Before you go: GET A NATIONAL PARKS PASS! IT PAYS FOR ITS SELF!
**It works at Zion, Bryce and Arches noted below. However, it does not work for antelope canyon, monument valley or antelope island.**
Day 1: LAS VEGAS TO ZION
Landed in Las Vegas 6:45AM & Pick up rental Car
Grab breakfast at The Broken Yolk Café
There is also Premium Outlets right by the airport or you can stop at the Premium Outlets North on your way out of the city off the I-15.
Zion is roughly 2.5 hours from Las Vegas. However, just north of St George is a hidden gem if you are into dinosaurs! St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm was a lovely little stop where you can look at some really cool dino prints that were fossilized in the earth. It is a really quick and cheap stop off to stretch your legs!
As you began to get closer to the park, you start to see the beautiful white and red mountains line the skyline, it is really breathtaking! Just before you hit Springdale, there is a really cool roadside attraction animal zoo, called Fort Zion. They have llamas, donkeys, sheep and goats and you can go in for $1 and to feed them, carrots are 3 for $1, of course I pulled over immediately and got 6 carrots! I am a sucker…
Where we stayed in Zion:
Hotel: Quality Inn Springdale
This hotel is also right by the Springdale shuttle stop #3.
Quick and easy evening hike up to see the lower Emerald Pools and then down by the Pa'rus trail to sit by the river and watch the sunset, which by the way is stunning!
Day 2: ZION
Unfortunately, Zion had experienced heavy snow and rain in the spring, so almost all the trails were closed while we were there. There is so much to see and hike there, so we will be back.
We woke up and set out for Angels Landing, one of the hardest, most dangerous hikes, yet notorious hikes in the park!
We did run a little behind schedule so it was already in the mid 80s when we started and there is almost no shade for the first 30 mins on the way up. Bring lots of water and sunscreen to re-apply as needed!
It took us just over an hour to reach the summit, before the last part of the trail that leads you on to the landing, which is also the dangerous part of the trail.
HOWEVER, if you do not want to go all the way out, you do not have to. The landing at the top is very large and offers amazing views and a place to sit for a moment. There are also 2 outhouses at the top, just in case!
While we were up there, we saw 2 giant Condors flying above, magnificent! We attempted to go out and finish the last leg, but with the crowds and the fact that it is very narrow, with drop off and chains that you pretty much have to grip onto, we turned back to be safe! Next time!
The way down was really quick and I would suggest bringing a small towel, because if it is hot, cooling your feet in the river at the bottom is the most amazing feeling!
Once down at the bottom again, we jumped on the shuttle and saw Weeping Rock, another easy quick hike and then headed back into town on the shuttle. You cannot drive through most of the park, the shuttle service is very quick and easy to use!
Places to eat in Zion: “Zion Pizza & Noodle” and “Oscars Café”
We gassed up and headed out to Bryce Canyon!
Day 3: Bryce Canyon
Coming from 90+ degree Springdale to 60 degree Bryce was a surprise! Storms were rolling in and out of the area and the elevation added to the drastic change in temp.
Bryce is a very small town, nothing like Springdale, it is more remote, laid back and way less crowded. We stayed a small no frills but clean motel outside of town called “Bryce UpTop”.
In town there is a general store and a couple of restaurants. I would recommend eating at the Pines, which is just outside of town, it was very delicious!
Bryce is nice because you can drive through the entire park on an 18 mile road with multiple pull offs to see the canyon from different viewpoints. I recommend going all the way out to Rainbow point, it really does look different depending on where you are.
Since the weather was so on again off again, and flash floods are real out there, we did the drive through the first day and then got ice cream in town. That night, the weather cleared up a bit and we did the “Mossy Cave” hike up to the cave and saw the waterfall, it was very easy but cool to see the canyon from below.
Day 4: Antelope Canyon + Monument Valley
We woke up pretty early and headed back down south towards Page, AZ to see Antelope Canyon. YOU NEED TO BOOK A TOUR IN ORDER TO SEE THE CANYONS.
This was one of my favorite parts of the trip, we booked at Canyon X, it is the start of where the slot canyons begin and they feed into the more popular and crowded upper and lower Antelope Canyons.
Canyon X, was cheaper and was less than crowded according to all the reviews we had read and the canyons are the same. We had a great experience, we were in a group of 10 and our guide was great! He was knowledgeable, and knew where to get the best pictures and took them for you! He even got some great candid’s! The whole tour is about an hour, you will not believe it is real!
You cannot bring a bag of any sort, they do provide water!
From there we hopped back on the road and headed to Monument Valley. There really isn’t much on the way so I suggest gassing up in Page. The town just before you get to the valley, Kayenta, has grocery stores and service stations. There is also a very good authentic Mexican place called amigos, that I recommend. We got the sampler and everything was amazing.
We stayed at Gouldings Lodge, which is a famous site for a lot of western films. It is also its own little compound, it has lodging, museum, movie theater, laundry, gas, groceries and a restaurant. The view from your hotel balcony is stunning, you can see the valley!
You have to book tours if you want to see more off the beaten path in the valley, we did not have time so we just drove through the park on the loop. The road is NOT paved, I rented an SUV and it handled it well. There are pull offs throughout the park that takes you to see all the monuments, it was really beautiful, put your camera on pano and go crazy!
Day 5: Four Corners and Arches
We woke up and decided that since we were in the area (2 hours) that we should see four corners monument. Def, something to do if you are close, because there is really no other reason to go out there! We did get some bomb fry bread and snow cones!
We then headed up to Moab through Colorado, we wanted a change of scenery instead of going back the way we came. It only added 10 minutes.
Just outside of Moab is a fun roadside attraction called “HOLE IN THE ROCK”. It used to be a house and restaurant. Now it is preserved and you can walk through for $6/person for a 12-minute tour. It was cool to see! There also happens to be a petting/feeding zoo there to, and you can see an albino raccoon! SOLD!
Just before you hit Moab proper you can pull off the highway and see Wilson Arch!
Moab is such a cute outdoorsy town, you go from complete open road and boom, Moab! It is bustling with restaurants and hotels.
That evening, we decided we were too tired to do any real hiking but wanted to see the park so we went in and drove through, pulling off and taking in the sites. We did walk up to the sand Arch and Pine arch which was nice and easy. After 5 days of national park trips, we were pretty wiped out!
In Moab we stayed at the Comfort Suites, it has free breakfast and an outdoor pool! They also have late 1PM check out which was nice and allowed us to lounge by the pool a bit more before we left!
Day 6: Salt Lake City
We drove up to SLC in the morning and it was super weird to be on a real interstate and see more than a few cars and gas stations! It was wonderful to disconnect and be in nature for a week.
We had an AirBnB in the Avenues district of downtown about 10-minute walk from the temple. The temple is free and beautifully maintained. There is also an open-air mall called city creek that you can walk through, that has all the typical shops.
Food: Red Iguana! Get there when they open, or you will be waiting in line forever!
Dolcetti Gelato- Most delicious and cool vibe in the shop!
Pizza Nono- quick and tasty!
I would also recommend going to Antelope island, just to see it. It does have a strong Sulphur smell as you drive in but that goes away once you get to the island. You can walk out and see some great views on the shore and if it is warm you can try floating in the water. While we were there we saw the roaming buffalo, and went down to the ranch just to see what it was like. It is $10 to get into the park so we wanted to get our monies worth!
Utah is a hidden gem, when you think of vacation, it wouldn’t be my first thought of a destination. However, you will see so many different landscapes that it will be hard to put in to words their beauty! I cannot wait to go back and go to the other parks that we didn’t get to and to explore Zion more when trails are open!
