Mighty 5 Utah From Las Vegas

Depart Las Vegas early in the morning for the drive to Zion National Park (3 hours). Along the way, you’ll pass through the northern region of the Mojave Desert, with its expansive vistas dotted with the iconic Joshua Tree, drive through the Virgin Gorge where the Interstate passes through a narrow gorge resulting in an engineering masterpiece, then pass through the red rock country of St. George, Utah. Before noon, you’ll be exploring Zion Canyon inside Zion National Park.

From roughly March until end of Thanksgiving, access to Zion Canyon is using a hop-on, hop-off, first-come, first-serve, shuttle bus. Other times of the year we can drive into the canyon. Whether on bus or our own vehicle, we’ll see the absolute awe and magnificence of Zion Canyon. We’ll decide on which of the five stops to stop at, get out and look around.

Whether you prefer to spend your time hiking or riding the bus to check out all of the stops, we can help you plan your day’s activities. Hiking opportunities include climbing up to Scouts Lookout with jaw-dropping views of Angels Landing above and Zion Canyon far below, a longer hike through Zion Canyon Narrows or, for those that prefer easy walking while still enjoying the towering cliffs of Zion, try the flat Pa’rus Trail. Easier hikes include the Emerald Pools Trail or the Riverside Walk, each taking around two hours to complete.

Our stay in Zion Canyon is subject to available time and weather. Depending on the time of year (length of day), in the late afternoon we’ll travel to the Kolob Canyons section of Zion National Park for a walk to the Timber Creek Overlook to enjoy this different side of Zion.

Best Western Plus, Cedar City, UT | Meals: B

This morning, you’ll be ushered off to Canyonlands National Park, a drive of just under 4 hours away. But the drive won’t be boring! First, we travel along the jagged Hurricane Cliffs, the colorful Tushar Mountains, while passing through Utah farmland. After about 2 hours of driving, we climb up onto the San Rafael Swell. Here, you’ll see one of the most remote and uninhabited sections of Utah. In “the Swell”, depending on everyone’s wishes, we may make stops at Eagle Canyon Overlook, Ghost Rock, and other viewpoints along Interstate 70 revealing other-worldly scenery.

After lunch in the town of Green River, you will enjoy the rest of the day in Canyonlands National Park Island in the Sky District and see why Mesa Arch is one of the most photographed arches in all of the Western U.S.  Also, you’ll see views of the Grand Viewpoint, Green River Overlook, Candlestick Tower, an Ancestral Puebloan granary, and others will make it a full afternoon and evening of sightseeing. With its seemingly endless labyrinth of canyons and distant views, there’s nothing quite like Canyonlands. After our long drive, you’ll enjoy time in the adventure-resort town of Moab with its collection of restaurants, microbreweries, shops, and galleries.

Moab Valley Inn or similar, Moab, UT | Meals: B

Today we get an early start so that we can enter Arches National Park to beat the crowds. Your morning will be spent exploring these timeless landscapes of unusual rock formations, most notably, natural arches that were eroded out of solid sandstone. Depending on time and parking availability, stops can include the Courthouse Towers and Park Avenue, Balanced Rock, Double Arch, the Windows Section including Turret Arch, North and South Window, and the hike to Delicate Arch and other amazing geologic features.

When we’ve all had our fill of arches, which is typically at noon, we’ll head back to Moab for lunch. Then, you’ll continue your journey through the spectacular Utah landscapes, including more of the San Rafael Swell, and on to Goblin Valley State Park for a fun visit to a unique and little-known State Park with yet more unusual rock formations just outside of Capitol Reef. We’ll take some time to walk around these unusual creations of Mother Nature and ponder at what movies we may have seen that were filmed here. Afterwards, we cruise along the Fremont River and pass by the unique monolith of Factory Butte before reaching Capital Reef National Park. Time permitting, we’ll explore the Grand Wash Narrows, a deep chasm carved out of sandstone, or Hickman Bridge, a 133-foot natural bridge, before a stop at Panoramic Point. We then continue the short distance and retire for the evening in Torrey.

Broken Spur Inn, Torrey, UT  | Meals: B

Spend the morning visiting more of Capitol Reef with stops and short hiking opportunities that may include Cohab Canyon, Cassidy Arch, Chimney Rock, or Sulphur Creek, before continuing over Scenic Highway 12. Highway 12 has been rated one of the top-10 most scenic drives in the United States, and we’ll traverse its entire 123 mile (197 km) length.

And the reason for much of the beauty of Hwy 12? It passes mostly through the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. We’ll pass over the narrow Hoggs Back, where we may need to blindfold some guests, pass through the canyons of Calf Creek, take a short side trip that ends at one of our surprises, then weave through the Escalante Canyons region. Further down the road, we’ll pass by the Gray Cliffs and the Kaiparowits Plateau where paleontologists have recently been making many exciting dinosaur fossil discoveries. Afterwards, we continue our journey to Bryce Canyon National Park for a short hike to Mossy Cave. Finally, at the end of the day, you will enjoy some good 'ol fashioned western hospitality at classic Ruby’s Inn.

Ruby’s Inn or similar, Bryce Canyon City, UT | Meals: B

Before starting the day, everybody must see the view from atop Bryce Point, preferably at sunrise. It’s a crowd-pleaser and simply breathtaking! Then, our morning will be filled with hiking and sightseeing opportunities. For the heartier, we offer a longer hike through the Bryce Amphitheater, using either the Queen’s Garden Trail or the Peekaboo Loop. For our guests that prefer to relax and take a leisurely stroll, we recommend walking between Sunrise Point and Sunset Point. Like Zion, there’s also a shuttle bus available here during certain times of the year that our guests can take and see different viewpoints. Whether you’re hiking or sightseeing, you will have plenty of time to explore this fairytale land of unique hoodoos, arches, windows and spires.

After lunch, you will begin your journey back home before driving past Red Canyon, which is a miniature version of Bryce, down scenic Highway 89, then lastly passing through the East Section of Zion National Park for one last stop to marvel at the sandstone monoliths and towers that are much different here than in Zion Canyon. Then, certainly everybody will be dozing off and dreaming of what they saw in the last 5 days while returning to Las Vegas for the evening.

Meals: B