National Parks in Southern Utah

By Maya Silver, author of Moon Zion & Bryce

Southern Utah is so filled with staggering beauty, drama, and power that it seems like a place of myth. Five spectacular national parks and several national monuments are all within a day’s drive of one another. The colorful canyons, arches, and mesas found within this high dry area are surprisingly diverse, and each park has its own characteristic landscape.

Image of a river rushing through a valley with fall trees and red mountains in the distance. — Zion National Park. Photo © Kan1234/Dreamstime.

Zion National Park

In Zion, hiking trails lead up narrow canyons cut into massive sandstone cliffs, passing serene pools and hanging gardens. The park’s main canyon, carved by the Virgin River, is an easy place to find a day hike, while nearby (but non-adjacent) Kolob Canyons offer less crowded trails. Zion also offers world-class canyoneering, rock climbing, and backpacking.

Bryce Canyon National Park

Bryce is known for its famous vistas across an eroded amphitheater of sandstone hoodoos. Short trails lead down from the canyon edge into a wonderland of fanciful formations and outcrops. Venture into the park’s backcountry for a different perspective.

Grand Staircase-Escalante

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument preserves some of the Southwest’s best canyon hiking. Numerous day hikes and long-distance trails follow the Escalante River’s canyons. Mountain bikers can travel the jeep paths of Hole-in-the-Rock Road or Burr Trail Road to visit more landscapes. Be sure to drive the monument’s highly scenic Highway 12 and leave plenty of time for overlooks and hikes along the way.

Image of desert valley with a couple towering red rock formations illuminated by the sun. — Capitol Reef National Park. Photo © Lijuan Guo/Dreamstime.

Capitol Reef National Park

Capitol Reef preserves a vast wrinkle of rock called the Waterpocket Fold, stretching across more than 100 miles (161 km). Of the few canyons that penetrate the Fold, Fremont River Canyon is most accessible along Highway 24, with ancient petroglyphs, pioneer orchards, and soaring rock formations. A paved scenic drive explores more canyons along the fold’s western face. The rest of the park is remote backcountry for explorers at heart to drive, bike, or hike.

Canyonlands National Park

Canyonlands is made up of five zones. The River District contains the Colorado and Green Rivers. The Needles District offers hiking trails and backcountry roads through a standing-rock desert. The remote Maze District is filled with geologic curiosities and labyrinthine canyons. And the Island in the Sky District is a flat-topped mesa overlooking the rest. To the west, the non-contiguous Horseshoe Canyon Unit contains a significant cache of prehistoric rock art.

Arches National Park

Just up the road from Moab is Arches, which is a great family park and highly accessible. Unlike other Utah national parks, there’s plenty to see even if you can’t get out of the car and hike very far. Be sure to explore the Windows Section, a series of arches and rock fins at the center of the park, and catch views of the iconic Delicate Arch, or hike right up to it, if you can.

Moab

At the heart of Utah’s slickrock country, Moab is the recreation capital of southeastern Utah. Not only is the town a base camp for Arches and Canyonlands, it offers world-class mountain biking, off-road adventures, rock climbing, rafting, and many more adventures close to town. It also has the best lodging for miles and good restaurants and brewpubs.