Utah Big 5 National Parks Itinerary

Day 1 - Las Vegas:

Arrive in Las Vegas and take a stroll down famous Las Vegas Boulevard and the Las Vegas Strip. Visit some of the iconic casinos including Caesars Palace, The Paris, The Mirage, The Venetian, and Mandalay Bay. See the Bellagio's fountain show, visit the opulent Forum Shoppes at Caesars Palace, see the volcano erupt at the Mirage, or take a ride to the top of the Stratosphere at the Strat. Stop at the south end of the strip to take a selfie in front of the Welcome to Las Vegas sign and see the old school casinos and giant Fremont Experience LED screen North of the Strip in downtown Las Vegas. Have a nice meal at one of the many Las Vegas restaurants with cuisine choices from around the world including both cheap eats to expensive feast.

Optional extra day: Visit nearby Red Rock Canyon NCA, Valley of Fire State Park or take a tour of Hoover Dam.

Day 2 - Las Vegas to Zion National Park, 160 miles:

Drive to the closest National Park to Vegas, Zion Canyon. Explore the canyon and either visit sites and several shorter hikes along the park's self run shuttle bus stops or take a longer hike on one of the parks famous trails including Angels Landing, Zion Narrows or Observation Point Trail.

Optional extra day: Hike any of the longer trails above that was missed due to time constraints on the first day.

Day 3 - Zion National Park to Bryce Canyon National park, 83 miles:

Take the scenic drive East through Zion Canyon and on to Bryce Canyon National Park. Visit the many awe inspiring canyon viewpoints of the multicolored spires and hoodoos then take one of the many trails including the popular Queens Garden and Navajo Trails into the canyon, only moderate difficulty for most, or the longer Fairyland Loop or Peekaboo Trails

Day 4 - Bryce Canyon National Park to Capitol Reef National Park, 119 miles:

Continue East through the small town of Escalante to Capitol Reef National Park. Take the scenic drive south past the multicolored waterfold pocket of multilayered rocks the park is famous for and the Chimney Rock formation. Take the short dirt road through Capitol Gorge then return North and drive through the former Mormon colony of Fruita and its fruit orchards. Before leaving hike the easy to moderate Hickman Bridge Trail to see the parks famous natural bridge formation.

Optional extra day: Head East halfway between Capitol Reef and Canyonlands National Park and see the numerous hoodoo formations at Goblin Valley State Park and a few miles away visit one of the most popular and easly accessible narrow slot canyons Little Wild Horse.

Day 5 - Captol Reef National Park to Canyonlands National Park, 152 miles:

Drive to Canyonlands National Park and visit the most popular of the park's three districts- Island in the Sky. Visit the many viewpoints of the canyons the park is named for and make sure to take the short trail to Mesa Arch which is famous for the actual arch and the incredible view seen through it. Hike the easy Grand View Trail for amazing canyon rim views and hike the mysterious Upheavel Dome Overlook Trail featuring a crater of unknown origin.

Optional extra day: Visit the Needles district of the park and take one of the long, strenous hikes over slickrock canyons to the Green River and Colorado River confluence or to one of the park's famous arches.

Day 6 - Canyonlands National Park to Arches National Park, 26 miles:

Arrive at the final Utah National Park, Arches. Stop at the Park Avenue and Courthouse Towers section for several impressive rock formations then continue North to the Windows section and hike the short trails to the amazing Double Arch, Window Arches and Balacing Rock. Continue North and take a left and hike the moderately difficult Delicate Arch trail to get right next to the most famous arch in Utah. Continue back North past the Fiery Furnace's many multicolored spires and fins to the Devil's Garden Trail. Hike the trail to easier(though some areas require hiking up steep rock paths) to reach Landscape, Partition and Navajo arch and if time permits continue hiking the increasingly strenuous and steep loop trail to the other notable arches and formations.

Optional extra day: Hike entire Devils Garden Loop Trail if unable to on first day. Take a ranger led tour through the Fiery Furnace and visit the Klondike Bluffs section or other missed trails.

Day 7 - Arches National Park to Monument Valley, 151 miles:

Travel Southwest to Monument Valley and its iconic mountain buttes and rock formations made famous by filmmaker John Ford's classic Westerns starring John Wayne. Drive the level dirt road along the renown Mittens and Merrick Buttes and stop at John Ford Point for a memorable selfie. Explore the remaining famous formations and if time permits hike the only permitted trail in the park, the 3.2 miles Wildcat Trail.

Optional extra day: Visit several of the nearby smaller though impressive sites of Southeast Utah including Goosenecks State Park, Valley of the Gods, Moki Dugway or Canyon De Chelly National Monument in Northern Arizona.

Day 8 - Return to Las Vegas, 395 miles

Optional extra day: Either stop in Page, Arizona and visit Glen Canyon NRA, the oft photographed Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend, see the lesser visited North Rim of the Grand Canyon or hike one of the most visited slot canyons located east of Page, Buckskin Gulch or Paria River Canyon.