When we decided to go to Utah, the main reason was to visit the “Big 5” National Parks that call the state home. The “Big 5” are, Bryce Canyon, Canyon Lands, Zion, Capitol Reef, and Arches National Parks. The parks bring in over two and half billion dollars to the state of Utah and are the cornerstone of the state’s outdoor culture. Now that we have visited all five let me provide you with some of my thoughts.
Arches National Park
The first thing that needs to be said is that the park requires entry reservations. These are timed reservations that provide a window of a hour for you to make entry to the park. If you are interested in going to this park, I suggest making your reservations as far in advance as allowed. Most of the early entry times book up fast.
This park could be considered the most wondrous of the five parks in Utah. The natural arch formations are truly spectacular. It is ironic that one of the most photographed arches in the world is actually at Canyon Lands National Park and not at Arches (more on that later). There are many hikes that you can undertake that are easy on the legs and offer beautiful views of God’s natural wonders.
Arches also has one of the more challenging hikes called The Fiery Furnace. This hike is by permit only and it is suggested that first timers hire a park ranger to guide you through. Novices can often become disoriented and lost. Those that choose not to take on the furnace can view it from an overlook.
This is Pine Tree Arch. This is one of the many arches that are easily accessible with little effort.
If there was any downside to this park it would be that it can get very hot and windy. This is full on desert territory. It is a beautiful park, but it is all about viewing the geological formations. There are not as many great hikes in this park as we would have preferred.
Canyon Lands National Park
This park challenges Zion for our favorite of the National Parks in Utah. As I mentioned earlier, one of the most iconic arches to be photographed is in Canyon Lands and not Arches. Mesa Arch is a very short hike, about three tenths of a mile from the parking lot, it is one of the first stops inside the park, and is easily accessible by those with disabilities. Did I mention it is also beautiful?
Here is a short video shot of the Mesa Arch and the views through the arch.
In addition to the Mesa Arch, there are many other hikes that made Canyon Lands one of our favorites. Some of the best hikes we found were, Aztec Butte and Granary, Whale Rock, and Upheave Dome. Additionally the Green River overlook is a spot that provides some phenomenal views. Here are a few of the pictures.
Bryce Canyon
Bryce Canyon was the most crowded park of the “Big 5” that we visited. We started this park at Sunset Point. We decided to hike the Navajo Trail from Sunset Point down through the canyon, over to the Queen’s Garden and then back up to Sunrise Point. I am not sure if we got there at the wrong time of day, or if there were several tour buses that dropped off passengers, but the place was packed. Heading down Navajo Trail is a spectacular journey through he red rocks and hoodoos. However, in our case, we played a game of dodging the hikers as there was barely room to funnel single file down the trail. Being crowded is bad enough, but top if off with rude behavior at the start of the trail was not very enjoyable. For some tips on proper National Park behavior see my previous newsletter. I discuss some sure fire strategies for being a good patron of the parks.
Once we got through the hordes of humanity that descended into the canyon with us, we were able to really enjoy the beauty. Here is a link to our hike for your enjoyment.
Bryce Canyon has views that will take your breath away, that is for sure. The geological features of the park combined with awe inspiring overlooks make for memories that are hard to forget.
Capitol Reef
I think this park is under-rated. The entry fee for this park is on an honor system and there is a lot to do. We drove all the way through the park to the parking area before the dirt road that takes you to the Capitol Gorge Trail. Due to washout, the dirt road was closed, but that actually made the hiking better. Since everyone was forced to park two and half miles before the trail head, the Capitol Gorge trail was nearly deserted. It seemed that most of the people that parked where we did, would walk about a mile or so down the dirt road, take their pictures and then head back to their cars. That was perfect for us. The road was wide and made for an easy hike to the actual trailhead. The hike to the trailhead was so beautiful that it made the hiking that much easier.
The Capitol Gorge trail is a rewarding hike too. There are petroglyphs about a half mile into the gorge that have been there for hundreds of years. As you continue through the gorge it becomes a beautiful slot canyon with towering sides and narrow passages. We ended up doing about seven and a half miles of mostly private and secluded hiking. It was awesome. Check out the video below of the hike.
Zion
This is the most popular of the “Big 5” parks, and with pretty good reason. The park boasts two of the worlds most famous, or notorious, hikes. The crowds are no joke too. We arrived at the park before sunrise in order to make the first shuttle, and we didn’t succeed. By the time we arrived, the parking lot was already packed with visitors. Most of the year the road leading to the lodge and most of the great hiking is closed to passenger cars. The result of the road closure is that everyone parks at the visitor’s center and takes shuttle buses to their destinations. There are nine stops on the shuttle route. We managed to make the second shuttle of the day from the visitor’s center to stop number nine, the Narrows.
The Narrows is one of the two most widely acclaimed hikes in the park. The other is Angel’s Landing. We were determined to hike the Narrows. The hike requires you to traverse the Virgin river’s frigid temperatures as you make your way upriver to Wall Street. Wall Street is a spot in the narrow slot canyon that forks the Virgin River and lets hikers explore multiple routes. There is no set trail per se, as you are trudging through the river most of the time. There are spots of shoreline where you can get some reprieve from the chilled experience, but there is no escaping the cold water for long. Once you go up-river, the only way back to the trailhead, and the shuttle is come back down river the same way. We ended up going six miles up the river for a total hike of twelve miles. It was the most difficult hike we had done, but there was a sense of accomplishment to it and the experience was one that we won’t forget.
Here is the link to the video we took of our hike.
In addition to the Narrows, we also entered the park through the North entrance and hiked the Taylor Creek Trail to the Double Arch Alcove. This was another beautiful hike and the video is on our YouTube if you are interested.
It is easy to see why Zion is the most popular of the “Big 5” but our favorite park was Canyon Lands. Maybe it was because it was less crowded than the others, or because of the interactive hiking experiences, I am not sure. What I am sure of is that we would go back there in a heartbeat, and I think that is the truest measure of likability.
I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the National Parks in Utah. The scenery is phenomenal and the outdoor experiences will last a lifetime.