7 days road trip to 6 National Parks (Grand Circle)
Through this blog post, I want to share my itinerary (at the end of the post) and my experience from a week-long road trip to the 6 most popular National Parks in Arizona, Utah.
A perfect road trip in the year of pandemic 2020.
My trip #GRANDCIRCLE itinerary covers 6 beautiful National Parks in Utah and Arizona driving across 4 states- California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona.
1. Zion National Park, Utah
2. Bryce National Park, Utah
3. Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
4. Arches National Park, Utah
5. Canyonlands National Park, Utah
6. Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
I started with identifying the places of interest to hike, drive, relax, and stay at different locations. Here’s is a list of hikes I opted for considering the time I had:
Zion National Park
Angel’s Landing (Recommended route 4.5 miles):
One of the best hikes I did. I’d highly recommend this hike for heavenly views at the end of the ridge. This hike is the experience of a lifetime.
Though the recommended route is 4.5 miles if you start the hike from the Grotto bus stop where the actual trailhead is, I started the solo hike from the Zion Visitor Center. That added an additional 5 miles one way to bus stop Grotto.
I started the hike in the morning around 7:00 AM. Be sure to check the Sunrise timings in case you plan to start your hike early in the morning. From 6:00–7:00 AM, I was walking around and enjoying the beautiful night sky with thousands of stars surrounded by mountains on both sides — a view I can’t forget.
At 8:45ish AM, I was super excited at Angel’s Landing trailhead about to start my hike. I was fortunate not to find too many visitors on the hike day around this time.
It took me close to an hour to reach the last stretch of Angel’s landing (remaining 0.5 miles). This last stretch is the most arduous one. It requires holding chains and climbing the ridge. Scary but adventurous. This stretch took me 25 minutes to climb one side and 20 minutes on my way to return. I was back at the trailhead by 11:00 AM taking almost two hours and fifteen minutes to complete this hike.
Riverside Walk (1.9 miles):
It is a perfect family stroll walk with some amazing views along its paved path as it follows the Virgin River.
This hike starts from the Temple of Sinawava (the last shuttle stop). The hike goes along the shores of the Virgin River and “hanging gardens”.
This hike ends before the start of the “Narrows” portion of the River Canyon. The sight of visitors venturing into the narrow canyon is adventurous. Due to my timeline, I couldn’t do the Narrows — Bottom Up Route. But I’d definitely recommend taking this another scenic route Zion is famous for. This route just gets better.
Bryce Canyon National Park
This national park is famous for its unusual geology of chromatic limestone-shaped windows, slot canyons, fins, spires (called “hoodoos”), etc.
Navajo Loop (1.5 miles)
This loop covers plenty of amazing scenery and rock formations. I started it from the Sunset Point parking area. The loop begins right at the main overlook. The trail goes all the way to the junction of the Navajo Loop with the Queens Garden Trail and the Peekaboo.
Rainbow Point Viewpoint
This is the very southern point and the highest elevation of Bryce Canyon Park. The scenic drive (18 miles one way) that ends at this point is picturesque. This drive includes 13 viewpoints.
The view from the Rainbow Point includes the entirety of the park. The Grand Staircase view from Yovimpa Point is amazing.
Capitol Reef National Park
The drive from Bryce to Capitol Reef is approx 2.5 hours full of splendid views. The scenic Byway 12 over 125 miles stretch connecting two National Parks has it all — isolated canyons, grand plateaus, deep valleys, and a history.
This drive is one of the most scenic highways in the United States. One of the best driving experiences through narrow and winding roads. It is not for the faint of the heart.
I finished this drive from Bryce to Capitol Reef Visitor’s Center in 4 hours with a few stops on way to click some pictures.
Capitol Reef is Utah’s least-visited National Park. This park is best explored on back roads. It took me 4 hours to drive in the park exploring Cathedral Valley by stopping at all the scenic viewpoints. The landscape diversity is pretty impressive.
I didn’t stay at Capitol Reef. Instead, I decided to drive to Moab County and stay there a few nights. Moab is a small town and 30 minutes drive to 2 National Parks — Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park.
Arches National Park
This national park homes the greatest density of natural arches in the world by over 2000 natural stone arches. The geologic wonders here are impressive, trails are rejuvenating, and sunsets are inspiring.
Delicate Arch Trail (3.1 miles)
This is the world-famous arch known for free-standing and grandeur. This trail is full of fun with some climbing hillsides. This trail cannot be missed.
The trail starts at the Wolfe Ranch parking lot. The trail crosses through the dry desert terrain.
At the end of the trail, there is an amphitheater-like bowl that comes overrun for visitors.
A sunscreen and at least 1-litre of water for a person is a must for the trail.
Devils Garden Full Loop (8.7 miles approx including short de-routes for arches)
My favorite hike during this trip. This hike is challenging and encompasses the 8 named arches and offers views with solitude.
Canyonlands National Park
This park is a testament to the power of water by the persistence of Colorado. You cannot visit the entire park in a day. There are distinct regions of the park — the Maze, the Needles, and the Islands in the Sky.
Mesa Arch Trail (~1 mile)
It is an easy hike to a natural arch offering an amazing view — a perfect sunrise point. This arch looks like a frame to the valley.
Grandview Point Trial (~1 mile)
A flat short trail along the southern-most edge of the island in the Sky leading to phenomenal views in every vicinity.
The Canyonlands National Park offers hundreds of miles of trails. Plan your hike here diligently.
Grand Canyon
My Itinerary (Oct 24th, 2020 — Oct 31st, 2020):
One night and two days at Zion National Park
Day 1 (San Diego → Zion National Park):
Started driving from #SanDeigo around 4:00 AM in the morning.
Arrived at Springdale, Utah around 1 PM. This included a few rest stops on the way. This gave me plenty of time to check-in at the hotel and head over to Zion National Park Visitor Center. I stayed at the Bumbleberry Inn, Springdales for the night of the 24th.
I took a shuttle from Zion Visitor’s Center all the way to the last shuttle stop Temple Sinawa. Spent 2 hours on the Riverside Walk trail taking pictures and enjoying the mesmerizing views around the Virgin River.
Took the shuttle from the stop back to the Visitor’s center. The rest of the evening was all about to relax and prepare for the next day — Angel’s Landing. Indeed — Super excited!
Day 2 (Zion National Park → Bryce Canyon):
6:00 AM: Arrived at the Visitor’s Center. I didn’t manage to get the Shuttle pass to the Grotto stop which is 5 miles from the visitors center. I tried my luck for an hour but couldn’t manage to get any conveyance to the shuttle stop.
7:00 AM: I was determined to take this adventure and decided to start my walk right at the Visitor Center which adds up walking extra 10 miles on the whole trip. Huh! But it’s an experience of a lifetime. And there is no better way to explore a place than walking.
8:45 AM: I walked and reached Angel’s Landing trailhead at the Grotto. All set to start my walk.
11:15 AM: I finished reached back to the trailhead. Time to start walking back to the Visitor Center where my car is parked.
1:00 PM: A success — roughly adding approx 13 miles hike to my day. Time to start driving to Bryce Canyon. There is a hail storm warning between 3–4 PM at Bryce Canyon.
3:00 PM: Checked in at #BryceCanyon. I took an entire cabin at Ruby’s Inn Vacation. Rest time before I head to Bryce Canyon National Park for Sunset View.
4:30 PM: Started driving to Bryce Canyon Visitor Center. It was 20 minutes drive from my cabin to the center. Drove all the way to the sunset point. Decided to take 2 hours of Navajo loop. It is a short loop of 3 miles.
8:00 PM: Back at the cabin. Rest time.
Day 3( Bryce Canyon National Park → Capitol Reef → Moab ):
This day was all about driving through the scenic routes.
7:00 AM: Checked out from the cabin. Planned to get some breakfast and enough supplies till I arrive at Moab. Almost 6–8 hours drive.
9:00 AM: Started driving to Rainbow Point at Bryce Canyon National Park. This is the southernmost point of the Canyon that comes after 18 miles of the drive from the Visitor Center. The scenic route offers few scenic viewpoints. I decided to stop a few. My favorite was Rainbow Point — Super windy, and freezing cold. It’s only October — hell yeah!
11:30 PM: Started my way back to Capitol Reef National Park. It took 4 hours of beautiful drive (one of the world’s most beautiful roads to drive on — bystander Highway 12).
4:15 PM: Checked in at the Capitol Reef Visitor Center. Drove half the way to the scenic route. Took a mile hike at one of the slots.
6:30 PM: Left for Moab. It’s 2.5 hours drive from here.
9:00 PM: Checked in at Airbnb in Moab. I’d be staying here for 2 nights. It’s a beautiful town. A drink time.
Day 4 (Moab → Arches National Park)
A 30 minutes drive from stay to Delicate Arch trailhead.
9:00 AM —Left for Arches National Park
9:30 AM — Collected the map and talked to rangers about the trails. Decided to do Delicate Arch, Devils Garden full loop, and maybe Double Arch if time permits.
10:00 AM — Started Delicate Arch hike
12:15 PM — Back to the parking lot from the hike. Time for some refreshments and Devils’ Garden Loop.
1:00 PM — Started Devil’s Garden loop.
3:00 PM — From Double-O Arch, decided to go take the Primitive trail. Super excited about it.
3:30 PM — Due to no signposts and steepness of rocks, I literally couldn’t find the route ahead or trace my path back. I felt like I’m lost in the wilderness. After 10–15 minutes of struggle, I found another wanderer, and together we were trying to find the way. We got until sunset (~5:20 PM).
4:15 PM — Around this time, we noticed the dry river and decided to head along the river and finally we found some footmarks and simply decided to follow. Fortunately, after few minutes, we were on the right path.
5:00 PM — Back at the parking lot. My best solo hiking experience so far. I was screaming and delighted. If you want the taste of true adventure, you can’t miss this trail. Don’t go if you are scared of heights.
Day 5 (Moab → Canyonlands National Park → Flagstaff)
Still tired from my ~20 miles hiking at Arches. I decided to go for Mesa Arch (~1 mile) trail famous for its Sunrise view. You can’t miss it.
Check the sunrise time and plan your trip per se. Make sure you arrive sometime before sunrise to get a really good spot.
Around noon, I started driving to Flagstaff. Arrived around 6:00 PM. It’s almost 6 hours drive. Make sure to fill the gas tank at Moab and whenever you get the next chance. You won’t regret it.
Day 6 (Flagstaff → Grand Canyon National Park)
One hour drive to Grand Canyon. I met a few friends at Flagstaff. This trip was more on the leisure side. I decided not to take any hikes at this time. I’ll come again here just for hiking soon.
Day 7 (Flagstaff → San Diego)
The final 8 hours drive marks the end of my adventures through six National Parks. It was simply a perfect road trip.
