Overview of an Epic 10-Day Utah National Parks Road Trip
The Utah Mighty Five is a classic American Southwest road trip, and we’re here to make sure you have a great time without the stress! One of the most frequent questions we get is how much time you should spend visiting and traveling between Utah’s national parks while still enjoying the scenic beauty.
We’ve taken this trip many times with our family, so we’ve got insider tips to make sure you have the best time without worrying about your next stop. If you want a more detailed itinerary for Arches, Zion, and Bryce Canyon, check out our national parks itinerary list below!
Join us as we share a really cool sample itinerary that you can enjoy with your family while exploring Bryce Canyon, Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion!
On the episode’s itinerary:
- The best location to start this road trip
- How many days to spend at each national park to see everything
- The food you don’t want to miss during your road trip
- Can’t miss hikes at each national park
- The route we recommend you take to see all 5 Utah National Parks
- Where to find the best scenery in these parks
- Other stops and towns en route that you don’t want to miss
- How to expand your trip by adding a couple of days
We hope you enjoy hitting the road with us on this epic 10-day Utah National Parks road trip!
Listen to the Full Podcast Episode:
Day 1: Las Vegas and Valley of Fire State Park
Las Vegas is the perfect place to start your epic Utah road trip. Flying into Salt Lake City works too, but we prefer Vegas because there is more to see along the way!
If you want to cut down on travel time and get straight to the fantastic views, the best way to start is in Las Vegas. Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas is also a great place to pick up a rental car and head out to Utah.
Assuming you don’t get lost in the lights of the Las Vegas Strip, your first stop will be Zion National Park, about a three-hour drive to the northeast.
If you have extra time, we highly recommend stopping at Valley of Fire State Park, about a 45-minute drive from Las Vegas. Valley of Fire State Park has become one of Nevada’s most popular state parks for a reason. You can hike the Fire Wave, see big horn sheep, and study petroglyphs.
After a little bit more driving, you’ll arrive at your first destination – the south park entrance of Zion National Park!
Day 2 and 3: Zion National Park
Zion needs more than one day to see all the sights, partly because you can only access Zion Canyon via shuttle. Large crowds will make the most popular hikes harder to access during the high season.
With so many great places to see in Zion, we recommend dedicating both Day 2 and Day 3 on your 10-day itinerary to Zion. You have to have time to hike Angels Landing and the Narrows! Trust us, you want to avoid hiking these two trails on the same day. Your legs will thank us later!
Head over to our Zion National Park itinerary to find the best hikes and the right shuttle stops to use. We also have a ton of free resources to help you plan your perfect trip to Zion National Park.
Day 4: Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park
If you get an early start, this is your perfect time to see the east side of Zion National Park. You can’t miss the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel, Checkerboard Mesa, and the Zion Canyon Overlook Trail. Because this is Southern Utah, the morning is the best time to start your day to avoid the hottest part of the late afternoon when the sun is beating down on the desert.
After spending your final morning in Zion, head out Zion East Entrance and hit the road toward Bryce Canyon. It takes about 1.5 hours to drive up to Bryce Canyon from Zion, but you can stop for fresh pies at the Thunderbird or stretch your legs at Red Canyon before you reach Bryce Canyon!
The hoodoos in Bryce Canyon are the most beautiful during golden hour (about an hour before sunset). We love heading out to the viewpoints or walking the Rim Trail in the late afternoon or early evening. This is also a great time to drive along Bryce Canyon’s Scenic Drive out to Rainbow Point.
We love Bryce Canyon National Park for its dark skies. Even if you’re tired after extensively exploring both Zion and Bryce Canyon, it’s worth staying up late to see the stars and the Milky Way here!
Day 5: Bryce Canyon National Park
We absolutely recommend you spend a full day in Bryce Canyon National Park to see the best hikes and sights.
The Figure Eight Loop is one of our favorite hikes in any national park, and you’ll find it here in Bryce Canyon! With this one hike, you’ll get to see the beautiful Queen’s Garden and the dramatic Wall Street portion of the Navajo Loop. If you hike the entire Figure Eight, you’ll also get to see the Peek-a-Boo Loop, which has some of the best hoodoo views in the park!
After spending your morning on the trail, you’ll want to take some time to see Bryce Canyon’s most magnificent viewpoints — Bryce Point and Inspiration Point. If you’ve completed all of the activities we’ve mentioned so far, add in the easy hike to Mossy Cave to round out your day at Bryce Canyon
With one more night in Bryce Canyon, you can stay in Bryce Canyon City, Tropic, or in the park itself. Read up on our tips on where to stay and hike in Bryce Canyon in our itinerary or our free resources.
Listen to the Full Podcast Episode:
Day 6: Scenic Highway 12 and Capitol Reef National Park
Highway 12 is one of the most scenic drives in Utah, if not the entire United States. Getting an early start on Day 6 means you’ll get to stop at more incredible places along this route. There are a ton of slot canyons, state parks, and hiking trails to stop at on Highway 12 as you drive between Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef.
Kodachrome Basin State Park, Calf Creek Falls, and the Hogback are some of our favorite stops along this road. We had a terrifying experience at Calf Creek Falls – catch our Bryce Canyon episode to hear the story!
For the more adventurous, you can cut from the town of Boulder over to Capitol Reef via the Burr Trail with a high-clearance vehicle. The Burr Trail is a mix of paved, gravel, and dirt road that leads to an epic adventure over some of the most beautiful parts of Capitol Reef!
When you reach Capitol Reef National Park, we recommend driving along the park’s Scenic Drive or heading out to Sunset Point during the gorgeous evening hours.
Camping in the park or staying in Torrey are your best options to get a good night’s rest before starting the next part of your adventure on Day 7.
Day 7: Capitol Reef National Park and drive to Moab
If you have extra time, we suggest you stay a full day in Capitol Reef, but to keep on track with this epic 10-day Utah road trip, we have to keep moving.
You’ll have another half day at Capitol Reef today, so we recommend you hike to Hickman Bridge, a large arch at the end of a beautiful trail. Cassidy Arch is another great hike to an arch with a view, but it’s a little bit longer and more strenuous than Hickman Bridge.
After spending the morning on the trail, be sure to head over to the Fruita Historic District for fresh pies from the Gifford House!
For your afternoon today, you’ll be heading to the town of Moab. Moab is right outside of both Canyonlands and Arches National Parks, making it the perfect base camp to see the final two parks of this road trip through Utah.
If you have some extra time here, you can add in Goblin Valley State Park and the Little Wild Horse Slot Canyon. We also really enjoy making a quick stop at the John Wesley Powell Museum in Green River. You’re in river country out here, and Powell was an amazing explorer who helped map this wild part of Utah.
When you get to Moab, take it easy by checking into your hotel or setting up camp and then grabbing some delicious food.
Day 8: Arches National Park
With over 2,000 known natural arches, Arches National Park is the perfect place to spend your day. Delicate Arch, Devils Garden, Landscape Arch, Balanced Rock, the Windows, and the Fiery Furnace are all the most popular hikes in the park. You won’t have time to get to them all in one day, but you can still cover a ton of ground while you’re here!
If you get an early morning start, you can spend all day adventuring in this park. Our Arches National Park itinerary and free resources will help you get to all the highlights and help you make the most of your time.
After a full day in Arches National Park, head back into Moab and enjoy a relaxing evening in town.
Day 9: Canyonlands National Park
Here’s a cool fact you may not know: many movies and shows use Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point State Park as stand-ins for the Grand Canyon because they look so similar. You’ll likely feel the same way as you head into Canyonlands National Park from Moab and look into the canyons for the first time.
Day 9 takes you to the Island of the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park. Mesa Arch is the most famous arch in Canyonlands – you may have seen it on your Windows background, so you’ll definitely want to take this short hike! Grand View Point is a great spot to see the unique rock formations that make up the park’s canyons.
The Green River Overlook is another great option for seeing the river down below. Murphy Point is one of our favorite hikes in the Island in the Sky area of Canyonlands — it feels wild and offers spectacular views of the White Rim Road and the canyons below.
The White Rim Road is an amazing drive that takes you past some of the most scenic parts of Canyonlands, but you’ll need a high-clearance 4WD vehicle (plus a permit) to drive this road. If you have the right vehicle, the Shafer Trail will drop you down from the top of the Island in the Sky district to either the White Rim Road or the Potash Road.
The Potash Road travels back to Moab, so it’s a fun way to end your day in the area. You’ll pass by the infamous Thelma and Louise car scene location if you drive this road!
If you have an extra day to spend in Canyonlands, you should visit the Needles District, which is closer to Monticello, Utah. Canyonlands is the biggest national park in Utah, so you won’t see everything in just one day, but you can see the highlights with help from our free resources.
Day 10: Drive to Las Vegas
The drive back to Las Vegas from Moab is about seven hours, but if you’re willing to add two hours, you can drive through Monument Valley, one of the most iconic scenic drives in the United States. A couple of hours is worth it to see these unique rock formations if you can spare the time!
This is a great place to add in a few extra days to your itinerary if you can! We recommend visiting Monument Valley or Canyon de Chelly before driving up to Page, Arizona, where you’ll find Antelope Canyon, Lake Powell, and Horseshoe Bend. This route will also get you close to the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. If you venture to the Grand Canyon, snag one of our national park itineraries!
That’s a lot to pack into ten days! While we highly recommend adding days to your trip, this will give you the highlights of some of the best national parks in the United States. We hope you have a great time!
Remember to complete your task for this week! Of all the movies we mentioned in this episode that were filmed in the Mighty 5 area of Utah, which one is your favorite? Head over to the Dirt In My Shoes Facebook or Instagram page and let us know!
Podcast minute markers:
- Day 1: Fly into Las Vegas (7:33)
- Day 2 and 3: Zion National Park (12:52)
- Day 4: Drive to Bryce Canyon (15:13)
- Day 5: Bryce Canyon National Park (19:48)
- Day 6: Drive to Capitol Reef (22:34)
- Day 7: Capitol Reef and Drive to (29:35)
- Day 8: Arches National Park (37:22)
- Day 9: Canyonlands National Park (39:54)
- Day 10: Drive to Las Vegas (45:14)
Links mentioned in this podcast episode:
- Zion National Park
- Things to Do in Zion
- Bryce Canyon
- Things to Do in Bryce Canyon
- Scenic Byway 12 and Where to Stop
- Capitol Reef National Park
- Things to Do in Capitol Reef
- Utah’s State Parks
- Arches National Park
- Things to Do in Arches
- Canyonlands National Park
- Things to Do in Canyonlands
- Monument Valley
- Page, Arizona
- Grand Canyon National Park
Are you hoping to visit all of the national parks? Sign up for your FREE NATIONAL PARKS CHECKLIST so you can easily see where you’ve been and where you still need to go!
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Am hoping to try this trip in reverse (starting at wedding in Salt Lake and leaving from Las Vegas….not sure that is possible…. Any thoughts?
Yeah, for sure! You can definitely do this from SLC to Vegas with the parks in between!
I’m hoping to get to Bryce and Zion this year. I’ve been to Moab 4 times and seen Arches, Canyonland,and Dead horse. I’d also recommend Natural Bridges and Hovenweep Nat. parks. thank for the pointers on visiting Bryce and Zion.
Very exciting! Safe travels!