Utah Mighty 5 Itinerary: Is 8 Days Enough?

Utah is an amazing state. The “Mighty 5” National Parks – Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches, and Canyonlands – are an incredible road trip. And many people also combine with the Grand Canyon or some of the awesome state parks in the area. There is so much to see out here and so many ways to create a Southwest itinerary.

It’s VERY easy to overpack your itinerary and cram too much in. When I planned my recent spring break Mighty 5 trip, I knew The Mighty 5 in 8 days was aggressive (and that’s 8 full days, not travel days to/from Utah).

Was it jam-packed? Yes.

Would I do it again? Yes.

Would I recommend it to most people? The Mighty 5 – absolutely. In 8 days – Probably not.

Can you do the Mighty 5 in 8 days?

Here’s a question I ask all of my travel planning clients. On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being do or see 1 or 2 things a day, have relaxing meals, spend time enjoying the hotel property, and 10 being, I want to do as much as possible and want every block of time planned out, where do you (and your family/travel companions) fall?

If you aren’t a 9 or 10, then you need at least 2 weeks to do the Mighty 5. My son and I are a 9 or 10, but as a travel planner, I recognize that most people aren’t.

What a packed 8-day Mighty 5 itinerary really looks like

So if you are thinking about a Mighty 5 road trip, here’s the reality of what a 7-8 day trip really looks like:

• Switching hotels most nights (we stayed 2 nights near Zion, 2 nights in Moab, and 1 every where else)
• Starting early most days (we are early risers, so that worked for us)
• Having some meals on the go (we packed lunches a bunch of days)
• Doing the highlights of each park (you aren’t going to see everything. Zion and Bryce alone could easily be a week-long trip)
• Trading off between hiking and other activities (we did the epic Dan Mick’s Jeep Tour in Moab and drove landspeeders at OutpostX, but had to skip a lot of other half/full day excursions)
• Skipping some things you wanted to do (I had sunset and stargazing spots picked out most nights and most nights we had busy enough days, we didn’t want to venture out again)

If that sounds like too many trade-offs you don’t want to make, plan a Utah trip just around Zion or Bryce or the Moab area (Arches and Canyonlands). There’s so much to do in either one of those areas, especially with awesome state parks like Valley of the Fire, Goblin Valley, Snow Canyon, and more.

All that said, I loved our trip. We did 5 national parks, 3 state parks, and found time for a night of Star Wars glamping. We had a few great meals, relaxed in a few hot tubs, and saw a lot of amazing stuff. Here are just some of the highlights:

Zion National Park highlights

Zion is probably most famous for the Narrows. You literally hike in the Virgin River with cliff walls towering thousands of feet above you on both sides. The best part is you can go as little or as far as you like, so it doesn’t have to be as exhausting as it may sound. I’ve seen fairly young kids absolutely loving this. And if hiking in water doesn’t sound like your thing, you can do the easy, paved trail to the entrance of the Narrows, where the scenery is still stunning. In the Spring, the water is cold, so most people rent dry bibs, which work amazingly well. In the summer, I’d definitely recommend the specialized shoes and hiking stick.

Beyond the Narrows, Canyon Overlook, and Emerald Pools offer short hiking options, and just driving through the park is an amazing experience. There are also jeep and canyoneering tours catering to every adventure level.

Bryce National Park highlights

I personally think Bryce is one of the most underrated gems of our national park system. My son was absolutely in awe looking at the hoodoos. What impressed him the most was that this wasn’t a hike or drive to see a certain lookout; you are literally surrounded by these unique views everywhere in the park.

You can stick to the flat rim trail and the look-out points for an easy experience. If you don’t mind climbing down and up, you can walk in and around the hoodoos (with options from 2 to 6+ miles) and have 360-degree views at almost every step.

Capitol Reef National Park highlights

Capitol Reef sits in the middle of the Mighty 5. Highway 12 between Bryce and Capitol Reef is often considered one of the most beautiful drives in America. Capitol Reef has a little bit of everything that the Mighty 5 is known for – towering cliff walls, slot canyons, arches, and hoodoos. Unique to Capitol Reef is the Fruta district, where you can pick your own fruit or stop at the famous Gifford House for amazing pie. The strawberry rhubarb pie was one of the culinary highlights of our trip.

I also had one of the best burgers of my life from a food truck here. Why hasn’t anyone else thought to put Mac and Cheese on top of a burger? My son is still raving about it.

Capitol Reef Resort, right outside the park, offers everything from upscale cabins to teepees and Conestoga wagons for a truly unique stay with amazing views.

Between Capitol Reef and Moab, I’d highly recommend a slight detour to Goblin Valley State Park. It’s one of the few places where you are allowed and encouraged to climb on the hoodoos. It’s truly a playground for kids.

Arches National Park highlights

Moab is the gateway town to Arches National Park and the lesser-known Canyonlands National Park, which round out the Mighty 5. There’s a reason that Delicate Arch is on the Utah license plate. It’s truly iconic at sunset. And like most things in the Mighty 5, you have options depending on your adventure level. You can hike 3 miles round-trip to Delicate Arch or take an easy, 100-yard wheelchair accessible path to a lookout.

The Devil’s Garden area also provides a number of short, easy walks to see a number of Arches.

Moab is also very well known for off-roading adventures. You can mountain bike, rent your own UTV, or take a guided tour of Hell’s Revenge, which is what we did. Letting a very experienced guide do the driving lets you go on the epic obstacles, where it feels like you are defying gravity. In fact, the first thing our tour guide said to my son was, “Do you know what gravity is? Well, forget what you know.” Despite the crazy angles, it’s surprisingly not scary, and they take kids of all ages. And yes, that picture was staged; my son didn’t drive, but that was a pretty realistic angle for what we did.

Canyonlands National Park highlights

Canyonlands is the least visited of the Mighty 5, and it’s enormous. It’s divided into 3 districts: Island in the Sky, The Needles, and The Maze. Island in the Sky is the most accessible from Moab and the most visited. You can easily cover the highlights, including Mesa Arch and the most famous lookouts, in a half-day or spend days on some epic trails in the less-visited part. The adjoining Dead Horse State Park also has some great views, and is frequently overlooked.

Best time to visit the Utah Mighty 5

Spring and fall are the ideal times for a Southwest trip, but summer absolutely works for part of this. Summer is the perfect time to hike the Narrows and skip the dry bibs. Slot canyons are significantly cooler than the surrounding area, so those types of tours are still great in the summer heat. Bryce National Park is at 6,600 feet of elevation and is very comfortable in the middle of summer with highs in the upper 70s/low 80s. I would definitely avoid Moab in the summer unless you love 100-degree weather.

If you are looking for breathtaking scenery without an international flight, I can’t recommend Utah and the Southwest enough. You can have some truly unique experiences, and it isn’t all about hiking.

Sound overwhelming to plan?

I did put a LOT of hours into planning this one. If you don’t have time for that, I can help.