by Diana Pratt

Our first impression of Utah was on our first national park road trip in 2018. On that trip we visited Zion and Arches National Parks. We skipped a planned visit to Bryce Canyon due to weather and time constraints. On that trip we drove into Utah from Las Vegas and immediately noticed we were somewhere otherworldly. You don’t have to visit a national park in Utah to enjoy the indescribable beauty. Apparently the state boundary was simply decided by the unbelievable grandeur of the scenery. I remarked to Sarah that they should just put a rope around the entire state and charge admission. It made us wonder how they ever decided which parts were worthy to be national parks and how amazing those parts must be if we were this impressed by what we could see from the interstate.

Somehow they did decide on no less than five national parks: Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, and Arches. On Memorial Day weekend, May, 2019, we returned to visit all five.

It is important to note that each of these parks is amazing unto itself and each deserves your full attention. If you have the time, plan a full trip to each one of them. The point of this story is that there is no reason to skip any of them. We met several people on our trip who would tell us they had lived in Utah their whole life but never been to one or more parks. Don’t make that mistake. These parks are so close together and so accessible, we were able to visit all five parks in less than four days on one of the busiest holiday weekends for the national park system.

Hint: when visiting national parks enter early, if possible, before the ranger station even opens to avoid the crowds. In the hot summer months this also allows you to hike in the cooler morning temperatures. You can then spend the hottest parts of the day relaxing or driving to the next location in your air conditioned vehicle. This is one of Neil Peart’s own suggestions and we have taken it to heart.

Zion National Park

On this trip we flew to Las Vegas on Friday night, rented a car, and drove to Springdale, Utah, just outside the gates of Zion. Springdale is so close to the park entrance, the visitor’s guide suggests you use the park shuttle from town to enter the park, or you can even walk in. The visitor’s center is just inside the park (and it’s a really good one!). On our first trip we found a wide assortment of items in the gift store, clean restrooms, and extremely helpful and kind rangers to assist in planning the day. From the visitor’s center entrance you can board a shuttle, which will take you up through the valley to various stops with an informative tract to listen to along the way. Zion has taken the lead in preservation and strictly limits the number of cars and encourages conservation from all its visitors.

On this trip, tired from a late night of driving and loss of an hour due to time change, we rose early and drove through the gate long before opening, bypassed the visitor center and valley and headed to Canyon Overlook Trail.

Shout out to the Bumbleberry Inn who provided a large, clean room. They were extremely accommodating to us, and we noticed other travelers as well, as they left keys and breakfast vouchers in an envelope hanging on the front door. In the morning we dropped them back in a box.

The Canyon Overlook Trail is located just on the east side of the 1.1 mile long Mount Carmel Tunnel. A trip through this tunnel is an experience in itself. The tunnel is built on the edge of a cliff. As you drive through, cutout windows offer glimpses of the wall and sheer drop off.

The Canyon Overlook Trail is rated easy and is one mile round trip, with an elevation gain of only about 100 feet. I forgot to change into my hiking shoes, although I was carrying them on my back. I found the first set of switchbacks on sandstone too slippery for my Birkenstocks and went back to change shoes. Sarah and her husband, Jarad, went ahead and jogged the trail.

View from the top of Canyon Overlook Trail

After changing shoes I started off again and went as far as a wooden bridge where I stopped to decide if I wanted to cross. The bridge appeared to be two 2x6 pieces of wood laid side by side along the wall of a cliff, with just a narrow metal railing. Since discovering that I am afraid of ledges on a hike in Sequoia the previous summer, I have become leary. I stopped to assess the situation and observe other hikers. By the time the path was clear I saw Sarah and Jarad returning and that let me off the hook (whew!). From my location I had a beautiful view of the impressive cliffs. From the end of the trail Sarah and Jarad enjoyed a view of the canyon including West Temple, The Towers of the Virgins, the Beehives and East Temple.

Bryce Canyon National Park

Back in the car we continued east on Highway 9, then northeast to Bryce Canyon, only an hour and a half away. Even though it was Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, we were still early enough to have no wait at the park entrance and continued on to Bryce Point. There we walked along a short, paved section of the Rim Trail and to a large overlook. It was a bit chilly but the view of the amphitheatre was breathtaking. Hoodoos and arches - shapes and forms - as far as the eye could see.

On the way back to the visitor center we stopped to take a look at the lodge where we enjoyed a delicious breakfast with no waiting. We also enjoyed the nice gift shop. Next, we made a quick stop at the visitor center to get our passport stamps and then we headed to Capitol Reef National Park, just over two hours away.

Capitol Reef National Park

We arrived to our hotel in Torrey, Utah, just outside the park, well before our 3pm check in time. We registered at the Red Sands Hotel, but with more than two hours to wait for our room, headed to the park only six minutes away. Capitol Reef is Utah’s least visited park. It is named for the white cliffs and domes of Navajo sandstone that look similar to the dome on the US Capitol building. At the visitor center we collected our passport stamps and talked to the ranger about stargazing. We also learned about the Gifford Homestead. One of the park features is acres of orchards in the park and farm buildings from Mormon settlers. Gifford House, just down the road from the visitor center, offers a picnic area with fresh apple and cherry pies baked daily. We arrived just after 3pm and just as the last pie was sold ahead of us, but we did enjoy the ice cream.

Back at our hotel we had time to enjoy the pool and freshen up before a nice dinner in the hotel restaurant. Our waiter was exceptional offering us great service, friendly conversation and free appetizers and sodas to go. With full stomachs and running on three hours of sleep from the night before, it was a struggle to stay awake until dark when we returned to the park for stargazing. The hotel was incredibly nice to lend us blankets, which we were really glad to have when the sun went down and the temperatures dropped.

Capitol Reef is renowned for stargazing. With the high elevation, approximately 7,000 feet, and low smog and light pollution, they offer some of the clearest and darkest skies in the United States. We were glad we stayed up to watch. With no effort or hiking we watched from a viewpoint where we could see thousands of stars. From higher elevations you can see the Milky Way. Sarah and Jarad had never experienced a sky like this before and were very impressed.

Back at the hotel we got a good night’s sleep. In the morning we enjoyed the complimentary breakfast and headed to Capitol Reef a third time for an early morning hike. We took the Hickman Bridge trail, a two mile trail rated easy. The trailhead and parking lot is right off Highway 24. The trail starts off along a river with a low stone wall. We saw a lot of flowers blooming after the heavy spring rains. It was so pretty and enchanting, Sarah called it the storybook trail. Next we climbed up switchbacks which weren’t too steep. At the top we walked along a fairly level stretch and then down a steep hill that I was afraid I would never be able to get back up. Sarah and Jarad are avid hikers - the easy trails are chosen for my benefit.

At the bottom we walked over sandstone rocks and then back up and under the Hickman natural bridge, then around to a bluff overlooking the Fremont River, and back out the way we came. Happily, I made it back up that steep hill without too much trouble or complaining. It was a lovely hike in a lovely park. Capitol Reef is a gem you don’t want to miss.

Canyonlands National Park

Back in the car we headed to our fourth park, Canyonlands, a mere two and a half hours away. We picked up sandwiches along the way to have a picnic at the park. We arrived in the early afternoon running about two hours ahead of schedule, so when the ranger stopped us a mile or so ahead of the entrance and said it would be a two and a half hour wait, we had no reason not to sit it out. Being Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, that didn’t seem as absurd as it might sound, and anyway Sarah was convinced he was exaggerating and it wouldn’t take that long.

We had our picnic in the car while we waited, and it turned out Sarah was right. Within about 35 minutes we were in the gate. Once inside we had very little trouble finding parking and seeing everything we wanted to. Canyonlands is divided into four districts: the Island in the Sky, the Needles, the Maze, and the Green and Colorado Rivers. We were in the Island in the Sky, just outside Moab, Utah off Highway 191.

Our first stop was at Mesa Arch. A quick trail took us up and over a hill to a breathtaking overlook through or around the arch to the canyons and valley below, the La Sal Mountains in the distance. Next we drove to Grand View Point, aptly named with sweeping views of the canyon. On the way back we stopped at Shafer overlook. The view below is the Shafer trail road, a steep, dirt road that descends to the bottom of the canyon. Finally, we collected our stamps at the visitor center. We found Canyonlands every bit as beautiful as the Grand Canyon. Despite being told there might be a long wait, we didn’t find the park crowded at all, especially for a holiday weekend.

From Canyonlands we drove forty minutes to Moab for the night. Moab is famous for hiking, biking, climbing, jeeping, and whitewater rafting. It is also minutes away from both Canyonlands and Arches National Parks. Neil Peart has proclaimed it one of his favorite cities, so it has to be good. We freshened up at our hotel and then went for dinner at the Moab Brewery. Not only did they have delicious, affordable food, they offered both beer and gelato, Sarah and Jarad’s dream restaurant.

Arches National Park

Monday morning we got up early and headed to Arches National Park. On our first visit, the prior summer, we proclaimed it second only to Yosemite in beauty. We were anxious to see it again and share it with Jarad. The park entrance is 9 minutes from downtown Moab. We entered early and headed straight to the windows and double arch trails, the same ones we took on our last visit.

The windows section is an easy walk to North Window, South Window, and Turret Arch. Double Arch is the tallest and second largest arch in the park. Both trails are accessible to virtually anyone and both allow you to climb right up onto and into the bottom of the formations. We vote Arches to have the best trails that we’ve seen in the National Park system. It is in huge contrast to the strict rules of Zion. We planned to hike to Delicate Arch, but the (small) parking lot was filling up and Sarah doesn’t like hiking with crowds. Instead we went to the Delicate Arch viewpoint, and then to the visitor center for our stamps. We were back on the road before the cars were barely starting to line up at the gate. Our journey ended in Salt Lake City where we flew home and with the hour gained from the time change and arrived before dark.

We set out on one of the busiest weekends of the year and succeeded in visiting five national parks in less than four days. We never ran into any traffic problems on the highway, and we experienced friendly service in every hotel, restaurant, and shop we visited. The Utah scenery did not disappoint - it was as spectacular as ever both in and out of the parks. We found all five parks to be exceptional.

Two flights, 800 plus miles, and five parks in less than four days on a major holiday weekend. Driving to Salt Lake City, Sarah said, “This is actually a lot more relaxing than I thought it would be when I was planning it.” The three of us agree that it was one of the best vacations we’ve ever had.

Panorama Point, Capitol Reef National Park