Utah
Salt Lake City, The Mighty Five and Las Vegas
Salt Lake City: A Perfect Starting Point
We kicked off our trip with an early morning flight to Salt Lake City, giving us a full afternoon to explore. The city is compact, walkable and easy to navigate. The main attraction, well worth a visit, is the iconic Salt Lake Temple, an architectural marvel surrounded by beautifully manicured grounds.
Rooms & Plates
We stayed at the Hyatt Place Salt Lake City Downtown, a comfortable and convenient base for exploring the downtown area. For dinner, we headed to EVA, a cozy spot with very creative and delicious small plates.
The Red Rocks and Canyons of Utah's Mighty Five
Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce, Capitol Reef and Zion each showcase distinct landscapes, making a trip through all five feel like exploring entirely different worlds. From Arches’ towering red rocks and Canyonlands’ vast, rugged expanse to Capitol Reef’s slot canyons, Bryce’s hoodoos and Zion’s massive cliffs, each park offers breathtaking beauty. While some areas attract crowds, quieter trails await those who wander off the beaten path. The drives between the parks are equally stunning, with endless vistas. And with some planning, you can experience and enjoy all five parks in just over a week.
Arches National Park: A Landscape of Rocky Wonders
A four-hour drive from Salt Lake City, through stunning desert landscapes, is the town of Moab, a perfect basecamp for exploring two of Utah’s most famous parks: Arches and Canyonlands.
Arches National Park will leave you speechless. Its crown jewel, Delicate Arch, draws crowds for its iconic silhouette, but many of the park’s other trails offer quieter, equally breathtaking experiences. With over 2,000 natural stone arches, including the massive Landscape Arch and the dramatic Double Arch, the park is a hiker’s paradise. Towering fins, spires and balanced rocks add to the otherwordly scenery. Trails range from short, short, family-friendly walks, such as the Windows Loop, to more challenging treks like the Devil’s Garden Primitive Trail. Even for those who prefer to explore by car, the 18-mile scenic drive is an adventure in itself, with overlooks like Park Avenue and the Fiery Furnace offering jaw-dropping views of the park’s surreal rock formations and sweeping desert vistas.
Canyonlands National Park: A Canvas of Canyons and Cliffs
Canyonlands is a park of contrasts where towering mesas meet deep canyons, and silence stretches as far as the eye can see. Divided into three distinct districts, each with its own character, the park offers a spectrum of experiences. We started our day in the Needles District, a 90-minute drive from Moab, where towering spires of red and white rock rise above a maze of slot canyons and sandy trails, with barely another soul in sight. In the afternoon, we headed to Island in the Sky, just 30 minutes from Moab, where the landscape shifts to sweeping mesa-top vistas. A short hike to Mesa Arch offered a stunning frame of the canyonlands below, while the Grand View Overlook offered a sunset panorama that stretched endlessly across the park’s jagged cliffs and deep gorges. Canyonlands’ sheer scale is humbling
Rooms & Plates
In Moab, we stayed at SpringHill Suites, a family-friendly hotel just minutes from the Arches entrance. The suites, with their queen-sized bunk beds and sofa beds, are perfect for families, and due to their high demand require early booking. The hotel also features a cozy outdoor seating area with fire pits, tables and lots of room for the kids to run around.
For dinner, we loved Spoke on Center for their hearty burgers and salads and Fiesta Mexicana for a casual, family-friendly meal. Both spots were quick drives from the hotel. For our day in Canyonlands, we grabbed a packed lunch from Sweet Cravings Bakery which offered excellent sandwiches and also tried Turkish food from Sultan Mediterranean.
Capitol Reef National Park: A Quiet Oasis of Slot Canyons and Domes
A 2.5-hours drive from Moab is Capitol Reef, a park with a quiet and more intimate vibe than the others. We spent the day hiking through slot canyons and exploring the Grand Wash Trail, a stunning hike that felt like stepping into another world. The park’s red rock formations and hidden valleys are breathtaking, and it’s a great spot for families looking to escape the crowds.
Rooms & Plates
We stayed at the Capitol Reef Resort, a no-frills but convenient option just outside the park. It’s a practical stop if you’re heading to Bryce Canyon next. One of the highlights of our trip was a lunch stop at Hell’s Backbone Grill in Boulder, a culinary gem with locally sourced ingredients and a stunning mountain backdrop. It’s worth the detour!
Bryce Canyon National Park: Of Hoodoos and Golden Horizons
On our way to Bryce Canyon, we stopped for a hike at Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, a sprawling landscape of canyons and plateaus that could easily fill days of exploration. We opted for an afternoon hike to digest the indulgence of our hearty lunch before continuing to Bryce.
Bryce was a stark contrast to the solitude of Capitol Reef. The Bryce Amphitheatre, with its iconic hoodoos glowing in shades of amber and pink, buzzed with tourists. As we ventured beyond the rim, the crowds thinned and we found ourselves surrounded by the beauty of the hoodoos with only the sounds of our footsteps on the dusty red trail.
Rooms & Plates
We stayed and ate at the Bryce Canyon Lodge, located inside the park, which made it easy to catch the sunrise—a must-do if you can drag yourself out of bed early. The early morning light transforms the hoodoos into a magical landscape.
Zion National Park: Where the Cliffs Meet the Crowds
Our final stop was Zion, and it’s every bit as majestic as you’ve heard—towering red cliffs, emerald-green valleys, and the Virgin River winding through it. But with fame come crowds! The shuttle system within the park manages the traffic well, but getting to trails requires a bit more planning.
By this point in the trip, the kids were starting to drag, so we stuck to easier hikes like the Riverside Walk and Pa’rus Trail. Even these shorter trails offered breathtaking views of Zion’s iconic cliffs, casting shadows that seemed to stretch forever. Despite the crowds, there’s no denying the park’s awe-inspiring beauty—it’s a place that leaves you humbled by nature’s sheer scale.
Rooms & Plates
We stayed at Cliffrose, a beautiful hotel just minutes from the park entrance. The spacious villas and pool were a hit with the kids and nice, even for the adults, after a week of hiking. MeMe's Café was an excellent lunch spot and Thai Sapa offered great takeout.
Las Vegas: A Fun Finale
We ended our trip in Las Vegas, a three-hour drive from Zion. The wave pool at Mandalay Bay was a big hit with the kids as was the Cirque du Soleil show, which is how we capped off our 10-days long trip.