Utah National Parks Itinerary 7 Days: Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches and Canyonlands

An hour and a half, 1.6 km (1 mile) round trip. Pick up the car in Las Vegas in the morning: it is 2 hours 45 minutes to Springdale, the town at Zion’s gate, and clocks jump an hour forward as you enter Utah. After check in, drive up the Zion to Mount Carmel Highway, open to private cars all year, and park just past the tunnel. The trail has railed sections along the cliff and ends at a viewpoint over Pine Creek and the floor of Zion Canyon. The lot is small: if it is full, try the next pullout.

Thirty minutes, on the way back to Springdale. The bridge over the Virgin River, at the start of the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive, frames the park’s best known photo: the river in front and The Watchman lit by the late sun. Arrive half an hour before sunset to get a spot on the railing.

Four and a half hours, from 7 am. From March to November the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive is served only by the park’s free shuttle, which leaves from the visitor center; catch one of the first. Get off at The Grotto and climb the West Rim Trail through the switchbacks of Walter’s Wiggles to Scout Lookout, 4 km (2.5 miles) and 340 meters of climbing, open to anyone. The final stretch to the top of Angels Landing, holding chains above the drop, needs a lottery permit, explained in the FAQ. Carry three liters of water each.

Three hours, by shuttle to the last stop, Temple of Sinawava. The paved, flat Riverside Walk follows the Virgin River for 1.7 km (1.1 miles) to where the canyon grows too narrow for a bank: from there The Narrows trail is in the water, between walls 300 meters high. An hour upstream already shows the best part. Shops in Springdale rent neoprene boots and poles, useful in autumn when the water is cold. The park closes The Narrows when the flow tops 150 cubic feet per second or a flash flood warning is issued: check at the visitor center in the morning.

Fifteen minutes, leaving Springdale at 7:30 am on the Zion to Mount Carmel Highway through the 1.8 km tunnel. The east side of the park is another world of pale, wind carved sandstone, and Checkerboard Mesa is the best example: the horizontal lines are layers of ancient dunes and the vertical ones are frost cracks. The pullout is just before the park exit.

Half an hour, free. On Scenic Byway 12, 20 minutes before Bryce, the road passes through two tunnels cut in red rock. Stop at the Red Canyon visitor center and walk the Pink Ledges Trail, a 1.6 km loop among hoodoos redder than Bryce’s and almost empty of people.

Two and a half hours, 4.6 km (2.9 miles), with a US$ 35 vehicle fee plus US$ 100 per international adult, waived by the Non Resident pass. Start at Sunset Point and descend the Navajo Loop switchbacks to the floor of the amphitheater, among the hoodoos, the rock spires that made the park famous. Climb back on the gentler Queen’s Garden Trail to Sunrise Point and walk 800 meters along the rim to the car. The Wall Street side of the Navajo Loop closes in winter and after rockfalls: if it is shut, go down the Two Bridges side. The rim sits at 2,400 meters, and the thin air makes the climb harder.

Forty five minutes, after check in at Bryce Canyon City, ten minutes away. The viewpoint has three levels, and the highest, five minutes uphill, looks over the Silent City, the densest cluster of hoodoos in the park, which turns orange in the last light. Bring a jacket: in autumn the temperature drops close to freezing as soon as the sun goes.

Forty five minutes, arriving 20 minutes before the sun. It is: the viewpoint faces east and the sun lights the hoodoos one by one, with far fewer people than at sunset. Go back to the hotel for breakfast and take Scenic Byway 12 east.

Three hours, 9.7 km (6 miles) round trip and nearly flat, with a fee of about US$ 5 per car. It is an hour and a quarter from Bryce on Scenic Byway 12, one of the most beautiful roads in the United States, through Escalante. The trail follows the creek up a sandstone canyon, past ancient granaries and rock paintings on the walls, to a 38 meter waterfall with a shallow pool. The sand is tiring: start by 10 am. Afterwards the road climbs the Hogsback, a ridge with drops on both sides, and crosses Boulder Mountain to Torrey, an hour and a quarter away.

Forty five minutes, free, 15 minutes from Torrey. The viewpoint is on the rim of the Sulphur Creek gorge, 240 meters deep; from there a 500 meter path leads to Sunset Point, where the Capitol Reef cliffs turn red in the late afternoon.

Half an hour, arriving at 8 am. Fruita was a Mormon farming village, and the apple, pear and peach orchards planted in the 1800s are still there: at harvest time you can pick fruit from the open orchards. The Gifford family’s 1908 farmhouse sells individual pies baked that morning, which sell out before lunch, along with jams and ice cream. It opens from March to late autumn; check the hours on the park website.

Twenty minutes, free, 1.5 km east of Fruita on Highway 24. A wooden boardwalk runs along the cliff with horned human figures and bighorn sheep carved by the Fremont people, who lived here between 300 and 1300 AD. Bring binoculars: the best figures are high up.

An hour and forty five minutes, 2.9 km (1.8 miles) round trip and 120 meters of climbing, 1 km past the petroglyphs. The trail passes dark volcanic boulders and ends beneath a sandstone natural bridge with a 40 meter span. Leave for Moab by 11 am: it is two and a half hours on Highway 24, through Hanksville and the desert.

Three hours, 4.8 km (3 miles) round trip and 146 meters of climbing, with a US$ 30 vehicle fee at Arches, covered by the pass. There is no timed entry in 2026: the park dropped it in February. Start at 4:30 pm at the Wolfe Ranch trailhead, which has a panel of Ute petroglyphs. The trail climbs a shadeless slab of slickrock and ends at a rock bowl facing the 16 meter arch, with the La Sal Mountains behind. Bring a headlamp for the walk down in the dark.

An hour and a half, entering the park before 8 am, before the line at the gate builds. On the way, stop for a minute at Balanced Rock, the perched boulder by the road. In the Windows Section, a 400 meter trail leads to Double Arch, two arches springing from the same base, the tallest in the park. Across the parking lot, a 1.6 km loop passes North and South Window and Turret Arch.

Two hours, 2.6 km (1.6 miles) round trip, at the end of the park road in Devils Garden. The arch spans 93 meters and is under 2 meters thick at its thinnest; in 1991 a 20 meter slab fell from it, and the trail underneath has been closed ever since. If you have the energy, continue on a rocky route with scrambling sections to Double O Arch.

Two and a half hours, free, 20 minutes from Moab on Potash Road, which follows the Colorado River past signed petroglyphs and dinosaur tracks. The 4.8 km (3 mile) round trip trail crosses an ore railway and climbs with a fixed cable and a short ladder to Corona Arch, with a 43 meter span. Hike it late in the afternoon, when the cliff is in shade.

Forty five minutes, leaving Moab at 6:15 am, 45 minutes away, with a US$ 30 vehicle fee at Island in the Sky, covered by the pass. An 800 meter trail leads to the arch on the cliff edge: at sunrise the light bounces off the wall below and turns the underside of the arch orange. Arrive before the sun, because photographers compete for the edge.

An hour, at the end of the district road. The viewpoint sits 300 meters above the White Rim, a plateau of white sandstone, and looks over the Green and Colorado canyons to the horizon. The 1.6 km trail along the tip of the mesa reaches the final view, unfenced and much quieter.

An hour, with a fee of about US$ 20 per car, separate from the pass because it is a state park, on the way back toward Moab. The promontory stands 600 meters above a horseshoe bend of the Colorado River. Leave by 11 am for Salt Lake City, three hours and forty five minutes away, to return the car at the airport and catch the evening flight. To add another Southwest road trip, Santa Fe is about six hours from Moab: see the 7 day New Mexico itinerary.