Zion | Bryce Canyon | Capitol Reef | Canyonlands | Arches
Utah is home to the most beautiful stretch of National Parks in the US, known as the mighty five. The fact that it only takes a couple hours to get from one park to another makes Southern Utah one of the best roadtrip destinations. I am grateful to have seen each of these parks on my last roadtrip through the Southwestern US, though I feel I saw very little of each and will definitely be returning to them all. One thing I found spectacular about this stretch of land is just how unique each park is, despite them being so close in distance.
Capitol Reef National Park
Capitol Reef may be one of the most underrated parks in the US. I had previously never heard much about it, but man am I glad we spent a night backpacking here. The black-striped canyon walls on either side of us, the remote feeling of the place, and one of the best campsites I’ve ever stayed at made for one of my favorite nights of the trip (also the most memorable night, considering there was about an hour of time where one of my friends got lost and we were convinced he had died).
Arches National Park
Arches packs a LOT of beauty into a small area. We didn’t spend the night, but we did hike one of my favorite trails of the trip. The trail contained a bit of scrambling, path finding, and hiking on top of a ridge line that led to some amazing views.
Canyonlands National Park
Canyonlands is another park that I had never really heard about before planning my trip. We initially planned to backpack for a night, but instead decided just to do a long day hike. This trail was very cool. For the majority of it, we were squeezing through narrow slot canyons, climbing up and down rocks, and relying on nothing but rock cairns to guide us. As with all of the parks in Utah, the geography looked like something from another planet.
Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon contains some of the most unreal geographical formations I have ever seen (Hoodoos!). The Bryce Amphitheater viewpoint is right off the main road, and is a must for anyone driving through.
Zion National Park
Not much time was spent in Zion, but we did spend a wonderful night in the northern area of the park.
