I am a self-proclaimed national park fanatic. I love the idea of getting completely away from all the city life hustle bustle and reconnect with nature.  The Utah 5 had been on my bucket list for a while because of their unique geological formations. Plus because they are all so close together its easy to do multiple national parks in one trip. My family and I decided to fly from Austin into Denver and then drive through Utah visiting all the parks and finally fly out of Las Vegas. This was sort of a mid-fall I just wanna get away moment so we flew out on a Saturday and flew back to home on Wednesday. Ideally we would have stayed through the weekend but unfortunately we had to get back to work and school.

We landed in Denver pretty early so after grabbing a quick breakfast we headed straight to Moab. The drive from Denver to Moab was beautiful. Below you can see a shot of the gorgeous fall colors we saw on the way.

We reached Moab around 3 pm and were able to visit sneak in a quick visit to Arches National Park to hike up to see the Delicate Arch around sunset. The next morning we hiked to Corona Arch which was not part of Arches National Park but definitely worth visiting especially in the early morning around sunrise.

After hiking up to Corona Arch we headed back to Arches National Park and to hike the Devil’s Bridge.  Since we had to hit the road to drive to Bryce Canyon we only did the first easy part of the hike but still got to see some amazing Arch formations.

Before hitting the road we decided to sneak in a quick trip to Canyonlands National Park which is about a 45 minute drive from Arches. Although we didn’t have time to fit in any hikes we were able to pull up to a couple views and soak in the vast canyonlands. After finishing the hike we hit the road to drive to Cedar City where we would stay the night before heading on the Bryce Canyon. Unfortunately due to time constraints we weren’t able to stop by Capitol Reef which is why this post is the Utah 5-1 (haha).

The next morning we drove through Dixie National Forest where we were treated with more amazing fall colors. Byrce Canyon did not disappoint. The iconic Hoodoos (columns of weathered rock) where even more incredible in real life. These pillars carved through erosion covered huge swaths of land and looked even more unbelievable because they were made of layers of red sedimentary rock. After we visited a couple view points and took some short walks we moved on to Zion National Park to maximize the amount of time we would have there.

We reached Zion National Park in the afternoon and only had time to do the Emerald Pools Trail before sunset. This trail leads the hiker through the dense green foliage to several small pools and waterfalls. The next day we got up bright and early to do the Canyon Overlook Trail; however since the Canyon surrounded all sides there was not much of a sunrise too see. After that hike we caught the shuttle to see the major viewpoints and take the Riverside Walk that leads up to the iconic Narrows Trail. Unfortunately we were unprepared and in late October it was a little cold to do the Narrows Trail. I will definitely be visiting Zion again to hike both The Narrows and Angel’s Landing. Zion was absolutely incredible and definitely worth visiting. Especially since it is only a 2.5 hour drive away from Vegas it is pretty accessible and with easy stroll and strenuous hikes it can be enjoyed by all.

 

Although staying hotels near national parks can be expensive we were able to make this trip more affordable by utilizing rewards points. A tip is to pay full price for rooms when you are staying at more affordable locations and utilize rewards points in more expensive locations to get more bang for your points. Camping is also a great way of making the National Park experience even more affordable.

Its trips like these that remind me that you don’t need to pay tons of money or go to “glamorous” countries to enjoy traveling. Sometimes you can just get in car and visit the closest park to see some of the most incredible places on Earth.