Trip Planning To Utah

Sounds like a great trip for you! I've traveled across USA on my motorbike a few years back it and it was awesome!
Most of my traveling is now in a motorhome with a few more comforts of home. Good luck and enjoy!

5 parks in 7 days is too much IMHO if the purpose is photography. I’d say all the photo spots are pretty well covered. Canyonlands is Mesa Arch and that will be like Walmart in Black Friday at sunrise. If someone sets up too close they’ll be in everyone’s shot. Sometimes people walk on it. When I was there, most people would scurry away right after sunrise but the glow stays for a while and there may be an opportunity to get some cool different shots up to an hour after sunrise. It’s about a 45 minute drive from Moab to Mesa Arch assuming no traffic.

There are canyon views for sunrise sunset. I like the Needles section of Canyonlands a lot. Not as crowded but also pretty remote.

False Kiva used to be a cool spot but I believe the NPS closed it off because people were trashing the area.

Arches will be packed. Delicate arch is a zoo and you’ll hear people screaming in 50 different languages at the people who insist on getting selfies under the arch right at sunset. Unless they expanded the parking lot there and even if they did, it may be a challenge to get a parking spot there.

The shot of turret arch through the Windows has room for about 3 people to climb up there to get the shot. I went in the dead of winter years ago and was usually the only one there but I suspect that might be a tough shot to get now due to crowds.

Zion will be packed too.

There are endless sights to see. I used this series of guidebooks when wandering around there.

https://www.amazon.com/Photographing-Southwest-Vol-1-Southern-Utah/dp/0916189236/

Most tour, guide and photography books are not very useful IMHO. Way too general. This series tells you where to go, how to get there, the difficulty, the likely road conditions, and adds a rating based on the scenic value that I found to be good.

It is a bit old now so some spots like False Kiva may be closed and there may be new permit requirements. There is plenty of info scattered around the web but it was really handy to have all the quality info in one book.

Capitol Reef is awesome. I’d probably put Bryce at the bottom of the list too. Super cool but if you want to sell photos, anyone can walk up to the edge of or through the canyon and get pretty awesome shots.

Maybe 7 days centered around ‘Moab, maybe 7 days between Page, AZ and Kanab, UT with Zion and Bryce not too far from Kanab and Capitol Reef a bit farther.

This book hits Northern Arizona.

https://www.amazon.com/Photographing-Southwest-Vol-Arizona-3rd/dp/0916189260/

If I was going, I’d probably do Page, AZ to Kanab, UT and maybe on up to Zion and Capitol Reef.

If you fly into Vegas, Valley of Fire is an awesome state park pretty much on the way over to the UT parks.

All the Navajo slot canyons probably require $$$ tours now and they pack people in like sardines and some have instituted restrictions on tripods and bags and stuff.

Most of the cool BLM slots I’m aware of are down dirt/sand roads that may be passable with a 2wd sedan or may be almost impossible to navigate with a Hummer. It just depends on precipitation and road maintenance.

This is an IG account from a towing company around Kanab, UT that can give you an idea of the issues people may have trying to navigate the roads in that area.

https://www.instagram.com/stick_to_the_pavement

Thanks Robert.

Thank you so Adam. Love your comment about Mesa and Delicate which is what I figured. Do you think May is good or should we look into late April? Lots of great info here. We've been heavily looking at videos and searching the internet for 5 days now trying to figure out what the best options are. We are driving from Missouri. Will probably take the higher route there through Kansas/Denver, and then come back the lower route through Arizona, Oklahoma, ect but those are 4 extra days I didn't include in the 7 as figured this to be 11 days total. I'll take a look at those links you sent. I'm probably just overthinking the hikes at night but does make me nervous. I'm super nervous if I'm out at night in my own back yard (I live in country so no lights) or out taking Astro by myself so I don't do it much.

Is The Witches Cauldron Slot Canyon any good. I saw it was near the Lower Calf Creek Falls. and looked like best one closest to areas looking at.

If you can go April, I would try for that if crowds are a concern. Maybe put Zion at the end of your 7 days so there is a greater chance of having some green in the trees. There is so much to see in Zion. It hands down my favorite park. I've hiked The Narrows, incredible, but the water would likely be fareeezing in April and May. I was there in October. Surises and sunsets are spectacular and no need to hike out in the dark. Angel's Landing is stunning if you are good with heights which I am not so haven't personally been, but was with friends who did it. I think these days you need to have a reservation.

The Canylands are gorgeous. Moab, stunning, some nice hikes there and camping to. Monument Valley in Arizona makes some incredible sunset images and again no hiking out in the dark.Only problem with MV is there are few places to stay the night and it is several hours from a decent hotel if the one at MV has no rooms. There is some camp grounds close. We were in MV in May 2 years ago. Crowds not there at all then. Flowers were starting to pop.

Some locations are not open in April and still not in May. Snow kept some trails pretty rough. Snow hasn't been to bad so far this year, so possibly not an issue.

All of this area is my absolute favorite landscape anywhere we have ever been. It's going to be a great trip.

Thanks Rebecca. You're probably right about the trees in April for Zion. One thing that drives me crazy about spring is that some trees are in bloom while other's aren't. One of the reasons we thought of May (11-20) is because there's a new moon on the 7th so hoping to see the starts good in those first couple of days. I was afraid it might be to cold in April and gives us 1 less month to plan. Maybe we should plan for a Zion, Kanab, and AZ during the fall. Fall sunrise/sunsets are my favorite as they seem more bold for some reason.

I'm excited to go. We went to Garden Of The Gods in Colorado Springs a couple years ago in June and loved it. It really wasn't crowded either which surprised me. I do try to plan the national parks during the week and avoid weekends since they are busier. Hoping to actually see some snow on the tops of mountains in May!

I went to Bryce Canyon at Thanksgiving, cold and snowy but stunning and spectacular, on another trip I did Monument Valley, spend a few dollars on a special trip guided by the natives, so worth the $ and if I could only go back to one park, this one would be it, amazing, like being inside a commercial in the best way, went to Kanab, liked it and Zion, wasn't impressed but have to say I didn't go for hikes, just drove around, don't overthink it too much, go for the adventure, the fun, the unexpected, the trip, the smells, the pleasures of traveling......
On the higher elevations you will definitely see snow even in May

Thanks Nina. My husband would probably like that guided tour so will have to look into it. I'm trying to not stress over it, but I am lol. With only being there a few days, I'm not going to have time to stake out each spot for sunrise/sunset before going so I'll be traveling blinded for the sunrise spots as they'll be spots I haven't seen in the daylight so I may not get what I want for those as I'll probably have to find spots with short easy hikes. Will be spending a lot of time on Google looking for good spots I guess.

Jennifer, We have been to Moab and Canyonland in late April 2015 years ago and I agree with Adam the crowds are horrible if you want to get photos of the top places expect people will walk into the scene to get their selfies at sunset you will not be able to get a shot of the Delicate Arch mostly likely without people in the shot! Sometimes there are so many it not even worth the effort! We did manage to get a sunrise from Mesa Arch but I have heard it is even harder now. We got there an hour before sunrise and it was already packed but had a little space to get in our shot. We have talked about going there again but i might skip Moab and focus on places in Canyonland this time around. Also In Moab area you can always rent a jeep if you need four wheel drive.

For Moab, I'd probably avoid whatever spring break is cause that will be a super busy time. Jeep Week is another one to try to avoid.

Witches Cauldron is not a place I've visited but it looks like that would probably require some skills and gear to navigate.

https://www.roadtripryan.com/go/t/utah/north-wash/witchscauldron

If you are in the Kanab area, you can try to get permits for The Wave. Odds of success in the Wave lottery are probably 5% or less. Coyote South permits are easier and there is also White Pocket down there. Paid tours are probably $300+ after you get a permit. The road to the Wave is usually pretty good but you never know with weather. The road to Coyote South and White Pocket generally needs a solid 4WD. Coyote South can be accessed via Paw Hole by just hiking but there is a chunk of sandy road that must be hiked to get there without a proper vehicle.

https://www.blm.gov/programs/recreation/permits-and-passes/lotteries-and-permit-systems/arizona/coyote-buttes-north

These are some good lots:

https://www.visitutah.com/things-to-do/Slot-Canyons

Buckskin IMHO is the best of the bunch that probably won't be too crowded and has a cheap permit. Peekaboo and Spooky are decent and there is one or two more in that general area. The road around those two can get full of deep sand. Zebra is a nice small slot.

Those two books are the best resource IMHO. Tons of awesome spots all presented from a photographers point of view and they give you all the relevant details to get there and decide which ones to go to based on photo potential and difficulty in car and hiking access.

I visited Utah in September of 2022, it's the only time I've been there so I don't have tons of specific tips and advice.

My wife and I visited the southwest corner of the state. We spent 3 or 4 days at Zion and then 2 or 3 days at Bryce. On the drive from Zion to Bryce we discovered Red Canyon which is part of Dixie National forest. We ended up doing driving back to do a hike at Red Canyon around sunset on our first day at Bryce.

The drive along scenic byway 12 from Zion to Bryce was as breathtaking as anything I saw in either park. Utah absolutely blew my mind, and there is not a day I haven't thought about going back since the day I left. I'm not exaggerating, I can't stop thinking about Utah.

I'm from the north east, and we don't have the kind of elevations in my neck of the woods that I encountered in Utah. We felt pretty good hiking around Zion, but Bryce is much higher elevation and both my wife and I felt the effects. Just something to keep in mind if you don't have any experience with that.

5 parks in 7 days would not be a trip I would want to take. That is way too much for my speed, I really like to spend some time in a park and take in as much as I can. Especially for photographic purposes.

Good luck with your planning, and I hope you have a fantastic trip! Like I said I really can't wait to go back myself, the place is just other worldly...at least to a New Englander like me.

Thanks Tod and Cynthia! I think we decided to avoid Delicate and Mesa at sunrise / sunset. I was really hoping May would be good since it's before school gets out but guess not. We did consider renting a jeep as we drive a jeep trail hawk but are renting a 4WD or AWD for this trip.

Thanks Adam. We are avoiding spring break and I just looked up jeep week and looks like it's in March to so that's good. Thanks for the slot link. That's a big help. Better then some of the other websites I've found on slot canyons.

Thanks Andrew - Sounds like you really enjoyed it. From what all I have seen, I'm sure it'll be one we'll want to go back to also to see different areas. I do think we are now down to just 2 national parks as I don't want to be rushed and feel overwhelmed. Thank you. Hope you get to go back there soon!

Monument Valley is awesome. Daytime. Despite the paved road going through it I got the feeling that the huge stone monuments there were made by Nature/God and the area is not for humans to even be there. I was honored to be there and see it. Look it up in Google images.

Andrew - are you talking about the one in Arizona? I'm hoping to get to see that one as we start to head back home. Trying to figure out if we can work it out to where maybe our last night might be in that area to capture it a sunrise or sunset. I bet it sure is a sight to see and hope to get to see it.

Southern Canyonlands, Capital Reef or Grand Staircase areas? Which do you recommend more?

Trying to decide where to go in middle of our trip. I think we've decided to start out in Moab for probably 3 or 4 nights. Will go to the part of northern Island area of Canyonlands while there. Now just trying to decide where to spend next 2 or 3 nights? Seems like there is more to see in Capital Reef / Boulder area. Are the trees bloomed in May in Grand Staircase? Hoping we can spend the last night in Monument Valley Arizona area.

Has anyone done the Capitol Reef Stargazing jeep tour?

Valley of the Gods, in the SE corner of the state, is far off the beaten path and mostly frequented only by locals, especially on the weekends. It's undeveloped and has only a decent dirt road snaking through it. You probably don't need 4WD, but high clearance is a must to cross the several washes.

My best advice if you can be flexible on the timing is to watch the weather and try to go 5 days or a week after a period of wet weather ends and nice weather ensues. This gives time for a) the roads to dry out, and b) the flora to soak up the H2O and bloom. Many desert plants aren't seasonal so much as "moisture opportunistic". Each Spring there's usually one brief period when things are much more lush than the rest of the year.

Thanks Chris. I think I saw a video that had a brief section about Valley of the Gods. Guess I'll take a look at it some more to see if we should all that in our list of stops.

Unfortunately we can't really plan around the weather as we need to go ahead and get our lodging booked. Since we're staying in probably 3 different places, planning this is stressing me out as it's only giving us about 2 full days at each spot so really hope weather will be good, especially when we'll probably only get 1 night of Astro photos planned in Capital Reef. Would be nice if we can just camp around at different places but don't really want to haul a camper around and would be too hard on my husbands back to sleep in an SUV.

This is surely going to be one of those vacation that we'll need a vacation after our vacation lol. Won't be much sleep on this trip! It's hard for me to miss a single sunset or sunrise on trips like this and since the good spots are long drives or hikes....I'll be exhausted lol.

I went there in July 2015 with my brother, and we did Death Valley, Zion, Bryce, Canyonlands, and Monument Valley (I realize not all of those are in Utah). We did it in a week, which I found wasn't nearly enough time especially if you want to venture away from the main (i.e. popular) areas of the parks.

I agree with not wanting to cut out Zion - there's some gorgeous scenery there. There's a couple of things there that I would have loved to do but just didn't have time. One of those is the Angel's Landing hike, which seems to be popular but a bit scary for some (at the end section, not for the whole thing). The other is The Narrows, which leads through a narrow canyon and (if I remember correctly) involves walking through a river. Not beside it, actually through it. I didn't know about that one beforehand, so I wasn't dressed for it, didn't have the right equipment for it, and didn't have time to do it. Also, there's a period during which they forbid personal vehicles from entering the park. I don't know when that starts, but it's possible you'll skip that if you go in May. I can see why they do it - you'll spend most of your time looking for parking instead of hiking. I found that the shuttle bus service was quite good.

Bryce was interesting, but I think it was my least favourite out of the ones mentioned above. There weren't really any trails that led down, so really all it was was a bunch of viewpoints along the main road.

Canyonlands was great. We did the Island in the Sky section, which included driving down the Schaeffer Trail and doing part of the White Rim Road. Doing that whole thing would require camping (or at least overnighting in an SUV) though. Plus, you do need a proper 4x4. We could not continue past a certain point (I think it was Musselman Arch) because we had AWD instead of 4x4 (despite the fact that I specifically requested a proper 4x4 when I booked the rental car, and no amount of discussion would change their mind). I'd also recommend doing the Needles section, though that's just based on pictures I've seen... I didn't have time to do that myself.

Anyway, if you want to do a bunch of hiking to the lesser populated areas of the parks, I'd say give yourself a couple of days minimum in each park. That way, you won't have to rush your hikes or your photos... you'd have time to wait for better lighting conditions, etc.

Don't overlook Goblin State park if you have time, it's fun and unique. We visit it on the way to Bryce/Zion last year in June.

Thanks John and Anthony. Really wishing we could do a 2 week trip there lol but I have to get back home and get back to work to pay the bills! I've increased it to 10 days now but that also includes our 19 hour drive we have from and to home lol. We've looked at all the rental places locally and looks like they all only offer AWD anymore. I know when we were car shopping a couple years ago, we learned most have done to AWD drive vs 4wd which I think is ridiculous. They say it's the same but it's not. We finally found a 4WD but I really don't want to drive it there and put all those miles on our own car, and know it's going to get super dirty on all those dirt roads.

When I was in Moab I drove into Arches National Park at 2am to take astro photos of the North and South Windows, Turret Arch and Courthouse Tower. I found you could drive right up to the major sites with minimal walking in Arches, however there are hikes if you want them.

With any of the major parks sunrise is your friend for daytime photography. Always get to your spot a bit before sunrise if you want parking and you don't want a ton of people in your photos.

I was just in Sedona, AZ over the last week. I did all of my hikes at sunrise. This is their off-season and I was hiking during the week. The trailhead lots would be near-empty when I got there before sunrise but almost completely full by the time I returned from hiking. Often cars would be waiting to take my spot as I was leaving at around 8:30 am. I imagine the more popular parks will be hopping in May.

Toby - How are the hikes at night? I probably overthinking it but I'm a little scared at hiking at night. I do see there are some sites with short hikes which I'm okay with those, but hiking even 1 mile in the dark to a spot I haven't been to before does make me nervous since I won't have any time to stake it out like I normally do. I've watched videos on what is needed for the night hikes and it looks scary lol. I don't like the dark as you can tell. I live in the country and it scares me to be out in my own back yard at night as we have coyotes and other animals around here and there have to worry about drop offs, rocks and snakes I'm guessing, plus trying to even see the trail ahead of your lights.

I cannot advice you, just wanted to share we were there in october, after the 9.11. We went to a 24h bike competition in Moab, my ex was a crazy biker.. and because what happened we tought we lost our ticket and we wont be allowed to enter US. but for our luck we did

So after the bike thing that we visited Canyonlands , Arches National park, the cave paintings, and almost nobody was there. I am not a photographer, so I could just enjoy it all without any reason, It was an unfogattable experience. We took photos but that time was only with normal photo machines, before the digitals.. we even lost one roll of film..
Visiting it from Hungary that time, which is quite a flat country without huge peaks or lows, that land and scenery was something that took my breath away.
We went also for NY for a week after that, but the smokey towers made it sad..
(this was my only time visited US.)

Wish you a wonderful trip.

Jennifer going by memory the walk into the windows wasn't that bad, not far from the parking lot, it was a fairly bright moon so once my eyes adapted to the darkness I didn't need a headlamp or flashlight. With the Courthouse tower you can just park directly in front of it. I don't recall any places (that I went to) where you'd be too worried about drop-offs. Luckily I didn't run into any wildlife such as snakes. The only real hike I did in Arches was during the day in what they call Park Street, a gorgeous walk through rock formations.

If you have a good headlamp you can perfectly see where you're going. I've hiked Adirondacks high peaks in total darkness and a high lumen headlamp or flashlight provided plenty of light.

I was a little worried about running into animals in the dark but that didn't happen, I guess it's always a possibility. At 2AM I also didn't run into a single other person anywhere, I guess I was the only crazy photographer out that night.

Thanks Dora and Toby. Good to hear the hike at night isn't as bad as I'm thinking. There's a new moon on May 7th so Arches will probably have a full moon (not good for astro) so should be eluminated for sunrise then. As for Canyonlands, it'll be after the new moon so I think we're going to reserve a stargazing jeep tour. Been talking to the tour guy and he's been really nice. It's expensive but I think worth it since it'll be out in the middle of Canyonlands lol.

We have booked our hotels for Moab and Torrey. Just need to book last nights stay somewhere, probably Monument Valley area.

Yea while the moon def diminishes the stars and milkyway it does light up the rock formations and landscape, def gives a different look.

https://fineartamerica.com/featured/jupiter-and-saturn-through-the-north-window-in-arches-national-park-moab-utah-starry-sky-toby-mcguire.html
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/under-the-arch-north-window-arches-national-park-moab-utah-toby-mcguire.html
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/jupiter-and-saturn-through-the-north-window-in-arches-national-park-moab-utah-toby-mcguire.html

Most of Arches would be pretty easy to navigate in the dark. Delicate Arch could be a little tricky but the Windows, Balanced Rock, and much of the rest of it is just short hikes. Lots of the formations are road side or very close. In probably 2 years of wandering around southern Utah I ran into 2 rattle snakes. They just rattle and warn you so just stop and move in an opposite direction. You are too big to eat so its purely defensive. Those were in the Needles section of Canyonlands.

Those are beautiful Toby! Can't wait!

Thank you Adam. I'm good at overthinking and worrying about things lol.

We booked our last night in Monument Valley. Got lucky and get to have a view of the monuments! Exciting. Now to hope for great weather with pretty clouds in the day and clear sky at night ha ha!! Will have to back next year for Zion area an hopefully get in the Wave if apply early enough.

Thinking about getting a GoPro Hero 12 camera for this trip or do you recommend another brand?

Jennifer what type of videos are you planning to take? For walking around videos I love the DJI Pocket 2 (there is also a 3 now that looks awesome). The form factor is perfect for POV walking videos. It's very small and has a built-in gimbal which takes very smooth stabilized video. Video quality is nice too- Sedona, AZ: https://youtu.be/zCDp-KzfQ0o . I've taken it on many trips with me and done tons of local videos too. Another one of my favs, London: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xv82_l8kHmE

I do have a few GoPros too. They are good if you want to mount the camera. For instance to record a bike ride (or other types of vehicles) or hike where you need your hands free. GoPro Hero 9 attached to bike: https://youtu.be/jPo3GvgjE0A

Thanks Toby. That doesn't look to bad video quality for the DJI. I'll look into it more. We were thinking of having my husband mount it on his shoulder strap of his back pack or on an extender pole to capture me working as we hike and take photos and use it for YT videos which is something I've been wanting to do more of. Just a pain to use my main camera on a gimble for something like this. I think it would be better then wearing out the battery on our phones too since we'll be out probably all day. Being that we won't use it to much (other then traveling) I wondered if there was another one that was as good, but maybe a little cheaper. The GoPro isn't super expensive but with how slow things are I wondered about others.

Toby - Did you use a mic?

I use sound professionals in-ear binaural microphone and it does a great job of recording binaural audio, and it's all in a very compact form factor. I do a lot of city/nature walks, sometimes rain ASMR type videos. If people listen back with headphones or decent speakers is does a good job of recreating the soundscape/directional audio. It also picks up my voice well since the microphones sit in your ears.

As for battery life I carry around a high capacity portable battery charger with USBC cable, it can keep a GoPro or DJI Pocket running all day. It can also keep your phone charged though the phone uses more power. I just keep the charger in the side pocket of my backpack and have the camera always plugged into it so the battery dying is never a concern.

Thanks for the help Toby!

My Utah trip is right around the corner. I have another question. What do you use for GPS Location if you don't have service? I don't want to get lost and not find way back to car. Some of the hikes we're wanting to take are not in the national parks.

I've heard the All Trails Maps will work without data to show you your location. Being that I would only use this during the trip, don't really want to pay for a full year. Do you have any other recommendations? I think Google maps may work without data but not really sure as I haven't tried it yet.

I have a handheld GPS... Garmin eTrex 10 Handheld GPS Navigator

Thanks Susan. Being that my trip is only a week away I'll see if there are any local stores that have anything like that. I went into Best Buy a couple weeks ago and they didn't have anything other than the regular car gps systems. Does look like the one you have is more expensive then paying for All Trails app?

Yes, they aren't cheap, but I go to so many places where my phone is completely worthless.

I can't trust my SUV's Navigation to find most places out West. I also travel with a car GPS for backup and often check my phone, too, when I have reception.

Thanks Susan.

When we go hiking we always take a quad map and a compass. This part of the world there's just too many places without signals. And if you're in a canyon, chances are even satellite systems won't work.

I lived in Northern Utah for 8 years. It was next to Antelope Island State Park. If you have time, give it a shot. You can easily go hiking, enjoy wildlife and also beautiful sunsets. Utah is beautiful and you will be back in the future :)

Mary - What do you mean by Quad Map? Are you referring to a paper map?

Edit - I see it's a map with Latitude and Longitude notes. I have some details maps on the parks that have that but not to worried about the national parks. It's the off the grid trails I'm wondering about and don't have detailed maps on those areas. Will have to see if I can find some this weekend as we leave in a week.

Joan - That sounds and looks nice. Doesn't look like we'll have time to get up around Salt Lake area this trip but do plan on going back another time to hit Zion, Bryce and Salt lake. So much to see and do there. We're going to Moab area for Arches and Canyonlands, then stopping by Green River/Buckhorn wash on way to Torrey and spending a couple days at Capitol Reef/Grand Staircase then down to Monument Valley in Arizona before heading back.