Sacred lands, “goblin” formations, sandstone arches, “grand” canyons and hoodoos. My family’s ultimate Utah National Park road trip would introduce us to a landscape like no other we had ever seen. And for that reason, this vacation definitely floats to the top of destinations we have visited.
One piece of advice: Plan and research thoroughly and you will be rewarded with a National Park road trip that you will be talking about for years. Click here to read about my advice on how to plan a perfect National park vacation: https://followmyyellowbrickroad.com/?page_id=3011
My family”s ultimate Utah National Park Road trip began with a flight into…
Phoenix, Arizona
Welcome to desert and cactus! Quite a bit of a different landscape than us Northerners are used to.
Arriving late morning in Phoenix (time difference!), we weren’t going to be able to check into our hotel. So grabbing lunch and a food provision stop was on the itinerary.
Carolina’s Mexican Grill fit the bill for an inexpensive, tasty lunch.Then it was off to a local Costco for some supplies before we checked into the Kimpton Hotel Palomar Phoenix (using some airline points, of course!)! Bottled water, fruit, snacks and anything else that struck our fancy was on the shopping list. After checking in and cleaning up, we enjoyed the beautiful rooftop pool and had some snacks and drinks.
That evening, we headed out to a Diamondbacks baseball game at Chase Stadium which was in walking distance from our hotel. A perfect end to a VERY long day. After a good night’s sleep, we ate a yummy breakfast at the Original Big Breakfast.
Bellies full, we were off to the …
Grand Canyon South Rim
Almost a decade later, we were back at where our National Park journey began. This time, however, the weather was damper and cloudier than 10 years before, but this didn’t “dampen” our spirits.
We checked into the same lodge we stayed in 10 years earlier — Yavapai Lodge— and were greeted by some four legged visitors outside our room. Read more about our FIRST Grand Canyon visit (along with some other stops along the way) by clicking here:https://followmyyellowbrickroad.com/?page_id=735
Friends hanging outside our lodge. 
What a view!
Over our two day stop over, we headed out to some of the viewpoints along the south rim which gave us great panoramic vistas. The viewpoints can get a bit busy, but they are worth the wait to see.
Walking the Rim Trail, we actually found the same tree that my daughter was photographed on 10 years earlier. Well, a “then and now” photo was in order. What a memory!
With the Grand Canyon on our mind, we prepared to leave Arizona and head over to Utah where the bulk of our road trip would take place. Picnic lunch packed, out next stop was…
Monument Valley
Monument Valley is a tribal park owned by the Navajo Nation. It is a 92,000 acre valley, home to sandstone buttes. Set upon the Arizona-Utah border, it is a great place to hike, drive and take magnificent photos of this natural masterpiece.
Are you an old Western fan? Well, this is the place for you. Filmmaker, John Ford, chose this landscape for many of his westerns starring the one and only John Wayne.
Enjoy the slideshow!
The valley has two great hiking trails with various lookout points. Also, you are able to drive around the terrain but are limited to where you can go by the Navajo Nation. So, before we left home, I decided to book a tour with the Navajo Nation to get an inside look at this magnificent landscape. And I would highly recommend doing this since you cannot get to see too much without a guide since many areas are restricted.
After our tour was complete, we drove about three and half hours to Moab, to continue our Utah National Park Journey!
Moab, Utah...
is “the” base city for visiting two magnificent national parks — Arches and Canyonlands. There are no hotels or motels inside these parks — only campgrounds. With that said, I chose the Inca Inn & Motel for our accommodations, which provided clean, basic rooms with a free breakfast. And it was in walking distance to restaurants and shops and just about 5-10 miles from both parks. Just perfect! A burger and milkshake at Milt’s Stop N Eat for dinner topped off our day. After a good night’s sleep, we were ready to explore.
Arches National Park..
sits on over 76,000 acres and contains the world’s largest concentration of natural sandstone arches. In addition to its over 2,000 arches, the park contains an astounding variety of geological formations including sandstone fins, massive balanced rocks, soaring pinnacles and spires.
Arches National Park 
In addition to a paved scenic drive that takes visitors to many of the major viewpoints, there are many easy trails that offer you the chance to get out of the car and explore these amazing arches up close. Arches offers a wide variety of trails for hikers of all abilities. Just choose one, explore and be amazed! A walk around town and a yummy take out dinner at the food truck “Quesadilla Mobilla” ended another perfect day.
Canyonlands National Park
is a vast area of canyons and fantastically formed buttes carved by the Colorado River and its tributaries. Rivers divide the park into four districts: Island in the Sky, The Needles, The Maze, and the rivers themselves. Honestly, you could drive weeks around this park and not see it all. It’s really that huge.
What a sunset! 
Mesa Arch 
My recommendation is that you spend at least two days — one to explore the Island in the Sky and the other for the Needles District. A 34-mile round trip scenic drive through Island in the Sky is the best way to take in the natural beauty by car.
Sad to leave Moab but it was now time to take the four hour drive over to two more National Park gems — Bryce and Zion. Of course, we needed to fuel up on the way so, in my research. “La Pasadita Mexican Food,” a food truck located in a gas station in Green River, Utah fit the bill. Wow! Authentic, inexpensive and yummy Mexican food. Next stop…
Goblin Valley State Park
What was suppose to be a leg stretch turned out to be so much more. Sometimes, the unexpected and unusual are what you remember and cherish most in life as in travel. And Goblin Valley State Park is no different.
This strange and colorful valley is unlike any other in Utah. The landscape, covered with sandstone goblins and formations, is often compared to Mars. And the movie “Galaxy Quest” was filmed here!
Looking beyond the most popular sites and delving deeper into researching a destination provides some of the best memories. Read more about my family’s most unusual and unexpected destinations here:https://followmyyellowbrickroad.com/?p=1866
After an afternoon exploring this find, we drove into the Bryce area and checked into our hotel — Best Western, Ruby Inn which is situated right outside Bryce Canyon National Park for a 4 night stay. First stop…
Bryce Canyon National Park
This park has the largest concentration of hoodoos (irregular columns of rock) found anywhere on Earth. Erosion and the power of rainwater has shaped the colorful mud stone into these bizarre shapes. These whimsically arranged rocks create a landscape like no other. Some of my family’s most memorable walks were in this park.
An interesting fact…The park’s name has actually evolved over time. In 1923, it was named Bryce Canyon National Monument. Then in 1924, it was renamed Utah National Park when it was transferred to the National Park Service. On February 25, 1928 Utah National Park was changed to Bryce Canyon National Park.
Subsequent legislation enlarged the park to its current size of 35,835 acres.
A food tip.. IDK Barbecue, a food truck in the parking lot of the Grand Staircase Inn is highly recommended. We ate here several nights and the food was delicious!
Zion National Park…
is Utah’s first National Park. The highlight of Zion National Park is an expansive canyon.
As you walk, take in the massive sandstone cliffs of various colors that soar into the sky. Averaging 2,000 feet deep, Zion Canyon offers an abundance of hiking opportunities for all levels but I must say that this park offers some of the most difficult and dangerous hikes.
For the experienced hiker, try The Subway hike which requires you to wade/swim/scramble/climb down the Left Fork of North Creek. The Narrows hike is a really long hike — 16 miles — and can take over 8 hours to complete. And last but not least is Angels’s Landing, one of the scariest hikes in the world! My family passed on this one!
All good things come to end!
After an amazing 12 days, it was time to say goodbye. A late evening flight out of Las Vegas was in our future. So off we went to Las Vegas! Last time we were here was at the start of our Grand Canyon trip 10 years earlier.
So how would we spend our day before our 10pm flight? Well, first stop was In N’ Out Burger for lunch. Yum! Then, it was on to the National Atomic Testing Museum, a national science, history and educational institution that tells the story of America’s nuclear weapons testing program at the Nevada Test Site. I purchased Groupon tickets and it was well worth the visit.
Exploring the Strip and its hotels and casinos, some shopping for last minute souvenirs and dinner at Caesars Palace topped off our day before heading to the airport.