Hike Utah’s Mighty 5 National Parks : Zion, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Arches and Capitol Reef

090 WS HDR Utah National Park Travel Planner Hiking

Explore Utah’s most famous trails by hiking the other-worldly Zion, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef and Arches National Parks! Be sure to visit the cool town of Moab. Learn the best time to visit, how to prepare and the best trails to hike in Utah. This carefully crafted hiking itinerary showcases the best Utah trails.

Kit interview’s Ally about her Utah’s Mighty 5 National Park hiking adventure in the above podcast. Listen to Kit’s own hiking, mountain biking and overall campervan road trip adventures in Utah’s national parks as well as other lesser known trails in Utah in her “Sophie Diaries” series below.

Utah’s Famous Mighty 5 National Parks Itinerary

Fortunately, Utah’s most famous national parks are all pretty close to each other, so it is possible to see all of them on a single vacation. The Big Five are: Canyonlands, Zion, Capital Reef, Arches and Zion National Parks. Here is my affiliate Active Adventures 8 day itinerary:

Day One: Pick up in St. George, UT and head to Canyonlands. Hike Grand View Point trail (1.8m/2.9km), Upheavel Dome (1m/1.6km) and Mesa Arch (0.5m/0.8km). Your day’s elevation change is up and down 450’/136m.

Day Two: Climb Fisher’s Tower (4.4m/7.1km – 1820’/555m elevation change) outside of Moab, and then explore the funky town of Moab.

Day Three: Hike Arches National Park Delicate Arch $4m/6.4km) and Landscape Arch (1.6m/2.6km) trails for an elevation change of 860’/261m.

Day Four: Hike Capitol Reef’s Cohab Canyon: 2m/3.2km and 440’/134m elevation change.

Day Five: Hike Bryce Canyon’s Queens Garden (2.9m/4.7km) and Peek-a-Boo (5.2m/8.4km) trails for a total elevation change of 1083’/635m.

Day Six: Hike Bryce’s Bird’s Eye trail (1.8m/2.9km) and then head to Zion to hike Angel’s Landing (5.4m/8.7km) for a total elevation change of 1649’/502m.

Day Seven: Hike the Narrows at Zion. (5m/8km) Alternate: Go canyoneering

Day Eight: Hike Watchman’s Tower (3.5m/5.6km and 500’/152m elevation change) in Zion and then return to St. George.

Active Adventures

Hike the Mighty 5 Utah National Parks during a Single Vacation:

My guest today, Ally, went on my affiliate, Active Adventures 8 day Utah’s Mighty 5 hiking tour. She gets picked up in St. George, Utah and then gets a fully guided, virtually all inclusive inn-based hiking adventure through Canyonlands, Arches, Capital Reef, Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park, plus gets time to explore the happening town of Moab.

Email me to get a special discount code (I’m not allowed to publish it) on your next Active Adventure’s vacation. Plus, at no additional cost to you, you will be helping to support this website and podcast, and helping to keep it ad free. Thanks! Kit

Active Adventures offers Bucket List adventure holidays in their native New Zealand, North, South and Central America and Europe.

Wildland Trekking

Concentrate on a Particular Utah National Park or other Hiking Adventure:

If you prefer diving more deeply and exploring one Utah National Park at a time, then I recommend going with Wildland Trekking. They offer multiple Utah hiking trips (as well as other US and International hiking adventures).

Day Hiking – Backpacking – Llama Treks

Use the exclusive Active Travel Adventures Promo Code ATA75 to get $75 OFF any Wildland Trekking multi-day adventure!

When to Visit Utah’s National Parks

It can get really hot in the summer, so the best times to hike Bryce’s Canyon, Zion and Utah’s other national parks is April and May in the spring, and September into early November in the fall. In the winter, you may have some snow.

What to Bring and Wear

Deserts offer temperature extremes, so it’s good to be prepared. Most visitor’s to Utah’s National Parks have to worry about the heat.

I recommend carrying 2-3 L of water (I prefer the water reservoirs plus at least one water bottle as back up). I also thinks it’s smart to wear a wide brimmed hat with the neck cover, and a long sleeved hiking shirt and pants. This helps to keep the sun off your skin. Be sure to use plenty of sunscreen (and apply every two hours) and SPF lip protection.

In additional to your Emergency Kit, pack a rain jacket, and if there’s any chance of chill, your puffy jacket. Also bring plenty of quick carb treats and salty snacks to keep your energy up and electrolytes in balance. I also like hiking poles.

Fun Things to Do in Moab

There is so much more to do in Moab than use it as a gateway to your hiking adventure! Other adventurous things to do include:

Go mountain biking in Dead Horse Point State Park : Rim Tours
Take a 1/2 day Fishers Tower rafting trip
Take an extreme 4X4 Moab tour
Take a Colorado River rafting combo tour with a 4×4 tour
Raft all day in Westwater Canyon
Go canyoneering
Stay at Red Cliffs Lodge just outside Moab – So fun! Authentic, high end western decor in a relaxed setting right on the Colorado River, surrounded by the red rock cliffs! Delicious food, plus a winery.

What Makes Utah’s National Parks Special

Zion

At almost 230 square miles, Zion National Park showcases a unique landscape of reddish tan Navajo Sandstone canyon walls that have been uniquely eroded. The park is located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions.

Bryce Canyon

This fantastic park is not a canyon, but rather a collection of striking amphitheaters along the Paunsaugunt Plateau that have these cool frost-weathered ‘hoodoos’ – oddly eroded sandstone. At dawn and dusk, these reddish rocks look like lit candles! This park is considerably higher than nearby Zion at between 8000-9000’/2400-2700m. This park, along with Arches are my personal favorite Utah national parks.

Capitol Reef

A long and skinny park at about 60 miles long by around 6 miles wide, Capital Reef is famous for its rugged and colorful canyons, ridges, buttes and monoliths. It gets its name from the dome-like formations on the Navajo Sandstone cliffs that resemble a capital dome.

Canyonlands

Located near Moab, and carved by the Colorado and Green Rivers and tributaries, this park is divided into four districts: the Island in the Sky, the Needles, the Maze, and the combined rivers—the Green and Colorado—which carved two large canyons into the Colorado Plateau.

Arches

There are more than 2000 sandstone natural rock arches in this 76,000+ acre national park located near Moab, next to the Colorado River on the high desert of the Colorado Plateau. There are more of these natural arches here than anywhere else on Earth!

The National Park Service has a great website that has complete details on everything you need to know to plan your visit. Remember to email me for a special Discount Promo Code BEFORE you book your trip!

How to Get Around Utah’s National Parks

Unless you hire a tour company (and I recommend Active Adventures) or drive from home, you are going to need to rent a car in order to visit the Utah National Parks.

If you are flying in, the least expensive gateway city to get to the area is Las Vegas (LAS). If you are taking a guided tour, you are usually going to be picked up in St. George, UT, which is about a two hour drive north. If you are going with a tour, you can take a shuttle or bus. Otherwise you will need to rent a car. It’s only a six hour drive from St. George to the furthest park, Arches, so you can easily hit all the parks on your vacation, especially since you break up the drive over multiple days.