In only a few hundred miles, a visitor can experience walking under towering stone arches, gazing into the deep canyons of the Earth, hiking through rock spires, and scaling the steep cliffs of sandstone walls. Because of this unique, natural diversity, the Utah Mighty Five National Parks have become one of the most popular road trip routes in North America.
The Mighty Five National Parks were not originally conceived as a historical road trip route; however, after Utah Tourism officials named and marketed the five national parks, visitors began to flock to the region. This interest has turned southern Utah into a bucket list travel destination for many outdoor enthusiasts, photographers, and thrill-seekers around the globe.
Zion National Park – Utah’s Most Iconic Playground
For many people travelling through southern Utah, Zion serves as the highlight of their road trip. Unlike most other desert destinations, Zion features mesa-like cliffs with flowing water and lush vegetation that supports a surprising abundance of wildlife.
The Narrows is known to be one of the most popular parts of the park, and if you hike through this beautiful river, you will be surrounded by thousand foot high walls of canyon rock all around you. This hike includes difficult terrain, and a stunning view, along with areas that will give you quite the heart rate from being on the edge of a cliff.
Even if you don’t plan on hiking, you can still experience the breathtaking views throughout the park just by taking a drive with your car and stopping at the different viewpoints.
Bryce Canyon has so many of these “hoodoo” stone columns it could almost be mistaken for some sort of fantasy scene from a movie than that of a National Park.
The rock spires, or hoodoos, were created by millions of years of weathering and erosion. You can see thousands of these pillars from the top of the canyon, making it feel almost unreal when you are standing on the edge looking out over the canyon.
Watching the sun come up or go down over these rocks is simply magical. The orange, red, black, and cream-coloured minerals in the rocks become bright when the sun hits them. Many hikers will start at the main viewpoints and work their way down into the canyon at places like the Queen’s Garden and Navajo Loop Trailm where you will see most of the hoodoos all around you!
Capitol Reef National Park
Capitol Reef National Park, an often-overlooked treasure amongst the more famous Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park, is an absolute must-see and enjoy for anyone making a visit to southern Utah. The park has many unique features, including colorful cliffs, large dome rocks, long narrow canyons, and interesting elements of human history (the ancient Fremont Indians have left behind petroglyphs/a large number of rock carvings).
There are many fun things to do in Capitol Reef National Park, one of which is to enjoy its peaceful atmosphere. The park is relatively uncrowded when compared to some of the other parks in Utah, giving visitors an opportunity to spend time and really experience the breathtaking landscapes at a very relaxed pace.
Scenic drives through the park reveal many extremely large rock formations, while a number of hiking trails lead to various landmarks, such as Cassidy Arch (a natural rock bridge) which was closely tied to the legendary outlaw, Butch Cassidy.
Canyonlands National Park
Photographs do not do Canyonlands National Park justice.
Standing at an overlook within Canyonlands National Park shows visitors an unbelievable number of canyons, mesas, cliffs and rivers that stretch on forever. The Canyonlands National Park is so large and rugged that it is one of the largest parks in Utah.
The most accessible With an abundance of scenic viewpoints, Island in the Sky has some of the most incredible 360 degree views (without long hikes) in Canyonlands National Park, while the Needles District offers much more challenging but beautiful colorful rock formations, obscure trails, and more of a “backcountry” experience for those that seek it out.
Every viewpoint offers an additional dimension of depth to Canyonlands — it truly seems limitless in its beauty and grandeur.
Arches: Nature’s Sculpture Garden
Utah’s most famous landmark is likely to be Delicate Arch.
Also located within Arches National Park, Deilicate Arch is the poster child for the state of Utah. In addition to being the most recognizable landmark in the park, it is only one of over 2000 natural arches in the park!
The sandstone formations that exist today were forming over 150 million years ago. Wind, water, temperature fluctuations and erosion over time opened up the rock and created the arches that draw tourists from around the globe.
The majority of the parks most recognizable landmarks can be reached by a helpful scenic drive that enters the park and winds through the park to provide the visitor with the best views of all the major formations — Balanced Rock, Double Arch and The Windows are examples of formations that can be reached by way of the scenic drive before heading further into Arches.
For those who like more adventure there are two possibilities to hiking the Delicate Arch, you can go hike Delicate Arch or do the long Devil’s Garden Trail which connects many beautiful formations and provides access to a way of experiencing those formations by going in one direction.
Why Is the Mighty Five Road Trip so Popular?
The great thing about the Mighty Five is that it’s not just one park that makes them so great, but rather the differences between the parks.
One day you are standing under a massive sandstone arch; the next day you are walking amongst the stone towers of the west or looking at canyons that appear to go on forever. Each of the parks has such a different natural character, but all of the parks are located in the same geographic region.
This natural variety makes you feel like you just explored five separate worlds while you traveled through five separate parks.
Your Journey Will Be Very Worthwhile
Utah’s Mighty Five National Parks are some of the best places in North America to see spectacular scenery. If you like photography, hiking, geology, or just want to visit places that have a feel of being different from all other parts of the planet, then take the road trip through the Mighty Five. You’ll have awesome experiences at each of the five parks along the way.
From the towering cliffs of Zion National Park to the vast number of arches, canyons, domes, and hoodoos in southern Utah, the Mighty Five National Parks demonstrate that the best landscapes on our planet are on display for all to see; they are just not all in the same place.
