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As I stood misty eyed in the early morning just after the sun had peeked over the hoodoos, looking into the amphitheater in Bryce Canyon national park, I remembered how everyone kept saying that hiking all of the Utah Mighty 5 National Parks on one trip was not easily done. Not unless you have extra time to spend in the area. But most people do not have multiple weeks, they have 10 days at most. And yet here I was gazing at the orange, white and pink hues of the hoodoos with the sun just peaking over the cliffs. It was magic.

It turns out it’s not as difficult as people say. This is my guide to ensure you get the most out of your Utah national parks road trip.

What are the Mighty 5 national parks in southern Utah

• Zion National Park
• Bryce Canyon National Park
• Capitol Reef National Park
• Canyonlands National Park
• Arches National Park

Best time to visit

In my opinion, the best time to visit any national park is during the shoulder season when the weather is a little cooler and there is less people. However, the summer months tend to be peak season at most of the national parks, Utah’s national parks being no exception. This time of year however can be extremely hot in the southern states and the National park service often recommends not visiting during the summer season. It is, however, when most people with families can travel because their kids are out of school.

For those of us who are don’t have children, we have a bit more flexibility, and I would therefore recommend going in the shoulder season.

You can visit in the winter months in Utah, though some roads may be closed and at higher elevations you can see snow. It’s a great time to see these places in a vastly different way.

West to East/East to West

Theoretically you can start from either side of the state, starting with either Zion or Arches. This would mean flying into either Vegas or Salt Lake City in the West or in Colorado in the East. Drive wise Las Vegas is a 2 ½ drive to Zion and Salt Lake City is 4 ½ hours. Grand Junction, Colorado, which has a regional airport, would be a 1 ½ hour drive to Arches National Park. Personally, I felt that going west to east was the best way to experience the parks following the scenic drive that connects them, making Zion your first stop.

When doing this route you will need to keep in mind that you will need to get an early start each day to do the remaining drive to the next park. 

Airport

Therefore, the first hurtle is determining where to fly into and out of to make the most of your trip. Again, the 2 most popular are Las Vegas (which is the one I chose) and Salt Lake City. What I like about Vegas is the flight prices tend to be lower, and if you really want a good budget flight, fly basic economy (Warning: you can only bring what you can fit under your seat, which can be challenging and immensely freeing all at the same time). The other reasons to chose this airport are car rentals tend to be cheaper, there are lots of direct flights from variations locations, and it’s a fun, kind of crazy place to end your trip.

Car rental

Make sure you check with your credit card to see if you have insurance through your card. Otherwise, you will pay for insurance through the rental company that you do not need. Also, make sure you have unlimited mileage. Again, Vegas has some cheap car rentals. We got ours for $6/day, I mean you really can’t beat that.

Planning your parks

Before leaving for Utah I requested information on the Mighty 5 from the Utah tourism board. It came with a map, which tells you population size for each town along the way. Armed with this and booking.com you can easily find cheap places to stay along the way.

I am also a little old-fashioned and love using a map, not totally relying on my phone. However, the combination of your GPS, hotel booking apps, and paper maps creates the perfect planning arsenal.

Also, make sure to purchase the America The Beautiful Pass. This pass will keep you from paying the extra cost on the entrance fees. This one pass gives you access to all national parks around the country for an entire year for $80. It also saves you a boat load of money, even if you only use it for this one trip.

So, with all this in mind you have to decide which parks you want to see when, and for some you need to pick what part of the park to explore. Do you start with the majestic Arches and leave the most popular parks of Bryce and Zion for last? Or do you start off with a bang and end with Canyonlands and Arches, staying in Moab?

Our first stop was Zion national park, after flying into Las Vegas, ending in Arches and then drove the main highway (I-70) back to Vegas (6 ½ hours of driving, stopping part way in Cedar City for the night before returning to Vegas for some R&R).

In terms of what part of the park to explore, this mostly applies to Canyonlands. Canyonlands is huge and impossible to see all of it in one day. If you only have 1 day, I recommend Islands in the Sky, and does the guidebooks. Other areas in Canyonlands National Park, depending on your length of stay and plans, include the Needles District, the Maze and Horseshoe Canyon.

I would also recommend having an idea which hiking trails you would like to do at each park, allowing for sudden changes. We found we could do more trails than initially planned so it’s a good idea to have backups. So, if you have a strenuous hike in mind, like the Syncline loop trail in Canyonlands islands of the sky district, you might want to add in an easy hike like Mesa Arch as well. Each are a great option, so mix it up to get the best of each park.

Hotels

Do you need to book all your hotels in advance? The short answer is no. In Moab, the answer is yes. That happening little town is full of adventure enthusiasts out to mountain bike, hike, fore-wheeling and just enjoy the outdoors. This spells over-priced hotels that sell out quickly. We paid a stupid amount for our hotel in Moab, and it was only a Motel 6.

Depending on your plans and length of stay will depend on your hotel choices and locations. For argument sake, we were able to visit a park a day. So, we drove part way to the next park each night, after hiking all day, stopping at a hotel in locations with the highest populations between the parks. If you don’t do that you will not find a hotel. The smaller towns have nothing other than 5 or 6 homes and that’s it, not even a gas station in most cases.

You can get some decent budget hotels along the way. They won’t be anything fancy but for $60 you get a bed and a shower with a roof over your head. And after a full day of hiking it’s heaven, even if the bed is a little hard.

Here are my town and hotel choices along the way:

Between Zion and Bryce

The town of Panguitch is a small, sleepy town but has multiple well priced hotel options. We stayed at the Bryce Way Motel, which was very basic, but the guy was super nice and gave us great food recommendations. Most things were closed when we arrived but he new all the best places to go.

Warning: the fan in the bathroom was not there to take away the steam from your shower or diffuse any obnoxious smells but pumped out seriously hot air turning it into a sticky, smelly sauna.

Between Bryce and Capitol Reef

In Escalante, we chose to stay at a brand-new hotel that had only been open for about a month. It was beautiful, if a little pricey, but it had a full breakfast, which is always a plus in my books. Do not listen to the recommendations the staff make for food though, it won’t end well.

Capital Reef and Beyond

Moab is the best home base to explore both Arches and Canyonlands, so once you have finished your last hike of the day in Capitol Reef, head for Moab. It’s costly, but if you book well in advance or check out some Airbnb’s you might find a better deal. I don’t think I booked our stay in Moab early enough, and it was a weekend, which didn’t help us either.
There is also Green River, along I-70 if you don’t want to drive all the way to Moab from Capital Reef in one go. Here we stayed at the Super 8 Motel. Another breakfast, basic, but a breakfast and it was convenient. Definitely listen to the receptionist for food recommendations on this one. See below for more on that.

Cedar City was our last stop on our way back to Las Vegas. This is a bigger city, with lots of options at many prices. Take a look at booking.com and decide what’s most important to you. For us, at the time, it was a free breakfast and a hot tub.

Camping

Camping at and around the national parks is also an option, as is some backcountry options, but the campgrounds require reservations months in advance. So, if you are not on a set timeline, this is not the option for you. Some are first come first serve only, which means you could be shit outta luck and have nowhere to stay. This leads to scrambling to find a place to stay, stress and overpaying for a hotel. No thanks. Makes that cheap hotel sound like a palace doesn’t it? That stressed me out just typing it.

Distances

Driving in between the parks is something of an art. Our plan was to drive part way to the next park each night, so we could get in more hiking during the day and an earlier start. This worked out well. Zion and Bryce are approximately 1 ½ hours’ drive apart (75 miles) on US-89, which then joins to the very scenic route 12 that you will take to Capitol Reef. From Bryce to Capitol Reef it will take you around 2 ½ hours (125 miles). From Capitol Reef I would recommend basing the remainder of your stay at Moab, unless you are going to explore other areas in Canyonlands other than Islands in the Sky. Then you might want to consider staying in Monticello.

From Capitol Reef to Moab it will take you just over 2 hours (144 miles). But Moab is right next door to both Islands in the Sky, Canyonlands National Park and Arches National Park (only ½ hour away).

Food along the way

Hiking all day makes Nikki one hungry girl, so knowing where I can go to stuff my face is top priority. Next to where I am going to hike the next day of course. Below are a couple of my picks for places to eat along the way.
Just outside of Zion’s park entrance is Zion Park Gift and Deli. This is a great spot to grab a sandwich and snacks for your day. Outside of the deli you will be wowed by beautiful mountain views, just a taste of what is to come.

Panguitch

Cowboy’s Smokehouse Café

Take a step back to a wilder time, with this country western style restaurant. With smoked brisket and pulled pork you really can’t go wrong.

A word on beer.
Ok, so if you are like me, you like a nice cold beer after a long day of hiking. Well, if you like your beer strong you can forget about it in Utah. They have rules against that. Those rules say you cannot order a beer unless you also order protein (i.e. meat). Utah law sets a limit of 3.2% alcohol by weight on their beer. So, no 7% IPAs for you!

Flying M Diner

Who doesn’t love a good diner? And this one was fantastic! I was having a hard time finding coffee with non-dairy creamer, but this place had it!!! I had 3 cups. They also provided you with a huge breakfast for a good price. And to top it all off they also made us some sandwiches to take on our hike.

Escalante

I don’t know what to tell you with this one. The recommendation by the receptionist was terrible. That’s all I got. Though, in her defense there were only 2-3 restaurants in the whole town and I have a feeling none were anything special.

Green River

Tamarisk

This restaurant was fantastic. They had a soup and salad buffet and their steak was drool worthy. They also have a huge sticky bun for dessert. I mean this thing was the size of my face! It gets very busy here, however, so you may need to wait for a table. But trust me it’s worth it. It might also be the only restaurant in town, which would explain a lot.

Moab

Moab has lots of great food options, and all are pretty good.

Love Muffin Café

A popular spot to grab breakfast and a lunch to take on the days adventure. The food is good, with lots of choices and so tasty. I really liked the feel of this place, it was very hipster outdoor backpacker (is that a thing?). Actually, the entire town of Moab has a very outdoorsy vibe. Someone commented on my sunglasses tan, saying it’s the big thing all the guys try to get to be cool. And everyone was dressed in their outdoor gear, no upscale hoity toity people here. So, laid back and chill. I loved it.

The Spoke on Center

This is a cool looking restaurant with everything bicycle themed. Try the Brussel sprouts, I swear, they are awesome. We kind of gorged ourselves on the food because we were starving at that point. We ended up with several appetizers and two entrees for 2 people. It wasn’t a pretty scene, but man was it good. The beer selection is pretty extensive too, though still only 3.2%, and the beer names are a riot. Polygamist porter anyone?

Concluding Thoughts

Don’t let the drives scare you away. The scenery along the way is beautiful and even after a long day of some pretty strenuous hiking, it’s nothing in the grand scheme of things. With just a little planning for your national parks road trip itinerary (and I mean a little, I booked all my hotels the day of or the night before we planned to stay there) you can experience some of the best national parks in all their glory and experience something different and unforgettable in each place. For more information on hiking the Mighty 5, checking out my Guide to Hiking the Mighty 5.