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Things to do / Travel Guide
Arizona & Utah Getaways
This is a single focused region – nature. There may be the occasional Mormon historic point here and there in Utah, but the main objective in Southern Utah and Arizona is to hop from one National Park to the next. Each park is different (which is why you'll want to hit them all) and distances between the parks is great, so allow lots of time so you can experience all that each park has to offer and so that you can visit more than just a single park (or even more than two).
Moab, Utah Tourist Attractions
Moab is headquarters for all outdoor activities – biking, rafting, hiking, etc. Don't expect to be indoors much in this area. Moab's most popular tourist attraction is the Canyonlands National Park. This canyon-filled park is located by the Green and Colorado Rivers, adding additional color and terrain to the already magnificent colorful, varied scene. Here is a park where you'll have no end of activities to add to your itinerary. Hike, bike, swim, ride, climb, stroll, and gaze up and down at beautiful, awe-inspiring natural wonders. Looking on the map for Moab, Arizona or Bryce, Arizona? Good luck - Utah has bragging rights to both of those places.
Bryce & Arches National Parks Getaways
Arches National Park is famous for—you'll never guess—its magnificently huge rock arches. At this massive rock heaven you'll see rock formations (including some of the largest arches in the world, all naturally occurring) in as many shapes, sizes, and colors as you can possibly imagine. The arches in the park are constantly growing and eroding, which means that the park we see today will be totally different than how it will look in 10,000 years from now and from how it looked 10,000 years ago. You can see most of the major arches via short, well-maintained, easy-to-hike trails, which makes Arches National Park a favorite among families. Also, it's a lot of fun to climb on the rock formations!
Only have time for one of Utah's National Parks? If you had to choose just one, we'd recommend that you pick Bryce Canyon National Park, famous for its hoodoos, colorful, intricate, delicate rock formations that were treasured by the Native Americans who dwelled in the canyon. The hoodoos, the deep amphitheaters, the cliffs, and arches, all in varying shades of brown, red, orange, and yellow, provide hikers, rock climbers, and families out for a leisurely stroll with a magnificent, colorful, rock playground. You won't want to miss the (appropriately named) Inspiration Point or the Queen's Garden Trail—take the Navajo Loop to get to the Queen's Garden. For unforgettable views of the canyon, take the Rim Trail.
Zion National Park Attractions
Zion National Park, named Zion because of its heavenly, holy, and inspiring landscape. When Isaac Behunin, an early Mormon settler, named his home "Little Zion," it was because he had familiarized himself with the rainbow colored sandstone walls, the fields of wildflowers, the glistening Virgin River, and the multitude of birds, reptiles, and mammals at what would soon become the Zion National Park. On a hot desert day, the park's Emerald Pools make for a perfect, weather-appropriate hiking excursion. To get to the pools, you'll head through a rich forest, down by a waterfall, past a hanging garden, and then will finally hit the pools.
If you're at Zion National Park, then you're not as far from Arizona's Grand Canyon as you think you are. Most tourists visit the Grand Canyon's South Rim, which is quite far from the Northern Arizona Strip. The North Rim, however, is less crowded, equally impressive, and not too far out of the way from the Utah's loop of National Parks. The North Rim of the Grand Canyon is also considerably cooler (temperature-wise) than the South Rim in the summer, however it is closed in the winter. The views are different between the North and South Rims, so you may want to eventually visit the South Rim as well.
Bryce, Arches, Moab, Utah Road Trip Getaway Planner
It's hard to believe that so many National Parks can be packed into this small slice of Utah and Arizona, especially when each park features such unique and diverse rock formations, deep canyons, wild rivers, and breathtaking views that don't compare to any of the others. Many of the parks are year-round attractions. It may be cold, but unlike the parks located further north – they are open in the winter (though the Grand Canyon North Rim does sometimes close, so check before you go).
Getaway planner: See the Grand Canyon from the North Rim without having to worry about crowds. Heading up from there, follow the chain of National and State Parks across Utah. You'll probably miss some amazing sights without 10 full days to cover the region. If your flight takes you into SLC airport we suggest getting a good map of Utah and setting off on a Salt Lake City to Moab road trip.
Tourist Attractions and Highlights in Moab, Zion, Bryce, Utah and N. Arizona National Parks
Tourist-Attractions-Highlights
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