Southern Utah - National Parks

It was funny when we first told people about our living-on-the-road adventure, how many of them would ask if we planned to visit all the National Parks.

We lived in Utah for 7 years without visiting a one. And there are 6 there!

Well, we broke the ice and visited 3 over the last couple weeks.

Bryce Canyon National Park

We drove about 2 1/2 hours from our RV park in La Verkin, UT and knew that we were going to take it pretty easy versus hiking a ton. There was a section on the website that had a suggested plan if you only had 1-3 hours to visit.

“By far the most iconic section of the park, the Bryce Amphitheater is home to the greatest concentration of irregular rock spires (called "hoodoos") found anywhere on Earth. Viewpoints along the first 3 miles (4.8 km) of the main road provide access to this area. This area is referred to as an "amphitheater" as it is a bowl-shaped area shaped by the drainage of seasonal rains and melting snow (not truly a canyon, as those are shaped by flowing rivers). Views of the Bryce Amphitheater include Bryce Point, Inspiration Point, Sunset Point, and Sunrise Point.” (NPS.gov website)

Zion National Park

Our second national park visit was to Zion. We found stellar parking in Springdale behind a little market. If you spent $25 in their store, you could park in their gravel lot for the day. It is close to the Springdale Shuttle Stop 3, if you are in the area.

We hopped on the shuttle from Springdale to enter the park and decided to take the park shuttle all the way to the northern end and then work our way back down. I wanted to hike, so after a little research, we did the Riverside Walk, which is a simple out and back with some nice views. Then we took the shuttle to stop 6 and did the Lower Emerald Pool hike. Carter was along with us and he continued up to the Middle Emerald Pool to get another view.

Lower Emerald Pool trail

Next on the adventure trail was visiting Arches National Park. During the peak season they do have a timed entry ticket process, so the night before we wanted to go, I logged into their site to book our entry time of 8:00-9:00 am. My body is not a fan of the heat, so wanted to get an early-ish spot if possible. Chad and I hiked the Delicate Arch trail to get the iconic view in person. It is rated as difficult due to the almost 600 feet of elevation gain. It got our heart rates going and we took a couple “breathers” along the way. The beginning path is gravel and then crosses a long stretch of Slickrock. The last part of the trail is a bit narrow and has a drop into a canyon, but it was still probably 4 feet wide.

Slickrock on the way to Delicate Arch

What an amazing view at the pinnacle of Delicate Arch

The beauty of the natural landscapes in the National Parks is awesome. It is a bit surreal looking over the vastness as far as the eye can see, in most cases. I don’t know if it is the case with all National Parks, but there is scenic drives around and through each of the parks we visited, so if you just want to “get out and look”, that option is readily available! Get out there and enjoy it!