r/UtahMightyFiveParks

Hi folks! I'm planning to do a 9 days (flexible) solo roadtrip to hit the Utah Mighty Five (minus Zion since I've already been) + the Grand Canyon. Here's a rough itinerary I have right now - does it seem reasonable? Any suggestions on cutting days or adding days?

Would also love to get some recs/suggestions on places to stay that could help cut down some costs. Looks like lodging is going to be the biggest money suck right now if I stick with hotels (~ 1k +). Thanks so much for yall's help in advance!!!!

[*EDIT: Thank you for all the kind advice and recommendations so far !!! I'm spending an extra day at Canyonlands instead of Arches:)]

Day 1: Early arrival in Vegas; Drive to Bryce

Stay: Panguitch / Tropic

Day 2 : Bryce

Stay: Panguitch / Tropic

Day 3: Drive to Capitol Reef; explore Capitol Reef

Stay: Torrey

Day 4: Drive to Moab; Arches National Park

Stay: Moab

Day 5 : Canyonlands

Stay: Moab

Day 6: Canyonlands

Stay: Moab

Day 7: Drive to Page; Antelope Canyon + Horseshoe Bend

Stay: Page

Day 8: Drive to Grand Canyon South Rim viewpoints

Stay: Flagstaff

Day 9 – May 13

Drive to Las Vegas (4–4.5 hrs)

Late night flight out

Just got back from our family's Mighty Five campervan trip over spring break and thought I'd share our experiences in case it helps others in the future.

For context, there were 3 of us (2 adults, 10 year-old). We're not hard-core hikers or travellers, just like seeing and doing things we can't do at home. This was also a budget-ish vacation, so not much in the way of eating out or add-on experiences.

In terms of the basics, we flew into SLC Friday morning and flew out of SLC the following Saturday late afternoon. We rented a large campervan from Wandervans and that served as our transportation and lodging for the trip.

Friends planned to be in Zion on Saturday and wanted to meet up, so we started by heading southwest from SLC and then looping back around counterclockwise: SLC --> Zion --> Bryce --> Capitol Reef --> Arches --> Canyonlands --> SLC

Day 1: Arrival in SLC around 9:30 am. Took a lyft to the Wandervans office about 10 minutes from the airport and picked up the van. Headed to a grocery store to stock up on food and then set out. We stopped for a short walk to the Bridal Veil falls around Provo and then at the Creamery in Beaver for ice cream and cheese curds before heading to the Pyramid Ridge Campground ($20 on recreation.gov) for the night.

Day 2: From Pyramid Ridge, we still had another couple of hours to make it to Zion for the day. We managed to snag a campsite in the park thanks to a last-minute cancellation alert we had set up, so we targeted a 12:00 pm arrival so we could go straight to the campsite and not have to figure out other parking. We ended up getting there around 12:45 by the time we made it through town and the entrance line. Our friends originally planned to meet us around 1:00, but between not realizing there was a time change between Zion and Las Vegas and more traffic than expected, it was about 3:00 by the time they arrived. Lunch at the campsite and then we headed out to the shuttle. We wound up doing the Court of the Patriarchs and the Grotto paths before heading back to the campsite and seeing our friends off back to Vegas. Dinner capped off the day.

Day 3: We had an 8:00 am half-day canyoneering tour booked with Rock Odysseys (highly recommend!), so we got up early-ish and packed up camp before heading out to meet our guide about half an hour's drive away. Spent the morning rappelling and exploring at the Lamb's Knoll climbing site before heading back into Zion and another cancellation campsite we snagged. Did the Emerald Pools/Kayenta(?) trail in the afternoon and enjoyed the different scenery along the way and visiting each of the pools. Then, we rode the shuttle to the last stop and wandered a bit along the riverside trail before heading back down to the Visitor Center and campground for the night. Mule deer visited the campground while we were cooking dinner and we enjoyed a campfire and just being in the park.

Day 4: We took our time getting up and around this morning and enjoyed exploring around the campground area and finishing up the Junior Ranger booklet for kid to get his first badge of the trip. Then we headed out through the park toward Bryce. I was hoping we could do the Canyon Overlook trail along the way, but parking was really scarce and I wasn't feeling all that great about maneuvering a big van, so we took the loss and skipped it. The viewpoints cut into the tunnel walls were a really happy surprise, though! We had another campsite booked at Bryce's Sunset campground for the night so headed there. After getting settled into the campsite, we walked over to the rim trail and set out to do some hiking. We went down Wall Street and then looped around and up to Sunset (or Sunrise...not sure) Point through the Queen's Garden. We were definitely glad we did it this direction rather than having to come up Wall Street! Back to camp for dinner and a goal of going to bed early to get up for sunrise along the canyon.

Day 5: We made it up in time for sunrise along the Canyon rim and thoroughly enjoyed the views. We were glad to have warm layers and hats, though, because it was chilly! From there, we headed to the visitor center for kiddo to get his second junior ranger badge and ask for advice on where to try to see prairie dogs. The ranger recommended the meadow near the Sunset campground, so we headed over there and spent a little while watching the couple that we managed to spot before heading out toward Torrey and Capitol Reef via Route 12. The drive was breathtaking though Adult #2 ended up feeling a bit sick from all the twists and turns, so we were glad to have dramamine in the first aid kit. We stopped along the way at the Escalante Interagency visitor center where kid snagged a couple more junior ranger badges and then took a detour to Long Canyon for some exploring and scrambling around. We ended up at dispersed camping at the Cook's Mesa trailhead just outside of Capitol Reef for the night.

Day 6: The dispersed campsite was just 10 minutes away from the Capitol Reef visitor's center. We stopped in to pick up a Junior Ranger book and get an idea of where to head next. Everyone was feeling a bit worn out, so we lazed around Fruita enjoying pie, ice cream, and a stroll along the river. We did a short driving tour of a few of the Capitol Reef sites, but weren't feeling up to hiking much, so we called this a checkbox park and headed out after finishing up the Junior Ranger book and getting badge #3. Some more pretty driving took us to Goblin Valley State Park where kid enjoyed just running wild among the goblins for a while before we hopped back in the van and headed toward Moab. We tried to get a site at the Dinosaur Track and Trail camp, but they were all reserved so we found a dispersed site at the Fallen Peace Officer trailhead instead.

Day 7: After breakfast at the campsite, we headed into Arches and the Devil's garden. We hiked a good portion of the Devil's garden trail and enjoyed rock scrambling and lizard spotting along the way. Wrapped up the day with a visit to the Sand Dune arch where kid was able to just play and relax for a while before getting his 6th badge. We had a decent experience camping the night before, so we headed back there for the night after trekking into Moab for a grocery store to restock on food.

Day 8: On to Canyonlands and the Island in the Sky visitor center this morning. We were feeling pretty rocked-

out, so asked the ranger for a recommendation for a hike with more wildlife or plants. She recommended going counterclockwise on the Neck Springs trail until we wanted to turn around, which turned out to be perfect for us this morning. There was a very cool echo effect back by the spring that entertained the kid endlessly and lots of pretty flowers to see. Back toward the visitor center and we took lunch over to the overlook where kiddo also finished up his final junior ranger book and collected badge #7. Kiddo asked to go back to Arches so we could do a couple of short hikes we skipped the day before and go back to the sand dune arch, so that's how we wrapped up our time around Moab. We started the drive back toward SLC and stopped for the night for some dispersed camping along Horse Canyon Road

Day 9: We were hoping to make a detour to the Jurassic National monument but it didn't open until 10 and was about an hour further from SLC than I thought, so we decided to not risk it and just kept heading toward SLC instead. We looked at stopping by Timpangos cave on the way back but everything we looked at said it was closed, so we skipped that, too, and instead stopped at a cool-looking neighborhood park instead for kid to burn some energy. Cleaning out the van and packing everything up took a bit, too, then we dropped it off and caught a ride back to the airport for our flight home.

Overall, it was a great trip! We all had different favorite parts. Mine was the stark difference between the pine forest of the Bryce campground and the canyon itself. Kid's was the Sand Dune arch, and Dad liked Fruita with the petroglyphs and history. I know there's SO much we didn't get to experience, but the taste we got certainly gave us an appreciation for the area. Not sure we'll be back soon, but definitely would enjoy another trip in the future!

r/UtahMightyFiveParks

[OC] My chalk drawing of a giant rock squirrel at Zion National Park

Search and Rescue: Zion Angels Landing/West Rim Trail Closed

Grand Staircase, Bryce and Zion trip

Planning 9-day Utah Mighty Five Road Trip! Please help sanity check and accommodations recs (solo female)

Have you Visited The Mighty Five With Kids? Any Tips For Families?

8 days around the Mighty Five in a campervan: Trip report