Intro

“From the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans white with foam…” I know this sounds sappy, but our national park road trip truly opened my eyes to the beauty of our country. Being able to visit 7 of the our incredibly beautiful national parks in one trip was an amazing experience that I think everyone should do at least once in their lifetime. We even got to hike through Zion National Park on the 4th of July! It felt very patriotic. I also never realized how many international visitors these parks received. It was crazy to hear 2 or 3 different languages pass us on a hike. Our nation holds natural gems that the world wants to see and they are located in our own backyard. Why not take advantage of them?

What 7 national parks to did we see on our trip? Here is a brief outline of everything we did:

Day 1: Fly into Las Vegas | Hotel

Day 2: Drive to Zion NP (2.5 hours) | Camp

Day 3: Full day in Zion | Camp

Day 4: Drive to Bryce NP (1.5 hours) | Camp

Day 5: Drive to Canyonlands NP (4 hours), Stop at Capitol Reef NP on the way | Airbnb

Day 6: Drive to Arches NP (30 mins) | Airbnb

Day 7: Drive to Salt Lake City (4 hours) | Hotel

Day 8: Drive to Grand Teton NP (5 hours) | Camp

Day 9: Full day in Grand Teton | Camp

Day 10: Drive to Yellowstone NP (1 hour) | Camp

Day 11: Full day in Yellowstone | Camp

Day 12: Drive to Idaho Falls (2 hours) & Fly home!

Are you interested in learning more about our trip so you can plan your own national park adventure? Keep reading!

Before You Go

We saw 7 national parks in 12 days. If you have more time, I would definitely recommending spending more time in the bigger national parks or even continuing on the road to add more national parks that are in the area. We bought the National Park annual pass before we left. Many national parks charge up to $35 per vehicle, so this $80 pass was definitely worth it.

Reservations

We only had 12 days to go on this adventure which meant our time was limited. We decided it would take too long to drive our own car from Texas, so we decided to fly there and rent a car. We also decided to buy two one way tickets instead of round trip tickets to save time. Dropping off our rental car at a different location than the original pickup was more expensive, but we felt like we were saving money by camping at a majority of our stops. We made reservations for our accommodations (camp sites, Airbnb, and hotel room) 4 months before we left. Because we were going during the summer (peak season), campsites can fill up very quickly and I wanted to make sure our spots in each park were saved. We chose to stay at an Airbnb in Moab (which was a room at a campground) and a hotel in Salt Lake City to take a break from sleeping on the ground.

Packing

Packing for this trip took a lot of planning since we were flying, driving, and camping. If you’re interesting in our packing list, check it out here.

Our 12 Day Southwest National Park Road Trip Itinerary

Day 1: Leave and explore Las Vegas

Real Talk: We were about to go on a long road trip and I had been to Las Vegas previously, so we decided this wasn’t the time to truly experience all that Las Vegas has to offer. (Don’t follow this for the ideal day in Las Vegas.) Rebecca had also gotten back the day before from Germany and we woke up at 4am to get the airport, so we may have spent some time napping in our hotel room in the afternoon… What can I say? We’re party animals.

Pick up the rental car
Eat breakfast at Egg Works
Check into the hotel
Walk up and down The Strip to see the hotels
- We started at the Cosmopolitan and walked all the way down to Mandalay Bay, exploring all of the hotels along the way. I played some blackjack and Rebecca won $30 on a slot machine. By the time we had walked back to our hotel, we were tired and took a nap before dinner.
Eat dinner at Holsteins
- This is a good restaurant if you want a hamburger and delicious milkshake.
See the Bellagio Water Show

Day 2: Arrive in Zion and hike the Narrows

Drive to Zion National Park (170 miles/3.5 hours)
Stop at Walmart in St. George, UT and pick up groceries and firewood
Check in at Watchman Campground and set up the campsite
Hike The Narrows
- The line for the shuttle at the Visitor Center was very long (it was the 4th of July after all). We took the shuttle to Temple of Sinawava for the beginning of the Narrows. We hiked for about 2 hours one way until we decided to turn around. It felt like a good amount of time to hike and see what The Narrows had to offer. This was one of the most unique hikes we had ever done! We loved it!

Real Talk: I read about 20 blogs about what to wear while hiking the Narrows. People said it was like walking on bowling balls in a river and I would agree it felt like that on some parts of the hike. Some people rented waterproof boots. Others tried to keep their feet dry by wearing bags over their socks. We decided to wear old tennis shoes (I brought ones I could throw away afterwards) and wool socks. I would highly recommend this easy, cheap option. You’ll want some ankle support, so I would not recommend wearing the slip-on water shoes. Do not wear sandals or flip-flops! Even sturdier waterproof sandals like Chacos would not be a good idea on this hike. Your shorts will also get wet, so wear something that will dry quickly. Your shirt may also get wet if you’re short or you fall while walking through the water.

Eat a campfire dinner

Day 3: Early bird hike to Angel’s Landing

Get on the first shuttle and hike Angel’s Landing (5 miles/4 hours RT)

Real Talk: Angel’s Landing is one of the top ranked hikes in the United States, but it is also one of the most dangerous. While it’s not the most physically demanding hike, it can be mentally challenging with the steep switchbacks and sheer drop-offs. There are chains bolted into the cliff that provide a secure handholds, but if there is a crowd, you will be sharing these handholds with strangers going both ways. You will have to start and stop to let people pass by. I would HIGHLY recommend going first thing in the morning if possible. The shuttle starts at 6am and we were in the first group (about 15 people) to get on the shuttle and get off at the Grotto Trailhead for the hike. We loved this hike and we are so glad we did it, but we can’t imagine waiting in line and passing people while holding the chains. Going early made this hike more enjoyable with the smaller crowds and cooler weather.

Eat lunch and walk around Springdale
- We decided to get some post-hike coffee at Deep Creek Coffee Company and explore some of the shops in Springdale.
Optional afternoon trails:
- Canyon Overlook Trail (1 miles/<1 hour)
- Hidden Canyon Trail (3 miles/4 hours)
- Watchman Trail (3 miles/2 hours)
  - We did this one in the evening around sunset and it was a perfect hike to end the day.

Eat a campfire dinner
Get a drink at the Red Rock Grill
- We sat at the grill to enjoy the air conditioning as well as enjoy their appetizers and play cards.

Day 4: Hike and drive through Bryce Canyon

Drive to Bryce Canyon National Park (70 miles/1.5 hours)
Stop at Ruby’s Inn General Store for groceries and firewood
Check in at Sunset Campground and set up the campsite
Hike the Navajo/Queen's Garden Loop (3 miles/2.5 hours)
- Pictures can’t do justice the visually stimulating features of this hike. If you’re going to Bryce Canyon, you have to do this hike.
Drive to the viewpoints:
- Rainbow Point
- Agua Point
- Natural Bridge
- Bryce Point
- Inspiration Point
Shower at the General Store and eat a campfire dinner
Watch the sunset at Sunset Point

Day 5: See Capitol Reef on the way to Canyonlands

Drive to Canyonlands National Park (275 miles/5 hours)
- We took the route to Canyonlands that drove past Capitol Reef National Park. We spent about an hour in Capitol Reef – long enough to drive along Scenic Drive and grab a cinnamon roll at the Gifford Homestead.

Arrive at Canyonlands and drive to all the viewpoints:
- Dead Horse Point Overlook
- Shafer Canyon Overlook
- Mesa Arch (0.5 mile hike)
- Grand View Point Overlook
- Grand View Trail (2 mile hike)
Drive to Moab and check in at ACT Campground
- Our room had a bunkbed and a queen-size bed. There was one very large shared bathroom with plenty of showers for guests. We were also able to do laundry there.
Eat dinner at Miguel’s Baja Grill
Walk around Moab and look through the cute shops

Day 6: Arches everywhere

Eat breakfast at Jailhouse Cafe
Drive to Arches National Park (15 minutes)
Hike to Delicate Arch (3 miles/2.5 hours)
- The beauty of all the arches – this is a must see!
Hike the Devil’s Garden Loop and see the following arches:
- Landscape Arch
- Double O Arch
- Partition Arch (We didn’t mean to see this arch, but it was a happy accident!)

Real Talk: This is a primitive trail which means sometimes you’re just climbing up over large rocks and across boulders. I would not do this if it has rained because the rocks will be slippery.

Hike to Double Arch (0.5 miles)
Hike to Balanced Rock (0.25 miles)
Drive back to Moab and eat dinner at Moab Diner

Day 7: Salt Lake City

Get some coffee at Moab Coffee Roasters
Drive to Salt Lake City (235 miles/4 hours)

Real Talk: We discovered we had a nail in our tire causing a slow leak… It was Sunday and all the tire shops in Moab wouldn’t be open until Monday. Since it was a very slow leak, we were able to drive to the nearest Walmart for them to fix our tire. One hour and $10 later, we were on the road to Salt Lake City.

Eat lunch at Spitz
- This was an interesting restaurant in downtown SLC and food was very good!
Get coffee at Publik Coffee Roasters
Walk around the Temple Square
- We didn’t know much about the Mormon religion before this trip, so this was a very interesting experience.
Hike Ensign Peak for a view of the city
- This hike is one mile, but it is straight up hill.
Drive to the Great Salt Lake Marina for a view of the lake up close
- The lake was smelly and there were a lot of flying bugs that surrounded us by the water. It was not what were expecting, but we were able to get some good photos of the lake.
Check in at the hotel
Eat dinner at Settebello Pizzeria
- They had delicious pizza with an even more amazing Nutella dessert pizza!

Day 8: Drive and arrive at Grand Teton

Drive to Grand Teton National Park (280 miles/5 hours)
Eat lunch in Jackson at Cafe Genieve
- Chicken and Waffles. Yes. Thank you!
Walk around and look through the shops in the city square
Stop at Albertsons and get groceries, firewood, and bear spray

Real Talk: Did we need to use the bear spray? No. Was it expensive? Yes. Did we just give it away afterwards? Yes. If a bear came, would we have been thankful we had bear spray? Absolutely.

Find a campsite and set up

Real Talk: Most of the campgrounds at Grand Teton are first come/first serve. The visitor center has a list of the campsite availability for each campground. We camped at Gros Ventre and they had plenty of campsites available.

Drive down Mormon Row
- This road was rough, but the views of the houses with the mountains in the background were amazing!
Drive down the park road and stop at the turnouts for pictures
Drive up Signal Mountain for the views
Have early drinks at the Signal Mountain Lodge
Eat a campfire dinner

Mormon Row

Signal Mountain

Oxbow Bend Turnout

Day 9: See by land and sea

Hike Jenny Lake to Inspiration Point and Hidden Falls (5 miles/3 hours)
Canoe on Jenny Lake
Drive down the park road and stop at more turnouts
Check in at Headwaters Campground
- This campground had showers and gave us each a warm chocolate chip cookie! It was definitely a winner in our book.

Eat a campfire dinner

Day 10: See the first national park – Yellowstone

Drive to Yellowstone National Park (45 miles/1 hour)
Drive to see all of the following sights:
- Upper Geyser Basin
- Old Faithful eruption - the Visitor Center’s Twitter account posts the next eruption time
- Midway Geyser Basin and the Grand Prismatic Spring

Real Talk: The Grand Prismatic Overlook Trail (off of the Fairy Falls Trail) has an amazing view of the Grand Prismatic Spring. This was still under construction when we went, so we didn’t get to see this amazing view…. I don’t want to talk about it.

Lower Geyser Basin
Norris Geyser Basin
Mammoth Hot Springs

Check into Canyon Campground and set up the campsite
Get groceries at the Canyon General Store
Eat a campfire dinner

Grand Prismatic Spring

Old Faithful Geyser

Day 11: More driving, more sights

See the Grand Canyon (in Yellowstone National Park, of course) and climb Uncle Tom’s Trail
- Uncle Tom’s Trail is 0.7 miles RT, but it’s 300 stairs that you climb down and then must also climb up. It’s totally worth it for a great view of the waterfall at the bottom!
Stop at Artist’s Point for a beautiful view
Hike Mount Washburn (6 miles/3 hours)
- This is a great hike to break up all the driving. We even saw mountain goats with their babies playing in the melting snow.
Drive through Hayden Valley to look for more wild animals
Stop at West Thumb Geyser Basin
Check into Madison Campground and set up camp
Eat dinner at Wild West Pizzeria in West Yellowstone

Real Talk: Driving around Yellowstone is amazing and beautiful, but it’s not without its hazards. You might be thinking I’m talking about the animals, which can be true, but I’m mostly talking about the humans stopping on the side of the road to take pictures of animals. If you’re stuck in a traffic jam, it’s because someone with binoculars or the longest lens you have ever seen on a camera, is stopping in the middle of the road to look at an animal. Please be mindful of the animals, but also try to make the experience pleasurable for the humans around you as well.

Day 12: Fly home!

Eat breakfast at Running Bear Pancake House
Drive to Idaho Falls (100 miles/2 hours)

Real Talk: Did I know that Idaho Falls was a town before I booked this plane ticket? Absolutely not. Since we booked two one way flights, I was looking for the cheapest ticket back home from an airport surrounding the Yellowstone area. Idaho Falls was the winner!

Eat lunch at the SnakeBite Restaurant
Walk along the river on the Idaho Falls Greenbelt Trail
Arrive at the airport and fly home!

That’s it!

Wow! Looking back, I still can’t believe we were able to accomplish all this in 12 days. We became very good at unpacking and packing up our campsite in under an hour as you can imagine. While I don’t believe the style of our trip is for everyone, I do believe that the national parks we saw are something that every American should explore in whatever way works for them.

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Travel Guide: 12 Day Southwest National Parks Road Trip