HOW TO HIKE UTAH’S FIVE NATIONAL PARKS IN A WEEK
A few notes before beginning…
This particular itinerary is neither for the 5-star-only folks out there, nor the nomadic RV-types. It’s right in between, a mix of motels, hotels, and fancy tents. I’ve tried to give multiple options for as many places as possible, but a lot of these spots just don’t have that many options! Adapt as you wish…
Similarly, the hikes covered are right down the middle. There are strenuous days, there are easier days, but none of these are casual strolls nor so technical as to require special skills beyond the ability to walk.
I highly recommend grabbing a subscription to All Trails where you can look up all these hikes and others (easier ones, harder ones…), and VERY IMPORTANTLY, download the maps ahead of time! This is crucial when hiking without cell phone reception. The app works incredibly well and between this and overall well-marked trails, you will never be lost.
Additionally, pairing this with an Apple Watch will allow you to keep closer track of distances, elevation gains, and more for better accuracy, knowing when to expect a turn in the trail, etc…
A final purchase a month or so in advance is a National Parks parking pass. You can get one here for $80.
The ideal time of year for these hikes is mid-fall or late spring. Too early in spring and there will be too much snow or heavy mud from the melting snowpack, and too late into the fall and the weather risks becoming too cold/wet. Basically end of April-late May and October are the sweet spots. Do not try this trip mid-summer!!!! And some of the roads to access the parks/trails are closed in winter.
Let’s dive in!
DAY 0 - THE FLIGHT IN
Fly or drive into Vegas. If you’re coming from anywhere other than Los Angeles, take a flight that gets you into town just in time to grab a bite and head to bed early (or conversely an early flight that can have you jump directly into Day 1, below). I prefer hotels without casinos so The Four Seasons and Waldorf Astoria are decent bets, though it’s my firm conviction that there are no great hotels in Vegas.
For an exceptional meal off The Strip, check out the legendary Thai restaurant Lotus of Siam. If you are coming from LA, just start your day extra-early by driving out in time for lunch in Vegas and roll right into tomorrow’s itinerary.
DAY 1 - TRAVEL DAY
If you’re coming from LA, pack a proper cooler, otherwise make sure you have a good thermo-bag, something that can keep a couple bags of ice and snacks cold for a full day.
In the morning go to the Whole Foods on Las Vegas Blvd. and stock up on trail treats and any fresh foods you love. The first couple days before you hit Moab will be rough food-wise and you’ll want some tasty treats that can be kept cool. We stocked up on yoghurts, cheese, cold cuts, berries, and fruit, for a picnic at Capitol Reef (Day 3), but you do you.
From here, drive four hours to Bryce Canyon. Along the way in St. George there’s an exceptional Peruvian rotisserie chicken spot, Viva Chicken, that looks like a chain but tastes like heaven. Alternately, you can hit the Peppermill in Vegas for a breakfast so obscenely large you won’t have to eat for the entire next week on the road.
The sleeping options in/near Bryce are scant. We stayed at the Stone Canyon Inn and while their “treehouses” are fun and offer a great view, the place is NOT great, but rather sufficiently adjacent to the park to pass muster. Their restaurant, the Stone Hearth Grille, is the one “upscale” meal in town. It’s fine.
The best hotel option, which requires up to a year’s planning, is the Lodge inside Bryce Canyon. The rooms aren’t terrific there either but it gets you inside the park and about 100m away from the trailheads. You can’t beat it. And of all the lodges inside all the National Parks of Utah (all of which are run by a service company on par with Best Western), it’s the only one to retain the original structure dating back over a hundred years.
Finally, you can find some Western rococo at the Bryce Canyon cabins...
Sunrise at Bryce Canyon
DAY 2 - BRYCE CANYON
There are two great hikes to do in Bryce Canyon and you should do both. Depending on when you arrived the day before, you could tackle the shorter hike below (Wall Street-Queens Garden) on Day 1 around magic hour and the longer one (Fairyland) today. Or, if you’re game, do both on Day 2. If you park at the Sunrise Point Parking lot near the park’s General Store, you’ll be a stone’s throw from both trailheads.
Wall Street and Queens Garden Loop Trail
As with most of the trails on this trip, you’ll want to start as early as possible to maximize your time in the shade (I’ll keep repeating this throughout).
The Wall Street portion is by far the most stunning and challenging, and it was actually closed for repairs when we hiked it. But even if it’s closed, HIKE IT! There was a bit of deterioration along the path’s final switchbacks, but it’s wholly doable. This is a quick hike, probably done in a couple hours. If you start at 8a, you’ll be done by 10:30 at the latest. Which gives you time to fuel up back at your car, take a break at the general store, and then do the Fairyland Loop Trail.
Do this trail counterclockwise, so from Sunrise Point head left and follow the trail signs. The most beautiful part of this long, tough hike (8 miles, about 4-5 hours at a good clip) will be at the beginning, allowing you to savor the sights with all your energy intact. By the time you reach peak exhaustion at the end, you’ll simply be walking the final two miles on a flat trail along the rim of the canyon at sunset, marveling at all you accomplished below.
For dinner, reward yourself with some decent BBQ in the town of Tropic at IDK BBQ. And for a little side field trip, check out the photogenic town of Panguitch, where you can grab an ice cream cone at the local movie theater and maybe even catch a screening.
Arriving at Capitol Reef National Park
DAY 3 - CAPITOL REEF
Get a good start the following morning and set your sights on Capitol Reef National Park, the most overlooked of the five found in Utah, but a real sleeper hit in our books.
As a side note, if you have time, stay an extra day and night en route here and hike Grand Escalante National Monument. Lower Calf Creek Falls takes leads you through canyons to a stunning waterfall (in springtime). You can spend the extra night in a renovated airstream at Yonder Escalante.
As you drive through sweeping Route 12, make sure to pull over at the scenic overlook to learn the story of how the road was built. And grab a breakfast burrito at Magnolia’s in the tiny town of Boulder. Their converted schoolbus is parked in the lot of the Anasazi Museum. While you wait for your order to be ready visit the museum and the ruins of ancient dwellings.
When you reach Capitol Reef, make a beeline for the Gifford Homestead store, and score one (or many) of their delicious homemade pies. One of the best culinary treats on your trip.
From here, lace up and hike the Cohab Canyon Trail. The first 15 minutes are intimidating but then it plateaus out into a fun, flat little Canyon scramble. You can do a there-and-back jaunt that shouldn’t take more than a couple hours. Return to your car for a lovely picnic with the last of your fresh produce from Whole Foods LV.
It’s now a long dull slog until you make it to Moab, the longest drive beside the one to Zion in a few days. Luckily your few hours in Capitol Reef will have broken up the route.
Heading towards Moab
You’ll be in Moab for the next three nights so choose your accommodations wisely. There are three different ways you can go.
Heart of Town. Moab is a fun town reminscent of a mini Boulder, CO. Many of the towns near National Parks (Bryce, Springdale, etc…) feel like they are built solely around the business of the park. Not so at Moab which feels like an all-around mecca for outdoor types. In the center of town, the Gonzo Inn is a generically-bland motel with great signage, but little else going for it.
If you want the poshest room in the area, head out of town 30 minutes to Sorrel Ranch. We chose not to stay there because it looked a bit contrived. But it’s got great reviews and little cabins (that feel a little overly art-directed), and upon reflection, maybe we should have stayed here…
Middle of nowhere. Ulum Moab feels like a millennial’s Amangiri at a fraction of the price. 50 “luxury” tents with hot showers, flushable toilets, and Aesop products, beds with Pendleton blankets, and quaint wood-burning stoves. All centered around a main restaurant and set a quarter-mile from the picturesque Looking Glass Rock. We stayed here and the tents were the perfect size for a couple, a bit cramped with a kid. The resort is very environmentally “aware” so time your stay here right: in summer the tents will be sweltering, during winter ice cold. We had our woodburning stove lit all night but by 1am it had died down and I was forced to stoke it twice each night, not ideal when you’re exhausted after a nine mile hike. Ask in advance for a tent on the farthest end of the resort, with an uninterrupted view, otherwise you’ll simply be looking out on scores of other tents or the parking lot!
The minimal elegance of Arches National Park
DAY 4 - ARCHES
Besides Capitol Reef, this is one of the easiest (yet busiest) parks to hike. Since the ideal activity is to watch the sun set over the Delicate Arch, spend the day walking through Moab. A few highlights…
Coffee and breakfast at Moab Garage Co.
A burger and milkshake at Milt’s Stop&Eat
The toy and tchotchke aisles at Walker Drug Co.
The donuts at Doughbird
If you need to restock your snack supply, Moonflower Community Co-op
Arches is the only park of the five that requires an advanced, timed parking permit, which can be procured here. Once you’re in the park however, you can stay as long as you like. You could conceivably go crack of dawn and be the first to Delicate Arch and then have the rest of the day free, but we decided to sleep in one day and get into the park in the late afternoon.
You’ll want to be at the Delicate Arch parking lot about two hours before actual sunset. This will allow you one hour to do the hike (it will prob. only take you 45 minutes), and then another hour to take in the view and watch the sun change the rock’s colors. Beware: you will not be alone! This was by far the busiest of all the spaces we visited, a pilgrimage of sorts. One octogenarian who was doing the hike in overalls and without water (both bad ideas) stopped me to say that if I didn’t believe in God, I would after witnessing the arch. He wasn’t too far off the mark.
The park does not close, so while there will be a mass exodus once the sun has set, if you bring headlamps and feel brave, you could always stay to watch the star-filled sky before returning back. You will be the best judge of whether or not you could pull this off while hiking to the arch. Either way, make sure to pack a good headlamp for this one!!
You should have time for at least one other hike before this one and there are sooooo many to choose from. We hoofed it along the Double O Arch Trail to Landscape Arch as this is the most fragile of all the arches and there is a strong chance it won’t last much longer. On the short walk there you will also have the option to branch off and hit a couple other arches including Pine Tree, the only one you can walk beneath. The Double O trail can either be done as a really long loop (6 miles) or just out-and-back as far as you want. The loop area begins right around Landscape Arch.
Driving through Canyonlands National Park
DAY 5 - CANYONLANDS
This park is so big there are three separate entrances and regions: The Maze, Islands in the Sky, and the Needles. The most interesting topography can be found at The Needles down south which is where today’s hike, Chesler Park Loop Trail, is situated. It’s also fully exposed to the sun so again, START HIKING EARLY!!! It’s fairly remote and the longest of all the hikes so plan on at least 2.5 liters of water per adult.
Another reason to start early is to score one of the precious few spots at the Elephant Hill parking lot. The day we arrived—foolishly around 11am (wayyy too late sun-wise)—there were only seven spots left. If you can’t find a spot here, the only real option is to park illegally and get a ticket (they won’t tow you and think of the ticket as a further donation to the parks!).
The first half of Chesler Park Loop Trail is a straight in-and-out through insane rock formations that make you feel like you’ve landed on an alien planet. The first half of the first half is fairly flat and straight ahead but soon you’ll be dropping in and out of the Needle formations, scrambling up and down rocks for an hour or so.
Take a nice long lunch break at the halfway mark when you rise through a pass between the two massive rock formations that greet the entrance to the “park” area. Now you will have an approx. five mile loop ahead of you. If you don’t think you can hack it, just U-turn back, you’ll still have 3 miles before you get back to your car.
If you continue, proceed counterclockwise to start with the most challenging terrain before shooting through narrow slot canyons (check with the visitor center to make sure there are no risks of flash floods!), and finally a dirt road, before returning right back at the two large rocks and hour and a half hike back to the lot.
If you stay at Ulum on this day, you’ll probably be too dead to do anything else but go home and eat something simple before collapsing in bed. If you’re staying in Moab though, reward yourself with a tall one at Woody’s Tavern or pizza at Antica Forma. It’s not Lucali’s, but after today’s hike it will be the best pizza you’ve ever eaten.
The Islands In The Sky region of Canyonlands Park
DAY 6 THE LONG DRIVE TO ZION
The least fun day of all. A five hour drive on the interstate to make it to Zion. If you want one last fill of Canyonlands and Arches, you could tack on a couple hours to the drive and head to the Islands in the Sky region of Canyonlands and do the ten minute Mesa Arch Trail. You’ll be rewarded with sweeping views of the park from above that contrast with the labyrinth down below that you navigated the day before. You could also be crazy and tackle the Shafer Canyon 4x4 trail for some adventurous driving. But remember, you got almost five hours of driving to go.
Finally, just before Islands in the Sky is a turn-off for Deadhorse Point Park, a separate state park that offers beautiful vistas of the horseshoe bends of the Colorado River. It’s just as long a detour as Canyonlands and just as beautiful. I wouldn’t do both though. I wish I could give you suggestions of other things to do along the way to break up the monotony of this day but there’s not that much.
As for lodging near Zion, again the pickings are slim. The main town of Springdale is filled with crappy chain motels and crappier non-chain motels. There are some decent Airbnbs available—like this one—but they book up fast. An impressive new luxury resort, Spirit Zion hadn’t opened yet, but perhaps when you get around to booking this trip it will have. There is a more rugged version of the Ulum tents of Moab called Under Canvas, and if you stay there, insist on Tent #5, the only one with unobstructed views of Zion. You will truly feel all alone in the world watching the sunrise here.
Like Bryce, there is a lodge operated by the park, right in the heart of it. But it sells out about a year ahead of time so if this is your pick (and again, you will be 100m from the trail heads), plan your trip early!!!
Camping on the edge of Zion
DAY 7 - ZION
The lines to get into the park in Springdale and access their parking lot begin EARLY so you’ll want to reach the entrance by 7:30am, which will also come in handy if you are planning on hiking any of the more challenging, sun-facing trails. Most of the good stuff is only accessible via a road that has been closed to the public for some years, so after parking at the visitor center hop aboard a tram to take you to and from the trailhead (the trams are really well run, and arrive every 5-10 minutes). Below are a few trail possibilities.
The Narrows and Subway Trails
Two of the most iconic, thrilling trails in the park. Be VERY careful when planning to hike either of them. Depending on time of year they will be closed due to high water levels and—regardless of time of year—will involve you getting wet (best time for these is in the early fall before the rains). If you want to hike them, reach out to Zion Adventures Company and they will rent you the appropriate gear (drysuit, sticks, etc…) and for an astronomical fee, they can guide you themselves (not required as these are popular hikes that are well-marked). Again, check the day before and day of to ensure that the trails are safe and open before embarking on them.
Kayenta Trail to Emerald Pools
An incredibly short and easy trail that is best done in the spring as the snowpack melts and the waterfalls are at their most impressive, this trail will take you from the 6th stop on the shuttle tram straight to the Zion Lodge/5th stop, while hugging the riverbanks and zig-zagging past stunning little pools of water. A light casual stroll that you could even double up with Scout’s Landing as the two share the same trailhead.
Scout Lookout and Angels Landing
Angels Landing is the only trail in Zion that requires a permit to climb, due to the very narrow path and hordes of people wishing to hike it. You can try for the permit a few months out and there is a last-minute lottery that opens up each day, 24 hours ahead of time. However, it’s good to know that Scout Lookout is the same trail minus the final quarter mile to the Angels viewpoint. Even if you don’t score a pass to Angels, you can continue at the junction to the West Rim Trail and follow that, up to three more miles. After a half a mile you’ll actually be above Angels and have sweeping vista views all around you.
NOTE: this is not the longest trail on the itinerary but it is the steepest!!! If you start much past 9:30/10a you will be in full sun climbing up endlessly. The trail is actually paved which is a bit of a letdown after all the wilderness you will have discovered over the past week, but don’t let that fool you. It’s allllll uphill, with countless switchbacks. And just when you think it’s over and you walk quietly through the narrow canyon that is home to Mexican Owls, you will actually only be half way up the brutally steep climb!
Depending on which trails you hike, and how early you start your adventure, you can jump right back into your car and drive the short distance (2.5 hours) to Vegas and be there in time for a red-eye to the East Coast or the hour flight to LA.
That’s it. You did it. Five of the greatest national parks all in one state, all in one week!
