I’m sitting here munching on strawberry rhubarb pie that I picked on in Capitol Reef National Park on Saturday, just trying to remember every bit of my wild 40 hours speed running 4 of the big 5 of Utah’s National Parks.

I feel a tiny bit guilty about the whole endeavor. I spent the week before the trip listening to Edward Abbey’s Desert Solitaire, soaking in his in depth descriptions of Arches. Along with those descriptions, I took to heart his rants about how the parks should never have paved roads and should be left to the people who will actually appreciate them, not the terrible tourists who want to drive through and see the sites from their idling vehicles. 

But, what’s a girl to do with limited vacation time and a burning desire to see some of the natural beauty that the American southwest has to offer?  Plus, I mean, the parks do have paved roads, after all. 

So, I would be in Utah, albeit in Park City, for my OG friend’s 50th b-day bash and I figured that if I left the party I little early, I could swing through Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef and… if I wanted to push it just a little further, Bryce, on my way back to Los Angeles. And I just had to try it.  

My kid and I road-tripped through Northern Arizona over Spring Break: Grand Canyon (a first for the kid), the Petrified Forest (now crossed off my bucket list), Montezuma’s Castle (ditto), Monument Valley (didn’t really even know it existed until I started research, but oh my gosh!), and Antelope Canyon (photos of that canyon captivated me well before I ever even knew where it was!).  In the subsequent months, my America the Beautiful National Parks pass just burned a hole in my little zip up travel bag.  When could I use it next?  A drive into Utah?  A solo Utah’s National Parks road trip? That seemed just the ticket. 

Making a Plan to Hit 4 of the “Big 5” of Utah’s National Parks

I researched my little heart out and figured out how to make it happen.  Every website recommends at least a week if not two for this trip.  Every blog recommends a couple of days in each park.  And it’s true. I know for a fact that I don’t have a full sense of any of the parks that I visited. But, even before I read Abbey (found those books my googling: books to read during road trip through Utah), I felt I wanted to honor his sensibility: experience at least a part of each park in a genuine way.

I had bucket list items: Delicate Arch in Arches, Wall Street in Bryce. The rest combined what everyone said you “must do” in each park with things that folks cited as “the best hike in the park.”  Across the board I tried to do something that “everyone” does and something a little off the beaten track.  One thing I did not do was a complete drive through any of the parks.  Scenic drives simply didn’t make the cut time wise. So, I definitely missed some of the key sites, but that’s ok, I’ll save those for the next pass. 

So, what was the plan?  

I planned to head southeast from Park City and hit Arches after 4pm, when you no longer need a reservation. Then, I wanted to take advantage of Canyonlands being a Dark Sky site and see the Milky Way. (Most of Utah’s National Parks are Dark Skies sites, with Canyonlands and Capitol Reef being the darkest.) 

Over spring break, we spent a night in a Navajo hogan, in the middle of Monument Valley, and I had naively thought I would just look up and see the Milky Way.  But I didn’t consider the phase of the moon.  And, it was overcast, and I may just not have looked at the right time.  No Milky Way for me.  Then, when we stopped at the Hubbel Trading Post, I found a gorgeous print by a local Navajo artist: a hogan with the Milky Way spread out above it.  I bought the print but felt robbed.  I really wanted to see the Milky Way.  

Finding the Courage to See the Milky Way

I wanted to see it in Canyonlands, but timing was not on my side. The night I’d arrive in Canyonlands, I expected a waning half moon.  I would have to wait for the moon to set at 2am to have a chance to see the Milky Way.  So, I concocted a plan: I would spend the night in Canyonlands. To make the most of it, I found a spot renowned for sunrise and figured I’d hike out around 2am, stargaze, and then watch the sunrise. 

Figuring that Capitol Reef is on the Way home…

From there, I’d head out early to hit Capital Reef.  I was worried about parking (though, I over compensated both by getting there super early and by choosing a trail that is not that popular and has ample parking).  I booked a hotel in Loa and figured I’d hike all day and then just crash.

Could I hit Bryce and have officially hiked all of the big 5 of Utah’s National Parks?

Then, the next morning, if I could get up early enough, I’d hit Bryce on the way home. I’d visited Bryce as a child, so if I missed it, I could still “check off” all of the Big Five of Utah’s National Parks (my kid and I and some friends camped at and hiked Zion a few years ago).  But, when I remember going to Bryce, I remember my grandpa and his beer belly, my grandma in her sandals, and me, my mom, and my brother, all in flip flips. I don’t think we hiked at all.  We took pictures from the rim and I think that’s as far as we got.  So, deep down, I wanted to hike Bryce, at least a little. 

I wanted to leave Park City between noon and 2pm.  We ended up going to Olympic Park that morning (so fun riding inner tubes down Olympic ski jump slopes!), so I rolled out just before 2.  That got me to Arches right about 6pm. 

Let me note that I went to four National Parks and didn’t show my pass at a single one of them. I arrived at all either too late or too early for anyone be manning the booths!

Hitting the Iconic Delicate Arch before the Sunset Crowd

At Arches, I went straight to Delicate Arch. This may be the most famous sight in Utah’s National Parks — maybe in all of Utah. It does grace Utah’s license plate after all. Parking was easy — half the lot was empty.  My timing seemed perfect. I hoped to be in and out before sunset, when the crowds would arrive.  I enjoy a good sunset, but whenever I plan around one, I wonder what the big deal is. Sunsets are pretty, but I don’t quite get the hype.  This Arch is going to be stunning, I don’t need jostle for position to see it at sunset.

I was in the minority opinion and I definitely passed more folks going out than I had been with going in (many of them definitely dressed more for the sunset photos than for the hike itself!).  When I got there the early evening light was gorgeous and glowing, the crowds minor and polite. The hike was lovely and my shoes, oh my new hiking shoes, so grippy on the smooth rock ascent!

Sunset at Turret Arch and Windows

The sun was setting as I pulled out of the parking lot to head of my second hike. I chose the Turret Arch-Windows Hike for a few reasons.  One, Abbey talked about it in his book.  Two, it had a lot of arches which seemed right for Arches National Park.  Three, it was pretty short and I was low on daylight. I love views like this, where you can see rock formations through other rock formations.  It felt like the classic Arches hike, even if Delicate Arch is the famous one.

As I drove through the park, lots of cars were pulled over to watch the sunset and the trails were pretty empty.  People were settled in to watch the colors, so I hiked, just enjoying the colors as I walked. It got pretty dark on the way back, so I was very grateful that I had downloaded the All Trails map and could use it to stay on the path.  But the views were fantastic and I had the trail mostly to myself for a lot of the walk. 

As I pulled out, I saw Balanced Rock and pulled into turnout so that I could scope it out. When I took a picture I noticed that the background was a gorgeous blue, even though the sky looked nearly black to me!  I’d store this knowledge for later. 

With the sky totally black, I headed into Moab for dinner. The pickings were slim, but then I saw Pasta Jay’s, which was open until 11 (it was just after 10pm when I arrived), so I had a delicious plate of chicken Parmesan, used the bathroom to wash my face, and headed back out to Canyonlands. 

Hunting the Milky Way: A Night Under the Stars at Mesa Arch

I didn’t pass a single other car once I got on the main road to and into Canyonlands.  There’s a flashing sign at the entrance that says “Use Caution: Cows in Road” but I was the only one around to read it.  The maps app easily got me to the Mesa Arch parking lot where, again, I was the only car. Everything I read said that Canyonlands and Capitol Reef are the quietest of Utah’s National Parks. That turned out to be truer than I expected.

I planned to sleep for a few hours, but I was so worried about a ranger knocking on the window.  Would this happen?  I wasn’t camping, I really wasn’t. But I couldn’t get a sense of how the rangers would look upon my sleeping in the car (because, it’s true, I did cheap out on a hotel room for a few hours).  I worried about having lights on in the car (I didn’t want to be seen from the road) or having the windows open (what if someone tried to get me?).  Mostly, everyone telling me that I was going to get murdered started to get to me! 

But I dug through my bags, changed into some sweats, got all of my supplies ready (flashlight, head lamp, towel to sit on) and slept for about an hour and half. When I woke it was 2am.I had hoped to sleep until 3, but it was two and the moon was down and, oh my goodness, when I looked out the window I could see the Milky Way!  What if it went away?  I decided to get out to Mesa Arch. 

Hiking in the Dark

So, flashlight (on red setting) in one hand and phone (with the All Trails map) in the other, I set out. I had planned to take the left hand side of the loop, as one blog had recommended (they hiked out in the dark for the sunrise), but I found that the left side was clearly marked and just went with it.  At every turn there were stacks of rectangular blocks clearly marking the path and the All Trails map was perfect. Within 20 minutes or so, I found my self at the arch.  I scoped out a good spot to sit and just stared at the sky.  The stars were incredible, everywhere, with the nebulous glow of the Milky Way rising in the south.  I sat, I watched, I took pictures. I switched to the other side of the rock, facing the Milky Way, and took more pictures. 

It didn’t take me long to realize that I hadn’t dressed warmly enough. I couldn’t find the sweatshirt that I wanted in the dark car, plus it was HOT in the car, so I didn’t realize how cold the wind would get out by the arch.  It was probably in the 60s, not cold, but chilly for me. I wrapped myself in the towel. And I wandered  and snapped more pictures, and then I laid down and watched, seeing three shooting stars!  My first!  

Around 4am, I started doing the math. The sky was beautiful through my camera at Balanced rock at 9:36, even though sunset was almost an hour earlier. So, the camera captures twilight light that the eye doesn’t register. So, would the sunrise version of twilight begin before I realized it?  Sunrise was supposed to happen at 5:55 am.  Would I start seeing light at 4:30?

The First Glimpse of Sunset at Mesa Arch

I watched the Big Dipper rotate around me.  Saw the Milky Way slowly fade… at 4:33 I took a picture of Mesa Arch, which still looked to be surrounded by black, but less inky than before, and caught a beautiful shot: a beautiful yellow glow below the arch with stars still shining in a midnight blue above.  Over the next hour, I kept shooting, watching the horizon light up, the stars slowly fade, the close start to shine and shadow. Through my little iPhone I could see the mountains on the horizon turn purple, with bands of orange and yellow striping the sky.  By the time the real photographers started to show up at 5:08, I felt like I had already captured the most beautiful parts of sunrise. 

I stuck around, to watch the flat rock I had had all to myself fill up with tourists and photographers with tripods. (Turns out: many of whom had been there the day before as well, but left disappointed because there was too much cloud cover and everything just went from dark to light, no drama).  I wanted to see the underside of Mesa Arch glow red. It’s famous for this glow, and I caught a little, but I suspect June is not the best month for that. You’d want the sun to rotate just a bit more to the south for the true glow.  But it was gorgeous and I felt like I experienced so much more than the folks who showed up just for the main event. 

Then, out of Canyonlands — finally getting to see the Canyons I had driven through in the night! — and on to Capitol Reef.

Capitol Reef would be my big hike day.  I’d get there early and I couldn’t check into my hotel until 4.  I stopped for a terrible Arby’s bacon and egg biscuit at a truck stop and headed into the park. 

A Surreal Canyon and a Stunning Natural Land Bridge in Capitol Reef

I had done the most research for my Capitol Reef Hike. Not only is Capitol Reef the least visited of Utah’s National Parks, it’s also the most rustic. There’s not shuttle service and many of the hikes are in-and-out and long.  The most popular hike seems to be the Grand Wash.  It’s mostly flat and goes through some slot canyons. The views looked awesome.  But it also looked crowded and very easy. I wanted something a bit more challenging. There was the hike to Cassidy Arch, which sounded beautiful and cool because you can walk on Cassidy Arch, but having just come from Arches I kind of wanted something different. 

Several blogs I read mentioned Cohab Canyon.  And in the All Trails reviews, someone said that the ranger said that it was his favorite trail.  It looked good: 3 miles, moderate difficulty, ample parking, near the Gifford House where I could buy famous fruit pies!

Even better, the trail connected with the Hickman Natural Land Bridge trail: 1.7 miles, also moderate difficulty.  This was was more popular (cool land bridge at the end) and more crowded.  So I figured I would start with Cohab and see how it felt when I got to the end.

For the very end of the day, I saved Lower Sulphur Spring, which was a hike up a creek. It looked amazing for the end of a hot day of hiking (in the end — I just didn’t have it in me). 

I ended up up spending almost 4 hours doing Cohab and Hickman (5.6 miles total, total elevation gain of 1270 ft). It was up into the canyon, up out of the canyon, then up to the land bridge. My legs were tired and wobbly by the end, but I felt great. 

Cohab Canyon Hike

Cohab looks like a Star Wars landscape.  The canyon is narrow (not slot narrow but usually just 10-20 feet wide, filled with trees and little shrubs.  The canyon walls are stunning, pocked with holes.  Some holes are perfectly round, like perfectly circular rocks just popped out. Others look more like the holes that might form around the rim of a burning candle, oblong and drippy. I saw animals, faces, skulls, and monkey heads in those walls, imagining, if I stashed some treasure in one of those cubbies, how I might remember the location. I could easily imagine Native Americans using the higher openings for storage or even to hide in, as long as there was no danger of a flash flood. 

Farther down the canyon, roundish black lava stones litter the canyon floor: did they pop out of the canyon walls?  The info in the Visitor Center did not really answer this question, but it’s a working theory.  Little side canyons branch off Cohab, begging to be explored. I occasionally heard voices as I was hiking, so I could tell some of the side canyons were deep, though I didn’t fully explore any on this trip

Towards the end of Cohab canyon a set of wooden signs gives hikers a variety of options from that splitting he trail. I was sorely tempted to do the extended hike, Frying Pan to the Grand Wash… It sounded so great, but I didn’t do it.  I had decided at home that it was too long for a woman on no sleep.  I’m glad I stuck with my plan — and so grateful that I planned things out ahead of time.  Sometimes impulsive is good but it’s just too easy to get in over your head.  Six miles was plenty for that day!

Hickman Natural Bridge Hike

I did add on the Hickman Natural Bridge Trail, which was lovely.  The trail starts with a steep set of switchbacks, with great views of the domes that give the park its name. Then, a walk over a largely flat rock ridge, along a dry stream bed, to the bridge. The bridge is stunning; I love the rock formations against the backdrop of trees and green. 

Behind the bridge lots of little ledges make the perfect place to sit for a snack. Before you loop back to the front of the bridge, you can detour for a beautiful view of the canyon.  All of the mineral deposits mean that every rock face, every hill in the park seem striped.  You see reds and browns and tans as well as a lot of gray (organic matter) and turquoise (copper).  An artist could not put together a more stunning palette on purpose.

From there, I hiked back down the hill to the road, then back up and through Cohab, to pick my way back down to the Gifford Farm (glad for the hiking pole here as the downward path was steep and I was exhausted).

Trimming the Plan Just a Little

And, by the time I finished, I knew it was the perfect day in Capitol Reef. I decided to skip Sulphur Springs, but stop in the gift shop for a Capitol Reef t-shirt and to see the Petroglyphs (they were interesting, but not terribly well preserved — the ones at Parowan Gap were much more distinct), and then in Torrey for a double ice cream cone on a waffle cone (dinner!) and then I checked into the Snuggle Inn and slept for 12 hours.

And as I went to sleep my kid texted me, “Mom, when are you coming home? I miss you.”  So I needed to get home.  I decided that if I could get up by 5, I could hit one short hike in Bryce. Out of the hotel by 5:30.  The road, which was supposed to be the fastest route, took 2 hours, probably because the side roads through farmlands and little towns with very slow speed limits. But it was beautiful: this lush version of Utah surprised me. I saw cows on the side of the road, bunnies sunning by the center line, and deer thinking about crossing (thank goodness for low speed limits).

I arrived in Bryce around 7:30,  just about on my schedule.  I’d do the Navajo Loop trail, starting with Wall Street, and be out of the park around 9am. If well went to plan, I’d be home by 6pm (maybe earlier with the time change!).

A Quick Pitch for Staying in Loa

Loa ended up being a nice central point in my dash between the last two of Utah’s National Parks that I’d get to hit. About 30 minutes from Capitol Reef it was a short, pretty drive. But it got me 30 minutes closer to Bryce the next morning, which meant I arrived when it was cooler and less crowded. I chose their main inn, The Snuggle Inn, due to it’s very reasonable prices. Note: prices are also lower because it’s not right next to Capitol Reef, which worked out fine for me.

The Snuggle Inn is a family run joint.  Cynthia’s father-in-law built the place and she and her husband run it.  When she asked if I needed recommendations for dinner I said I was just going to crash and she immediately went to work finding me a quiet room.  She said that a room in the older part of the building would be out of the way, but that it had central AC so it might be chilly — she’d show me how to use the heater. I asked for an extra blanket instead and it was wondering.  A perfect night of sleep.

Dipping in and out of Bryce Canyon via the Navajo Loop

After Zion, Bryce is the most visited of Utah’s National Parks. It contains hikes of all sort and, lucky for me, many are parking lot friendly. I wanted the famous Wall Street but I also didn’t have much time. The blogs I read said to go down Wall Street and up either the second part of Navajo Loop or Queens Canyon. Queens was supposed to be great, but was twice as long, so I stuck with my original plan. Wall Street was quiet, just a few other people going down and an occasional pair coming up.  Some of those coming up argued that it was better coming up — a better view and plenty of time to enjoy it.  But I liked going down; it was easy and I could enjoy the majesty of descending between those towering walls.  

I was grateful for the hiking sticks!  I used both of them for the first time hiking Cohab. They really broke the pressure of such a steady downhill stretch.  I looked silly, I know, but I felt grateful to give my old knees a bit of reprieve.

I had the second part of the Navajo Loop almost entirely to myself.  The uphill slope had me breathing hard, but didn’t feel as steep as the switchbacks in Wall Street. I did not regret hiking the trail counter clockwise.  Super fun to peek down a side canyon at the Double Arches and the hike was a great way to get down in the details of Bryce while also getting great views of the hoodoos and the fantastic and fantastical rock formations. 

From there, I headed homeward, my heart and head full of the gorgeous sights, the majesty of nature, and appreciation that I had put my America the Beautiful pass to good use (even though no one checked the whole trip!). My checklist soul feels amazing to have checked off all the Mighty 5 of Utah’s National Parks.