One Week Utah Mighty 5 Parks Road Trip
After things opened back up post-Covid, I set to planning the biggest trip we have taken to date.
This was the trip where I truly discovered how much I love researching and planning trips. It’s also where I learned how overwhelming and involved it can become.
I didn’t set out to plan a 9-week trip. It’s just what happens when you leave me unattended with Google Maps and a spreadsheet.
The goal was to see as many national parks as possible and learn history and geology in a very hands-on way.
There are a lot of parks to see.
The result was a 9-week trek through Nevada, California, Arizona, and Utah.
One week from that trip was spent hitting up the “Mighty 5”. Five major national parks (Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Arches, and Canyonlands) all located within a few hours of each other in southern Utah.
We had been to two of these parks before. In 2019 we visited Zion and Bryce Canyon on our way home from a trip to Las Vegas. We didn’t get to do any hiking on that trip though because it was too early in the season - there was still snow at Bryce.
In planning this trip I wanted us to be able to give each park the time it deserved, but I also needed my husband to only miss one week of work (and the kids to only miss one week of homeschool).
We started our “vacation” week on a Saturday from St. George, UT. In hindsight, Saturday in late April is the worst time to visit Zion. Sunday wasn’t much better. Lesson learned.
We do not enjoy crowds, and crowds there are a plenty at Zion. Per my husband, “we’re never going back.” Oof.
We did what we set out to do: walk the River Walk and Lower Emerald Pools trails. We got off the shuttle at all the other stops to take in the scenery and snap photos, and we drove through East Zion.
Zion is undeniably beautiful, but we’ve seen what we need to see.
I had hoped to visit Cedar Breaks National Monument as well, but they weren’t scheduled to plow the roads for another week and a half. I’m still sad four years later.
We escaped the chaos of Zion for the serenity of Bryce Canyon. I love this park. There’s just something about it.
Yes, there are people, but it’s not like Zion.
Hiking down Wall Street on the Navajo Loop trail was an experience of a lifetime. Coming back up was… less fun. My son gives the hike up zero stars.
He does give thumbs up on the Mossy Cave trail though.
Between Bryce and the next park, Capitol Reef, is Byway 12. Google will tell you to take a different route.
Don’t listen.
I frequently defy Google. I am rarely disappointed. The country highway is always more scenic than the interstate.
Byway 12 is not to be missed. It winds through Grand Staircase- Escalante National Monument, and it is breathtaking.
Fair warning- there is a section, called the Hogback, where the ridge you are driving along is barely wider than the road. There are steep drop offs on both sides.
We found it exhilarating.
Others report it’s terrifying.
As we wound through Grand Staircase-Escalante on Byway 12 we visited three state parks as well:
Kodachrome Basin
Escalante Petrified Forest
Anasazi State Park Museum
All three are unique and offer something special. All were worth the time.
Capitol Reef deserves more attention than it gets, in my opinion. We thoroughly enjoyed it as we were guided along by our Guide Along GPS guide.
We learned a lot about the history and the different rock layers you can actually see as you drive through. It even pointed out things we would have completely missed on our own.
From Capitol Reef we made our way to the last two parks- Arches and Canyonlands- both in Moab.
Arches packs a punch into a small area. There are not many young kid friendly trails, but we wandered around the Windows and hiked the two mile Landscape Arch trail.
Canyonlands capped off our list. It is yet another geologic wonder that leaves you breathless.
The kids loved scrambling up Whale Rock.
We have driven thousands of miles all over the western United States.
It’s only a 400 mile trek from St. George to Moab, but it is some of the most amazing 400 miles we have driven.
Five mighty parks full of human and geologic history.
One amazing adventure.
Want to take this trip?
If you would like to take this trip, but you don’t want to go through the entire research process yourself, I’ve put everything from this trip into a structured research pack, including the full itinerary, spreadsheets, route map, and detailed planning guide. You can read more about it here.
