{"id":1674,"date":"2025-02-02T14:11:32","date_gmt":"2025-02-02T14:11:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/?p=1674"},"modified":"2026-06-08T20:20:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T20:20:49","slug":"road-trip-lost-in-southern-utah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/road-trip-lost-in-southern-utah\/","title":{"rendered":"Road Trip: Lost in Southern Utah"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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I wouldn\u2019t recommend cramming five national parks into just four days. Especially not if you also plan to scramble through narrow canyons, mountain bike over Kodachrome mesas, and get lost on an Indian reservation along the way. (Not that my buddy Stew and I planned on that last one.) If, however, you are going to attempt such a foolhardy quest, Southern Utah\u2019s the place to do it.<\/p>

Five of the nation\u2019s most gorgeous parks are packed into 450 miles of high desert highway snaking from Moab, near the eastern border with Colorado, to Springdale in Utah\u2019s southwest corner. Amazingly, each park stands out.<\/p>

Spectacular Bryce, with its striped rock pinnacles, and majestic Zion, where noble rock domes rear above verdant canyons, are both justly famous. So are the sandstone bridges arcing over red desert scrubland in Arches National Park. Sprawling Canyonlands is less well known, but it\u2019s every inch as impressive as the Grand Canyon (yet receives a mere fraction the crowds). Even more secluded is Capitol Reef, the forgotten stepchild of the bunch. It gets only half as many visitors as Bryce, and one-fifth the crowds of Zion. You could spend all day hiking the narrow canyons, where Butch Cassidy and his gang once hid out from the law, and run into only a handful of other people.<\/p>

Yes, tackling all five parks in just four days is a fool\u2019s errand. But over the years, Stew and I have climbed mountains together. We\u2019ve traveled through the hinterlands of Eastern Cuba and even taken a troop of Boy Scouts on a three-week tour of Europe.<\/p>

We love a challenge.<\/p>

DAY 1<\/b><\/p>

Less than 90 minutes after landing in Grand Junction, Colorado, we had crossed the state line and were driving into Moab, Utah.<\/b> This laid-back little city wedged between two national parks (Arches and Canyonlands) thrives on the hotels, outfitters, and guide services that cater to throngs of park visitors, hard-core mountains bikers, Colorado River rafters, and others bent on exploring the great outdoors of Southern Utah.<\/p>

We checked into Center Street Hotel,<\/b> an unassuming little inn favored by trail jockeys who don\u2019t mind communal bathrooms or staying in fantastically oddball thematic rooms named Safari, Ancient Roman, and Victorian. Ours was the Miner\u2019s Shack, complete with tin ceiling, weathered clapboard wall, and a fake rock face.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Inspired by the whole macho mountain-biking<\/b> concept, we booked a ride that would take us over the Klondike Bluffs<\/b> just north of Moab for a mesa-top panorama of the near-virgin desert that covers the north end of Arches, miles away from the tourist roads of the park\u2019s southern reaches. To get there, we would have to grind 1,500 vertical feet up some of Utah’s famed expanses of bald sandstone called slickrock, which, despite its name, is remarkably grippy stuff against the rubber of shoe soles and bike tires. (Its nickname dates back to settler days, when it had the opposite effect on wagon wheels and iron horseshoes.)<\/p>

Our guide was Goose, a lean dude nearing 30 who\u2019d left behind a journalism degree and a full name (Mike Gostlin) nine years ago when he headed West from Ohio to guide rafting trips. Goose tackled the bluffs on an old steel bike with no shocks and only one gear. Stew and I were saddled atop state-of-the-art mountain bikes with rapid-fire shifting and full suspension.<\/p>

Not that it helped.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

About five minutes into the ride, after the excitement wore off, I suddenly remembered that most of my days are spent sitting at a computer screen 30 feet above sea level. In Utah, somewhere above 4,000 feet, I was gasping for air and pushing jelly legs to haul a bike up what is essentially a 5-1\/2 mile-long boulder. All I could think was, Thank God for dinosaur footprints.<\/p>

These impressions appeared every few yards\u2014the American Southwest is rich in dinosaur fossils\u2014each three-toed imprint surrounded by a circle of stones to keep off bikers and hikers. I dutifully stopped to examine every single one.\u00a0<\/p>

After the eight or ninth footprint, though, Goose\u2014farther up the slickrock, riding circles around Stew, and cheerfully calling out encouragement\u2014figured out that my sudden keen interest in paleontology was just a ruse for me to double over, suck oxygen, and reign in the wild pounding of my heart.<\/p>

The ride down was much easier.<\/p>

Having seen the wild side of Arches National Park<\/b> the hard way, Stew and I then drove through the far more popular southern end of the park, past dozens of signposted parking lots where families piled out of minivans and trotted down short trails to view geological formations with names like Balanced Rock and Double Arch.\u00a0<\/p>

By late afternoon, we had sufficiently forgotten the pain of the morning\u2019s bike ride, and began a 3\/4-mile trek up another bald face of slickrock. This was the often cliff-hugging trail to Delicate Arch,<\/b> Utah\u2019s poster-child natural wonder, a 45-foot-tall horseshoe of orange and red sandstone at the edge of a steep cliff set against a backdrop of desert valley and the distant, snow-capped La Sal Mountains.<\/p>

Racing a setting sun and gathering clouds, we left Arches and looped up a side road onto Rte. 313 into Dead Horse Point State Park,<\/b> which is surrounded on three sides by Canyonlands National Park.<\/b> We got to Dead Horse Point Overlook in time to catch the last bit of daylight and a jaw-dropping panorama over Canyonlands. The Green River wound in from our right to join the Colorado River, which snaked in from the left in lazy loops, both of them having carved deep, wide canyon walls striped with colorful layers of rock strata.<\/p>

Back in Moab, we discovered that our hotel\u2019s best feature was its location: the heart of town, right behind Moab\u2019s oldest microbrewery, Eddie McStiff\u2019s.<\/b> We sauntered into the bar at 10pm\u2014too late for dinner, but since under Utah\u2019s Byzantine liquor laws McStiff\u2019s is classified as a restaurant, we couldn\u2019t get a beer without ordering food. So the barkeep plunked down a basket of multicolored tortilla chips and some salsa\u2014just 49\u00a2 for the crispest and tastiest nachos I have ever had.\u00a0<\/p>

We soothed our aching bodies with pint after pint of Sky Island Scottish Ale, Cisco Bend Stout, and Rock Amber Ale.<\/p>

Day 2<\/b><\/p>

Canyonlands National Park,<\/b> largest of the five in Utah, sprawls over 527 square miles, rates several entrances, and is divided into three distinct sections.\u00a0<\/p>

Stew and I had already glimpsed the northerly \u201cIslands in the Sky\u201d sector from Dead Horse Point, so as we headed south on Hwy 191, we detoured onto Rte. 211 to see how the eastern, \u201cNeedles\u201d<\/b> section compared (the westerly \u201cMazes\u201d section involves 46 miles of dirt road just to get to the ranger station; its canyons are a day\u2019s hard hike beyond that).\u00a0<\/p>

The road to the Needles wound through majestic mesalands before climbing to the Big Spring Canyon Overlook inside the park, where layers of red and gray sandstone fanned out from the bases of rock columns in hundreds of thin, phyllo-like sheets.<\/p>

On the way back to Hwy 191, we pulled over to marvel at Newspaper Rock,<\/b> a black stone surface covered in a mad scramble of petroglyphs, images scratched into the rock over a 2,000-year period by every native group from ancient Anasazi and Fremont cultures to the Paiute and Navajo. It was an impressive broadsheet\u00a0of men on horseback armed with bows hunting antelope and buffalo, scattered images of hands, feet, and sacred wheels, and lumbering oversized gods sprouting horns and antlers.<\/p>

We stopped in the one-road town of Bluff<\/b> to grab some grub at the Twin Rocks Caf\u00e9<\/b> and trading post, a diner wedged up against the base of a curving mesa wall in the shadow of two rock pinnacles. A friendly Indian teenager brought us hearty beef stew with Navajo fry bread (crispy, puffy, and wonderfully greasy) and a platter of mesquite-smoked BBQ pork ribs and brisket. We washed it down with bottles of Eddie McStiff\u2019s raspberry wheat ale, and somehow saved enough room for their specialty dessert, cinnamon ice cream with baked apples on a puff pastry.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

At the dusty crossroads hamlet of Mexican Hat, we drove across the San Juan River past a wood sign that read, \u201cYou are entering Navajoland.\u201d<\/p>

The Navajo Indian Reservation<\/b> overlapping Southern Utah and Northern Arizona incorporates the iconic mesas of Monument Valley, backdrop to many a movie from Hollywood’s Golden Age. The scenery was straight out of a John Ford western: an endless expanse of red earth crusted with sagebrush and broken only by dark orange, mitten-shaped rock formations.<\/p>

The only real details our map showed in this vast no-man’s land were the snaking line of Route 163 and a dot just shy of the Arizona state line labeled \u201cGoulding.\u201d This turned out to be a crossroads trading post\u2014nowadays an air-conditioned gift shop\u2014where we stocked up on silver-and-turquoise jewelry, Indian drums, and other gifts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

As we left, Stew noticed that the map outlined a little dirt road that headed west from Goudling, turned south, and rejoined Route 163 after just a mile or two. Craving a glimpse of the real Res, the one that lay beyond the gift shop, we decided to take the shortcut.<\/p>

Almost immediately, I saw a modest homestead declaring its Navajo heritage with a dome-shaped hogan<\/i> (ceremonial mud hut) in the yard. Success! We continued on, jouncing down the dirt road, watching dust devils spin through the sage, bearing left at each fork we came to in order to loop back to the highway, and dodging the flocks of tumbleweed that occasionally attacked our car.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

I guess it wasn\u2019t until half an hour had passed with no sign of the highway that I finally tossed the useless map onto the floorboard and declared, “That’s it; we’re lost!”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

“We can’t be lost,” said Stew, gripping the wheel as the road turned into sifting sand and our rental sedan’s back tires slewed around wildly. He steered back onto solid dirt. “At every fork, I’ve gone left.”<\/p>

Suddenly, the desert seemed vast indeed. I found myself grateful that at least we\u2019d been smart enough to follow basic desert driving rules and had stocked our truck with three gallons of water.<\/p>

“So this is it,” I said grimly. \u201cI’m going to die in Monument Valley like the black hat villain in a bad John Wayne movie.”<\/p>

That’s when the cavalry arrived. Or, more accurately (and ironically), the Indians.\u00a0An elderly Navajo couple drove up in a cloud of dust and a battered white pickup. We asked the driver if this road would take us to Route 163. He thought for a moment then drawled, “Oh! Now that’s a looong way.” He thought again and said, “Best go back up here, about two, three miles. The dirt road on the right will take you to the highway.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

His directions were good. After another long drive during which the only thing we passed was a red-capped Navajo riding bareback, we finally spotted a line of electrical poles and the glittering of moving windshields that marked the highway.<\/p>

It was getting late, and we needed to make tracks halfway across the state to the crossroads town of Torrey, where I had booked one of the four Cowboy Homestead Cabins,<\/b> each of which came with a outdoor grill. (Based on our experience in Moab, we knew we\u2019d be getting in well after the Utah dinner hour.) After a quick grocery stop in Blanding, we got on Route 95 and sped west.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

By 11pm, we had arrived, unpacked, fired up the barbecue, and were grilling our steaks, pork chops, red pepper, zucchini, and onions. The smell lured Greg Daussin out of his cabin next door. Greg, a Utahan from upstate, had stayed here each spring for the past decade, and was happy to share local travel tips along with a beer or two while his two dogs romped at our feet and begged for scraps.\u00a0<\/p>

He and Stew discovered a shared love of rock climbing, and we sat up until 3:30am talking politics, trading climbing stories, and slowly emptying the cooler.<\/p>

Day 3<\/b><\/p>

Torrey is the gateway to Capitol Reef National Park.<\/b> As it was the least well known of Utah\u2019s five parks, I hadn\u2019t expected much from Capitol Reef. I was mistaken.<\/p>

Route 24 cuts through the park itself, threading through a high valley carved by the little Fremont River, but admission is charged only if you turn down the scenic road into the heart of the 241,904-acre park.\u00a0<\/p>

The only settlement was the tiny orchard-tending community of Fruita, surrounded by cherry, apricot, apple, and pear trees. Mule deer grazed on the banks shaded by gnarled giant cottonwoods. Thousand-year-old petroglyphs of funky alien-looking gods and fat little antelope were scratched into a cliff face by the roadside.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

I had planned to spend only an hour or so at most at Capitol Reef\u2014just enough time to take a quick glance around from the car windows and move on. That hour was already used up by the time we turned off the highway and onto the ten-mile Scenic Drive, which followed a long, dramatic wash\u2014a dry canyon that becomes a river during rainstorms.\u00a0<\/p>

The canyon walls rose hundreds of feet on either side of us as the dirt road looped and twisted its way through an increasingly narrow and torturous canyon. At the end of the road, we parked and continued on foot for about two miles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

As we walked, lizards darted out of our path, and when I jumped onto a boulder to take a picture, I flushed a quail. It was starting to feel distinctly like bandit country, and I couldn\u2019t shake the eerie feeling that around the next bend we\u2019d be ambushed by men with bandanas over their noses. I later found out that Capitol Reef was, in fact, once the hideout for Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch.<\/p>

We scrambled up a hillside to see “The Tanks,” a series of natural water cisterns that had served as an oasis in this stretch of desert. They also cooled the air by a good ten degrees. As we sat above one pool, gazing out over the canyon badlands, I realized we had run into only five other people all morning.<\/p>

Highway 12<\/b> earns my vote for most spectacular drive in America. From Torrey we wound south through Dixie National Forest. By the time we crested the summit at 9,200 feet, the road was cut through eight-foot drifts of snow and the groves of aspen had given way to a forest of tall firs.\u00a0<\/p>

Views spilled down the white slopes picked with green Christmas trees to an expanse of red and yellow mesas and canyon-filled desert below, with a backdrop of the snowcapped Henry Mountains in the distance under a giant dome of deep blue sky.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

And that was just the first 20 miles.<\/p>

After a brief snowball fight, Stew and I headed down the other side of the mountains and into Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument,<\/b> where the road followed the top of a ridgeline in a series of tight curves and 14% grades\u00a0with sheer drop-offs of more than 1,000 feet on both sides\u2014and no shoulder or guardrail.\u00a0<\/p>

Even more disconcerting, the first roadside pullover was at something called the Box Death Hollow Wilderness.<\/b> This canyon was a study in shades of gray, its steep slopes littered with rounded black igneous boulders and strewn with the sun-beached fragments of animal skulls.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Once again, we found ourselves racing the setting sun\u2014this time to get to Bryce Canyon<\/b> to see the sun illuminate the canyon\u2019s famous forests of hoodoos (orange and white candy-striped spires of rock). We missed the natural show at the park’s Sunset Point by five minutes.\u00a0<\/p>

But as the crowds dispersed I noticed a photographer, laden with equipment, who hadn\u2019t budget from his perch. I asked if he was setting up for night shots, and he just smiled and said, \u201cWait a few more minutes. You\u2019ll see.\u201d I was leaning against the low stone wall, shivering now that the sun was down but enjoying the view, when all of a sudden the snow between the pinnacles below us briefly glowed a luminous, pale purple.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Rather than stay at the tour bus-clogged Ruby\u2019s Inn Best Western complex\u2014which, aside from a handful of B&Bs, is the only other lodging available near the park\u2014we\u2019d decided to splurge on Bryce\u2019s own historic lodge for a night.\u00a0<\/p>

Our room was blandly modern, but had a lovely balcony with rough hewn logs for railings and views over the snowy forest. Unfortunately, dinner at the lodge was pretty awful. Everything was way too salty, my salmon was both pink and dry, and by the next morning I felt distinctly queasy. Perhaps it was just due to the kitchen\u2019s opening-night jitters\u2014we did happen in on the first day of the season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Day 4<\/b><\/p>

It was already April 2, but there was still as much as ten feet of snow blanketing Bryce, where the altitude ranges from about 7,900 to more than 9,000 feet above sea level. The high snow levels meant that most of Bryce\u2019s trails were still closed to everyone except snowshoers\u2014and with the lingering effects of my dinner, I wasn\u2019t up for that much activity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Instead, Stew and I drove out to the end of Bryce\u2019s lone scenic road, stopping at each overlook along the way. The best were at the top-heavy pinnacles at Agua Canyon, the rock window called Monument Arch, and the massive amphitheater of hoodoos\u00a0at Bryce Point, near the lodge and the park entrance.<\/p>

Four national parks down, one to go. Route 9 runs right through Zion National Park,<\/b> past the pyramid-like Checkerboard Mesa, a pale gray rock face scored with a mesh of cracks. We had just enough time to take the park\u2019s most rewarding short hike, the mile-long Canyon Overlook trail above a narrow, crashing gorge to a bluff-top viewpoint over the Lower Valley.\u00a0<\/p>

Private cars are no longer allowed on the road north of the visitor’s center, so we caught the free shuttle bus, whose driver pointed out climbers setting up bivouacs for the night halfway up the sheer cliff faces on either side of us. At the north end of the road, as dusk set in, we hustled to the end of the cement Riverwalk trail, stripped off our socks, slipped on our sandals, and plunged into the icy waters of the Virgin River.<\/p>

This was the Narrows,<\/b> the only (official) U.S. trail that’s almost completely underwater. The Virgin River surges between canyon walls that at times are only 25 feet apart yet soar up to 2,000 feet. Hikers must check with the weather service before setting off because flash floods can send a wall of water tens of feet high racing down the canyon. Attempting to hike the Narrows\u2014at twilight, while the spring snowmelt kept the water a brisk 32.1 degrees (well, that\u2019s what it felt like)\u2014was our final act of ill-advised bravado for the trip.<\/p>

We made it only around the first bend before the frigid water surged up to our knees. We snapped a couple of quick pictures of ourselves for bragging rights and hightailed it back to dry land to massage feeling back into our numb feet.<\/p>

Just down the road from the park gates, we checked into a spacious cottage at the Canyon Ranch Motel<\/b> and immediately headed for the outdoor hot tub. Fifteen minutes of soaking (and the last two cans of Sapporo from our cooler) restored our circulation and eased our aching muscles.\u00a0<\/p>

We finished off the evening with some spectacular Mexican food on the deck of the Bit & Spur Saloon.<\/b> From the perfect sangria to the odd potato, poblano, and chorizo soup to the flavorful sweet potato tamales topped with shredded pork and salsa, it was heavenly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The next morning we turned our wheels east onto Rte. 70 to zip back across the state over the gorgeously desolate moonscape of the San Rafael Swell.<\/b> As we passed the turnoff for Arches again and neared the edge of Utah, a flock of tumbleweed blew out of the high desert and playfully chased our car toward the Colorado state line.<\/p>

BOX: Finding Your Way<\/b><\/p>

Salt Lake City is actually not the most convenient gateway for the parklands of Southern Utah. We flew into Grand Junction, Colorado via Denver\u2014a 90-minute drive from Moab\u2014but could just as easily have done this trip in reverse by flying into Las Vegas, a two-hour drive from Zion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

We went the first week of April, when many outfitters had just opened for the season (the parks are open year-round, as is the lodge in Zion, but the Bryce lodge is open only April 1 to October 31). However, even though this is the desert, it\u2019s the <\/span>high<\/i> desert, which means there was still plenty of snow at higher elevations and daytime temperatures in the 70s plummeted to less than 10 degrees some nights.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Then again, we beat most of the crowds that pack into Zion, Bryce, and Arches come June and remain through the brutal heat of August. At the entrance of the first park we visited\u2014Arches\u2014we bought a National Parks annual pass for $50, since paying separate admissions to each of the five parks would have cost $65.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

SIDEBAR:<\/b><\/p>

DAY 1<\/b><\/p>

Attractions<\/b><\/p>

Arches National Park, 435-719-2299, nps.gov\/arch, $10<\/p>

Dead Horse Point State Park, 435-259-2614, stateparks.utah.gov, Rte. 313, $4<\/p>

Activities<\/b><\/p>

Rim Tours, 435-259-5223, 1233 South Hwy. 191, Moab. Half-day ride: $90.<\/p>

Lodging<\/b><\/p>

Center Street Hotel, 435-259-9431, moab-utah.com\/hotel, 96 E. Center St., Moab, $49.<\/p>

Dining<\/b><\/p>

Eddie McStiff\u2019s, 435-259-BEER (2337), eddiemcstiffs.com, 57 South Main St., Moab.<\/p>

Day 2<\/b><\/p>

Attractions<\/b><\/p>

Canyonlands National Park, 435-719-2313, nps.gov\/cany, $10<\/p>

Shopping<\/b><\/p>

Goulding\u2019s Trading Post, 435-727-3231, gouldings.com, 100 Main St., Monument Valley.<\/p>

Lodging<\/b><\/p>

Cowboy Homestead Cabins, 435-425-3414, cowboyhomesteadcabins.com, 2100 South Rte. 12, Torrey. $59.<\/p>

Dining<\/b><\/p>

Twin Rocks Caf\u00e9, 435-672-2341, twinrocks.com, Bluff.<\/p>

Day 3<\/b><\/p>

Attractions<\/b><\/p>

Capitol Reef National Park, 435-425-3791, nps.gov\/care, $5.<\/p>

Bryce Canyon National Park, 435-834-5322, nps.gov\/brca, $20.<\/p>

Lodging & Dining<\/b><\/p>

Bryce Canyon Lodge, 888-297-2757, brycecanyonlodge.com. $125.<\/p>

Day 4<\/b><\/p>

Attractions<\/b><\/p>

Zion National Park, 435-772-3256, nps.gov\/zion, $20.<\/p>

Lodging<\/b><\/p>

Canyon Ranch Motel, 435-772-3357, canyonranchmotel.com, 668 Zion Park Blvd., Springdale, $89.<\/p>

Dining<\/b><\/p>

Bit & Spur Restaurant and Saloon, 435-772-3498, 1212 Zion Park Blvd., Springdale.<\/p>

THE ROUTE<\/b><\/p>

Day 1<\/b><\/p>

* From Grand Junction, Colorado: I-70 (west) to Exit 202: Rte. 128 (south), known as the \u201cColorado River Road.\u201d At end, left (south) onto Rte. 191 into Moab.<\/p>

* Moab to Klondike Bluffs (does this count? You ride there in a van with the biking guide): North on Rte. 191 to about halfway between Moab and I-70 (it\u2019s a dirt-road turn-off; don\u2019t know if it\u2019ll be marked on your map, but on mine both \u201cKlondike Bluffs\u201d and \u201cDinosaur Tracks\u201d are marked.)<\/p>

* Moab to Arches\/Dead Horse Point State Park: North on Rte 191 to Arches NP entrance; up scenic roads inside park, taking both the one that ends at Windows Section and the one to Delicate Arch. Back to Rte. 191; right (north) up Rte. 191 to Rte. 313, which dead-ends at Dead Horse Point. Backtrack into Moab.<\/p>

Day 2<\/b><\/p>

* Moab to Pinnacles section of Canyonlands NP: South on Rte. 191 to Rte. 211 (heading west). All the way to end of road at Big Spring Canyon Overlook.<\/p>

* Canyonlands NP to Monument Valley\/Navajo Indian Res.: Back down Rte. 211 to Rte. 191. South on Rte. 191 to Bluff. West\/southwest on Rte. 163, through Mexican Hat, to Goulding at the Arizona State Line. Lots of dirt roads off to the west of Goulding (which roads, I couldn\u2019t tell you; we were, after all, terribly lost).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

* Monument Valley to Torrey: Back up Rte. 163, detouring just north of Mexican Hat down the three-mile-long Rte 316 to Goosenecks State Park. Continue back up Rte. 163 to Bluff, then north again on Rte. 191 to Blanding. Backtrack from Blanding south on Rte. 191 a few miles to Rte. 95 headed west (then northwest). Follow Rte. 95 aaaaaalllllll the way to Hanksville, where you pick up Rte. 24 headed west to Torrey.<\/p>

Day 3\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>

* Torrey to Capitol Reef: Backtrack along Rte. 24 into Capitol Reef NP. Take scenic road south to the end (10 miles).<\/p>

* Capitol Reef NP to Bryce NP: The fabulous Rte. 12 winds its way south from Torrey, through the Dixie National Forest, cutting through bits of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, all the way through Henrieville and Cannonville to Ruby\u2019s Inn. At Ruby\u2019s Inn, a side road leads south into Bryce NP.<\/p>

Day 4<\/b><\/p>

* Bryce NP to Zion NP: Back up to Rudy\u2019s Inn. Continue west on Rte. 12 to Rte. 89 south. At Mount Caramel Junction, turn west onto Rte. 9. This goes right through Zion NP to Springdale its main gateway town.<\/p>

* Zion NP\/Springdale back to Grand Junction, Colorado: Continue west on Rte. 9 to La Verkin, then north for six miles on Rte. 17 to I-15 north. Follow I-15 north to Cove Fort (exit 132), where you pick up I-70, headed east. Ride that baby all the way back across the state to Colorado.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two friends make the rounds of Utah\u2019s five National Parks in four days of adventure in the high desert<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1699,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[94,17],"tags":[12,30,98,24,63,28,61,92],"class_list":["post-1674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-magazine","category-travel","tag-article","tag-budget-travel-magazine","tag-feature","tag-magazine","tag-national-park","tag-travel","tag-usa","tag-utah"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1674"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1674\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2359,"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1674\/revisions\/2359"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}