Utah National Parks-- The Big 5
Our summer vacation this year was an 9-day trip to visit Utah's National Parks. This was an incredible trip and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND for any families who are ready to tackle National Parks. This was our first time doing parks in the United States after doing the Canadian Rockies last year (see prior post) All links are for your information only; I do not have any affiliations with any tours or hotels.
Itinerary: Las Vegas to Zion to Bryce, to Capitol Reef, to Arches, to Canyonlands.
TIPS: Buy your National Parks Pass ahead of time (America the Beautiful Front Page | USGS Store)
- Download the Guide Along app for narration during the drive Arches & Canyonlands Audio Driving Tour | GuideAlong
- Book entry times for Arches: Arches National Park Timed Entry - Recreation.gov
- Stop at the visitor center at each park to get the Junior Ranger Guide to complete activities for your Junior Ranger Badges. My kids LOVED these.
Day 1: We flew to Las Vegas and rented a car. The car rental was a HOT MESS. We had to wait for over an hour for someone to return a car so that we could get our rental. We then went to our hotel. If you are able to fly into another airport to rent a car I would avoid car rental in Las Vegas if possible.
HOTEL: 4/5 Four Seasons Las Vegas. We stayed at the Four Seasons based on prior recommendations that it near the strip but also does not have a casino that you need to walk through. It is on the top floors of Mandalay Bay on the South end of the strip with it's own entrance and pool area. Las Vegas Luxury Hotel | 5-Star | Strip View | Four Seasons
- Rooms were nice but on the smaller side especially for Las Vegas where many hotels have huge rooms.
- We had access to Mandalay Bay pool where they had a lazy river and was shocked you had to rent tubes for the lazy river for $35 per person. The wave pool was for 48" or taller so unable to go with Lily.
- When we went to the pool at the Four Seasons there were NO chairs available; luckily after talking to the front desk they were able to give us a Cabana for FREE, but was very disappointing to not have a single chair that we could use to sit by the pool and order lunch.
ENTERTAINMENT: We went to see Cirque du Soleil with our kids and they loved it. We went to the Michael Jackson ONE show which was fun and worthwhile. We chose due to proximity to our hotel.
Other activities I looked into included the aquarium (heard it was overpriced) and paradox museum but we were so exhausted we just stayed in our poolside Cabana all day :)
Day 2: We drove to Zion 2 hours, 30 min; and checked into our hotel and had lunch at Oscars (burgers).
HOTEL: 4/5 Desert Pearl Inn: we enjoyed the larger room, the pool, and the restaurant Zion National Park Lodging Available | Desert Pearl Inn
ACTIVITIES: We went canyoneering with Zion Guru. This was a private tour that included climbing and repelling down into canyons outside of Zion National Park. This was one of my sons FAVORITE activities. My 8 year old was nervous about the rappelling but was able to do with the guide. Guided Canyon Tours Near Zion National Park (zionguru.com)
DINNER: We had dinner at Camp Outpost in our hotel which was very tasty and convenient.
Day 3: Zion National Park
ACTIVITIES: We rented gear at Zion Guru (sticks and shoes/ socks are a must) for hiking the Narrows. We went early (7:30AM) so we could park at the visitor center and then took the bus which was great for low crowds but very chilly (60's) so we got very cold walking in the water.
Hiking the narrows: there is a 1 mile hike from the bus drop off point and then you start walking in the river. It gets deep very quickly and was over my 8 year old's head.
Day 4: We did the Emerald Pools hike in the morning. This was great for my son, one of the bridges was closed so we did not see the lower pool but enjoyed hiking up to the upper pool.
TRAVEL: We drove to Bryce Canyon 2 hours and did part of the scenic drive/ stopped at the visitor center.
HOTEL 5/5: Stone Canyon Inn. We loved this hotel. We booked the 2 bedroom cabin and it was great to have 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a FULL kitchen. It gets so expensive to eat out every meal so we were able to go to the grocery store and get food for lunches & snacks. The best is each cabin has its own PRIVATE HOT TUB. It does get cool in the evenings so we used each night. We were 20 minutes from the park so there are definitely closer options but really liked our cabin. Accommodations | Stone Canyon Inn
RESTAURANT 5/5: Stone Hearth Grille at the hotel was AMAZING. We went both nights and sat outside with beautiful views. Highly recommend. Stone Hearth Grille
Day 5: Kodachrone & Bryce Canyon
ACTIVITIES: We drove to Kodachrome State Park (20 min) and went horseback riding. Kodachrome Trail Rides | Red Canyon Trail Rides We loved this ride. It was much less crowded than Bryce and we felt like we were the only people in the park.
HIKES: We loved the Navajo Loop hike; this goes down into the canyon so you are right by the Hoodoos (rock formations). It is a lot of going up and down but my 8 year old made it up Wall Street.
Day 6: We drove from Bryce Canyon to Capital Reef: 2 hours 30 min.
ACTIVITES: We did the 8 mile scenic drive through capital reef stopping for scenic outlooks and petroglyphs. Amazing overlooks and easy hikes for kids to scrable over rocks.
We had a picnic lunch then drove to Arches 2 hours 30 min and did our timed entry at 3PM to go to the visitor center and see a few of the arches.
HOTEL: 4/5 Red Cliffs Lodge. We loved this hotel as well for the amazing views. The room had 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, refrigerator and microwave. We had an amazing deck that overlooked the Colorado River. This was again a 20 minute drive from the park but incredible scenery. The restaurant was 3/5 and was actually the ONLY place you could eat around the hotel. There was a great pool and laundry facilities that took credit cards. Red Cliffs Lodge - Like a Scene Out of a Western Dream
Day 7: We woke up for our 7AM Arches entry and did Balanced Rock Hike.
We went back to our hotel and were picked up for the 1/2 River Rafting tour with Moab Adventures Moab River Rafting | Whitewater Rafting in Utah (moabadventurecenter.com)
ACTIVITY: River rafting was so much fun! The kids loved jumping in the river and swimming and the guides were really helpful. You basically just sat on the raft and they paddles through some very mild rapids; we stopped at the Red Cliffs Lodge for lunch, then continued down the river for 7 miles. Then they drive you back to your hotel at the end.
Day 8: We got up at 7AM for our entry to Arches and hiked the Delicate Arch hike. This was doable with my 10 year old and hard for my 8 year old but we enjoyed it. We finished all of the sites in Arches and spent the afternoon relaxing.
We drove to Canyonlands to complete the big 5, 1 hour and made it in time to get their Junior ranger badges at the visitor center.
Canyonlands: we drove to Grand View Point and hiked to the viewing area.
HIKES: Our favorite hike was the whale hike; it is very poorly marked but so fun for kids to scramble up to the top of the whale and AMAZING views.
We ended up at Green River Overlook for sunset.
Comments
Post a Comment