Utah National Parks Road Trip – The Perfect Itinerary

Our spring breaks usually consist of us meeting up with warm weather and a nice ocean someplace. One year our kids requested a National Park instead. After a lot of research, we decided on Southern Utah and its 5 National Parks, also known as Utah Mighty 5. We knew a Utah National Parks road trip would be a long drive from Michigan, so we made sure to include many stops along the way. This particular trip consisted of 11 days and 10 nights. This trip was going to be busy but we were up for the challenge.

In this guide to Southern Utah national park we’ll discuss:

• Different pit stop scenarios, no matter where you are coming from
• Best things to do in each national park
• Where to stay
• What to pack
• Best time to visit

Some National Parks require a permit to enter. Please check with the NPS website or phone app for current information.

Map of Utah National Parks Road Trip

Utah National Parks Road Trip Itinerary

This is the Utah National Parks Road Trip Itinerary that we used. It worked well for us, even though we weren’t able to hike the narrows. Although that had nothing to do with our itinerary. The water level was too high for our youngest, so we opted to skip it. That being said I will still let you know how to include it in your itinerary.

How Much Time Do You Need For a Utah National Park Road Trip?

I’d definitely say that the more time you have, the better. At a minimum, you should allow yourself 1 day at each of Utah’s national parks. I’ll be honest, spending a full day exploring a national park and then driving to the next destination that evening is exhausting. It’s 100% worth it though. We’ve spent quite some time exploring national parks over the years and there is nothing like Utah’s national parks.

11 Day 10 Night Utah National Park Itinerary

Our road trip started in Michigan. The first 3 days of this itinerary are us making our way to Utah. Feel free to adjust the itinerary according to your starting point.

• Day 1 – Drove to Muscatine, Iowa (stayed at Hampton Inn)
• Day 2 – Drove 4.5 hrs. to Henry Doorly Zoo, then drove another 4 hrs. to Kearny, Nebraska (stayed at Fairfield Inn)
• Day 3 – Drove 7.5 hrs. to Hanging Lake, then drove another 1.5 hrs. to Grand Junction, Colorado (stayed at Residence Inn)
• Day 4 – Drove 2 hrs. to Arches National Park (stayed at Homewood Suites in Moab)
• Day 5 – Drove 41 min. to Canyonlands, then drove 2.5 hrs. to Capitol Reef (stayed at Capitol Reef Resort)
• Day 6 – Capitol Reef, then drove 2.5 hrs. on Scenic Byway 12 to Bryce Canyon (stayed at Best Western Plus Bryce Canyon)
• Day 7 – Bryce Canyon, then drove to Zion (stayed at Hampton Inn in Springdale)
• Day 8 – Zion National Park, then drove 2.5 hrs. to Paige, Arizona (stayed at Wingate by Wyndham)
• Day 9 – Horseshoe Bend & Lower Antelope Canyon, then drove through Monument Valley to Rifle, Colorado (stayed at Hampton Inn)
• Day 10 – Drove 9.5 hrs. to Lincoln, Nebraska (stayed at Hampton Inn)
• Day 11 – Stopped at the World’s Largest Truck Stop in Iowa and ended the day at home.

If you have more time, I’d add an extra day to Arches National Park & Zion.

Driving (Day 1-3)

We spent the first 3 days driving from Michigan to Colorado. We explored the Henry Doorly Zoo in Nebraska & Hanging Lake in Colorado along the way. Both places were incredible and I highly recommend them.

Arches National Park (Day 4)

We arrived at Arches National Park around 8 am and immediately started hiking to see the Delicate Arch. We wanted to get there early to avoid large crowds and I’m thankful we did. When we finished the Delicate Arch hike the parking lot was filled with people ready to hit the trail.

Next, we did the Devil’s Garden Hike to see Landscape Arch, Double O Arch, and everything else. The hike to Double O arch was kind of challenging but worth it. Overall Devil’s Garden wasn’t too busy but the area by Landscape Arch was pretty busy. If Landscape Arch is on your list (which it should be) then you should try to get there right after hiking to Delicate Arch.

At this point, we were all exhausted and running out of gas. So we drove to see Balanced Rock and Double Arch. I wish we would have hiked to see Double Arch. I regret not seeing it up close, but we did get a decent view from the road. Then we hiked the Windows Area and Sand Dune Arch. While our kids loved everything they would agree that Delicate Arch was their favorite, but they had the most fun and Sand Dune Arch. Sand Dune Arch is the most kid-friendly area of the Arches. There is a lot of safer stuff to climb on and if they fall they simply land on the sand. Every single kid had a giant smile on their face, except for the one kid whose mom was trying to get a posed picture. Haha!

Upon finishing our hikes we drove to our hotel Homewood Suites in Moab. Our plan was to rest and then catch the sunset somewhere in Arches National Park. Resting didn’t really happen as we had to bring all our stuff into the hotel and pick up a few things from the store. We were all so tired that we arrived at the park later than planned. We were still able to catch a sunset in Arches National Park, but we couldn’t make it to a specific viewing point. It was ok though because I’m not sure any of us had any energy to walk anywhere and the sunset was still beautiful from the car.

Best Things to Do In Arches National Park

• Delicate Arch
  3.2 miles out and back
  629 ft. elevation gain
  Moderately difficult
  1 hr 40 min. hiking time (approximately)
  *Consider catching a sunset at Delicate Arch. If that’s your plan, don’t forget a headlamp. It’ll be dark hiking back to your car.
• Landscape Arch (Devil’s Garden area)
  1.9 miles out and back
  252 ft. elevation gain
  Easy
  50 min. hiking time (approximately)
• Double O Arch (Devil’s Garden area)
  4.1 miles out and back
  672 ft. elevation gain
  Moderate difficulty
  2 hr. hiking time (approximately)
• Sand Dune Arch
  0.3 miles out and back
  108 ft. elevation gain
  Easy
  15 min. hiking time
• Windows Loop & Turret Arch(Windows area)
  1.2-mile loop
  154 ft. elevation gain
  Easy
  30 min. hiking time (approximately)
  

Arches National Park gets very busy and congested. Here is the order in which I would recommend doing activities.

Delicate Arch (Get an early start. No later than 8 am) -> Landscape Arch & Double O Arch -> Windows Loop & Turret Arch -> Sand Dune Arch

While we saw everything that we wanted to see at Arches National Park, we were busy. If you’d like a slower pace, I recomend adding an extra day or partial day.

Best Place to Stay (Arches National Park)

Arches National Park has only one place to stay inside the park. It is Devil’s Garden Campground. This campground fills fast so if you are planning on staying here, make your reservations as soon as possible. If camping is not your thing, don’t worry, Moab has you covered. The city has plenty of accommodations of all kinds. We stayed at the Homewood Suites, which I highly recommend. See all Moab Accommodations

Canyonlands National Park (Day 5)

Canyonlands is divided into four districts: Island in the Sky (the most visited district), The Maze, The Needles, and Colorado and Green Rivers. Aside from Island in the Sky, the other districts are more remote and rugged. Unless you have more than a day to spend at Canyonlands, I recommend sticking to Island in the Sky.

In the morning we left the hotel in Arches National Park and drove about 41 minutes to Canyonlands National Park. First, we hiked to Upheaval Dome, Whale Rock, and Aztec Butte. Then we drove to and hiked Grand View Point Overlook. After that, we drove to Buck Canyon Overlook, Orange Cliffs Overlook, Green River Overlook, and White Rim Overlook. Our kids got bored really fast with all the overlooks. So we finished with the Mesa Arch hike. The Mesa Arch is stunning.

Fun Fact– Canyonlands kind of freaked me out a little bit. While the views were unlike anything I had ever seen, I couldn’t help but think what if the ground I’m on just collapses?

If you haven’t seen a squatty potty before, Canyonlands has them! Our kids thought they were very interesting.

After we finished Canyonlands we drove 2.5 hours to Capitol Reef. There we checked into our cabin at Capitol Reef Resort. We really wanted to stay in one of their Teepees or Covered Wagons, but they were closed so we decided to splurge on a cabin. The cabin may not be as cool as other options but it did not disappoint. The decor was on point, it had surround sound, lights in the shower, a heater in the bathroom ceiling, and incredible views. They also had bonfires every night. We loved this place. For dinner, we decided to eat at a pizza place across the street. It was really small but good and reasonably priced.

Best Things To Do In Canyonlands National Park

*All of these things to do are in the Island in the Sky district.

• Mesa Arch Trail
  0.7-mile loop
  88 ft. elevation gain
  Easy
  ~20 min. hiking time
• Grand View Point Overlook
  1.8 miles out and back
  160 ft. elevation gain
  Easy
  ~40 min. hiking time
• Upheavel Dome
  1.3 miles out and back
  226 ft. elevation gain
  Moderate difficulty
  ~40 min. hiking time
• Aztec Butte
  1.7 miles out and back
  259 ft. elevation gain
  Moderate difficulty
  ~50 min. hiking time
• Whale Rock
  0.8 miles out and back
  131 ft. elevation gain
  Easy
  ~25 min. hiking time
• Drive Grand View Point Rd. and stop at all of the overlooks: Buck Canyon Overlook, Orange Cliffs Overlook, Green River Overlook, and White Rim Overlook.

*Mesa Arch is the best place to catch a sunrise in Canyonlands. It can get crowded though.

Here is the order in which we saw the best of Canyonlands:
Upheaval Dome -> Whale Rock -> Aztec Butte -> Grand View Point -> Buck Canyon Overlook -> Orange Cliffs Overlook -> Green River Overlook -> White Rim Overlook -> Mesa Arch

Best Place To Stay (Canyonlands National Park)

Island in the Sky has one accommodation. It is Willow Flat Campground and it is first come first served. There are no reservations. Because Canyonlands National Park is only 40 min. away from Arches, you could always opt to stay in Moab to explore Arches & Canyonlands. Or you can follow our road trip plans and drive to Capitol Reef when you finish up with Canyonlands. We stayed at Capitol Reef Resort. Explore all accommodations near Canyonlands National Park.

Capitol Reef (Day 6)

People often skip Capitol Reef National Park. I think it’s because there aren’t that many activities. It wasn’t our favorite, but we are so happy we went. The slower pace and fewer crowds were nice. Plus it offered scenery different than the others. It had orchards, farms, petroglyphs, and more. The hikes were pretty easy too.

Since it was very cold in the morning, the first thing that we did was the scenic drive including Grand Wash and Capitol Gorge. By that time it had warmed up enough to hike to Hickman Bridge. Then we looked at the petroglyphs and Gooseneck Overlook. I recommend all of them. It only took us about a half day.

Leaving Capitol Reef we decided to drive Utah Scenic Byway 12. It is one of the most scenic roads in America and it is beautiful. We took scenic byway 12 all the way to Bryce Canyon and it took about 2.5 hours.

We stayed at Best Western Plus Bryce Canyon.

Best Things To Do In Capitol Reef National Park

• Capitol Reef Scenic Drive
  7.9-mile paved road with dirt roads that go into Grand Wash & Capitol Gorge. This is weather-permitting and accessible by all vehicles.
• Hickman Bridge Trail
  1.7 miles out and back
  416 ft. elevation gain
  Moderate difficulty
  ~1 hr. hiking time
• Cassidy Arch Trail
  3.1 miles out and back
  666 ft. elevation gain
  Moderate difficulty
  ~1 hr. 40 min. hiking time
• Petroglyphs
• Gooseneck Overlook
• Explore Fruita District
• Goosenecks & Sunset Point
  2.5 miles out and back
  544 elevation gain
  Easy trail
  ~1 hr. 20 min. hiking time
  *This is a great place to catch a sunset

Capitol Reef is the least visited park of Utah’s Mighty 5. Nothing was too busy when we were there. Feel free to arrange your day how you see fit. The Petroglyphs are near the park entrance, so that would be a great thing to see first. Here’s the order we explore the park:
Scenic Drive through the Waterpocket Fold -> Hickman Bridge -> Petroglyphs -> Gooseneck Overlook

*We didn’t get out and explore the Fruita District because we were cold and forgot to go back after it warmed up. However, I’ve heard so many great things about it. You may want to consider adding it to your itinerary.

Best Place to Stay (Capitol Reef)

For people looking to camp, you can stay at the Fruita Campground inside the park. For those looking for other accommodations, the nearby city of Torrey has a few options. You can see all Capitol Reef accommodations here.

After exploring Capitol Reef we drove 2.5 hours to Bryce Canyon and stayed at Best Western Plus Bryce Canyon.

Bryce Canyon National Park (Day 7)

This mamma wanted to catch a sunrise at Bryce Canyon. So we woke up incredibly early to catch one. We watched the sunrise at Sunset Point. I know it sounds backward, but trust me it is an amazing place to watch a sunrise. We hiked down to Thor’s Hammer to get away from the crowd. It was beautiful and really cold. After sunrise, we went back to the hotel to eat some breakfast. This Best Western Plus had the best free breakfast of any hotel on our whole trip.

After breakfast, we decided to start our day at Bryce with some viewpoints instead of hikes because it was so cold. First, we went to Inspiration Point, Bryce Point, and Paria View. We finally wanted to hike and had the hardest time getting a parking spot. I highly recommend that you hike first and check out the viewpoints last as parking took forever.

Once we were finally parked we hiked Navajo Loop/Queens Garden Trail. This hike is pretty easy except when you come back up out of the amphitheater. After completing the hike we did the scenic drive down to Rainbow Point, Yovimpa Point. Along the way, we stopped at a lot of other viewpoints but Natural Bridge was the best one. So don’t skip it. Then we went to the Mossy Cave trail. It is really neat and kid-friendly. There is a beautiful waterfall and a mossy cave. The trail follows a stream that is really shallow and many kids play in it, which is really nice on a hot day.

Our day ended with driving the rest of Utah Scenic Byway 12 on the way to Zion National Park. We entered Zion by Utah 9 and oh my gosh, it was unlike anything we have ever seen before. This was Zion’s scenic drive and it was my favorite part of Zion.

We stayed at Hampton Inn in Springdale, just down the street from the entrance of the park.

Best Things To Do In Bryce Canyon National Park

• Watch a sunrise at sunset point
• Hike Queens Garden Navajo Loop
  3.1-mile loop
  649 ft. elevation gain
  Easy trail
  ~1 hr. 40 min. hiking time
• Drive Bryce Canyon Scenic Drive stopping at viewpoints
• Hike Mossy Cave Turret Arch and Little Windows Trail
  0.9 miles out and back
  121 ft. elevation gain
  Easy trail
  ~25 min. hiking time

We had a horrible time getting parking to hike Queens Garden/Navajo Loop in the late morning. Here’s the order in which I highly recommend you do these activities:
Watch the sunrise at Sunset Point -> Hike Queens Garden/Navajo Loop (starts at sunset point) -> Bryce Canyon Scenic Drive -> Mossy Cave

Best Place To Stay (Bryce Canyon National Park)

Bryce Canyon has one lodge in the park, The Lodge at Bryce Canyon. It also has 2 campgrounds inside the national park, North Campground & Sunset Campground. Additionally, you can stay just outside the park in the town of Bryce City. You can check out all accommodations near Bryce Canyon National Park here.

After exploring Bryce Canyon we drove to Zion National Park and stayed at a Hampton Inn in Springdale.

Zion National Park (Day 8)

Zion is one of the busiest National Parks. So we decided that we needed to get there as early as possible. You are not allowed to drive your car in Zion. In order to get into Zion, we decided to get to their bus station by 7 am to catch the first bus. We ended up catching the second bus that came through because there were already so many people there.

My best advice for Zion is to arrive early and do the most popular hike on your list first! We started our day with Angels Landing Trail but stopped at Scout’s Lookout. My kids didn’t want to attempt Angels Landing, and I don’t blame them after seeing it in person. Many kudos to those brave souls who tried/completed the Angels Landing hike. The hike to Scouts Lookout was impressive, to say the least. It is my family’s favorite hike. Challenging, but worth it.

Next up we hiked the Kayenta Trail to the Emerald Pools (upper and lower) and took the Emerald Pools Trail back to the Zion Lodge. At this point, our son was complaining that his foot was hurting. We told the kids we would get ice cream from the lodge and then realized we left our money in the car (all the way back at the visitor center). We decided to hop back on the bus to go to our car and get the money. When we arrived at the visitor center we realized we had made a huge mistake. The wait to get back on the bus to go to Zion was around 3.5 hours!! Thankfully someone told us to take the Pa’rus trail from the visitor center to Zion Human History Museum and catch the bus from there. Our ice cream adventure cost us about 2 hours! I wish I was joking. Make sure you bring everything and then some with you into Zion so you don’t have to mess with heading in and out of Zion unless your day is complete.

After our long detour for ice cream, we hiked weeping rock and did the riverside walk. I wish we could have hiked the Narrows but we heard the water levels were pretty high and didn’t want to try with our youngest. Zion is our family’s favorite National Park of all the parks we saw on this Utah road trip. After hiking Zion we drove 2 hours and 16 minutes to Wingate by Wyndham in Page, Arizona.

Best Things To Do In Zion National Park

• Hike Scouts Lookout or go all the way to Angel’s Landing
  (Scouts Lookout is basically a viewpoint on your way to Angel’s Landing)
  *To hike Angel’s Landing you need a permit.
  ~4.4 miles out & back
  ~1604 elevation gain
  Hard Trail
• Hike the Narrows or the Riverside Trail
  If you choose not to hike the Narrows, the Riverside Trail is a boardwalk along the river. At the end of the trail, you can see the beautiful entrance to the slot canyon which is also the starting point of the Narrows.
• Hike Emerald Pools Trail
  3.0-mile loop
  620 ft. elevation gain
  Moderate difficulty
  ~1 hr. and 30 min. hiking time

Here is the order in which we explore Zion National Park.
Scouts Lookout -> Emerald Pools -> Weeping Rock -> Riverside Trail

If you plan on hiking the Narrows and doing everything else, I recommend adding an extra day to Zion.

If you plan on hiking to Angel’s Landing, you’ll need to plan the rest of your activities around your permitted time.

Things to do near Zion: Kanarra Falls
Zion Shuttle & Parking: Tips for Zion National Park Shuttle & Parking
Pack: What To Pack For Zion

Best Places To Stay (Zion National Park)

Zion National Park has 3 campgrounds (Watchman Campground, South Campground & Lava Point Campground). They also have a lodge (Zion Lodge). The city of Springdale offers a plethora of other accommodations nearby. You can see those accommodations here.

When we finished exploring Zion we drove about 2 hrs. to Page, Arizona. We stayed at Wingate by Wyndham.

Page, Arizona (Day 9)

We arrived at Horseshoe Bend around 9 am. I don’t recommend getting there any later. There were already tour buses there and it was already really hot. We call Horseshoe Bend the best bang for your buck. It’s free, the hike is short and simple and Horseshoe Bend is amazing.

Once we were finished there we drove 9 minutes to Ken’s Tours to see Lower Antelope Canyon. The cost to tour Antelope Canyon can be kind of costly. Especially if you have a family to pay for, but it is so worth it. Our kids were nearly in tears when our hour-long tour ended and quickly asked if we could do it again. They literally wanted to hop right back in line. However, you need to book your tour in advance, so hopping back in line was not an option.

We’ve only gone once but I’m pretty sure we had the BEST tour guide ever. He shared a lot of Navajo stories, was eager to take pictures for anyone at any time, set our group’s cameras to the right settings, told us where to take pictures, and never made us feel rushed. When our tour was over we drove through Monument Valley and made a quick stop to get a Forrest Gump picture.

I’m sad to say but this was the last stop on our amazing vacation. We left there and drove approximately 5 hours and 15 minutes to Hampton Inn in Rifle, CO.

Lincoln, Nebraska (Day 10)

We drove 9.5 hours from Rifle, Co to Lincoln, Nebraska, and stayed at Hampton Inn.

Home (Day 11)

We made the 10-hour trek from Lincoln, Nebraska to West Michigan, our home. Along the way, we stopped at The World’s Largest Truck Stop in Iowa. If you are driving by it is an interesting place to fill up, use bathrooms, eat, or shop.

Best Time to Road Trip to Utah’s National Parks

Utah’s Mighty 5 are open and accessible year round! You can take this road trip anytime. That being said, Spring & Fall tend to have better weather and fewer crowds. Here’s what to expect of Utah’s National Parks throughout the seasons.

Spring

Spring at Utah’s National Parks brings sunny skies, warm days & cool nights. The temperatures are perfect, but you’ll want to dress in layers if you plan on starting your adventures early A.M. Some mornings can be chilly but when the sun comes out it doesn’t hold back. Spring Winds are common in April, which can cause brutal dust storms. Bring a light scarf or something you can put over your face if needed. It’s also important to point out that many school’s spring breaks fall at the end of March and the beginning of April. This means that those times may be busy.

We went during spring break and while there was a lot of people, we were able to avoid most of the large crowds by starting our day early.

If passing through mountains in early spring, it’s important to note that they may still be getting snow storms. In order to pass through the mountains during a snowstorm, you have to have an all-wheel drive car or chains for your tires. These storms may also cause road closures.
*While this could also apply to National Parks, I’m talking about the mountains on the way to or from Utah’s National Parks.

Summer

Even though temps skyrocket to over 100 degrees in the summer, it’s still Utah’s National Park’s busiest season. This is due to kids being on summer break. If you choose to road trip the Mighty 5 during the summer, bring plenty of water, sunblock and opt to explore early morning or evening.

Fall

Fall is a great time to visit. The days are still warm (not hot) and the nights are cool. As the temperatures drop, the crowds will dissipate. September & October have nearly perfect weather because of this they are also the busiest months of the fall season. If visiting in the fall, you’ll want to dress in layers.

Winter

Winter in Utah is beautiful, but also cold. The snow and freezing temperatures can make your hike difficult and slick. Before exploring Utah’s National Parks in the winter, check with the national parks website for any trail or road closures.

If passing through mountains during winter, it’s important to note that they have snow storms. In order to pass through the mountains during a snowstorm, you have to have an all-wheel drive car or chains for your tires. These storms may also cause road closures.
*While this could also apply to National Parks, I’m talking about the mountains on the way to or from Utah’s National Parks.

Tips For Planning a Utah National Parks Road Trip

• America the Beautiful National Parks Pass
  Since you will be visiting 5 national parks on this Utah National Parks road trip, buying an America the Beautiful Pass will save you money. Plus you can continue to visit any national park throughout the year for free. The yearly pass costs $80, while admission to each of the Mighty 5 parks will cost $150! The American the Beautiful Pass will save you $70.
• How to avoid crowds
  -Visit mid-week or during off-peak seasons.
  -Start your day early. The earlier the better.
  -Do the most popular attractions first and as early as possible.
• Book accommodations in advance
  Campsites and lodging fill quickly. If you’d like to have options on where to stay, I’d recommend booking 6 months to a year in advance.
• Always check Alltrails and NPS websites right before your road trip
  Alltrails – Read recent comments about trails or hiking conditions.
  NPS – Check for recent alerts or changes made to a National Park
• Pack layers
  Mornings and nights can get chilly while the daytime is hot. This means that if you start your hikes early, you’ll most likely be chilly. However, when the sun comes out you’ll be sweating if you don’t dress in layers.
• Download maps beforehand
  Utah’s National Parks are remote. Cell reception can be spotty and even nonexistent.

How to get to Utah’s National Parks & Pit Stops

Road-tripping to Utah can take a few days depending on where your starting point is. To help keep you sane on the way there and back, I’ll share some fun pit stops from different areas in the United States.

Of course, you can always fly to Las Vegas or Salt Lake City and then rent a car. If you plan on flying, keep an eye on the prices of flights and rental cars at both places. One city may be cheaper than the other. Depending on where you are coming flying can drastically cut down the time you’ll spend in a vehicle. Find great deals on flights and rental cars.

Helpful Resources We Can’t Live Without

Accommodations- We love and swear by HiltonHonors, but when we want to stay someplace different, we use Hotels.com. You can search for deals on hotels, cabins, houses & more.

Getting There- Roadtripping with our car is how we prefer to travel. That being said, Skyscanner has great deals on flights and RVShare has deals on RV rentals.

Other Favorites-
Save money on gas- Upside
Find pit stops on your route- RoadTrippers
Deals on local food & attractions- Living Social
Explore top city attractions at a fraction of the price- CityPASS

Looking for gear? See the best deals on clothing & gear here, & best travel essentials here.
Looking for road trip food ideas? Check out food for road trips you’ll love.
Learn how to travel on a budget.
See the best hiking apps

What to Pack for Utah National Parks Road Trip

How Much Did It Cost Us To Road Trip to Utah’s National Parks?

Lodging – $447 and 163,000 hotel points
–Hotel prices around the national parks in Utah are ridiculous and so is the amount of Hilton Honor Points you’d need to get a free room. When we realized this, we decided to look into camping for a cheaper option, however, since we’d be staying in a new place every night, we thought it would be too much work to pack up a campsite every day.
-We had enough Hilton points to get 4 free nights at Hampton Inn and 1 at Homewood Suites. We got these points by using a Hilton Credit Card. We were able to get 2 more hotel nights free due to an old credit card that we no longer use but had points we were able to cash in. Then we got 1 free night at a Marriott hotel from the Marriott Rewards program. There were 2 hotels that we had to pay for. One was a cabin that cost $241 a night! The other hotel we paid for was Best Western in Bryce. That hotel cost us $206.

Gas – $600
We used our Hilton credit card so that we could earn points. The Hilton card gave us 5X points on gas purchases.
*We drove our mid-size SUV instead of our small car because we wanted to drive through the mountains and didn’t know how snowy the roads would be in early April. **We budgeted our gas to be less, however, the National Parks are HUGE! We did a lot of driving in the parks.

Food – $300
We like to pack our own food for road trips. It can save a lot of money and time. We keep a cooler and snacks handy so that when we are ready, we can just grab it and eat. We opted for hotels that had free breakfast and chose to pack many of our lunches at the parks. But there were some days that we just wanted something else to eat and opted for fast food.

Entertainment – $301
This included Henry Doorly Zoo, America the Beautiful Pass, Hanging Lake, Lower Antelope Tour, Horseshoe Bend & Monument Valley.

Total Trip Expenses
Lodging- $447, 163,000 points* and 3 free nights (explained above)
Gas- $600
Food- $300
Entertainment- $301
Total- $1648 and 163,000 reward points
*Hilton was running a promotion where we received bonus points for each Hilton stay. So on top of our earned points from using the Hilton American Express credit card, we received an additional 20,000 points! 20,000 points were enough to pay for a weekend getaway in our favorite place- St. Louis!

Here are some popular national park reads:

8 Best Hikes in Badlands National Park
10 Easy Hikes in Grand Teton National Park
US National Park List By State
East Coast Road Trip to Acadia National Park
Gifts for National Park Lovers

Every single one of the places that we talked about should be on everybody’s bucket list. Each place is so unique. Whether you follow our Utah National Parks road trip or create your own, make sure that you see them all at some point. With the number of days we had over spring break, we have no regrets about the destinations we chose. Zion is our favorite of the Mighty 5, but Antelope Canyon is unbelievable too.

Remember, the earlier you explore, the better your chances of missing the massive crowds. We saw the crowds, but thankfully only as we were leaving places. This is why we chose to drive at night to a hotel close to our next destination, so we could arrive at the parks early.

Have you ever been to one of these places? What is your favorite and how was your experience?

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