Mighty 5 Utah From Salt Lake City

By going on one of our most popular tours, Southwest Adventure Tours will show you Utah’s Mighty 5 national parks in 8 days. Those parks are Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion. Each park will enable you to see spectacular scenery and unique geological formations all within the southern half of Utah.

We love to show off our home State of Utah, so guiding your tour in these parks and the other scenic areas we cover is our specialty. All of our tour guides have been to these places many, many times. We know all these places like the backs of our hands. We’ll show you all the places that other people don’t know about!

This tour is purposely designed to have a day on each end of the tour to plan travel into and out of Salt Lake City. Our tour is also customizable. It can include more physical and adventurous activities, more leisurely sightseeing, or more days to do both! It can also be modified to spend more time in specific places. Contact us for further details.

Our Mighty 5 tours consist of small groups of no more than 13 guests and a private guide. Hiking, scenic viewpoints, local eateries, hidden gems, and other fantastic experiences await anyone joining us on this tour. It will be a week of adventure that you won’t soon forget!

 

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Tour Highlights:

  • See all of Utah’s 5 national parks
  • Overnight stays in the towns of Moab, Torey, and Springdale
  • Goblin Valley State Park
  • Grand Staircase-Escalante Monument
  • Scenic Highway 12, All-American Road

Inclusions:

  • Services of a Southwest Adventure Tours tour director – a professional tour guide
  • Comfortable transportation
  • 7 nights hotel accommodations at 3-star hotels
  • 7 breakfasts
  • 6 lunches
  • 2 dinners
  • Park entrance fees
  • Water
  • Applicable taxes and fees

Daily Breakdown:

  • Day 1: Arrive Salt Lake City, UT
  • Day 2: Salt Lake City to Canyonlands National Park (Overnight Moab)
  • Day 3: Arches National Park & Surrounding Areas (Overnight Moab)
  • Day 4: Goblin Valley and Capitol Reef (Overnight Torrey)
  • Day 5: Highway 12, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Bryce Canyon (Overnight Bryce Canyon City)
  • Day 6: Bryce Canyon National Park & Zion National Park (Overnight Springdale)
  • Day 7: Explore Zion National Park & Return to Salt Lake City (Overnight Salt Lake City)
  • Day 8: Salt Lake Airport & Home

Mighty 5 Utah

Itinerary:

  • Arrive at the SLC Airport. Please use Uber, taxi, or an airport shuttle to get you to the hotel on your own. The rest of the day you are free to explore or relax. There are many activities to enjoy in this unique metropolis. Either use the many resources on the Internet to plan your day or feel free to contact us to help you plan your free day here. You might even think about arriving a day earlier or leaving a day later to see and enjoy everything there is in Salt Lake City.

    Courtyard by Marriott Downtown Salt Lake City, UT or similar

  • Depart Salt Lake City at 7:00am and soon you’ll be climbing into the Wasatch Mountains over Soldier Summit and down into the northern edge of the San Rafael Swell. Looking to the south, you’ll see one of the most remote and uninhabited sections of Utah. Looking the other direction, you’ll pass by the golden Book Cliffs.

    After stopping for lunch along the way, you’ll enjoy the rest of the day in Canyonlands National Park Island in the Sky District, stopping at various overlooks and peering down into a seemingly endless labyrinth of canyons. You’ll see why Mesa Arch is one of the most photographed arches in all of the Western U.S. Along with Mesa Arch, we’ll show you other overlooks, such as Grand Viewpoint, that will make it a full afternoon of sightseeing. Afterwards, we’ll head down to and enjoy some time at the adventure-resort town of Moab with its collection of restaurants, microbreweries, shops, and galleries.

    Homewood Suites by Hilton, Moab, UT or similar | Meals: B, L

  • Today we get an early start so that we can enter Arches National Park to beat the crowds. We’ll spend the morning exploring these timeless landscapes of unusual rock formations, most notably, arches eroded out of solid sandstone. Depending on time and parking availability, stops might 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. It will be a morning full of seeing amazing geologic features that you won’t see anywhere else.

    After returning to Moab for lunch, you’ll take an afternoon scenic drive or hike along the Colorado River that will showcase ancient petroglyphs depicting animals, humans, and geometric patterns carved onto red-rock walls. Plus, the scenery from the river level will be much different than the previous day up in Canyonlands. Afterwards, what you didn’t see in Moab yesterday evening, you’ll have another chance this evening!

    Homewood Suites by Hilton, Moab, UT or similar | Meals: B, L

  • Another morning starts another day loaded with spectacular scenery. This time it’s off 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 wonder 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.

    Capitol Reef Resort, Torrey, UT or similar | Meals: B, L, D

  • Spend the morning visiting more of Capitol Reef with stops and short hiking opportunities at 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 the classic Ruby’s Inn.

    Best Western Plus Bryce Canyon Grand Hotel, Bryce Cyn City, UT or similar | Meals: B, L, D

  • 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 long or 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.

    Later in the day, you’ll drive past Red Canyon, down scenic Highway 89 then lastly passing through the east section of Zion National Park, where you’ll pass through Zion's famous wild swirling sandstone formations and possibly hike the East Canyon Overlook Trail for a bird’s-eye view of the canyon. Continue the short drive to the charming town of Springdale.

    Springhill Suites by Marriott, Springdale, UT or similar | Meals: B, L

  • Inside Zion Canyon, consider hiking and traversing the 3-mile Emerald Pools loop to see a series of pools and waterfalls. Other possible hikes include climbing up to Scouts Lookout with jaw-dropping views of Angels Landing above and Zion Canyon below, a longer hike through Zion Canyon Narrows or, for those that prefer easy walking, try the Pa’rus Trail. All hikes are subject to time and weather permitting. Return to Salt Lake City by 6:00pm (4.5 hour drive from Zion).

    Courtyard by Marriott Downtown Salt Lake City, UT or similar | Meals: B, L

  • Transfer to the Salt Lake Airport on own by hotel shuttle for your departure flight home.

    Meals: B

 

Tour Details:

Not Included:

  • Items of a personal nature (alcohol, room service, etc.)
  • Meals (both lunch and dinner)
  • Optional activities
  • Airfare
  • Gratuities for the tour director

Arrival / Departure Info:

  • Arrival Location: Salt Lake City Airport (SLC)
  • Arrival Time: Any time on day 1
  • Departure Location: Salt Lake City Airport (SLC)
  • Departure Time: Any time on day 8

Other Details:

  • Comfortable transportation in Mercedes Sprinter vans or similar
  • Solo Travelers: $250 Single Occupancy Fee.

This tour departs every Sunday from January to December.

Similar Tours:

Note:

Southwest Adventure Tours is an authorized permittee of the following parks:

  • Arches National Park
  • Bryce Canyon National Park
  • Capitol Reef National Park
  • Canyonlands National Park
  • Goblin Valley State Park
  • Zion National Park

Pricing:

Peak Season
  • $3,899.00 USD SALE $3,399.00 Per Person Double Occupancy
  • $4,299.00 USD SALE $3,799.00 Per person Single Occupancy
  • $3,649.00 USD SALE $3,149.00 Per Person Triple Occupancy
  • $3,499.00 USD SALE $2,999.00 Per Person Quad Occupancy 
Off Season
  • $2,999.00 USD Per Person Double Occupancy 
  • $3,399.00 USD Per Person Single Occupancy 
  • $2,849.00 USD Per Person Triple Occupancy
  • $2,799.00 USD Per Person Quad Occupancy

 

 

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Type "500" into Discount Code field on check-out

2023 Departure Dates:

January 8, 2023 January 29, 2023
February 19, 2023 March 5, 2023
March 12, 2023 March 19, 2023
March 26, 2023 April 2, 2023
April 9, 2023 April 16, 2023
April 23, 2023 April 30, 2023
May 7, 2023 May 14, 2023
May 21, 2023 May 28, 2023
June 4, 2023 June 11, 2023
June 18, 2023

June 25, 2023 - SOLD OUT

 

July 2, 2023 - SOLD OUT July 9, 2023
July 16, 2023 - SOLD OUT July 23, 2023
July 30, 2023 - SOLD OUT August 6, 2023
August 13, 2023 August 20, 2023
August 27, 2023 September 3, 2023
September 10, 2023 September 17, 2023
September 24, 2023 October 1, 2023
October 8, 2023 October 15, 2023
October 22, 2023 October 29, 2023
November 5, 2023 November 12, 2023
November 19, 2023 December 3, 2023

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