Utah's Mighty Five: Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches and Canyonlands

1. Day 1: Arrive in Las Vegas

   Harry Reid International Airport to your hotel in Las Vegas

   • Drive about 18 min
   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in Las Vegas
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Harry Reid International Airport (LAS), a short drive from the Strip, and a driver meets you in the arrivals hall for the transfer to your hotel. Plan to land by about 4 pm so you are settled before the evening briefing; the exact time comes with your final itinerary. The afternoon is yours: sleep off the flight, walk the Strip, or look at the fountains in front of the Bellagio. In the early evening your See Sight Tours guide meets the group in the hotel to talk through the week: the day-by-day drives, what to pack for the trails, how park entries and the Angels Landing lottery work, and how hot or cold each park is likely to be on your dates. Then we walk to a welcome dinner together. Tomorrow we leave the city after breakfast, so it is an early night for most.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS)
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Welcome dinner

   Free time: Free until the evening briefing

   

2. Day 2: Into Utah and Zion

   Las Vegas to Springdale at the gate of Zion National Park

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Springdale
   Day 2 details

   We leave Las Vegas after breakfast and drive about 265 km north-east on Interstate 15, through the Virgin River Gorge in the corner of Arizona and into Utah, where the clocks go forward an hour. The desert turns red past St George and Hurricane, and by lunchtime we are in Springdale, the small town at the south gate of Zion, where we stay two nights. After a sit-down lunch in town we walk into the park. The Pa'rus Trail is a paved, nearly flat path along the Virgin River, with the Watchman behind you and cottonwoods along the water. We ride the shuttle to the Zion Human History Museum for its exhibits and the view up the canyon, so you know what you are looking at tomorrow. Before dinner, the Watchman catches the evening light from the bridge at Canyon Junction. Dinner is your choice in Springdale, a short walk from the hotel.

   Included

   • Drive from Las Vegas to Springdale with your guide
   • Sit-down lunch in Springdale
   • The Pa'rus Trail along the Virgin River
   • Zion Human History Museum
   • The Watchman in evening light from Canyon Junction

   Free time: Evening free in Springdale

   Activity: About 5 km of easy, paved walking.

3. Day 3: Zion Canyon on the first shuttles

   Up Zion Canyon by park shuttle, from the Grotto to the Temple of Sinawava

   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Springdale
   Day 3 details

   Private cars are kept out of Zion Canyon for most of the year, so we ride the park shuttle, and we are on one of the first buses of the morning while the canyon is cool and the trails are quiet. The day splits two ways. The active group climbs from the Grotto up the West Rim Trail and the 21 tight switchbacks of Walter's Wiggles to Scout Lookout, about 6 km return with about 360 m of climb, where Angels Landing rises above and the canyon floor drops far below. Anyone who won a permit in the lottery can carry on along the chains to Angels Landing with the guide's advice. The easy group walks to the Lower and Middle Emerald Pools under a seeping cliff. We meet for a sit-down lunch at Zion Lodge, then ride to the Temple of Sinawava for the Riverside Walk, where the canyon narrows to the start of the Narrows. If the river is open and safe, wade in for as far as you like.

   Included

   • Zion Canyon shuttle from first buses
   • Guided walk to Scout Lookout, or to the Lower and Middle Emerald Pools
   • Sit-down lunch at Zion Lodge
   • The Riverside Walk and a paddle into the Narrows when conditions allow
   • Angels Landing day-before lottery entry for guests who want to try

   Optional experiences

   • Narrows gear rental (water shoes, neoprene socks, walking pole), booked through us

   Easier option: The Lower Emerald Pool, about 2 km return on a paved trail, or on to the Middle Pool, about 3.5 km return with a short climb.

   More active option: Scout Lookout by Walter's Wiggles, about 6 km return with about 360 m of steady climb, three to four hours; Angels Landing beyond it for anyone holding a permit.

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free in Springdale

   Activity: Scout Lookout is the hardest walk of the trip: steep, paved in places, with little shade on the switchbacks. The Narrows close when the river runs high or after storms, and the park posts water-quality advisories; your guide checks that morning. Angels Landing needs a lottery permit, which we cannot promise.

4. Day 4: Over the tunnel to Bryce Canyon

   Springdale on the Zion to Mount Carmel Highway, then to Bryce Canyon

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Bryce Canyon City
   Day 4 details

   We leave Springdale after breakfast and climb the Zion to Mount Carmel Highway in switchbacks to the 1.8 km tunnel through the cliff, completed in 1930. On the far side we stop for the Canyon Overlook Trail, a short walk along a ledge to a view straight down Pine Creek into Zion Canyon, and again at Checkerboard Mesa, cross-hatched like a waffle. The road then runs north on US 89 and east on Scenic Byway 12 through the red rock tunnels of Red Canyon, about two hours of driving in all. After a sit-down lunch near the park we walk the rim from Sunset Point to Sunrise Point, then drop below it on the Queen's Garden and Navajo Loop trails among the hoodoos, the orange spires the park is known for. The climb back is the hard part, at about 2,400 m. In the evening we watch the light go from Inspiration Point, then dinner is your choice.

   Included

   • The Zion to Mount Carmel Highway and tunnel
   • Canyon Overlook Trail and Checkerboard Mesa
   • Red Canyon on Scenic Byway 12
   • Sit-down lunch near Bryce Canyon
   • Rim walk from Sunset Point to Sunrise Point
   • Queen's Garden and Navajo Loop among the hoodoos
   • Evening light at Inspiration Point

   Easier option: Stay on the rim: the paved section from Sunset to Sunrise Point is about 1 km and nearly level, with benches.

   More active option: Add the Peekaboo Loop below Bryce Point, about 8 km and steeper, with your guide.

   Free time: Evening free

   Activity: Queen's Garden and Navajo Loop together are about 5 km with about 180 m to climb back to the rim. The Wall Street side of the Navajo Loop closes in winter; we use the Two Bridges side then.

5. Day 5: Bryce at sunrise, then Scenic Byway 12

   Bryce Canyon to Escalante, Boulder and over Boulder Mountain to Torrey

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Torrey
   Day 5 details

   The Bryce amphitheatre faces east, so this is the morning to be up early. We drive the short way to Bryce Point for sunrise, when the first light turns the hoodoos orange one row at a time, and are back for breakfast. Then we take Scenic Byway 12 east, about three hours of driving with stops: down through Tropic into the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, to the Head of the Rocks viewpoint over the slickrock, and across the Hogback, a narrow ridge between Escalante and Boulder with drops on both sides. Lunch is sit-down in Boulder, then a visit to the Anasazi State Park Museum, where the Coombs Site preserves part of an Ancestral Puebloan village lived in some 800 to 900 years ago; if the museum is closed, we stop instead at a Boulder Mountain viewpoint and the Escalante River trailhead. The road then climbs over Boulder Mountain through aspen and pine, with views east across Capitol Reef, and drops to Torrey, where we stay two nights. The evening is free.

   Included

   • Sunrise at Bryce Point
   • Scenic Byway 12 through Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
   • Head of the Rocks viewpoint and the Hogback
   • Sit-down lunch in Boulder
   • Anasazi State Park Museum and the Coombs Site (when open)
   • Boulder Mountain viewpoints

   Easier option: Skip the sunrise and sleep in; the van leaves after breakfast either way.

   Free time: Evening free in Torrey

   Activity: Sunrise at Bryce Point is cold for most of the season; bring a warm layer and gloves.

6. Day 6: A full day in Capitol Reef

   Torrey to Fruita, the Scenic Drive and Capitol Gorge, then back to Torrey

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Torrey
   Day 6 details

   Capitol Reef protects the Waterpocket Fold, a wrinkle in the earth's crust about 160 km long, and most trips only drive through it. We start early on the Hickman Bridge Trail, about 3 km return, climbing to a natural sandstone bridge before the sun is high. On the way back we stop at the petroglyph panel, where Fremont people pecked figures and bighorn sheep into the cliff. In Fruita, the old Mormon settlement on the Fremont River, the orchards are still tended by the park; in season you can pick fruit, and the Gifford Homestead sells small pies. After a sit-down lunch in Torrey we drive the Scenic Drive south to Capitol Gorge and walk between its walls to the Pioneer Register, where settlers scratched their names in the rock. Late afternoon is free. Capitol Reef is an International Dark Sky Park, and after dark your guide takes anyone who wants to go out to see the stars.

   Included

   • Hickman Bridge Trail
   • Fremont petroglyph panel
   • Fruita historic orchards and the Gifford Homestead
   • Sit-down lunch in Torrey
   • The Scenic Drive and the walk to the Pioneer Register in Capitol Gorge
   • Stargazing with your guide

   Easier option: Skip Hickman Bridge and spend the morning in Fruita: the petroglyph boardwalk, the schoolhouse and the orchards are all level.

   More active option: Climb to Cassidy Arch from Grand Wash, about 5.5 km return with about 200 m of steep climb, in place of Capitol Gorge.

   Free time: Late afternoon free

   Activity: Hickman Bridge climbs about 120 m on a rocky trail with little shade; the Capitol Gorge walk is flat on gravel.

   

7. Day 7: Through the badlands to Moab and Arches

   Torrey to Hanksville and Goblin Valley, then Moab and Arches National Park

   • Drive about 4 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Moab
   Day 7 details

   We leave Torrey at about 8:30 and follow Highway 24 east along the Fremont River, out of the park and into the grey Mancos shale badlands around Caineville, with the flat-topped buttes standing out of the plain. Past Hanksville we turn off for an hour in Goblin Valley State Park, walking among the squat mushroom-shaped rocks in the valley floor. Lunch is a sit-down stop on the way, then it is north to Interstate 70 and south to Moab, about three and a half hours of driving in all, where we stay two nights. We enter Arches by the main entrance in the afternoon, with a timed entry booked if the park requires one, and drive in to Balanced Rock and the Windows, where North and South Window frame the sky, and walk under Double Arch. As the sun goes down we hike to Delicate Arch, the free-standing arch on the Utah licence plate, and watch it turn red; if the road runs late, we see it from the Lower Viewpoint and move the Windows to tomorrow evening. Dinner tonight is your choice in Moab.

   Included

   • Highway 24 past the Caineville badlands
   • Goblin Valley State Park
   • Sit-down lunch on the way
   • Arches National Park: Balanced Rock, the Windows and Double Arch
   • Delicate Arch at sunset

   Easier option: Watch the sunset on Delicate Arch from the Lower Viewpoint, a few minutes' walk from the car park.

   More active option: The full Delicate Arch trail, about 5 km return over open slickrock with about 150 to 190 m of climb, back by headlamp.

   Free time: Evening free in Moab

   Activity: The Delicate Arch trail has no shade and the last stretch runs along a rock ledge. Bring a headlamp; we carry spares. If we reach Moab late, Delicate Arch moves to the Lower Viewpoint and the Windows to day 8.

   

8. Day 8: Sunrise at Mesa Arch, Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point

   Moab to Island in the Sky in Canyonlands, Dead Horse Point and back to Moab

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Moab
   Day 8 details

   We leave Moab about an hour and a half before sunrise with coffee and a packed breakfast, and drive about 50 minutes up to the Island in the Sky, the high mesa of Canyonlands. A short loop trail leads to Mesa Arch, on the cliff edge, facing east. When the sun clears the La Sal Mountains, it lights the underside of the arch red, with the canyons spread out below. Photographers line up for it, so we arrive while it is still dark to find space. After the crowd leaves we drive to Grand View Point, where the White Rim and the canyons of the Green and Colorado rivers open up, and walk out along it. On the way back we stop at Dead Horse Point State Park, 600 m above a gooseneck bend of the Colorado. We are back in Moab for a sit-down lunch and a free afternoon: rest, browse Main Street, or book a half-day rafting trip or a 4x4 tour. In the late afternoon your guide takes anyone who wants to go back to Arches, about 30 km each way, for Landscape Arch in Devils Garden, then we meet for a farewell dinner.

   Included

   • Sunrise at Mesa Arch, with a packed breakfast
   • Grand View Point in Canyonlands
   • Dead Horse Point State Park
   • Sit-down lunch in Moab
   • Late-afternoon walk to Landscape Arch in Devils Garden, for those who want it
   • Farewell dinner in Moab

   Optional experiences

   • A rafting trip on the Colorado River, a 4x4 tour or a scenic flight in the free afternoon, priced when you book

   Easier option: Sit out Landscape Arch and keep the whole afternoon free in Moab.

   More active option: Walk the Grand View Point Trail to its end, about 3 km return along the rim.

   Free time: Afternoon free in Moab, with rafting or a 4x4 tour if you want one

   Activity: The Mesa Arch loop is under 1 km but uneven, and the rim is unfenced. Mornings on the mesa are cold until the sun is up.

   

9. Day 9: Moab to Salt Lake City

   Moab north through Price to Salt Lake City International Airport

   • Drive about 4 h
   • Breakfast
   Day 9 details

   After breakfast we leave Moab at about 8 am and drive about 380 km north to Salt Lake City, four hours of driving broken by a stop for coffee and a bite to eat (lunch is on you today). The road runs north past the cliffs of the Book Cliffs to Interstate 70, then on US 6 through Price, over Soldier Summit and down Spanish Fork Canyon into the Utah Valley, with the Wasatch Mountains rising beside the road as you near the city. Running the trip one way saves a seven-hour return to Las Vegas, and it means you fly home from a large hub with plenty of connections. We reach Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) at about 12:30 to 1 pm. Book flights leaving after about 3:30 pm. Your guide sees you to departures and checks your flight before saying goodbye. If you want to stay on, we can drop you in downtown Salt Lake City instead and book an extra night for you.

   Included

   • Drive from Moab to Salt Lake City with your guide
   • Drop-off at Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)

   Optional experiences

   • Extra nights in Salt Lake City, booked on request

   Activity: Book a flight leaving after about 3:30 pm.

   

Wildlife and weather: Spring and autumn bring warm days and cool nights. Summer often passes 38°C in Zion and Moab, and July to September brings afternoon storms that can close the Narrows and slot canyons, so we walk early. Bryce, at 2,400 m and above, can have snow into May and again from October. Watch for mule deer in the Fruita orchards and pronghorn in the meadows near Bryce.

• Las Vegas1 night
• Springdale2 nights
• Bryce Canyon City1 night
• Torrey2 nights
• Moab2 nights