Mighty 5 Utah Road Trip: the Best Utah National Parks Itinerary for 8 Days
This Utah national parks road trip itinerary includes incredible scenery and hiking in the Southwest plus a Utah Mighty 5 road trip map.
Canyons stretching as far as the eye can see, soaring sandstone cliffs, fire-colored rock hoodoos, thousands of arches — this is just a taste of the breathtaking scenery on a Utah national parks itinerary.
The southern part of the state is home to Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Arches and Canyonlands national parks, also known as the Utah Mighty 5. And a Utah parks road trip is the best way to see it all!
This 8-day Mighty 5 Utah road trip from Las Vegas or Salt Lake City wraps in all the national parks plus a few other must-sees on the way. We’ve included the best trails, views and scenic drives for your first visit. If you aren’t into hiking, you’ll be able to get through this itinerary faster or slow down at some of your favorite spots.
Looking for a shorter or longer trip? Use the index below to jump to different itinerary options. We’ve also included tips like when to go, what to pack, and where to stay.
Index
Utah Mighty 5 Road Trip Map
Utah National Parks Road Trip Itinerary
4 Day Utah and Arizona Road Trip Option
7 Day Utah National Parks Road Trip Option
8 Day Utah National Parks Road Trip Option
9 Day Utah National Parks Road Trip Option
10 Day Utah and Arizona Road Trip Option
Utah Road Trip Tips
Utah Mighty 5 Road Trip Map
Renting a campervan is a great way to explore this region and camp in national parks without sleeping on the ground. Escape Campervans offers built out vans and jeeps that sleep up to five people and have kitchenettes. You can pick one up in Salt Lake City, Phoenix or Las Vegas and drive it round trip or drop it off at a different location.
Check availability and reserve your dates here
8 Day Utah National Parks Road Trip
This Utah national parks road trip itinerary includes the best things to do in the Mighty 5 national parks in Utah. We’ve included a day-by-day itinerary full of scenic drives, bucket-list hikes, and jaw-dropping scenery.
Day 1 — Salt Lake City or Las Vegas to Moab, Utah
Drive time: 4 to 7 hours
Whether you arrive in Salt Lake City or Las Vegas, I recommend starting this Mighty 5 Utah road trip with one of the longest drives to get it out of the way at the beginning. Salt Lake City is the nearest major hub to Moab, the first destination on this trip and home to two incredible national parks.
The drive between Salt Lake City and Moab is a little under 4 hours. Las Vegas will be a longer drive to Moab but closer to the last park on this itinerary. It takes nearly 7 hours to get from Las Vegas to Moab.
If you do have a full first day, you can add a scenic drive into Moab on Utah State Route 128, also known as the Upper Colorado Scenic Byway. The nearly 45-mile route traces the Colorado River around bends and between soaring cliffs. Along the way there are riverside parks and rocky trails away from the crowds.
Any extra time at the end of this day can be spent watching the sunset in Arches National Park or Dead Horse Point State Park, which we’ll cover over the next few days.
Where to Stay in Moab
Some of the highest reviewed Moab hotels on Booking.com include the Red Cliffs Lodge, Moab Springs Ranch, Sunflower Hill Inn, and Hideout at the Rim.
Day 2 — Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse Point State Park
Drive time: 2+ hours
Use this guide to Canyonlands National Park to plan your activities.
Start your Utah national parks road trip with a visit to Canyonlands. There are four different districts of the park, but the Island in the Sky area is easily accessible and perfect for your first visit. It’s located about an hour from downtown Moab. Arrive early to beat the crowds and maximize your day.
You can start with an easy half-mile hike to Mesa Arch, perched on a cliff edge. This spot is very popular at sunrise, so expect crowds for a dazzling show of sunbeams peaking through the arch.
Next, check out some of the best scenic lookouts in Canyonlands, like the Shafer Canyon Overlook, Buck Canyon Overlook and Green River Overlook.
If you’re up for some hiking, my favorite trail is at Grand View Point, where you can take a short walk to a vista point or follow a 2-mile path to an edge of the mesa with panoramic views of the Green and Colorado rivers.
Other popular short hikes include Upheaval Dome (1 to 2 miles) for crater views, the moderate climb up Whale Rock (1 mile), and the easy walk to the White Rim Overlook (1.8 miles), best in the late afternoon. You can read more about Canyonlands trails here.
For sunset, head about 20 minutes out of Canyonlands to Dead Horse Point State Park, where you can watch the sky change colors over a gooseneck of the Colorado River. Check park admission fees and info. There are trails along the rim here if you have a couple of hours to spend in the park, but the best view is a short walk from the parking lot at the end of the road.
Have an extra day for Canyonlands? Head to the Needles section of the park for more hikes, scenic drives, and canyon overlooks. The Needles section is about 75 miles south of Moab.
Where to Stay Near Canyonlands National Park
Day 3 — Arches National Park
Drive time: 2+ hours
Use this Arches National Park guide to plan the perfect itinerary for this day.
This national park has more than 2,000 arches, so there is lots to see and do in a day. The main road through this park is the 17-mile-long Arches Scenic Drive, where you can stop at lookouts like Park Avenue, the Courthouse Towers, Balanced Rock, Panorama Point, the Salt Valley Overlook, and the Fiery Furnace Overlook.
If you plan to hike, we recommend first heading for the Devil’s Garden section at the end of the drive, for trails to Landscape Arch (1.9 miles), the longest in North America, and Double O Arch (4.1 miles, difficult). You can actually hike 7.8 miles of paths here if you have extra time.
There are several arches with shorter trails you can see in the hotter middle of the day. Plan to stop at Skyline Arch (0.4 miles), Sand Dune Arch (0.3 miles), and Broken Arch (2 miles).
One of the most popular sections of the park is at the Windows, where you can follow an easy path to Double Arch (0.5 miles) or the North and South Windows and Turret Arch loop (1 mile).
You don’t want to leave the park without seeing the famous Delicate Arch, a 46-foot high freestanding arch on a sandstone hill. You can view the iconic arch from afar from a lower viewpoint on a short walk or an upper viewpoint on a hilly half-mile hike.
To get up close, there is a 3-mile trail with a 480-foot climb that takes you right to the base of the arch. This hike is best around sunrise or sunset, as there is little shade on the challenging path.
Have an extra day in Arches? You can add in difficult and longer hikes like the Devil’s Garden primitive trail (7.8 miles), the Park Avenue and Courthouse Towers trail (2 miles), Tower Arch (2.6 miles), or the Fiery Furnace (permit or ranger guide required).
Important note for Arches: You need a timed reservation ticket to visit Arches National Park between April and early October. Reservations open three months in advance for a month block (February 1 for May dates, March 1 for June, April 1 for July, and so on). A limited number of slots are released one day ahead at 6 p.m. MDT, but these will go quickly. Reserve your entry here.
Where to Stay Near Arches National Park
Day 4 — Moab to Capitol Reef National Park
Drive time: 2 to 3 hours
Start this day of your Utah Mighty 5 road trip with a two-hour drive to Capitol Reef National Park. If you have extra time on your Utah national parks road trip, you can add a quick stop at Goblin Valley State Park to see a unique landscape full of mushroom-shaped rock spires and hoodoos. This will add about an hour onto the drive plus an hour or two to wander around the park.
As you enter Capitol Reef National Park, you’ll see a couple of roadside trailheads. Hickman Bridge (1.8 miles) is a moderately difficult hike to a long natural bridge, and Grand Wash (up to 4.4 miles) leads to a narrow canyon after about a mile on an easy path.
Next up is Fruita, a historic district with a turn-of-the-century wooden schoolhouse and the Gifford Homestead, where you’ll want to grab a fresh-baked pie before they sell out (sometimes in the a.m.).
Just past an old-timey barn at the homestead, you can continue down Capitol Reef Scenic Drive, a 7-mile road full of breathtaking scenery and trails. Some of the more noteworthy hikes on this route include the moderate Cohab Canyon (3.4 miles) for views over Fruita, another access point to the Grand Wash trail, the difficult climb up to Cassidy Arch (3.4 miles), and Capitol Gorge (1 to 2 miles), an easy path to see historic rock inscriptions down a gravel road at the end of the scenic drive. Read more about Capitol Reef hikes here.
The sunset lookouts from Panorama Point, Goosenecks Overlook (0.2 miles) or Sunset Point (0.8 miles) are perfect to end the day.
Have an extra day for Capitol Reef? The Cathedral Valley drive is a remote excursion on a rugged road full of unique rock formations. It takes about 6 to 8 hours to make a loop and you’ll need a vehicle with high ground clearance.
Where to Stay Near Capitol Reef National Park
I've stayed at the Broken Spur Inn and Steakhouse and absolutely loved the restaurant and indoor pool surrounded by windows. You can pick from covered wagons at a little campground site or spacious hotel rooms with Western themed decor.
I've had family recommend the Red Sands Hotel, which has rooms and suites with a contempory Western design. The Capitol Reef Resort is also highly reviewed and has teepee, wagon, and luxury cottage accommodations in addition to hotel rooms.
Day 5 — Capitol Reef to Bryce Canyon National Park
Drive time: 2.5 hours
Before heading out of the Capitol Reef area, you should have time to squeeze in any hikes you missed or a visit to the Gifford Homestead for some pie.
The Utah road trip route you MUST take to Bryce Canyon National Park is Scenic Byway 12. This won’t come up as the fastest route on your GPS, but the extra 30 minutes or so is absolutely worth it for the incredible scenery of deep gorges, red rocks, steep cliffs, and green pastures and forests.
Along the way, you’ll pass Anasazi State Park and Museum, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and Kodachrome Basin State Park, plus tons of side roads and hiking trails.
Unfortunately, you won’t be able to fit all of these into one day. I picked the scenic Burr Trail Road and drove about 12 miles one way to Singing Canyon, a roadside slot canyon, before stopping for lunch at the Burr Trail Grill. Other popular activities are the unpaved and bumpy Hole in the Rock Road near Escalante, which leads to several adventurous slot canyon hikes, and the hike to Lower Calf Creek Falls (about 6 miles).
Arriving at Bryce Canyon National Park in the late afternoon is perfect for hopping around to the four main viewpoints into the canyon — Inspiration Point, Bryce Point, Sunset Point and Sunrise Point. You can drive, ride the shuttle, or hike along the Rim Trail (3 miles each way) to get between the lookouts.
Have an extra day? Add in a park or long hike along Scenic Byway 12. Hole in the Rock Road is a great option for slot canyon adventures.
Where to Stay Near Bryce Canyon National Park
I stayed in the Red Ledges Inn in Tropic, which is an affordable motel with handy in-room amenities like a microwave, fridge and coffee maker. Other highly reviewed properties in Tropic include Bryce Valley Lodging, with family cottages and rental homes, Bryce Canyon Log Cabins, and Bullberry Inn Bed and Breakfast.
For more options, these are the nearest cities and towns to Bryce Canyon.
Day 6 — Bryce Canyon to Zion National Park
Drive time: 2 hours
Use this one day in Bryce Canyon guide to plan the perfect itinerary in the park.
Get an early start on this morning of your Utah road trip if you want to hike Bryce Canyon National Park. There are several trail combos you can do that go down into the canyon depending on how long you want to hike for — try the Navajo Loop Trail (1.3 miles) for a quick moderately difficult trip down the popular Wall Street switchbacks or the Queen’s Garden and Navajo Loop (2.9 miles) for a moderate hike to explore some of the canyon floor before climbing back up.
For a challenging hike, you can do the Figure 8 Combination, which merges the Queen’s Garden, Navajo Loop and Peekaboo Loop into a 6.4-mile trek with over 1,600 feet of elevation change along the way. Check out the Bryce Canyon trail guides here.
If you aren’t up for hiking, you can spend the first half of the day exploring the farther reaches of the national park beyond the shuttle route down Bryce Canyon Scenic Drive, which runs 17 miles one way to lookouts like Farview Point, Bryce Natural Bridge and Rainbow Point.
When you’re done sightseeing at Bryce, it’s about a two-hour drive from Bryce Canyon to Zion National Park, and on the way, you’ll pass the Red Canyon and take the scenic and winding Zion-Mount Carmel Highway around pink sandstone hills, through tunnels, and down switchbacks to the floor of the valley.
If you have time for one more hike today, stop just before the Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel for the Canyon Overlook Trail (1 mile), a moderate route to a view of Zion Canyon and Pine Creek Canyon. It’s very popular and parking is limited, so you might need to park down the road and walk to the trailhead.
Have an extra day? You could squeeze in a very quick visit to the Grand Canyon North Rim between Bryce and Zion visits. It’s about two hours out of the way (each way) when you reach Mount Carmel Junction.
Where to Stay Near Zion National Park
For more affordable hotels, you can try the town of Kanab, 30 miles from the east entrance to Zion. I've stayed there a couple of times, at budget properties like Aikens Lodge.
Day 7 — Zion National Park
Drive time: Minimal
Use this one day in Zion National Park guide to maximize your time in the park.
Zion is the most popular destination on this Mighty 5 Utah road trip. Most of the action in the park is along the Scenic Drive, which is closed to private vehicles, so plan to spend most of your day riding the shuttle to different trailheads in the canyon.
Many people come to Zion National Park to hike the famous Angel’s Landing and The Narrows trails. If either or both of these are on your agenda, you need to be at the park at the crack of dawn to catch one of the first shuttles into the canyon. Shuttles start running at 6 a.m., visitor center parking fills up before 8 a.m. most days, and you may have to wait for hours for the shuttle.
Important note for Zion: Permits are required to hike the last section of the Angel’s Landing hike. To get one, you have to enter a lottery, which is done for three-month blocks at a time a couple of months ahead of the earliest dates. Read more about Angel’s Landing permits here.
Some of the hikes to consider for today include The Narrows (up to 9.4 miles), a strenuous hike in the Virgin River between soaring canyon walls, West Rim Trail to Angel’s Landing (5.4 miles), a strenuous path ending in a daring climb up a narrow ridge with chain assists, the Emerald Pools trails (1.2 to 3 miles) to lower and upper waterfalls, and Riverside Walk (2.2 miles), a paved path leading to the Narrows.
If you aren’t big into hiking or don’t want to wait for the shuttle, the Pa’rus Trail near the visitor center follows the river for a couple of miles on an easy paved walkway. There’s also a Nature Center, the Zion Human History Museum, and a massive visitor center complex to end the day.
Have an extra day for Zion? Consider doing both the Narrows and Angel’s Landing if you’re an avid hiker. Or, visit the Kolob Canyon section of the park if you’re more into scenic drives and sightseeing.
Where to Stay
These are 10 of the best towns near Zion National Park with hotels and campgrounds. You may want to stay in the same place for two nights for convenience or leave the Zion area at the end of day 7 to get a head start on your journey home.
Day 8 — Zion National Park to Las Vegas or Salt Lake City
Drive time: 3 to 5 hours
If you fly out early on day 8, you may want to get a head start on your drive the night before. Or, if you have a long final day, there are a couple of stops on the routes back to Las Vegas or Salt Lake City to wrap up your Utah national parks trip.
The drive from Springdale or Zion to Las Vegas takes about 3 hours without any stops. On the way about an hour outside of Vegas, Valley of Fire State Park has a dramatic landscape of red and orange sandstone formations.
Just driving through to see it on Valley of Fire Highway adds less than an hour to your trip. If you have time to hike, some popular short trails include Fire Wave (1.5 miles), Rainbow Vista (1 mile), and the White Domes Loop (1 mile).
Driving from Zion to Salt Lake City takes nearly 5 hours, but if you have extra time, the lesser-visited Kolob Canyon section of Zion National Park is on the route just off of Interstate 15. On a quick visit, you can drive the 5-mile scenic Kolob Canyon Road and hike the Timber Creek Overlook Trail (1 mile) to a panoramic canyon and valley view from a ridge.
7 Day Mighty 5 Utah Road Trip
Day 1 — Las Vegas or Salt Lake City to Moab, Utah
Day 2 — Arches National Park
Day 3 — Canyonlands to Capitol Reef
Day 4 — Capitol Reef to Bryce Canyon
Day 5 — Bryce Canyon to Zion
Day 6 — Zion National Park
Day 7 — Zion National Park to Salt Lake City or Las Vegas
8 Day Utah National Parks Road Trip
Day 1 — Salt Lake City or Las Vegas to Moab
Day 2 — Canyonlands & Dead Horse Point State Park
Day 3 — Arches National Park
Day 4 — Moab to Capitol Reef
Day 5 — Capitol Reef to Bryce Canyon
Day 6 — Bryce Canyon to Zion
Day 7 — Zion National Park
Day 8 — Zion National Park to Las Vegas or Salt Lake City
9 Day Utah National Parks Itinerary
Day 1 — Las Vegas or Salt Lake City to Moab
Day 2 — Arches National Park
Day 3 — Canyonlands & Dead Horse Point
Day 4 — Natural Bridges National Monument & Monument Valley
Day 5 — Monument Valley to Capitol Reef
Day 6 — Capitol Reef to Bryce Canyon
Day 7 — Bryce Canyon to Zion
Day 8 — Zion National Park
Day 9 — Zion National Park to Salt Lake City or Las Vegas
Utah National Parks Trip Tips
This guide will help you plan your Utah national parks itinerary. We’ve included tips for when to go, what to pack, and how to save money on your admission.
When is the Best Time to Visit Utah?
You could do this Mighty 5 Utah road trip in any season as long as the road conditions are safe, but spring and fall are the best times to travel in the region.
The weather in southern Utah will vary depending on the elevation you’re at, but generally you can expect comfortable daytime temps for hiking in spring and fall and cold nights and mornings. Spring and fall are increasingly popular at the national parks, so expect crowds from April through October.
Summer can get hot in the desert, with average highs around 100 in July and August in Zion, Arches and Canyonlands. Capitol Reef highs are typically in the upper 80s and lower 90s in the middle of summer and Bryce is quite a bit cooler in the mid-70s to low 80s. Summer is also the monsoon season, which can produce dangerous flash floods.
Which Airport Should I Fly Into for a Utah Road Trip?
If you’re following this road trip route, you can fly into Las Vegas or Salt Lake City to start. Salt Lake City is a much shorter drive to Moab for the start of the trip but farther from Zion at the end. The most time-effective way to do this route would actually be to fly into Salt Lake City and out of Las Vegas, but one-way car rentals are often more expensive.
You could also fly into Denver for this Colorado to Utah road trip itinerary.
How Many Days For a Utah National Parks Road Trip
If you’re planning a Utah Mighty 5 road trip, I recommend at least 7 days in Utah to visit all the parks. While you can see quite a bit with one day in each park, there’s a lot of driving to get from one to the next which will cut into your visits if you try to squeeze this trip into 5 or 6 days.
With a 7 day Southwest road trip, you can visit all the national parks quickly, while 8 days in Utah allows enough time to squeeze in a couple of extra activities on your drive. With 9 or 10 days in Utah, you can either spend more time hiking in the national parks or take a longer route that includes destinations along the Utah-Arizona border like Monument Valley, Horseshoe Bend and Grand Canyon National Park.
What to Pack for a Utah Parks Road Trip
Our Grand Canyon packing list and road trip packing list have most of the things you’ll need to bring along on this trip. Use the free checklists to make sure you don’t forget anything.
Should I Buy a National Parks Pass?
You should absolutely buy the annual America the Beautiful pass from the National Park Service for this Mighty 5 Utah road trip. Admission to most of these parks is around $30 to $35 per vehicle, and the national park pass is just $80 for a whole year of admission.
