The Southern part of Utah is home to the Mighty 5 National Parks and are connected to each other through scenic highways across the state. Travel along the lush roads leads you to the amazing places which will mesmerize you and make you stop. I would love to visit all the National Parks in the states and visiting the Mighty 5 has been a long pending dream, which was finally accomplished this year.
We flew to Salk Lake City from Pittsburgh and we visited Yellowstone & Grand Teton National parks before visiting Mighty 5. After our visit to the Grand Teton National Park, we drove to Glendale. To read about our itinerary to Yellowstone & Grand Teton National parks, check my blog post here. To read in detail about those two National parks, check out my detailed post here.
We stayed in a small town called Glendale in Utah which is near to both Zion and Bryce National Park. We booked an Airbnb and stayed there for 2 days. We started our Mighty 5 Road trip from Zion National Park.
Day 1: Glendale, UT – Zion National Park – Glendale, UT
Since Utah is hotter than Burgh, we decide to explore the park as early as possible in the morning so that we can avoid heat waves. We woke up early around 5 and packed our lunch for the day. Yes, we stayed in Airbnb with full kitchen and prepared curd rice & Tamarind rice for our lunch. We also packed low-fat yogurt and protein bars. We drove to Zion National Park through Zion-Mt. Caramel Highway and reached the park around morning 8 AM. Our first stop is Checkerboard Mesa. Never miss stopping at Checkerboard Mesa. Since we visited on weekdays, we got parking near to the visitor center itself and checked into the park shuttle.
We started our visit from the last viewpoint – Temple of Sinawava to the first point. We couldn’t do strenuous hikes as the temperature was very high in the area and we were completely drained. We had our packed lunch under the shade of the tree near to the Zion Lodge. Grotto trail also has picnic tables but it was closed during our visit. But then, you can enjoy your lunch in the lush green area before the lodge with a view of the Canyons.
After our lunch, we hiked to the Emerald pools and by the time we completed our visit, it was 3 PM. Since most of the hikes we wanted to do were closed, we decided to return back to Glendale and enjoy the rest of the day at home.
To read more about the Zion National Park and our recommendations, check my post here – Zion National Park Travel Guide
Day 2: Glendale, UT – Bryce Canyon National Park – Loa, UT
We started early around 6 AM and drove through the most scenic highway 12 from Glendale to Bryce Canyon. The highway passes through the Red Canyon and a number of Canyon Arches. I highly recommend you to take a drive through the Highway 12 to enjoy the travel. Bryce Canyon can also be accessed through the Park shuttle and also by your own car. We decided to view the points in our own car. The scenic loop has 9 viewpoints. If you are running out of time, then I highly recommend you to visit Amphitheater, Nature Bridge, Rainbow Point, Sunset Point, and Yovimpa Point.
The entire park can be viewed in a day if you just want to enjoy the beauty of the park only from viewpoints. We wanted to do a hike to view Thor’s hammer. But then, the temperature was so high and we don’t want to push our limits, hence we decided to stick only with the viewpoints. Thor’s Hammer can be viewed from the viewpoint but then the Twin Bridge can be viewed only after a short hike through the canyons.
We completed our visit by evening and drove towards Loa in Utah where we stayed for that night. Loa is a beautiful town near to the Capitol Reef National Park. We stayed in an Airbnb and reached Loa around 7 PM. We stayed in a farmland which had lush green fields at the backyard and a small pond with geese in the front yard.
To read more about the Bryce Canyon National Park and to know our recommendations, check my blog post here: Bryce Canyon National Park
Day 3: Loa, UT – Capitol Reef National Park – Moab, UT
The drive from Bryce to the town Loa through Highway 21 is the most breathtaking scenic way through the Dixie National Forest. That’s one of the adventurous drives and is an extraordinary experience. If you are a not a type of person who loves adventures, then do not attempt to drive through this highway. The entire drive is through narrow roads along the cliffs, open ranges, slick rocks, and red canyons. We stopped at almost in all the pullouts to enjoy the beauty of the landscape. You will not find any shops or restrooms along the way and hence plan accordingly.
The most incredible views are seen near the town Escalante and ensure to stop at the highest elevation point which gives a glimpse of the entire view of Grand Staircase and the canyons. The highway merges with the Highway 12 near the town Torrey and the drive along the highway 12 offers views of farmlands with sprinklers on either side of the road. We reached Loa and cooked our dinner. We also packed our lunch for the next day.
We started our day very early and visited Capitol Reef National park on 3
rd day of the trip. Capitol Reef National park is one of the most underrated parks among the five National Parks in Utah. We visited the Fruita area and drove along the scenic park loop road. Most of the area in the park can be accessed only with 4WD high clearance and mountain bikes. The roads are really narrow and if you are not an experienced driver, then do not attempt to visit those remote areas of the park. We couldn’t visit the Cathedral Valley as our rental car was not 4WD.
There are no name boards at the viewpoint but then there are small blocks with names written on it covered by bushes. We hiked to Cassidy Arch but then we couldn’t complete it as it was one of the most strenuous hikes and the temperature was soaring high. We, then, drove through the mud road to the Capitol Gorge and viewed the Golden Throne.
Most of the orchards were closed, hence we couldn’t go for fruit picking but then we grabbed freshly prepared pies from the Fruita house. The entire park is full of Moenkopi formation and tilted rock layers formed by the pressure beneath the sedimentary rocks. We visited the Fruita area and we drove towards Moab in Utah as we couldn’t visit Water pocket area and Cathedral valley since we didn’t rent high clearance vehicle.
To read more about Capitol Reef National Park and to read our experience, check my blog post here – Capitol Reef National Park Travel Guide.
Day 4: Moab, UT – Arches National Park – Moab, UT
We drove to the Arches National park from Capitol Reef as we wanted to capture Sunset over the arches and also we had plans of Stargazing. Arches are my personal favorite and I would like to visit the park again in future for sure. Moab has one of the clearest skies and is known for star gazing. We visited the Moab fault and Park Avenue. We then drove to the Windows section which is known for sunset and star gazing. It was cloudy on our day of visit and hence, we couldn’t see the entire Milky Way but then we were able to see a handful of stars on the sky. We also saw Mars. The Airbnb where we stayed was just 5 minutes away, hence we decided to stay late in the park.
We started early on the following day to capture the sunrise over the double arch. Never miss sunrise in Arches. It was a beautiful sight where the arches shine brightly in orange reddish hues with the early rays of the sun. We almost visited all the Arches and hiked easy and medium trails. Most of the strenuous hikes require the permit.
I highly recommend Landscape Arch, Double Arch, Sand Dune Arch, Windows Section, and Delicate Arch. We also captured the sunset over turret arch and explored the town of Moab by evening. The town Moab was so beautiful with local stores, shops, and restaurants. We decided to try small restaurants for our lunch and dinner on that day. I should say the food was really good and delicious. We stayed in Moab overnight and decided to view the Canyonlands the following day.
To read more about Arches National Park, check out my detailed blog post here – Arches National Park Travel Guide.
Day 5: Moab, UT – Canyonlands National Park – Salt Lake City, UT
The last National Park which we visited during our entire trip is the Canyonlands National park. Canyonlands is one of the most underrated parks which is vast and can be accessed only the high clearance 4WD vehicles. Moreover, most area of the National Parks can be accessed only through the strenuous hikes. The world-famous Mesa Arch is in Canyonlands and it is one of the most beautiful and most picturesque spots in the park. We wanted to capture the sunrise in the Mesa Arch but then we were completely drained and couldn’t wake up so early in the morning. Moreover, the day was very cloudy and it was raining on and off. We drove across the park loop road and visited all the viewpoints.
We hiked Mesa Arch and surprisingly, there was no crowd in the park, hence we had all the time on our hand to capture the beauty of the park through my lens. The park has 3 regions – Island in the sky, The Maze and the Needles. The regions – Maze and Needles are usually less visited spots in the park and requires a high clearance vehicle. Island in the sky is the easiest region to be visited in the park with paved scenic drive offering spectacular views and overlooks. We drove along the white rim and we were shocked at the same time surprised with the wilderness of the canyons. If you like Grand Canyon, then you will love Canyonlands where you can view canyons closer with lesser crowd, buttes, and mesas.
The state park – Dead horse Point Park near to the Canyonlands offers a closer look of the buttes and the Colorado River. The park has an entrance fee and the dead horse point overlook offers fantastic views of the canyon and the Colorado River.
To read more about Canyonlands National Park, check my blog post here – Canyonlands National park
We completed our visit around 5 PM in the evening and then we drove to Salt Lake City which is 3 hours away from Moab. We grabbed dinner in one of the Indian restaurants in Salt Lake City and boarded our flight around midnight to Burgh.
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Thanks,
Karthi
