In June 2021, we drove across Utah and visited 4 national parks: Zion, Bryce, Arches, and Canyonlands. We flew into Las Vegas and out of Denver. Bryce with its hoodoos and Arches with its arches were our favorites. This album houses just a few of the hundreds of photos we took during our trip.
Zion National Park
Our first stop in Utah was the Zion National Park. This park is most known for the Narrows trail where you walk in the river in a slot river canyon and the Angel's Landing which will give you a bird's eye view of the place. However, the whole park is impressive. Because the shuttle was running this time of year, we weren't able to drive and move around as easily as we wanted. And in 100 degree heat with limited water, our activities were limited. This is a very nice park but we liked a couple of the other parks more. But it's the 5th most visited national park so somebody obviously likes it!
St. George, Utah
When we left Vegas, we used St. George, UT as our base. It's about an hour south of Zion National Park. When we weren't at the park, we just hung out in town and tried our best to just cool off. After all, it was 115 degrees.
We also visited the Snow Canyon State Park. Believe it or not, we liked the state park more than we like Zion National Park. Unfortunately, the sand dunes were much too hot to enjoy. The kiddos didn't even want to leave the car. So, I snapped a couple of pics and headed indoors. I don't care what they say - dry heat or not, 115 is hot... and hot is hot.
Arches National Park
We made our way to Moab, Utah to Arches National Park on Monday for sunset. On Tuesday an early morning 3-mile (round trip) hike to the Delicate Arch and then returning for sunset for another short hike and star gazing. So many beautiful views and the rock formations boggles the mind.
Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon: Now that's an awesome park. For one, it is over 9000 feet in altitude so its 20-25 degrees cooler than Zion (the park just 80 miles west). So, it was a cool 90 at Bryce. Secondly, Bryce has the highest concentration of hoodoos in the world. Hoodoos are these tall, thin pointy rocks that protrude from the bottom of an arid drainage basin. There are thousands of these things at Bryce. The view from the rim of the canyon is totally different than the view from within the canyon - and both are awesome. The first day we stayed on the rim. The second day we took the 3 hour hike into the canyon. Check out these pics. If you get to visit southern Utah, put Bryce on your To-Do List
Canyonlands National Park
Our last national park was Canyonlands. It's probably unfair visiting this park after visiting Arches and Bryce but this park is beautiful in its own right. Some suggest that this park is a mini-Grand Canyon (and I can see it). The Green River cuts through the canyon but unfortunately it was almost dried up when we went. The extreme drought has taken its toll on the river. I'd like to come back to the canyon sometime soon. Hopefully, I'd be met with a fuller river.
Potash Road Outside of Moab, UT
We stayed in Moab, about 4 miles outside of Arches. It was a pretty city. All sorts of geologic structures abound. It is definitely an outdoorsman playground. I wanted to do some ATVs or white water rafting but RJ was too young for both. When we weren't at the parks, we just chilled in our rooms. I did go out and do a short hike to find more petroglyphs on the side of a mountain. I also hung around to watch some folks rock climbing. I could get used to the pace of life out there.
