Utahs Big 5

Utah is very special to me, it's where I grew up and it's the place I call home. I fell in love with the mountains and adventure while living in Utah, I have been to each national park in Utah multiple times and I still get giddy when I get to go again. Utah is a very unique state with tall slabs of orange rock, never ending canyons, jaw dropping arches, mountain ranges, lakes, hiking galore, and more! In this blog post I am going to be going through each Utah national park and different things to explore during your next trip to Utah!

Arches National Park: Moab, UT.

Fun fact, I want to move to Moab when I decide to settle down. It is such a cute little town with some of the yummiest restaurants, cutest shops, and most importantly, the best adventures! In the photo above I am at delicate arch, one of Utahs most iconic sites. Delicate arch is a must do hike for anyone who is able to during their Utah exploration, it is a 3.2 mile hike round trip that has minimal shade and can get extremely hot in the summer months, so pack lots of water. One of my favorite things to do in Moab after a long day of hiking is to grab some ice cream at the spoke on center, it is so yummy and the perfect treat after a day of adventuring. Walking Moab main street is an experience in and of itself, there is so much to explore! In arches, double arch and landscape arch are two other popular sites to see. They are ones you mostly walk to rather than hike, both are shorter than 0,6 miles in length round trip and are still extremely stunning.

Canyonlands National Park: Moab, UT.

Moab doesn't end with arches, do you see now why I want to live there? Exploring Moab means you get to visit not one, but two national parks! Canyonlands is easily overshadowed by Arches, however, it is personally my favorite national park in Utah. One thing that I love about canyonlands is that no matter where you are in the park, there is something to see. Canyons have always made my jaw hit the floor, we are looking out into miles of beautiful area that many people probably haven't explored. One of the best hikes in Canyonlands is Mesa arch. It is a 0.7 mile trail that is one of the prettiest places to watch the sunrise. Another cool thing to do in Canyonlands is to drive the Shafer trail road, this road takes you down into the canyon while allowing you to look at some of the most breath taking views.

Capitol Reef National Park: Torrey, UT.

Capitol Reef is probably the national park I have explored the least, it isn't to touristy and the little town of Torrey is so cute. At night we were able to see the Milky Way because of how little pollution there was. Some of my favorite hikes in Capitol reef are; Sunset point which is a 1 mile round trip trail that leads you to a breathtaking view of the sunset, the Hickman bridge trail which is 1.8 miles round trip, and the Cohab canyon trail which is 3 miles round trip. Capitol Reef is a perfect place to go for anyone who needs a get away from the business of the city life.

Bryce Canyon National Park: Panguitch, UT.

Bryce canyon is such a unique place, the moment you pull up you are greeted by a never ending view of the canyon which isn't your average canyon. It is full of what are known as Hoodoos, these crazy tall and skinny rock formations. One of the best trails to do in Bryce Canyon is Navajo Loop and Queen's Garden trail, it is 3.1 miles as a loop, it brings you into the canyon and then back up so you get to see all the Hoodoos up close. The cool thing about this trail is that the whole way is the view so you can really experience how amazing mother earth really is.

Zion National Park: Springdale, UT.

Last but not least we will briefly discuss Zions national park, Zion is one of the most popular national parks in the state of Utah and understandably so. Zions is unique, you are up in these reddish/ orange tinged mountains. There are lots of amazing hikes to do during your time in Zions. You may have heard of Angel's landing, it is a 4.4 mile round trip hike in Utah that isn't for those scared of heights. You are walking on a narrow trail with cliffs on each side of you, with only a little chain to hold onto. If you want to do this hike, ensure you have a permit before hand. Driving through the Kolob canyon is a must do on my Zion itinerary, if you drive to the end of the canyon there is a beautiful hike that I can't remember the name of. One cool thing about this area, is it isn't even half as busy as your main entrance to Zion's so it's a great way to get away from the crowds. There are lots of other hikes you may want to look into in Zions such as the upper and lower Emerald pools and the canyon overlook trail. Zions is a hikers dream.

In this post I mostly described what I love about each individual park and the highlights, I am planning some more in depth itinerary like posts for each national park in the future. But for now, I wanted to introduce my home state of Utah by showing off some of the amazing things to see and do as a national park junkie like myself!