The “Mighty 5” National Parks In Utah

Utah is known for its “Mighty 5” National Parks. Each is special and unique in its own way.

You can either spend a day at each or spend weeks to months at each national park. It can be hard to reach all the cool destinations of one park in one trip because you can’t drive across canyons.

Therefore, a lot of times there are multiple entrances that can be many miles away from each other. We put together a list of each national park talking about some of our favorite hikes at each.

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Arches National Park:

Arches National Park is probably the most well known National Park out of the mighty 5. It is known for its beautiful arches that were carved out by water millions of years ago. It has over 2000 natural stone arches within the park, including other unique rock formations. Arches is also one of the easier accessible National Parks. All ability levels can explore arches and really get the feel of Arches beauty. There is not a public shuttle inside the park, therefore, you will need your own mode of transportation.

There are a handful of viewing spots, where you technically don’t even need to get out of your vehicle, and there are also many very short walks up to beautiful arches. Arches can very easily be done in a day, but we would suggest getting deeper out there and taking advantage of some of the longer hikes. Some of our favorite hikes in Arches are: Delicate Arch, Double Arches and Turret Arch.

Canyonlands National Park:

Canyonlands National Park is definitely a park where you might want to spend a little extra time, and really get out there and explore. The park was carved out by the Colorado River. There are 3 different sections of Canyonlands: Island In The Sky, The Needles and The Maze; all accessed differently.

Island In The Sky sits on a 1500 foot Mesa, making it the “island” in the sky. There are many great viewpoints along the scenic drive that give great panoramic views. At this entrance, you are on top of the canyon walls looking down.

Needles is known for its cedar mesa sandstone, which replicates “needles”. This area is known for longer hikes and backpacking. At this entrance, you are in the canyon, looking up at the canyon walls.

The Maze is much less popular and very difficult to access, hence the “maze”. People often spend multiple days out there because it takes 3-6 hours to get to the canyons of the maze from the ranger station. At this entrance, you are deep in the canyon, away from civilization.

Backcountry hiking is very popular within Canyonlands. If you want to get away from the most popular tourist spots, Canyonlands always seems to be a bit quieter. Some of our favorite hikes are: Grand View Point (Island In The Sky), Mesa Arch (Island In The Sky) and Chesler’s Park to Joint Trail (The Needles).

Capitol Reef National Park:

Capitol Reef National Park has a wide variety of beautiful hikes and viewpoints. It is a massive park, and definitely hard to explore in just a couple days. Capitol Reef is known for its waterpocket fold which is a buckle in the earth’s surface. This waterpocket fold runs 100 miles from Thousand Lake Mountain to Lake Powell. Capitol Reef partly got its name from the white rock formations resembling the U.S. Capitol building. There are also many sections where the narrow river cut out “gooseneck” looking turns. There is also no public shuttle inside the park, therefore, you will need your own mode of transportation.

There are some really special hikes in this area, and some gnarly roads to get to some of the most remote spots. Capitol Reef has diverse vegetation and colorful rock cliffs making each area you visit different. Some of our favorite hikes here are: Sulphur Creek, Temple of the Sun and Moon, and Glass Mountain.

Bryce National Park:

Bryce Canyon is known for its Hoodoos. The famous “hoodoos” were carved out over millions of years by freezing and thawing water. Compared to the other national parks in Utah, Bryce Canyon is much higher in elevation. Therefore, temperatures can be a bit chillier than other desert climates. To get a good feel for the park, we believe Bryce can be done in a day. But, there is much more depth to the park than just the hoodoos (pictured above).

There is a shuttle that runs every 15 minutes in the park. The shuttle is encouraged to use to minimize vehicle congestion.

When entering Bryce Canyon National Park, you will be on the top of the canyon walls, looking down into the canyon. Therefore, most hikes will lead you deeper into the canyon to explore. Also, Bryce is located far from light pollution, so the night sky can be filled with millions of bright stars. Some of our favorite hikes are: Navajo Loop and Queen’s Garden.

Zion National Park:

Zion is one of our favorite parks in Utah and the most popular! The tall canyon walls of Zion eroded over many years by the north fork of the Virgin River. Over the years, the Virgin River is still causing changes to the park due to flash floods. When entering into Zion, you will be at the bottom of the canyon walls, therefore, most hikes will either be through the canyon walls or hiking up into a canyon.

There is so much to explore in the park, that we feel you need multiple days. From exploring the backcountry to hiking up to the rim, to hiking one of the most dangerous hikes in the U.S., this place has something special. If you aren’t into hiking, there is a beautiful scenic drive through the park, where a bus will bring you from one stop to the next. People are required to take the shuttle bus when it’s operating due to the high volume of people. There is also another scenic drive that goes outside the park where you can go through man-made tunnels made many years ago (this part you will need your own vehicle for). Some of our favorite hikes are: The Subway, The Narrows, and Observation Point.

Takeaway:

Each park is different, and honestly, it’s your preference on which park suites you best. There are scenic drives through all the National Parks which can be great for someone retired just trying to see earth’s beauty or there are some epic backcountry hikes for people that are ready to gear up and get out in the wild. We suggest going to each National Park and spending a few days doing different hikes and just exploring around each one in depth! Watch out for the weather because flash floods are popular and very dangerous in canyon country. Please follow the rules of the National Park; stay off protected vegetation, and leave no trace. Try to leave the National Park better than when you arrived!

Also, you can check out the National Park Service website for more info.

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