 each). My other sister had gotten one from a road trip she did a few weeks ago and she generously shared it with us. Thanks, Shanny :)
“Favorite” places you’re hoping to hit on Google Maps. That way you can map out your days and stop by things you favorite’d if you’re nearby
Pack snacks. Check out my page on “11 Tips for Traveling on a Budget” for how I like to save money when planning trips
Plan to stop at a grocery store or gas station once you arrive to pick up a case of water or two and some snacks. We picked up two 24-case waters and went through them all
Day 1: Drive through Salt Lake City. If you have time, check out the Tabernacle in the city. We quickly drove through the city, stopped for a bite to eat at In-N-Out, then made our way to our first official stop: Mystic Hot Springs. From there we drove to our accommodations for the night: Capitol Reef Resort. They recommended a burger truck for food: Capitol Burger. We unfortunately had our fill of burgers from our earlier stop. I wish I got to try one, but I’m also gluten free and dairy free, so I just got a plate of pulled pork and it was really good. They said their meat is local, ground in house, and wagyu. The owner and staff were also really cool.
We originally planned to see the Bonneville Salt Flats as our first stop from SLC, but ended up skipping it due to lack of time.
In-N-Out Burger
Coming from the East Coast we obviously had to hit In-N-Out.
Note: They do gluten free “lettuce buns” :)
Mystic Hot Springs
~3 hours from SLC Airport
We kicked off the trip with something a bit different - hot springs. I found this place online and Abby called ahead to book. We were the only people there for most of the time and it was pretty relaxing.
Not going to lie, when we pulled up we weren’t quite sure if we were at the right place or what was going on. There is a parking lot with a bunch of old busses that are actually rooms to rent. You have to call the number on a poster board at the end of the road and they will give you directions for where to park and where to go.
Note: They are not sulfur baths that are really good for your skin, just hot water baths in the middle of the desert. But definitely a unique experience.
Capitol Reef
~1 hour 30 mins from Mystic Hot Springs, or
~3 hours and 40 mins from SLC Airport
We booked this place because I really wanted to stay in a Wagon or TeePee. However, we were going to be checking in late and leaving early, so it wasn’t worth the price for us, so we stayed in a standard room. Still, it was cool to see, felt very safe, and was the perfect location (between SLC and Goblin Valley).
I actually wish we spent a day exploring Capitol Reef. The canyon/cliffs had the brightest red color and looked very cool. We just didn’t build time into the itinerary ahead of time.
Day 2: Left Capitol Reef early, drove to Goblin Valley where we hiked, then drove out to Moab to explore Arches National Park, Canyonlands, and Dead Horse State Park.
Goblin Valley State Park
~1 hour and 25 mins from Capitol Reef Resort, or
~3 hours and 45 mins from SLC Airport
I went to see the “goblins” and the “Yurt.” The Valley of Goblins was right near the parking lot and you could spend as much time as you want exploring it. I had previously read that there were rattlesnakes here, so I voted to quickly explore the place and then move on. Abby, however, was eager to “hike” so we started following flags to the “Carmel Canyon” trail (she learned in New Zealand that flags indicate which way to go), which was ~1.5 miles and labeled “strenuous.” We had to jump down into the canyon a few times and definitely saw more than a few snake holes, luckily no snakes.
Note: It’s hot. Zero shade. Go early.
Arches National Park (Moab)
~1 hour and 40 mins from Goblin Valley State Park
I had heard great things about Arches. Other than that, I didn’t know much.
It’s a National park with a really nicely paved road that takes you through the whole park with viewpoints to stop off. “Delicate Arch” was the main hike to do (1.5 miles, ~2 hours), but we only learned that when we arrived at 2pm and it was over 100 degrees. We decided to do two smaller trails nearby and return early in the morning the next day to do the Delicate Arch hike.
Tip: Follow the signs. I decided to run and ended up on the wrong side of the Arch, which resulted in an extra long, lonely hike to the main trail.
Also, go early. They suggest packing 2 liters of water. We did the trail at 7am and it was perfect.
Canyonlands (Moab)
~30 mins from Arches
Popular viewpoints/hikes are “Mesa Arch” and “Island in the Sky.” We did those and then the Visitor Center guy suggested we do the “White Rim” hike. It was actually a really nice, quiet, and easy hike.
Dead Horse State Park (Moab)
~40 mins from Arches, or
~15 mins from Canyonlands
In between Arches and Canyonlands is Deadhorse State Park. Deadhorse is a peninsula where apparently Native Americans would park their horses.. that would often wander over the edge.
Where to stay in Moab: We stayed at the Hyatt Moab, which was super nice and new, and very centrally located.
Day 3: Delicate Arch hike in Moab, Natural Bridges park, Monument Valley, end in Page, AZ. In/from Page, AZ checked out Lone Rock, Amangiri, Horseshoe Bend, and Antelope Canyon. All of the sights we did in/around Page were super close together - all within ~15 mins drive from each other.
Natural Bridges
~2 hours 20 mins from Arches National Park
This was one of my favorite parks. It was an easy 1 hour loop to drive through, but you could get out and hike along the way. We were a bit pressed for time, so we only hiked the last of the three “natural bridges,” Owachomo. You can also hike all three (I think it’s a 5 mile hike), or just drive past them like we did: Sipapu, Kachina, and Owachomo.
This was probably the quietest park we visited - we only encountered a handful of people.
Note: Map out your next steps ahead of time. We had no service here and I had to rely on a map to get us to the next stop.
Monument Valley / Forrest Gump Point
~1 hour and 45 minutes from Natural Bridges,
or
~2 hours and 30 minutes from Moab
A cool stop on the way to Arizona, through Navajo Nation, is Monument Valley … and Forrest Gump Point. I still haven’t seen the movie (a must, now that I’ve jumped in the middle of the road for this photo). This is part of Navajo Nation, but was closed during our trip (all of Navajo Nation was closed due to COVID), so we did not make it.
If you take this road trip route from the north, you will have to drive down a dirt road mountain with a 10% incline. It was terrifying, but do-able.
Note: This photo spot is on the northern side of Monument Valley.. although Google Maps tells you it’s 30 minutes south of it. Don’t retrace your steps like we did.
Lone Rock (Page, AZ / Canyon Point, UT)
~20 mins from Page, AZ
~2 hours and 15 minutes from Monument Valley
Just a “lone rock” in the middle of Lake Powell. I went at this on my own in my rented Toyota Camry and ignored the “deep sand on beach, travel at your own risk” signs (praying I wouldn't get stuck)…Abby would have killed me..
This is a camping spot for RVs and people with boats. I’d love to go back here at some point and spend time on a boat.
Note: AZ and UT are different time zones some parts of the year. AZ is one hour earlier.
Amangiri (Canyon Point, UT)
~25 mins from Page, AZ
Disclaimer: We did not stay here. I wish we did, but $3,500/night was slightly out of the budget.
To get to Amangiri you have to first get through the gates, then drive about a mile through a gorgeous landscape to get to the main resort. I showed up at the gates and had to weasel my way into the property by asking for a tour and a cocktail. After getting approval, getting my temperature checked at a cabin along the way, I proceeded to the main property where I was greeted at the valet by Zach who generously gave me a full tour of the property. After the tour and one Prickly Pear Margarita by the pool, I had to get back into my car and drive away (to make the sunset at Horseshoe Bend), not going to lie it was the happiest I was on the trip - I’ve had this place on my Vision Board for over a year.
I got their fish tacos to-go and they were delish.
Horsehoe Bend (Page, AZ)
Picturesque, definitely worth the stop - at sunset. It was actually one of the best views we saw our whole trip. It’s a quick, easy, 1 mile roundtrip “hike.”
Where to Stay in Page: We originally booked the Lake Powell Resort, but after further discussion decided to cancel and book the Best Western of Lake Powell. We were only there for a few hours, it was centrally-located and fine.
Day 4: Kayak and hiked Antelope Canyon in Page, AZ and then went back to Utah to hike Bryce Canyon and stay overnight in Zion.
Antelope Canyon (Page, AZ)
Unfortunately the Upper and Lower Canyons were closed due to COVID, because they are part of Navajo Nation. Although you cannot see the picturesque Upper and Lower Canyons, you can still get into the canyons..if you kayak, paddle board, or Jet Ski. We kayaked (1.5 miles one way) ..it was a lot. When we got to the canyon and decided to hike more than a mile……..3+ miles in (6+ miles roundtrip). If you find out that it’s worth going further, do it, we did not have cell service and had no idea, we should have turned around miles earlier.
We rented kayaks from Lake Powell Kayaks and the experience could not have been easier…except for when we had to load the kayaks on the car after our 7-hour day in the sun.. luckily there were guys coming off of a “National Park” boat that agreed to help us.
Bryce Canyon National Park
~2 hours and 30 mins from Page, AZ
After an extra few miles in Antelope Canyon, we finally made our way up to Bryce Canyon. We had planned to get there earlier, but arrived just in time for sunset. It was perfect. We did a few viewpoints: Sunset, Paria, and Bryce Point. Turns out none of the viewpoints are exactly west-facing, but I guess the “Sunset Viewpoint” is the best. The Navajo trail is apparently the way to go if you’re going to hike, but we didn’t have time, so we just to drove to the viewpoints.
Under Canvas Zion
~2 hours and 25 minutes from Bryce Canyon
A highlight/“experience” of our trip, for sure. We arrived late (11pm) to Under Canvas Zion. Our first night GLAMPING!! Complete with a bed, portable chargers, portable lantern, and live crickets. It turns out that glamping is not exactly my thing, or Abby’s. However, it was a really cool experience and I’d do it again - maybe with a few cocktails in me.
They have some tents with their own bathroom that may be worth upgrading to if you don’t like to wander through the grounds in the middle of the night to use the bathroom.
Under Canvas has a bunch of locations near other National Parks: Lake Powell/Grand Staircase, Moab, Glacier, Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, Grand Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains, Acadia, etc.
Day 5: Hiked the Narrows at Zion National Park, stayed at Zion Wildflower Resort.
Zion National Park
The Narrows! The thing to do. So cool, except there was a warning regarding of a fatal neurotoxin that had contaminated the waters. The water normally contains this algae but not at the levels that were tested recently. En route to the shuttle the park ranger said to us “We don’t recommend you do this hike today. Your safety is your responsibility.” We learned that a baby husky recently died after eating the algae. They told us if we don’t have open wounds and if we don’t drink the water we should be fine. We took our chances and have lived to tell the tale.
The Narrows was without doubt a highlight of our trip. We rented shoes and poles from Zion Outfitters. Shoes, socks, and a pole were $25 per person and made the hike SO comfortable. I slipped/stepped in between rocks so many times and should have twisted my ankle but was fine. Only fell once!! So worth it, we saw people on our way out in regular sneakers and no poles.. yikes
Other Zion highlights that we didn't get to: Angel’s Landing hike (heard it is intense), and the Emerald Pools
Zion Wildflower Resort
Probably the best place we stayed during our trip. Though we (I) originally wanted stay in a tent or wagon, it was the end of the trip, our last night, and we wanted our own bathroom after the experience the night before.
The beds at Zion Wildflower were so comfy. I did not want to get up. Highly recommend this place.
The place just opened in July and was super cute, clean, and only 15 minutes to Zion National Park.
Places/experiences we didn’t get to that are on the list for next time:
Grand Staircase Escalante - Huge park in the middle of Utah that is sort of a combination of most of the parks we hit: goblins, slot canyons, Bryce, Antelope, etc. Heard it is great for stargazing
Cedar Breaks - Very close to Bryce Canyon
Coral Pink Sand Dunes - Only an hour south of Zion. We had planned to do this after exploring Zion on Thursday, but were drained
I hope you’ve enjoyed this post, or at least found it a bit helpful! Let me know what you think - what you liked, didn’t like, and if there's more or less I should add or include for future posts.
xx Em
