How I Spent 5 Days Road Tripping Through Utah, Arizona, and Nevada
My sister and I decided to take the week-long adventure together this past summer and spent 5 days in August road tripping from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas, stopping in multiple National Parks and natural wonders along the way. We were both on the edge of some big life changes, each of us moving away from home to a new place. Among many things this trip was a way for us to spend some quality time together before the physical separation our respective plans would put between us. I was about 5 months pregnant at the time so we planned to take it super easy in terms of hiking while still hitting as many scenic spots as possible! Here's a brief recap of what I managed to get on video (don't mind the shaky footage 🙈).
We flew into Salt Lake City and picked up our rental car. We spent a few hours roaming around the city and grabbing something to eat before heading out on the road.
It was about three and a half hours to our first stop, Capitol Reef Resort, where we were staying for the night. This resort was the ultimate spot for road trip accommodations and had everything from teepee and wagon glamping to outdoor fire pits and just an all around great energy. We explored until dark and then got some rest!
We woke up bright and early to drive the rest of the way and begin the real adventure at Bryce Canyon. This spot had been on my bucket list for so long and it was so incredible to see such pure nature.
We mainly explored the park from overlooks and viewpoints which gave us a pretty nice overview of the gorgeous spots the park has to offer. It did make getting photos somewhat difficult given the walls and railings. I cannot wait to go back when I can t get up close and safely hike!
The drives themselves from location to location were mind blowing. Every view out the window was so beautiful and it was really crazy to watch the landscapes change. From rolling grassy hills to colorful mountains and everything in between, it was hard not to get caught up stopping along the way. We did make a point to stop to explore some Red Cliffs for a bit because we couldn’t resist.
We spent the night at Lake Powell Resort and Marinas. The place looked beautiful online but I honestly couldn’t tell you anything about it as we arrived super late and left early for our 6AM tour at Antelope Canyon! We had hoped to sleep in a bit this day but this was the only tour available as we booked pretty late. If you’re thinking about visiting Antelope Canyon definitely book as soon as you can to get your preferred time slot!
We adjusted our schedule accordingly because this was an important spot for us to see. The slot canyon was incredible and our tour guide was a lot of fun. We did feel a little rushed by the group behind us though and it would have been nice to enjoy at a slower pace.
On a previous trip to Page I found this spot by Glen Canyon and fell in love. This is my absolute favorite spot that I've visited in Arizona! It's not very well known to tourists which makes the hidden gem extra relaxing and private. It's definitely on the list for any and every time I visit Page.
We headed back into Utah next and made sure to take a quick pit stop at the Paria River Canyon off of highway 89.
In Kanab we hit up the Coral Pink Sand Dunes and felt like children rolling and laying in the sand. It was actually a lot harder that you would think to walk around and climb up the hills! Im a sucker for landscapes like this that just seem to appear out of nowhere. I would love to come back here and rent atv’s!
We were scheduled for an easy hike at Zion national park but we decided to stay a little longer and enjoy our time at Coral Pink Sand Dunes instead. We drove through Zion and took it easy spending some time relaxing by the overlooks, and roadsides after checking out the visitors center. Zion National Park is huge, filled with tourists (much more than any of the other parks I’ve been to) and definitely needs full attention the next time we make it out there but the little glimpse we managed to take in was just enough to hold us over.
There were lots of great roadside stops we made on our way to our hotel. Utah is just overflowing with beauty and its easy to get distracted along whatever route you decide to take. My advice is always set your priorities but leave room within that to just go with the flow and explore on a whim!
We explored the Red Cliffs and had a lot of fun played around the rock formations. This was the most amount of “hiking” we did and it was mainly just easy walking and low level climbing and we had a blast before making our way to Vegas.
As we were driving we saw a sign that said “Valley of Fire next exit”. It wasn’t on our original itinerary but we had time and were excited for the detour!
It was a really long drive from the exit down the road to the entrance of the park and when we pulled up to the gate we were informed that pretty much all the roads within the park were closed for construction apart from the visitors center and a few outer parts. We were disappointed but we didn’t come all that way for nothing so we decided to head on in anyway and make the most of it.
Next up was Las Vegas where we enjoyed dining at restaurants, playing at Casinos and touring the Neon Museum! We were pretty exhausted from our jam packed and also took the time to relax and decompress before heading home.
Looking forward to many more adventures and putting all these incredible locations to good use in the near future! If you've been to Arizona let me know your favorite spots! 😊😊😊
If you’re as in love with these incredible natural wonders as I am let’s get in touch and schedule an adventure session!