Utah | Brieres Abroad

the mighty five

The Mighty Five National Parks, Utah

Andrew and I spent 10 days over Thanksgiving visiting the five national parks in Utah! We flew into Salt Lake City and made our way through Arches, Canyonlands, Capital Reef, Bryce Canyon, and Zion, ending with a flight out of Las Vegas. If you’re considering a national parks trip, you get so much bang for your buck going to Utah and its absolutely gorgeous! See our exact itinerary and some travel tips below.

Tip: Buy an America The Beautiful pass to gain entrance into all National Parks for a year from date of purchase. The pass is $80 and the fee per car entering each individual park is $30, so it just makes sense if you’re going to more than two parks, or if you have plans to check out more within the coming year. You do not have to purchase ahead of time, you can buy it at the entrance of the park.

Tip: Download offline maps before you head out for your hikes! The service was spotty at best within the parks. We downloaded the trails we wanted to hike on Alltrails and that was the MVP of our trip.

Day 1 - Nov 20, SLC to Moab

Arrive in SLC
Pickup Rental Car-We used Easirent. It wasn’t onsite at the airport so it definitely wasn't the 'Easi'est, but it was cheaper and got the job done.
- Podcast for 4hr drive (If you’re a lover of true crime, we listened to ‘Ghost Story’, ‘Scamanda’, ‘A Very British Cult’, and we started ‘Your Own Backyard’ which I’m still dying to finish). We really love a good car ride podcast. If you’re looking for others, we have also loved ‘Serial’ (obvi), ‘Up and Vanished’, ‘Bear Brook’, ‘Dr. Death’, & ‘The Shrink Next Door’
Stop at Great Salt Lake State Park-I felt like I needed to see the Salt Lake while I was in SLC…but really there wasn't much to see.
Drive to Moab, stay at Element Moab-nice hotel in a great location for Arches and Canyonlands
Dinner in Moab: Antica Forma for good Pizza
Grocery run-PBJ and snacks in the car were perfect for us during the day. We didn’t want to have to leave the parks for lunch!

Day 2 - Nov 21, Arches

Sunrise: Start Arches Scenic Drive to Devil’s Garden
Devil’s Garden Hike (Landscape, Double O, Pine Tree, Tunnel Arch) FYI Double O was an AWESOME hike but we felt it would be a little sketchy hiking it with kids
Garden of Eden Viewpoint
Windows & Turret Arch hike
Double Arch
Panorama point
Balanced Rock
Park Avenue Viewpoint
Delicate Arch for sunset
Stay late in the park for stargazing!! (Doesn't have to be in Arches, but the stars are so incredible without as much light pollution)
Dinner in Moab: Proper brewing

Day 3 - Nov 22, Canyonlands

Mesa Arch at sunrise- A MUST!
Grand view point overlook
White rim overlook hike
Buck canyon overlook
Green river overlook (candlestick)
Shaffer canyon viewpoint
Visitors center viewpoint
Shafer Basin Road to Moab (via potash)-Crazy switchback dirt road down the side of a mountain. This drive had me at 100% anxiety thinking we were going to plummet off the side to our death, but I look back on this drive fondly now that we are safely on the ground 😊
Dead horse point state park (dead horse point, meander overlook)
Dinner in Moab: Trailheads-good!

Day 4 - Nov 23, Moab to Torrey

Leisurely wake up
Morning visit to anything missed at Arches or Canyonlands
Drive to Torrey, stay at Capitol Reef Resort (2hrs)
Little Wild Horse Canyon on the way-fun slot canyon to hike around, see pics above
Route 24 on the way
Thanksgiving Dinner at Pioneer Kitchen (okay meal)

Day 5- Nov 24, Capitol Reef

Grand Wash Trail / Cassidy Arch
Capitol Reef scenic drive
Pie at Gifford Homestead- get the strawberry rhubarb pie AND the strawberry rhubarb homemade jam!! PB&J with that jam is unreal.
Highway 24
Panorama point
Hickman Bridge
Sunset at sunset point
Dinner in Torrey: La Cueva Restaurante Mexicano-nothing special but there were hardly any places open in the off-season

Day 6 - Nov 25, Torrey to Tropic

Leisurely wake up
Drive through Grand Staircase Escalante
Tumbleweed coffee-delish
Peek-A-Boo Slot Canyon-I think we are unanimous that this was our favorite adventure of the whole trip!! Definitely a bit tricky to climb, but so worth it. We also heard Spooky Gulch (within walking distance) was super neat but we didn’t have time for both
Stop through Escalante for groceries or a snack
Stay at Bryce Country Cabins
Dinner in Tropic: ‘idk bbq' "slaps" per Andrew

Day 7 - Nov 26, Bryce Canyon

Inspiration point (upper)
Sunrise to Sunset Point hike
Navajo loop & Queen’s Garden
Bryce point
Thor’s hammer (on hike)
Drive to Springdale, stay at Springhill Suites
Lunch in Springdale: Whiptail Grill
Pick up wader bibs for The Narrows from Zion Outfitter
Dinner in Springdale: Zion Canyon Brew Pub
Cute shops in this area for souvenirs

Day 8 - Nov 27, Zion

Pickup bibs day before
Hike Narrows to Big Springs- after doing this on my birthday, accidently going for a swim in the 40 degree water, and soaking through my waders, I would maybe suggest only doing this in warmer months. I wanted to love this and it WAS beautiful but the COLD thooooough. Bring an extra pair of clothes!!!
Scenic drive around the park
Sunset at canyon junction bridge-we kind of misjudged the timing on this but it really was a beautiful spot for sunset
Massage at Flanigan’s Resort and Spa!
Dinner at Spotted Dog-great meal

Day 9 - Nov 28, Zion

Emerald Pools Trail-a fine trail, nothing special hence no pictures-oops
Zion Mt Carmel highway
Canyon Overlook trail-look out for big horn sheep on the cliffside!!
Afternoon snack at Camp Outpost
Dinner at Switchback Grill

Day 10 - Nov 29, Travel Home

Food notes we gathered but may or may not have gotten to try:

Moab

Moab food truck park - Rainbowls for açaí, chill and shakes for ice cream, miss gelato for ice cream
Moab garage co - breakfast and lunch
Trailhead - lunch and dinner, dessert!
DoughBird - chicken sandwiches
Antica Forma - pizza
Proper brewing and burger
Thai bella
Desert bistro - upscale
El Tapatio - mexican
Bonjour - bakery, cafe, dessert

Torrey

Capitol burger food truck
Wild rabbit - breakfast and lunch
Chak balam Mexican
Rock reef cafe - b,l,d

Tropic

Idk bbq
Stone hearth grill - a little nicer, dinner

Springdale

Deep creek coffee company
Camp outpost
Kings landing - dinner, pretzel
Bit and spur - Tex mex
Spotted dog - dinner
Whiptail - nachos
Oscars - breakfast and lunch
Perks and Zion – smoothie

What a whirlwind trip! So many beautiful hikes and such incredible scenery. We loved driving around and comparing the different landscapes of the parks even though they are in such close proximity to one another. November was such a nice time to visit the parks because they weren’t very crowded. It was so peaceful to have a lot of the trails to ourselves and I wouldn’t have wanted to experience it any other way. However, November did have its downfalls as well. The weather was cold and many of the restaurants were closed for the season. We came prepared for this, but warmer weather and more restaurant options may have enhanced our experience.

I will be honest and say that this was A LOT of hiking for me. All day, every day. Once we got to Capitol Reef, it was cold and snowing and the hiking and weather started to wear on me. I realized we still had many days of strenuous hiking in front of us and I had a little bit of a MoMeNt. IYKYK. If you’re going to try to fit in all five parks in one trip, I would highly recommend alternating early wake up/heavy hike days with later wake ups/lighter sight-seeing days.

We chose not to do Angel’s Landing for a few reasons. I know the hike is absolutely beautiful and I'm sad that we missed out, but if we were going to do it, I think it maybe would have been better to do at the beginning of the trip when we were fresh. After looking into the trail route, being physically tired out, and me being clumsy at baseline, it didn’t seem like a smart or safe move for us. Maybe next time!

National Parks 7,8,9, 10, & 11 are officially checked off the bucket list! Onto the next 😊