The Best Colorado to Utah Road Trip Itinerary for 7 to 14 Days
This Colorado to Utah road trip itinerary includes options to visit all the national parks in both states on a scenic loop through the desert and mountains.
Slot canyons, sand dunes, rock arches, and river hikes — it’s all a part of this Colorado Utah road trip itinerary. With nine national parks between the neighboring states featuring mountain and desert landscapes, there are endless breathtaking vistas and bucket list hikes you can include on this trip.
If you want to road trip Colorado and Utah, you first need to decide how much time you have for the journey. I’ve laid out the best things to do over 7 to 14 days in this guide, but you could easily spend 3 weeks or more at the same places if you want to slow down and really take in the sights or try out some longer hikes.
I’ve spent weeks exploring southern Utah and Colorado and still have so much to go back and see! Keep reading for my favorite things to do on a Utah and Colorado road trip and tips for how to organize your itinerary, when to go, what to pack, and more.
Utah and Colorado Campervan Road Trip
You can pick one up in Denver and drive it round trip or drop it off in Phoenix or Las Vegas.
Learn more and reserve your dates!
Utah to Colorado Road Trip Map
This Utah Colorado road trip map shows the state and national parks, scenic drives, and towns you can include in your itinerary. Click on the square in the top right corner to open a Google Map with pins for these locations. You can save it to your own account to help with your planning.
Denver to Utah Road Trip Itinerary Options
These Denver to Utah road trip itineraries show routes you can take for a 7, 10 or 14 day vacation. The one and two week loops start and end in Denver and the 10 day option is a one-way trip between Denver and Las Vegas in Nevada (for the closest international airport to southwestern Utah).
7 Day Denver to Utah Road Trip
This Utah Colorado road trip option focuses on the national parks in southern Colorado and southeast Utah.
Day 1: Denver to Grand Junction, Colorado National Monument
Day 2: Grand Junction to Moab via Highway 128
Day 3: Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse State Park
Day 4: Arches National Park
Day 5-6: Mesa Verde National Park and Great Sand Dunes National Park OR Capitol Reef National Park
Day 7: Return to Denver
10 Day Colorado and Utah Road Trip
With this Colorado to Utah road trip itinerary, you can see all of the Utah national parks and pick which Colorado parks to include.
Day 1-3: Denver to Colorado National Monument and Black Canyon of the Gunnison OR Rocky Mountain National Park OR Great Sand Dunes and Mesa Verde National Parks
Day 4: Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse State Park
Day 5: Arches National Park
Day 6: Moab to Capitol Reef National Park
Day 7: Capitol Reef to Bryce Canyon National Park
Day 8: Bryce Canyon to Zion National Park
Day 9: Zion National Park
Day 10: Zion to Las Vegas
14 Day Utah and Colorado Road Trip
This is a very fast-paced Utah and Colorado road trip itinerary to see all of the national parks in both states.
Day 1: Denver to Rocky Mountain National Park
Day 2: Rocky Mountain National Park
Day 3: Rocky Mountain to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Day 4: Colorado National Monument to Moab via Colorado Scenic Byway
Day 5: Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse State Park
Day 6: Arches National Park
Day 7: Capitol Reef National Park
Day 8: Capitol Reef to Bryce Canyon National Park via Utah Scenic Byway 12
Day 9: Bryce Canyon to Zion National Park
Day 10: Zion National Park to Kanab
Day 11: Grand Canyon North Rim OR Page and Monument Valley
Day 12: Four Corners to Mesa Verde National Park
Day 13: Mesa Verde to Great Sand Dunes National Park
Day 14: Return to Denver
What is There to See Between Colorado and Utah?
The drive from Denver to Utah takes less than 6 hours, but there is lots to see along the way in the Centennial State. The road trip loop below is in the order of the 14 day itinerary from above. It’s very fast-paced to see all of the national parks in both states in just two weeks, but it can be done.
This could also easily be stretched into three weeks or a month if you want to spend two or three days in each national park.
Rocky Mountain National Park
The most direct route from Denver to Rocky Mountain National Park is through Boulder (about 1.5 hours), but if you have enough time, add an hour onto the trip to take the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway instead. Covering about 55 miles between Black Hawk and Estes Park, the road climbs into the mountains through aspen forests and past old mining towns like Nederland and Rollinsville before arriving at the Wild Basin section of Rocky Mountain National Park, with trailheads to waterfalls and lakes.
With a full day in Rocky Mountain National Park, head to the Bear Lake Corridor for lake trails for a range of abilities. The best hikes in this area for your first visit include the family-friendly Bear Lake Loop (0.5 mile) and Sprague Lake Loop (0.8 miles), the easy path to Alberta Falls (1.7 miles), and the moderate Emerald Lake Trail (3.6 miles) that leads to a trio of alpine lakes. The park has over 350 miles of trails, so use this hiking guide to find the best ones for your group.
When you’re ready to head out of Rocky Mountain, take Trail Ridge Road to exit on the west side of the park. The scenic 48-mile route between Estes Park and Grand Lake climbs to an elevation of 12,183 feet along hairpin turns with sweeping views. Allow at least two hours for a one-way trip with brief stops at the Alpine Visitor Center and a couple of overlooks, or longer to add in hikes like the Ute Trail to Tombstone Ridge (4 miles).
Here’s where to stay near Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park Reservations: Between the end of May and early October, you need a timed reservation to enter Rocky Mountain National Park, in addition to your ticket or park pass. Reservations open on the first day of the month for the following month (e.g. June 1 for July dates) with a few held and released the day before.
Two types of reservations are available — one includes the whole park with the Bear Lake Corridor and the other is for the park without the Bear Lake Corridor.
I-70 Corridor
If you’re looking for places to stop on the way from Denver to Utah, the mountain towns of Summit and Eagle counties include popular winter destinations like Keystone, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain and Vail. In summer, the ski villages have fun activities like mountain coasters and ziplining, plus gorgeous hiking trails. Or, you can just pause to stretch your legs and grab a cup of coffee while passing through.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Western Colorado’s Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park has both a north and south rim you can visit, but they’re a couple of hours apart by road. For a shorter visit on a Colorado Utah road trip itinerary, I’d recommend heading to the South Rim, located near the town of Montrose.
Follow the 7-mile-long South Rim Drive to access a dozen different overlooks of the Gunnison River cutting through steep cliffs and rock spires. Each lookout has a short trail to the rim, but the views at Tomichi Point, the Visitor Center, and Sunset View are right by the parking lot.
My favorite stops were the narrowing canyon at Chasm View Overlook and the streaky dark rocks at the Painted Wall Overlook. All of the official trails on the South Rim are 2 miles or less, so you can see a good deal of this park in half a day to a full day.
Colorado National Monument
Colorado National Monument is one of my favorite parks in the state and a great teaser of the Utah landscape just across the state line. Located in Grand Junction on the western border of Colorado, the park features a red canyon with sandstone monoliths.
Allow about half a day to cruise the 23-mile Rim Rock Drive and hop on short hikes like the Canyon Rim Trail, Window Rock Trail, Coke Ovens Trails, and Otto’s Trail, all a mile or less. On the east side of the park, the Devil’s Kitchen Trail (1.5 miles) leads to a unique grotto of upright boulders. You’ll need about half a day in this park for the scenic drive and a couple of the short trails.
Upper Colorado River Scenic Byway
Your GPS will tell you to take the interstate from Grand Junction to Moab, but I recommend adding about 10 minutes (plus stops) onto the drive to take Highway 128 instead. The nearly 50 mile Upper Colorado River Scenic Byway, as it’s called, follows the river gorge, with several parks and trails along the way.
Allow 2 hours just for the drive between the two cities, but you could stretch this to a half-day or longer outing to stop at Cisco ghost town, grab a snack from JJ’s Mercantile, visit the Moab Museum of Film and Western Heritage (lots of movies were shot around here), and hike the Fisher Towers Trail (4.2 miles). This guide has more things to do on the route.
Arches National Park
Over 2,000 arches are the star of Utah’s Arches National Park, just 5 miles outside the town of Moab. Most of the action here is along the 17-mile Arches Scenic Drive, where you’ll want to stop at lookouts like Panorama Point, Fiery Furnace, Park Avenue, Courthouse Towers and Salt Valley Overlook.
Plan to spend at least one day in Arches National Park to hike to Double Arch (0.5 miles), the Windows (1 mile), Sand Dune Arch (0.3 miles), Skyline Arch (0.4 miles), Landscape Arch (1.9 miles), the Upper Delicate Arch view (0.5 miles), and Balanced Rock (0.3 miles). My favorite section if you’re short on time is the Windows, where you can see Double Arch, North Window, South Window and Turret Arch on easy walks from one parking area.
I would recommend making time for some longer trails in this park though, if you can handle a challenging hike. The Devil’s Garden area at the end of the scenic drive has a thrilling hike along narrow ledges and sandstone fins to Double O Arch (4.1 miles), with arch spur trails for up to 7.9 miles of hiking. The path to Delicate Arch (3 miles) is perhaps the most famous in the park and leads up a rock slope and along a ledge to the base of the arch.
Arches National Park Reservations: Arches National Park is extremely popular and you’ll need a timed reservation to enter the park between early April and early October. Reservations are released three months in advance on the first of the month (Jan. 3 for April, Feb. 1 for May, March 1 for June, etc.).
Canyonlands National Park
Canyonlands National Park has four sections in different areas, but the Island in the Sky district is perfect for your first trip or when you’re short on time. It’s the closest entrance to Moab, but it still takes more than 30 minutes to get to the park from town (much longer when there is a wait at the entry gate). The Needles section is 75 miles southwest of Moab if you want something less crowded.
With a day in Canyonlands Island in the Sky, you can hike to Grand View Point (2 miles) for views of the Green and Colorado rivers, Mesa Arch (0.5) on the edge of a cliff, the sandstone dome of Whale Rock (1 mile), and Upheaval Dome (1 to 2 miles) to peek into a crater.
You also don’t want to miss the views at the Shafer Canyon Overlook, Buck Canyon Overlook, Green River Overlook, and Grand View Point.
I recommend combining Canyonlands National Park with a sunset visit to Dead Horse State Park, since they’re along the same road outside of Moab.
Dead Horse Point State Park
Dead Horse Point State Park outside of Moab sits on a dramatic gooseneck bend of the Colorado River. You could spend a couple hours here following trails along a few miles of the rim, or just pop in to watch the sunset from the Dead Horse Point Overlook.
Capitol Reef National Park
Capitol Reef is my favorite national park in Utah, since it’s less crowded than most of the others and offers a diverse range of features — gorges, natural bridges, monoliths, domes, slot canyons. The park is located along the nearly 100-mile Waterpocket Fold, known as a geologic “wrinkle on the earth,” where the rock layers have lifted some 7,000 feet higher on one side.
With a day in the national park, you can drive the 7-mile Capitol Reef Scenic Drive and hop out at trailheads to Capitol Gorge (1 to 2 miles) for an easy path to historic rock inscriptions, Cassidy Arch (3.4 miles) for a challenging climb to a rock span, and Grand Wash (up to 4.4 miles) to walk through a narrow canyon. The Hickman Bridge hike (1.8 miles) is another popular trail off state Route 24.
Be sure to save some time for Fruita, the historic district near the start of the scenic drive. After snapping photos of the old barn on the Gifford Homestead, pop inside the Gifford House for some fresh pie and handmade souvenirs like quilts and wooden utensils. The Cohab Canyon trailhead (3.4 miles) near the homestead leads to a view over a landscape of lush green orchards at the base of soaring cliffs.
The lookouts at Panorama Point, Goosenecks Overlook, and Sunset Point all have great sunset views to end the day.
If you want to spend more time in this park, you can easily devote a full day to the remote Cathedral Valley drive. It takes about 6 to 8 hours to make a loop on a rugged, unpaved road to see the massive monoliths that give the region its name.
Scenic Byway 12
No road trip in southern Utah would be complete without a drive on Scenic Byway 12, a 122-mile route of cliffs, canyons, forests and ridges connecting Capitol Reef and Bryce Canyon national parks. Along the way you’ll pass several places you could add onto your Colorado Utah road trip, like Anasazi State Park, Kodachrome Basin State Park, and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
For a quick side excursion, take a drive down Burr Trail Road, which connects the towns of Boulder and Bullfrog, winding between red cliffs and turning into an unpaved road as it passes through Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Just going down the first 12 miles, though, will get you some great views on the way to the Singing Canyon, a slot canyon on the side of the road.
Other fun activities off Byway 12 include the rugged Hole in the Rock Road, where you can explore several remote slot canyons, and Lower Calf Creek Falls, a 6-mile round trip hike to a waterfall.
Bryce Canyon National Park
The main feature at Bryce Canyon National Park is a large bowl canyon full of orange rock spires called hoodoos. For a quick visit, you could just head to the best overlooks at Sunrise Point, Sunset Point, Bryce Point and Inspiration Point (all conveniently on the shuttle route), but it’s definitely worth hiking down below the rim to get up close to all the unique rock features.
The shortest route in and out of the canyon is the Navajo Loop Trail (1.3 miles), which includes the Wall Street switchbacks with soaring cliffs overhead. To cover a little more ground, I like the Queen’s Garden and Navajo Loop (2.9 miles), which makes a larger circle through the bowl and along the rim. The Figure 8 Combination (6.4 miles), wraps in both trails and the Peekaboo Loop on a strenuous hike.
If you spend a full day in Bryce Canyon National Park, you’ll likely also have time for the 17-mile Bryce Canyon Scenic Drive, which leads to less crowded lookouts like Rainbow Point and Ponderosa Canyon.
Zion National Park
Set aside at least a day or two for Zion, the most popular national park in Utah. Located in the southwest corner of the state, the main section leads into a narrowing canyon of soaring pink and orange cliffs that eventually ends at the Virgin River, where the famous Narrows hike begins.
Plan to spend a full day riding the shuttle to the various trails along the Scenic Drive, the main route into Zion that is closed to private vehicles for most of the year. The two top bucket list trails here are Angel’s Landing (5.4 miles), which requires a permit to hike the whole thing, and The Narrows (up to 9.4 miles), a challenging walk and wade through the river where the canyon walls soar overhead.
For something a little easier, you can try the Emerald Pools paths (1.2 to 3 miles) to a series of waterfalls, the Riverside Walk (2.2 miles) at the end of the scenic drive, or the Pa’rus Trail that follows the river for a few miles near the visitor center.
On your way in or out of the park, you must drive the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway on the east side. The 25-mile route winds down switchbacks into the canyon, passes pink and checkerboard hills, and runs through a 1.1 mile tunnel listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
My favorite hike is just before the east entrance to the tunnel — the Canyon Overlook Trail (1 mile) to a sweeping view of Pine Creek Canyon and Zion Canyon.
Here’s where to stay near Zion National Park
Page and Antelope Canyon
While the town of Page is in Arizona, it’s worth including in a Utah Colorado road trip since it’s so close to the border of Utah and fits into a driving loop. You could spend anywhere from a couple of hours to a week here, since there are endless things to do in Page on Lake Powell.
For a short visit, your first stop should be Horseshoe Bend, where the Colorado River weaves in a U shape around high orange cliffs. An often crowded lookout area at the top is a short hike from the parking lot, but you can also wander further along the rim to find the best view.
With half a day in Page, you should also have time for a tour of Antelope Canyon, a popular slot canyon with winding passages through towering red rocks. The tours typically run about two hours and you can pick from options that visit Upper Antelope Canyon, which starts at ground level, or Lower Antelope Canyon, which requires climbing down ladders into narrow passages.
Antelope Canyon X is a less-known and equally beautiful hike through a different section of the same canyon. Reserve your tour ahead of time to make sure you get a spot!
Monument Valley
To turn the trip into a Colorado Utah Arizona road trip, add in Monument Valley in the northeastern corner of Arizona. Located on the Navajo Nation, the 17-mile Valley Drive loop features huge red rock monoliths. You can either book a tour or self drive in an SUV, but the wait times to enter in your private vehicle can be long. Set aside a couple of hours to half a day for this activity.
Mexican Hat and Goosenecks State Park
As you’re driving from southern Utah to southern Colorado, your route will take you through the tiny town of Mexican Hat, named for a big flat topped rock stack just off of Highway 163. This area has a couple of cool things to do if you have the time.
Pop by Goosenecks State Park to see the San Juan River make two dramatic U-shaped bends around the cliffs before spending a few hours driving through the rugged, 17-mile Valley of the Gods to see giant sandstone buttes. You also don’t want to miss a drive on the Moki Dugway, a dirt road that climbs the side of a cliff on sharp switchbacks.
Natural Bridges National Monument
Natural Bridges National Monument makes a great less-crowded alternative to Arches National Park in southern Utah. The main feature is three huge sandstone spans that you can see from easy-to-reach viewpoints.
You can drive the 9-mile scenic loop and walk out to the lookouts on a short visit, or spend a few hours in the park hiking right up to the Sipapu, Kachina and Owachomo bridges. The shortest route is only about half a mile to stand under the Owachomo Bridge, while the longest route connects all the bridges on a 12-mile primitive trail through canyons and over mesas.
Four Corners
The only spot in the U.S. where four states meet, the Four Corner Monument marks the intersection of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Utah. The site is located in the Navajo Nation, and there is a small fee to enter. There are no services in this area, but there is a marketplace to shop for souvenirs.
Mesa Verde National Park
Located in southwestern Colorado, Mesa Verde National Park has hundreds of Ancestral Pueblo cliff dwellings and other archeological sites. You need to reserve a cliff house tour to visit some of them, but others you can see from lookouts.
You’ll need close to a full day in this park to tour the Long House and Cliff Palace ruins, drive the Mesa Top Loop for overlooks of more archeological sites, and stop at Park Point Lookout for sweeping views of this corner of the state. With more time, you can book additional cliff house tours or add in some hikes.
I will admit, Mesa Verde was not high on my bucket list before I visited, but it is definitely worth a stop if you’re driving through southern Colorado. The ancient cliff houses are really cool but there’s also way more to the park than the historic element — the views are incredible!
Durango
Just 35 miles east of Mesa Verde, Durango makes a great base for visiting the national park and exploring the mountains of southern Colorado. From here, you can also take the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad through the San Juan National Forest and the Animas River Gorge to a historic mining town buried in the mountains.
Great Sand Dunes National Park
The peaks at Great Sand Dunes National Park reach up to 750 feet on a dune field covering 30 square miles. While the sand hills are the star of the show, the park’s landscape also includes wetlands, alpine lakes and forests.
While you could spend more time here, you really only need a few hours if you’re on a quick Colorado and Utah road trip through this area. The most popular activities include hiking on the dunes (which is hard work), sandboarding down the hills, and playing in the Medano Creek that forms at the base in spring only.
Colorado Springs
With just one day in Colorado Springs, you can ride the cog rail or drive to the 14,115 summit of Pikes Peak and hike through the massive red rocks at Garden of the Gods. If you have extra time, add in a visit to the mineral springs and cliff dwellings in Manitou Springs and visit Old Colorado City for shops and cafes in a historic downtown district.
Denver
If you haven’t visited Denver yet, be sure to spend some time downtown to check out the State Capitol building, historic Denver Union Station and Larimer Square. There are also tons of art and history museums in the Mile High City.
On the outskirts of Denver, you can visit the town of Golden for breweries and mining history, catch a concert or hike at the Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater, and drive the scenic loop at Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.
Colorado Utah Road Trip Tips
Use this Utah to Colorado road trip guide to plan your vacation to the neighboring states. Scroll down for tips on how to get there, when to go, what to pack, and how to save money on your national park visits.
What Should I Pack for a Colorado to Utah Road Trip?
Exactly what you pack for a Colorado Utah itinerary will depend on things like the season and whether you are hiking and camping.
You will always want to have seasonally appropriate layers since the weather will vary quite a bit by elevation in the Utah desert and Colorado mountains. I recommend wearing comfortable clothing like activewear to the national parks so you’re ready to hit the trails. Hiking boots or sneakers are best for many trails on this itinerary.
I put together this packing list for the Grand Canyon, but most of it is perfect for a summer trip to Utah and Colorado as well. It includes everything from camping supplies to electronics to outfits.
Where Do You Fly Into for a Colorado Utah Road Trip?
If you’re doing the whole loop of this Colorado to Utah road trip, the closest airport is in Denver. Denver International Airport is about 1.5 hours from both Rocky Mountain National Park at the start of the road trip and Colorado Springs at the end. A Denver to Utah road trip takes a little less than 5 hours to cross the state line on Interstate 70.
There are a few other airports not far off the route though that you might get better deals to. Las Vegas’ international airport in Nevada is about 3 hours from Zion National Park and Salt Lake City International Airport in Utah is less than 4 hours from Capitol Reef National Park. If you fly into one of those, your Colorado Utah road trip will just be in a different order than listed above.
There are also smaller regional and municipal airports in Colorado Springs and Grand Junction in Colorado, Moab and St. George in Utah, and Page in northern Arizona.
How Many Days Do I Need to Road Trip Colorado and Utah
You may be wondering, how long does it take to road trip through Colorado and Utah? Depending on where you’re starting, I recommend anywhere from 5 days to two weeks or more for a Colorado Utah road trip.
If you only have 4 or 5 days, you could do a Denver to Moab road trip and visit Colorado National Monument in Grand Junction, and Arches and Canyonlands National Parks in Moab. This drive will be a little over 6 hours each way.
With 7 days, you could either add on Rocky Mountain, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, or Capitol Reef National Parks.
I would recommend at least 10 days to do a bigger Utah national parks loop from Denver with all five parks plus Mesa Verde and Great Sand Dunes in southern Colorado or Rocky Mountain National Park.
To visit all of the national parks in both states on a Colorado and Utah road trip, you really need a full two weeks for a rushed route with just a day for most destinations.
Utah to Colorado Road Trip Distance
How far is Utah from Colorado? The two states are neighbors, but the exact distance will depend on where you’re starting from. Denver to Moab is about 360 miles while Denver to Zion National Park is about 635 miles.
If you drive to all of the Colorado to Utah road trip destinations listed above, it will be over 30 hours on the road and about 1,700 miles, not including the scenic drives in each national park.
What is the Best Month to Visit Utah and Colorado?
Summer is the busiest season for most of the national parks in Colorado and Utah, so I recommend the shoulder months of April and May or September and October.
The spring months will have mild weather for hiking in southern Utah and southern Colorado, but there might still be snow on higher elevation trails and Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Late September is a great time to see the aspen trees turn golden in the mountains of Colorado while most roads are still open (unless there’s an early snowfall).
