The Magical Lands of Utah

Five parks in six days, here's a look at my trip to Utah's National Parks (and a brief drive through Arizona and Nevada).

Day 1: Las Vegas + Arizona

The road we traveled.

Nothing super exciting on the first day except a long drive and high winds in the desert. Oh and an evening meal at Oscar's that encompassed the heftiest turkey burger I have ever eaten in my life. Never again.

Our abode of choice in Springdale, UT

I have to admit that Springdale may be one of the nicest little towns I have ever visited, like a little oasis in the desert. Maybe I should move there...

Day 2: Zion National Park
Zion canyon was created by the Virgin River. It has many hikes for all ages, including a leisurely Riverside Walk that leads to the start of The Narrows, various hikes up to Emerald Pools of different difficulty, and of course one of its most famous strenuous hikes: Angel's Landing.

A view of Zion Canyon

If you look carefully along the red hued walls, you might even glimpse a few rock climbers! Our day was cut short by torrential downpour. I haven't seen this much water in months. Maybe even years.

Zion in the rain

Day 3: Bryce Canyon National Park + Capitol Reef
It was quite the drive to Bryce Canyon and from Bryce Canyon. Word of warning, it's cold here. And there's almost no food so come prepared! This national park is known for its hoodoos, which create shapes like Thor's Hammer. We were greeted at Bryce with fog, rain, sleet, and hail. Talk about an adventure!

Some famous Hoodoos

Bryce Canyon in fog

After our brief hike, we proceeded on to a very long drive through some winding mountain roads and snow!

Snow in May?

A pit stop at Capitol Reef national park, with its natural wonders carved out by the Fremont River, lead to a misleading hike to underneath Hickman Natural Bridge. Next stop: Moab.

Me finally reaching the Hickman Natural Bridge

Day 4: Canyonlands (The Needles) + Arches National Park
I really think Canyonlands sounds like it should be a theme park. But The Needles is not a section to visit for the feint of heart. Full of trails waiting to be explored, you really need more than a morning to see anything at all. If you do go to The Needles, take the opportunity to camp there and go in deep. It might be fun to get a little lost in the vast Canyonlands.

The vast expanse of Canyonlands

One of the most popular parks in the area (and maybe in the states?), if you want to go to Arches you've either got to go early or go late. A 3 mile hike up to and back from Delicate Arch was the highlight of this trip. It's too bad we didn't have more time to explore Devil's Garden and see The Windows arches in day time. But with the park being open 24/7, I'm sure a night sky from a top any arch is equally spectacular.

Balancing rock: glad we got to see it before it fell!

Picture perfect: Delicate Arch with snow-capped mountains

Day 5: Canyonlands (Island in the Sky) + Arizona + Las Vegas
Our last day before driving back to the city that never sleeps involved a scenic route through another part of the Canyonlands park: Island in the Sky. This is a much better place to go for the casual visitor and afforded beautiful views of the area.

A third section, known as The Maze, is ideal for any hardcore adventurer wanting to stray off the beaten path. The one thing I realized driving back: Utah roads are some of the nicest I've ever driven on. We also stopped in St. George for dinner, where I had one of my healthiest meals of the trip at Red Robin.

Day 6: Home Sweet Home
My dad has this obsession with getting to the airport insanely early, but on this day, I learned that it can actually be really useful. Our original flight, scheduled for 1:45pm was delayed until 3:10pm (which I later found out didn't actually leave until 4:20pm)! Thankfully, because we had arrived at the airport two hours before our departure time we were able to get ourselves onto a standby list for a 12:40pm flight. Thanks to the passengers who didn't show up that day and to Southwest for being understanding and accommodating, we were able to make it home an hour earlier than planned. Guess the early bird does get the worm! Who knew?

Farewell Utah!