ITINERARIES
Southern Utah (+ some Arizona)
8-9 Day Trip for Families
Enjoy the fabulous “Utah Five” National Parks plus Monument Valley and Antelope Canyon in this epic trip to some of the most beautiful parts of America!
Deciding when to go
Southern Utah can get very hot in the summer and there is not always a lot of shade. It can also get cold and snowy in the winter. Because of this, we recommend visiting during April/Spring Break, EARLY June if you want to go during summer break, or in October/Fall Break time. If you go during late June – September, you’ll want to avoid hiking in the heat of the day.
Flights and Rental Car if Needed
To maximize your time, you can fly to St. George, Utah (SGU). It is served by several major airlines and puts you much closer to the spectacular scenery of Southern Utah. If there isn’t a good flight to St. George that meets your needs, you can fly to Las Vegas. It’s about a 2.5 hour drive from Vegas to your first destination.
You’ll also want to rent a car if you’re not driving to the area so you can get around to all the parks. Price out car rentals from the two airport options (St. George or Las Vegas) and consider the cost differences when dedicing which airport to fly in to. To find good deals on rental cars, we recommend checking a site that compares many companies at once. We like booking.com for this because it compares all brands, has free cancelation, and if you sign up for a free membership you get discounts.
Lodging
This trip involves hopping around to multiple places. We personally prefer staying in hotels for hopping around multiple places and having a comfortable space to sleep in after a day of hiking. If you like camping and staying in an RV, contact us and we’ll send you our list of recommended camp grounds (thanks to some of our full-time RV traveling family members).
If booking hotels, we recommend booking most your hotels through booking.com to rack up savings in their membership program. You can also try to stick to one hotel brand to earn points (we prefer Marriott Bonvoy), but on trips like this there won’t always be on-brand hotels in the places you need, so a more general hotel booking site may be better.
Hotel recommendations:
- Nights 1 and 2 (Near Zion NP): Hampton Inn & Suites Springdale – Staying in Springdale is very convient to Zion because you can pick up a free shuttle into the park and avoid the craziness of parking in this very popular park. This hotel has free breakfast and a nice pool with a view.
- Night 3 (Near Bryce Canyon NP): Best Western Plus Bryce Canyon Grand Hotel – close to Bryce Canyon, spacious rooms, free breakfast, and a nice pool and hot tub.
- Night 4 (Near Capitol Reef NP): Capitol Reef Resort – a perfect location with great views and fun room options! You can stay in a typical hotel room or try a cottage, wagon room, or a teepee! So fun for families plus there’s a pool with a great view.
- Nights 5 and 6 (Near Arches NP): Springhill Suites Moab – this hotel has multiple pools and hot tubs with gorgeous views, free breakfast, and family suites.
- Night 7 (Near Monument Valley): The View Hotel – stay at this Navajo-owned hotel with incredible views of Monument Valley, a restaurant on site, and right next to hiking and tours.
Other Reservations
- America the Beautiful Pass – save time and buy this National Park Annual Pass in advance. Your pass will be mailed to you so be sure to do this at least 2 weeks in advance. The pass will get you entrance to all National Parks.
- Arches National Park Reservation – you must have a timed reservation to enter the park during the most popular times of the year. Check the dates you’ll be visiting to see if you need a reservation and when reservation booking windows open.
- Angels Landing Trail Permit – we don’t recommend doing this trail with kids, but if you have teens or adult children and want to do this challenging and very popular trail, you must have a permit. Permits are given out via a seasonal or daily lottery system. Learn more >
- Monument Valley Tour – This is completely optional, but tours of Monument Valley get you to places you can’t on your own and allow you to learn more about the history. Tours are usually in an open-air 4×4. Sunset is the best time to go because the light will bathe the rock formations in golden light making them even more beautiful! I do recommend taking a tour, but they can be pricey. Keep in mind you are supporting the Navajo people. Some of the tours we recommend:
- Antelope Canyon Tour – you can only visit this beautiful canyon located on Native American land with a tour. You can choose between Upper or Lower Antelope Caynon and honestly both are equally beautiful! Upper is eaiser to navigate if you have younger children or mobility issues. This page has a chart with a side-by-side comparison of the two options.
Book your tour on the 8th day of your trip, ideally with a start time between 10am-1pm (you’ll have a 2-hour drive from Monument Valley before you arrive).
The tour operators to consider:- Antelope Canyon Tours (Upper only)
- Antelope Slot Canyon Tours (Upper only)
- Dixie’s Lower Antelope Canyone Tours (Lower only)
Mental Preparation
- Weather may alter your plans! Be ready to be flexible.
- Unless you’re visiting during the off-season (which will be cold), there will be crowds! There may be times you have to wait on a trail for a crowd to pass and you may have to edit other people out of your photos. Be patient and have the right expectations and you’ll still have a great time!
- This is not a relaxing vacation – it’s a fun family adventure! Not every moment will be perfect. Kids will get tired, siblings will fight. Talk to your family about having patience and grace with each other.
- Clothes that match the weather. Check the 10-day weather forecast for the locations you’ll be visiting. You may need layers for cooler mornings/evenings. Bring casual and comfortable clothes for hiking. Also have clothes that can get wet.
- Multiple pairs of shoes including shoes you can hike in and closed-toed shoes that can get wet
- All Toiletries
- Backpack or cross-shoulder bag to carry around essentials during the day and while hiking
- All chargers – phones, watches, tablets, etc.
- Sunscreen
- Hats to keep the sun off you
- Sunglasses (even for little kids – it gets very bright)
- Medicines
- Ponchos or rain coats
- Water bottles
- Walking sticks or trekking poles
- First aid kit
- Camalback water backpack – great for hiking hands free and not having to carry a big water bottle.
- If traveling during summer, you may want to bring a neck fan and/or a cooling towel to help with the heat while hiking.
Prices are always going to vary! But here are some ranges/estimates to help you budget:
- Flights (if needed) – $300-600 per person
- 8 hotel nights – $200-400 per night
- Food – $80-100/adult per day, $40-60/kid per day
- Shopping – this can vary a lot depending on your shopping habits, but most of the places you will visit will have gift shops adn you may want to pick up some souvenirs.
- Activity costs:
– America the Beautiful Pass – $80
– Monument Valley Tour (optional) – $50-90 per person
– Antelope Canyon Tour – $75-90 per person
Jump to a Day
Day 1
Arrive and Explore Zion National Park
Fly in, pick up your rental car, and start driving toward Zion National Park.
If you flew into St. George, it’s about a 55 minute drive to Springdale, where your hotel is if you booked the Hampton Inn & Suites Springdale. The hotel is located at:
1127 Zion Park Boulevard, Springdale, UT 84767, United States
Hampton Inn & Suites Springdale
Check in, settle in, change into hiking clothes and shoes
Walk to the stop for the Springdale Shuttle. This free shuttle will take you into the park. Using the shuttle is usually much more convient then trying to find parking yourself inside the park. The shuttles take you to every major site and trail and arrive every 10-15 minutes.
If you’d like to start with a trip to the Visitor’s Center to learn more about Zion, you can get off at that bus stop first. If not, continue on and get off at Zion Lodge.
Emerald Pools Hike
About this hike: This is a good first hike in the park! It’s not too difficult but will give you beautiful views of the river, the rocks, the valley, and it leads to areas with pools of water and a waterfall (although sometimes the waterfall may be dry and the pools may not have much water in them). This hike has a destination point (the pools) but the real star is the beauty around you and the views you will see as you hike. Part paved, part sand, some rocks, some staris, and some elevation – but overall it’s not too hard and kid-friendly.
Time of day: Ideally you want to start this hike about 2.5-3 hours before sunset. That will give you enough daylight but the peak crowds will have passed.
Directions: From Zion Lodge, follow the paved Emerald Pools Trail that will cross over the river. This trail can be done as a loop with one out and back spurt to Upper Emerald Pool. Once you see the Lower and Upper Emerald Pools, follow the trail the opposite of the way you came in (this will be the Kayenta Trail) which will take you over the river again to the Grotto Trail which leads back to Zion Lodge. This route is just short of 3 miles:
WARNING: The spurt trail to the Upper Emerald Pool is the more dangerous part of the trail. I would not do this part with todders or very young kids.
When you finish the hike, go into Zion Lodge for dinner. You can eat at Red Rock Grill (best if you made a reservation) of get a casual dinner at Castle Dome Cafe.
When you’re done, catch a bus back to town and back to your hotel for bed.
Day 2
Zion National Park
- Wake up early to beat the crowds! We recommend getting on the shuttle to the parks by 8am.
- Eat breakfast at your hotel. Even if you’re not a big breakfast person, you’re about to do a lot of activity without places to stop for food, so eat something.
- Get dressed in comfortable clothes that you can hike in and get wet in. Wear closed toed shoes you can hike in AND can get wet. You may also want a jacket that you can tie around your waist. Your first hike will be The Narrows where you will be wading in water in the shade of a canyon and you could get cold.
- Pack a backpack with water bottles or carry a Camelback. Pack sunscreen, hats, sunglasses, first aid kit, phone or camera, and walking sticks/treking poles.
- We recommend getting on the shuttle to the parks around 8am to avoid bigger crowds.
- Get off at stop #9 – Temple of Sinawava. Use the restrooms before you begin hiking.
The Narrows hike is one of the more popular hikes in Zion National Park, and one of the most memorable! You will be hiking at the bottom of the canyon in the Virgin River with huge canyon walls around you. Sometimes the with of the canyon is only about 20 feet wide, hence the name – the Narrows.
This is a hike that is about the journey, not the destination. You will constantly have beauty around you and there is not a single destination you are trying to reach. Because of this, you can hike for as long as you’d like, then turn around.
If you have never walked in a creek/river before – it can be a lot of fun and our kids love it, but it can be tricky. You need to have proper closed toed shoes with good traction, and be in good shape and able to keep your balance well. You will have to climb over some rocks and choose your footing well. We recommend hiking with a walking stick of treking poles to help keep your balance.
Take the bus from Temple of Sinawava to Zion Lodge (stop #5) for lunch at the Castle Dome Cafe.
After hiking and creek walking all morning, you will want some time to come back to your hotel and change, shower, and relax. You could also take time to enjoy the hotel pool.
If you don’t want to take a break and relax, there are many other hikes in Zion that you could enjoy during the afternoon. Here is a quick guide >
Hiking during golden hour in Zion is breathtaking! Depending on when sunset is, head out about 1.5 hours before sunset for the best lighting. Going later in the day also gives you a better chance at finding parking.
We recommend trying the Canyon Overlook Trail because it’s only 1 mile and has great views. This is one you will have to drive to because there is no bus stop in this part of the park. Use this map to the parking area. The parking area is small, but there are also overflow lots along the road.
It is a pretty easy trail but there are some drop-offs and there is one part where you walk over a boardwalk built into the rock, which is really cool, but keep a close eye on small children.
There are many options for dinner in Springdale! And many of them have outdoor seating with great views is the sun is still out. A few good family-friendly options include:
- Zion Canyon Brewpub – Burgers, pub food, beer, and a kids menu.
- Oscar’s Cafe – Tex-Mex
- The Park House – sandwhiches, tacos, brunch and more in an ecletic and homey atmosphere
- Bit & Spur Restaurant and Saloon – southwestern food and atmosphere
Day 3
Kolob Canyon, Cedar Breaks National Monument, and Bryce Canyon
Pack up, eat breakfast at your hotel, load your car, and try to leave by 9am or earlier.
Dress based on the weather for the day and for doing a few hikes (neither are in water or difficult so regular athletic shoes are fine).
- Drive to the Kolob Canyon section of Zion Naitonal Park, about 45 minutes away. Map >
- Drive the 5 mile scenic drive along Koleb Canyons Road to see great views.
- Stop at the Timber Creed Overhead Trailhead to hike this 1.5 mile out-and-back trail with amazing views. The hike is pretty easy and should take about 40 minutes.
- Drive to the Cedar Breaks National Monument Visitor’s Center. (The center itself may be closed.) The drive between Kolob Canyon and Cedar Breaks is about 55 minutes.
- From the Visitor’s Center, walk out to the Point Supreme Viewpoint. From here, you’re standing at 10,000 feet in elevation looking down on an incredible half-mile deep amphitheater of red rocks and pine forests.
- Continue down the Highway 148 (turn left out of the Visitor’s Center) and drive 1 mile to the Sunset Point Overlook to get another unique viewpoint of Cedar Breaks.
- Drive to Bryce Canyon National Park (Map). The drive will take about 1 hour 20 minutes.
- If you’re hungry and need to get some food along the way, you can stop at The Burger Barn and BBQ.
- Bryce Canyon is the largest collection of hoodoos (irregularly-eroded rock spires) in the world. As you enter the park, you can stop at the Visitor’s Center to learn more about the park if you would like. If the parking lot is really full and it seems to be a busy day, once you find a parking spot – leave your car there and use the free shuttle buses to get around. If it doesn’t seem to bad, then continue driving on your own to the next stop.
- Take a shuttle bus from the Visitor’s Center or drive yourself to EITHER Sunset Point or Sunrise point. You can do this hike from either starting point. If driving yourself, which area you find parking may determine which starting point you choose. If taking the shuttle, choose Sunrise.
- Do the loop in a CLOCKWISE direction to make it easier and have better views while hiking.
- From Sunrise Point, descend on the Queen’s Garden trail and ascend either side of Navajo Loop (Two Bridges or Wall Street) to Sunset Point. Complete the loop by walking the easy 0.5 mile portion of the Rim Trail back to where you started the hike.
- This is a 3 mile hike and will take about 1.5-2.5 hours depending on your speed and how many stops you take. It is well worth it!
- Get the AllTrails app so you can map and track your hike. Map from AllTrails:
After the hike, use the park shuttles or drive yourself to these incredible vistas! It should be close to golden hour (the last few hours before sunset) making the views extra beautiful!
- Inspiration Point
- Bryce Point
There are 2 main options for dining inside Bryce Canyon.
Valhalla Pizzaria – pizzas, salads, and baked goods. This is the more afordable option if your family can split pizzas. Learn more >
Bryce Canyon Lodge Dining Room – casual, no reservations needed. Menu includes steak, seafood, burgers, and has a kids menu. See the menu >
Drive to Best Western Plus Bryce Canyon Grand Hotel and check-in. If your not quite ready to sleep you can enjoy some pool time before bed!
Day 4
Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef National Park
- Eat breakfast and check out of your hotel.
- Dress for the day based on weather and prepared to do a few hikes. The first hike has the option to walk and play in a creek so I recommend wearing water-friendly shoes and then keep a change of shoes (and possibly clothes for kids that like to splash) easy accessible in your car.
- Try to leave by 9am at the latest, but a bit earlier is always better to beat the crowds.
- Drive to the Mossy Cave Trailhead (about 8 minutes from the hotel)
- This easy 1 mile out-and-back trail that takes you past hoodoos, a small river you can play in, a waterfall, and a cave/sheltered overhang that is often mossy in the summer.
Drive 125 miles via the scenic Highway 12 to Capitol Reef National Park.
Google may tell you the route via Johns Valley Road is a few minutes faster, but the extra few minutes going Highway 12 is worth it for the scenery! The trip will take about 2 hours and 20 minutes without much traffic.
Stop for lunch in the town of Torrey before getting into the National Park.
Capitol Reef National Park features cliffs, canyons, domes, and bridges in the Waterpocket Fold, a wrinkle on the earth extending almost 100 miles. In 2025, part of the scenic drive and some parking lots will be under construction. This limits what you can get to and limits parking.
What we recommend doing:
- As you enter the park and are drving on State Route 24, before you get to the Visitor’s Center, stop at the Goosenecks and Sunset Point overlooks for beautiful panoramic views. Map >
- Next, stop at the Visitor’s Center to learn more about this facinating geologic area.
- Continue along Route 24 and stop at the Petroglyph Panels. You can see ancient drawings carved in the rocks. Bring binoculars to get a closer view.
- Hike the Hickman Bridge Trail – a 2 mile trail where you get to see a 133-foot natural bridge and canyon views. With some roads closed, this is going to be an even more popular hike than it was before the closure and there is not a huge parking lot. You’ll be arriving around mid-afternoon so hopefully you can get lucky with someone leaving but you may have to circle the parking lot for a bit. If it’s a lost cause, it’s ok! Travel on to the next hike and try to find parking there. Trail map on AllTrails >
- Hike all or part of the Grand Wash Trail if time/sunlight and energy allow. Hiking the full trail is 4.7 miles but it is easy and flat with interesting rock features, a narrows area, and great views of the canyons.
Head back to Torry and check into your hotel – the Capitol Reef Resort.
Eat dinner in Torry. There are several family-friendly options near the resort including The Pioneer Kitchen (at the resort) and the Rim Rock Restaurant (across the street).
Enjoy the resort after dinner!
Day 5
Canyonlands National Park
Check out time isn’t until 11am, so we recommend getting breakfast at The Pioneer Kitchen and then enjoying the gorgeous pool with a view for a bit before you pack up and start driving.
- Enjoy the beautiful drive to Canyonlands National Park. It will take about 2 hours and 40 minutes to reach the Islands in the Sky Visitor’s Center. Map >
- Stop for food along the way. There are several restaurants and fast food stops off I-70 near Green River.
- Canyonlands contains canyons and buttes carved by the Colorado and Green rivers. There are 4 sections of the park and 3 of them are more remote and require more intense hiking. We recommend families visit the Island in the Sky section.
- Stop by the Islands in the Sky Visitor’s Center to learn more about the park.
- Continue along Grand View Point Road and there are spots you can pull off to see scenic vistas.
- Stop at the Mesa Arch Trail, a short (0.6 miles) trail to a cliff-edge arch.
- Continue driving on Grand View Point Road to the end where you can park and do a 1.8 mile hike to Grand View Point. This out-and-back trail follows the canyon edge and has fantastic panoramic views.
- If you want to do another hike, you can also do White Rim Overlook (1.8 miles). This overlook faces East so you can see the Colorado River, Monument Basin and La Sal Mountains in the background.
Drive out of the park and toward Moab. It’s about a 35 minute drive.
Check in to the SpringHill Suites.
There are many restaurants in Moab to choose from. Here are a bunch in a map >
There are also grocery stores and fast food around. You could also grab some take out and eat it out by the beautiful pools and hot tubs at the hotel!
Day 6
Arches National Park
- Enjoy the free breakfast at the hotel.
- Dress for the day’s weather and for hiking.
- Pack camel backs and extra water with you! Also pack snacks and a picnic lunch.
- Leave in time to get to your reservation entry time.
- Stop by the Visitor’s Center if you would like to learn more about the park. You may also want to pick up a physical map to make it easier to find the spots below.
- Drive along the main road and stop at viewpoints as parking allows.
- Stop at Balanced Rock and do the short loop trail (0.3 miles) to get some unique perspectives of the rock formation.
- Turn right off the main road toward The Windows.
- Find parking in The Windows parking lot and walk out on the trail to get great views of Double Arch, the tallest arch in the park. Continue along the .7 mile loop trail to see North and South Windows and Turret Arch. The Windows Trail map >
- Go back out to the main road and turn right. You can stop at Panorma Point to take in the beautiful landscape if there’s parking.
- Turn right toward Delicate Arch. Delicate Arch is the most famous arch in the park. You have 2 options for viewing it. You can do a 3 mile hike with no shade to get up close to it (ONLY do this if it’s not crazy hot, you have sun protection, and PLENTY of water), or you can drive to the 2nd parking area that has short trails to viewpoints where you’ll see the arch in the distance.
Trail map and photos for the 3-mile hike to Delicate Arch > or
Trail map and photos of the viewpoint trail > - Go back out to the main road and turn right.
- Stop at Sand Dunes Arch trail and walk the short trail (0.4 miles) to a hidden arch between two sandstone walls. You will walk through sand to reach this one, which kids may find fun!
- Continue on to the last recommended hike of the day, Landscape Arch Trail. You will park near the Devil’s Garden Trailhead, but we don’t recommend you do the 8 miles Devil’s Garden Trail. Instead you can hike an easy 1.8 out-and-back route to see Landscape Arch. There are also two spur trails to see Pine Tree Arch and Tunnel Arch. Once you’ve seen these arches, turn around and head back the way you came. Devil’s Garden Trail map on AllTrails >
- Exit the park
After all that hiking you may want to enjoy some time at the pool or hot tub!
Get dinner at one of the many options in Moab.
Day 7
Monument Valley
- Pack up, enjoy the free hotel breakfast, and check out of your room.
- Your about to head into a remote area for a while, so if you need any groceries, snacks, or water, pick them up while you’re still in Moab.
- Drive 150 miles (about 2.5-3 hours) to Monument Valley. Map >
- Pay the $8/person entry fee to enter the park. Stop by the Visitor’s Center to use the bathroom before you start the hike.
- You can grab lunch and snacks at The View Deli
- Since you just did a drive to the area, we recommend starting with this hike before you do the 17-mile scenic loop drive.
- The Wildcat Trail is a 4-mile loop trail that goes around the East and West Mitten Buttes. It’s a relatively easy trail and the views are great! But there’s not much shade so BRING WATER. You can also shorten the trail by just doing part of it and not walking all the way around the buttes. You can also skip this hike if it’s too hot.
- The hike begins near the Visitor’s Center and the campground. You may not have cell phone service so we hightly recommend having a subscription to AllTrails so you can view the trail map offline.
Drive the 17-mile loop road that will give you amazing views of the buttes, spires, and mesas. There are places you can pull off the side of the road to take pictures and get a better view.
Don’t wander off though. Hiking is only allowed on designated trails or with a permit.
It should be late enough in the day by now that you can check into your hotel.
Take a tour in an open-air 4×4 vehicle during the best time of the day for light. Sunset will bathe the rock formations in golden light making them even more beautiful! Tours take you to areas beyond the loop you did earlier and give you history and information you wouldn’t get otherwise. I do recommend taking a tour, but they can be pricey. Keep in mind you are supporting the Navajo people. Some of the tours we recommend:
Sunset tours usually depart 2.5 hours before sunset and most depart from The View hotel or close by. Depending on time of year, that could mean you need to check into your hotel after the tour if it’s an early start time, or it could mean eating dinner before you leave if it’s a late start time.
Eat dinner at The View Restaurant at your hotel. Reservations are not needed.
Day 8
Antelope Canyon
You can eat breakfast at The View Restaurant and enjoy a few last views of Monument Valley before you check out. Keep an eye on your time so that you will arrive on time for your Antelope Canyon tour.
As you leave and start driving toward Antelope Canyon, you can stop along Highway 163 at the “Forest Gump” spot if you would like for a photo. This is the spot where Forest is seen running with Monument Valley in the background.
The drive to Antelop Canyon will take about 2 hours. Map >
You can only visit Antelope Canyon on a guided tour which is why we included it in the Advanced Prep tab above. Make sure you arrive in plenty of time to catch your tour.
Depending on how much time you have and where you are flying out of:
- Drive back to St. George and spend the night before flying out the next morning, or take an evening flight. This drive is about 2 hours 45 minutes.
- Drive to Las Vegas, spend the night, and fly out the next morning or spend an extra day or 2 in Vegas. The drive from Antelope Canyon to Las Vegas is about 4.5 hours.
- Spend the night in Page and explore more in the area like Lake Powell and Horseshoe Bend, then travel on to where to you’re catching your flight in the morning.
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