Hiking Utah's National Parks

Welcome to Las Vegas, Nevada! This glitzy city might be known for its casinos, but there’s plenty more to discover in this neon metropolis. Your trip starts at 6 pm tonight with a welcome meeting. After, why not join your fellow travellers for an optional dinner and indulge in some nightlife? Maybe wander along the famous strip, past impersonators, billboards and hotels to the choreographed Bellagio Fountain show. Hit the chain stores or lose all sense of time exploring the gaudy interiors of hotels like The Venetian, Caesars Palace and New York-New York.

Be up bright and early this morning for the drive to Zion National Park. Arrive in Springdale, your base for the next two nights, check into your accommodation, then head to the park for your first hike – the famous Virgin River Narrows. Begin with a stroll down the paved River Trail, buttressed by water on our left and a 3,000-foot cliff face on the right. After walking along hanging gardens and under the dappled shade of cottonwoods, the sidewalk ends and you will enter the river. Hiking in moving water can be a new and exciting experience so you’ll have time to get your ‘stream legs’ before walking another 1.5 miles upriver to the turnaround point at Orderville Canyon. Before heading back downstream, get a few more photos of the Narrows’ beauty. Tonight we'll head out on an included group dinner at a local restaurant in Springdale.

Today after breakfast, head out nice and early for another hike in Zion National Park. You’ll be heading out on the West Rim trail to Scout Lookout. This is a steep hike, but don’t worry, we'll take plenty of breaks. Anyone in good physical condition can make this trek! You'll cross the Virgin River, enter Refrigerator Canyon and ascend up Walter’s Wiggles, before being rewarded with stunning views of Zion Canyon's 270-million-year-old rock layers. Then, head back to your hotel and rest any weary legs.

After breakfast this morning, drive to Bryce Canyon National Park, where wind and water erosion have formed the park's crimson hoodoos – uniquely shaped rock spires rising out of the desert. The park’s main road leads past the expansive Bryce Amphitheatre – a hoodoo-filled depression below the Rim Trail hiking path. It overlooks Sunrise Point, Sunset Point, Inspiration Point and Bryce Point. After checking into your accommodation, you’ll hike the iconic Navajo Loop Trail, which begins and ends at Sunset Point. Travelling by switchbacks between narrow walls of colourful limestone with views of towering Douglas-fir trees, this trail takes you to the park's most famous hoodoo – Thor's Hammer. This trail has two sides, Two Bridges and Wall Street, so the trip out and back is different, with unique scenery on each side of the loop.

After breakfast today, you’ll hit the road for Moab. On the way, stop in Capitol Reef National Park to explore the historic orchards of the park’s Fruita district. Then go way, way back in history as you wander along boardwalks to see petroglyphs left by the ancient Fremont Culture, who lived in the park from 300 – 1300 AD. Continue on to your accommodation in Moab, and enjoy a free evening to rest and recharge.

Today you’ll head to Canyonlands National Park and head out on the Island in the Sky hike – resting on sheer sandstone cliffs, the Island in the Sky lookout point, Grandview Point Overlook, has spectacular sweeping views of the park. Take in the landscape below of the canyons and winding streams and then head to Arches National Park – home to more than 2,000 natural stone arches, rock formations and giant, balancing rocks. Head out on a sunset hike to visit the Delicate Arch – a stone icon of the park that has become the unofficial symbol of the State of Utah! Along this trail, you’ll see the Wolfe Ranch cabin and Ute Indian petroglyphs, too. Watch the landscape change colours as you enjoy a picnic dinner, then head back to your hotel in Moab.

Travel south to Bluff, stopping for a very special experience along the way – a guided hike with an expert Navajo guide in Bears Ears National Monument. Explore the beautiful country filled with abundant native plants, animals, incredible geologic features and archaeology and learn some of the fascinating Indigenous stories and history of the area.