The Utah Mighty 5
- Traveling Cat Photos
- Jun 10, 2025
- 7 min read
Updated: Aug 15, 2025
The five National Parks of Utah are simply amazing. Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands and Arches will all take your breath away. We'll pass along the route for you to take that will also bring spectacular views your way!
In 2023 we fell in love with Utah and part of Colorado when we decided to do The Grand Circle Tour. Seven National Parks in a sort of circle on the map. Of those seven are the Utah Mighty Five. Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Arches and Canyonlands.
To complicate things, we decided to wiggle our route to include three more National Parks to that Circle for a grand total of TEN! Having only been to a few of these locations, when we were much younger, meant we really didn’t know what the logistics of such a trip would be. So, time to start Route Planning to figure out how to fit ten National Parks into 15 days.
Route planning can be very overwhelming. Figuring out what you are going to see, where you are going to stay, how many hours you want to spend driving can be exhausting. My first step is to put the “Big Pins” in the map. Places we really want to go and see. In this case, the National Parks and Monument Valley. The next is to find hotels or campgrounds near those Big Pins so we know where we are setting up each night. Next up is calculating the miles between the Big Pins and if we’ll need to stop in between those points somewhere. If that answer is Yes, then I need to figure out those accommodations as well. In this blog we are really just talking about the Mighty Five and how to get from one to another using the shortest and most direct path so we have the most time in the Parks possible.
Our first park was Joshua Tree on our way to Phoenix, what we considered the start of the Grand Circle trip we were going to take. Next up was The Grand Canyon, and we actually stayed inside the park at the Yavapai Lodge. This was our first time learning how to use the Shuttle System and seeing what we could see while we were there.
But it was when we left the Grand Canyon on our way to Zion that we learned our biggest lesson of this Grand Circle Tour. The roads connecting these Parks provide scenery that rival the Parks themselves! And this is the real reason we recommend you explore some, if not all, of this route.
We took Hwy 89 out of the Grand Canyon and then cut over towards Zion on 89A. Neither of us had ever been in this part of the country but, if you have been to Horseshoe Bend in Page, Arizona then chances are you arrived via Hwy 89. But 89A was where we got the biggest scenic views. From the spectacular views of the Vermillion Cliffs from the Navajo Bridge to the Cliff Dwellers boulders that are bigger than a house, this drive was worth the time.
We didn’t have much time to see Zion National Park, due to a hotel booking mishap in St. George, but we were determined to soak up as much as we possibly could even if it ended up being pretty much a “Drive-Thru” visit instead of the two days we thought we were going to have.
A quick word about “drive-thru” trips when it comes to National Parks. Many of them are designed for this opportunity knowing that most visitors are on limited time schedules. Some offer driving tour maps so you can see as many of the highlights as possible right from your car. There are a few where you absolutely have to get out and explore. If you don’t get out and hike or canoe or even take a boat or plane out to see them then you will be missing most, if not all, of that Park. Zion is one of those Parks where you can just drive through it and get out a few times to explore a tiny bit and still have a wonderful visit.
Because we were doing the drive through, we knew we didn’t have time for trams to the West Side of the park. This being the most popular part of Zion, the lines were over an hour long just to get on the tram. So, we took the drive up and through the Carmel Tunnel to the East Side instead and, Holy Moly, are we glad we did! The terrain totally changes on that side of the tunnel leaving us with some very memorable stops and even a mini “Wave” experience!
Heading to Bryce Canyon we took Hwy 9 to meet up with 89 again. Along the way we found a herd of Bison, the Thunderbird Restaurant and, after turning onto the 12, Red Canyon where you drive through rock arches and get your first glimpse of what Bryce Canyon National Park is going to look like and feel like!
Bryce Canyon National Park is an up and back drive. You, basically, drive till the road ends at Rainbow Point and then make your way back past some pretty incredible formations and short roads to even more incredible formations until you reach the entrance again. This is one of those National Parks where you do not need to be a hiker to enjoy the views but if you ARE a hiker there is a whole buffet of hikes that will simply amaze you! We had not intended to spend a lot of time in this Park and somehow ended up spending the entire day. It just grabs you and doesn’t let go!
Here is where we really went in the unconventional direction. The maps will tell you to take Hwy 15 to Capitol Reef National Park. The Park Ranger told us to take Hwy 12 instead, we wouldn’t regret it. Since the time frame was almost exactly the same, we decided to take the Ranger’s recommendation and ended up with a drive, and a Visitor’s Center, we will never forget. This route takes you up through the northern section of Bryce Canyon and then deep into the Grand Staircase-Escalante.
At the Visitor’s Center near Kodachrome State Park (the drive out to the park is stunning!), we found out that the “staircase” covers many states, where the dinosaurs are buried and why the colors change as you make your way from the top to the bottom of this multi-state formation.
We discovered the path of the Mormons and how they changed the history of this area, and a view of the Escalante River from the Kiva Koffeehouse that was too amazing to capture on film. All of this was on The Million Dollar Road, Hwy 12.
The Million Dollar Road, not to be confused with the Million Dollar Highway in Colorado, is simply stunning. The colors range from deep red to coral to white in beautiful rolling formations. There is one particular pull-out where you can see the serpentine road carving it’s way through these waves of colorful rock that is breathtaking. And in the middle of this trip…Aspens in the snow. We had not expected that.
And speaking of not expecting something so spectacular…we had no idea that Capitol Reef National Park even existed until I started planning this trip and now, we can’t wait to go back! Capitol Reef is, literally, a drive through park. It is a throughfare and, thus, has no entrance fee along its main road. I knew it was going to be good just by the view from the Visitor’s Center!
But as we spent time exploring all the roads of this Park, we realized it has SO many different “faces” that it needs several days for you to truly explore it. From Orchards, their bounty used to make delicious pies, to Red Rocks to Golden Canyons to Petroglyphs and waterfalls, this is truly one of our most diverse National Parks.
Taking the main road out of Capitol Reef, Hwy 24, towards Moab leads you through a less colorful landscape but with many more types of rock formations. If you have the time, make sure to check out Goblin Valley for some really unusual views! What I remember most about this short 2-hour drive between Capitol Reef and Moab was the wide-open vistas. Peach colored sand, low buttes, green sage brush and big, blue skies.
Now we are down to the last two National Parks in the Utah Mighty Five: Arches and Canyonlands. But your jumping off spot is going to be Moab. This little town offers up quite a lot more than campgrounds and hotels so don’t forget to carve out some time to explore it. Our favorite little spot was the food truck park. SO many different choices to enjoy with easy parking and misting hoses all around the picnic tables to keep you cooler on those hot afternoons.
Moab is just moments from Arches National Park and about 40 minutes from Canyonlands so it makes it super easy to reach both in one day if you only have the time to drive through each one. And they are both easy to explore from your car. We were fortunate to have a full day for each of these Parks and found some really short, easy hikes that lead us to both arches and canyon overlooks that were truly spectacular.
Arches is incredible. Iconic even. I mean, Delicate Arch is featured on the Utah license plate. We feel that because of all the attention Arches receives Canyonlands gets a bit overlooked and it really shouldn’t be. Whether you are being dazzled by the canyon views from above while touring the Island in the Sky upper section or driving through them in the Needles section below, this Park is one you really shouldn’t miss out on.
The Utah Mighty Five are all within a few hours of each other so it makes it really easy to see and explore each park if you only have a short time available to travel. After seeing all five Parks we can tell you that, even though they are all “Red Rock” National Parks, they are each so very different from each other. The drives between them are worth taking the longer way, or different way around, to enjoy the different vistas, formations and colors. We'd happily return to each of these National Parks for a much longer visit both inside the Parks and along the routes we took to get there.
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