I personally believe that road trips are the best way to see America. Not only do you get to see the most gorgeous geography, if you aren’t in Nebraska, but it is truly the best way to learn about a state’s culture. Each state has it’s own personality and you can’t get the different perspectives if you are just flying in and out. Here is a short guide for a Utah National Parks Road Trip.
I’m going to expand this post into a longer guide that will include budget tips, pricing, and other useful tips. I want this post to just be focused on the 5 different national parks. You have Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park.
As always, I want all my travel friends to travel safe. Leave a note below if this post was helpful to you or if there was something that I missed. I love to hear from you all.
Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon has been a national park since 1928. The canyon itself was named a national monument on June 8, 1923 by President Harding. It sits on 35,835 acres. There is so much that you can do in Bryce Canyon national park and it all depends on how much time you plan to be there. Are you driving in for the day or do you plan to set up a camping site and stay a while?
There are only 2 days that parts of Bryce Canyon is closed. If you are planning to be there around Thanksgiving or Christmas, then you can expect the fee booth and the visitor center to be closed. Outside of those days, you should find the park open year round. Depending on the weather there could be road closures.
What To Do:
- There are currently 3 different festivals that you can participate in. You can go to the Geology Festival, Prairie Dog Festival, and the Astronomy festival.
- The park has several hikes. They have been kind enough to break the difficulty of the hike into three categories. You can either do easy, moderate, or strenuous. You are responsible for your own safety at all times. Make sure you stay on the maintained trails. Also, bring plenty of water and be mindful of the wildlife. Keep in mind that a lot of the trails are interconnected.
- I would recommend that you try one of the ranger programs.
- If you are short on time then I would suggest going at sunrise or sunset. Make sure you stick to the major attractions like the one mile loop around the rim.
- If you are going in the Winter, then you can try one of the snowshoe hikes.
You can find a link to the official website for Bryce Canyon right here.
Zion National Park
Zion National Park was established in November of 1919. It is open 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. One thing to not is that they do not allow personal vehicles in while the shuttle is running. According to the website, a bus should come around every 7-10 minutes.
Things to do:
- Similar to other national parks, you can go to Zion National Park for the sunsets and stargazing.
- The park issues free permits for water sports. If you are planning to Kayak then you should be an experience paddler.
- Bicycling is also an option for this part of your Utah National Parks road trip. The Pa’rus Trail and Zion Canyon Scenic Drive are accessible for bikes and the shuttles have bike racks
- Try to swoop up a backpacking permit and hit the trails.
- If you are inclined, you can also try climbing while in the park.
You can find the official website for the park right here.
Capitol Reef National Park
Compared to the other national parks, Capitol Reef is fairly young. It was established in December of 1971. Did you know that Capitol Reef is an international dark sky park? What this means is that you can get dope stargazing because of the parks commitment to reducing light pollution. There are parts of the park that are closed during the winter months (Rippling Rock Nature Center and The Gifford House Store and Museum) so keep this in mind.
What to do:
- Capitol Reef is a national park that you can explore from your own vehicle. The park has both paved and off roading options.
- You can explore the park’s orchards.
- Camping is another option. They have developed and primitive camp grounds.
- This parks has ranger-led programs.
- You can also pick up a handout of where you can use your bike. It has to be on the paved roads.
If you want to look for more information then you can find it here.
Arches National Park
Arches National Park is known as a red-rock wonderland. The park earned its name for sure. The government created the park in April of 1929 and it has over 2,000 natural stone arches. If you are looking for soaring pinnacles and balanced rock structures then this is definitely the park for you. The park has traffic congestion between March and October so plan accordingly.
What To Do
- Visitors can go to the visitors center to find out about the popular sites within the park. This includes Turret arch, devil’s Garden, and Balanced Rock.
- You can drive the 18 mile scenic road if you are coming by car.
- Visitors that plan to go to Devil’s Garden can take the opportunity to camp while they are there.
- Arches National Park has several ranger led programs that visitors from all ages can participate in.
- In addition there are opportunities for stargazing, horseback riding, and rock climbing.
The official website for the park can be found here.
Canyonlands National Park
The last option for your Utah National Parks road trip is to see Canyonlands National Park. The government established Canyonlands as a national park in September of 1964. The park is divided into 4 distinct districts which are Island in the Sky, The Needles, The Maze, and the rivers themselves. Canyonlands National Park has 337,598 acres of colorful canyons that visitor can explore.
What To Do:
- There is a paved scenic drive where you can stop and see Island in the Sky.
- The park has both flatwater and white water boating that is available.
- Visitors are able to take overnight backpacking trips in all three of the parks districts.
- If you are looking for some help in seeing the sites then you can take one of the guided tours.
- The park also has hikes of varying lengths that should appeal to even the most inexperience hiker.
The official site for the park can be found here.
There you have it. A post about Utah National Parks road trip. If you have any comments or suggestions, make sure that you leave them below. Travel safe my friends. Please check out my post about Utah road trips right here.