Do you want to adventure on an Utah Mighty 5 Trip? Well, you’ve come to the right place as I will list day by day where we went! Each National Park and State Park we visited will have an individual blog post for more details on what we did each place. Follow along on our Utah Mighty 5 Trip! If you would like insight on the best town to stay in or where we stayed on our trip, check out this post. Also, check out this packing list for essential items to bring on your adventure!
We flew into Salt Lake City late at night (May 20), so we stayed at a hotel near the airport and drove out early the next morning. The distance from our hotel to Arches was 3 hours 42 minutes.
Our Adventure:
Day 1: Arches National Park (May 21)
Day 2: Hell’s Revenge UTV Tour in the morning in Moab, Arches National Park midday, and Dead Horse Point State Park in the evening. (May 22)
Distance from Arches to Dead Horse Point: 39 minutes
Distance from Arches to Canyonlands: 36 minutes
Day 3: Canyonlands National Park early morning to midday, Goblin Valley State Park in the evening. (May 23)
Distance from Canyonlands to Goblin Valley: 1 hour 42 minutes
Distance from Goblin Valley to Capitol Reef: 1 hour 3 minutes
Day 4: Capitol Reef National Park (May 24)
Distance from Capitol Reef to Escalante: 59 minutes
Day 5: Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (May 25)
Distance from Escalante to Bryce Canyon: 27 minutes
Day 6: Bryce Canyon National Park early morning to midday, Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park in the evening. (May 26)
Distance from Bryce Canyon to Coral Pink Sand Dunes: 1 hour 24 minutes
Distance from Coral Pink Sand Dunes to Zion: 1 hour
Day 7: Zion National Park (May 27)
Day 8: Zion National Park early morning to midday, drive back to Salt Lake City to stay at hotel near airport. (May 28)
Distance from Zion to Salt Lake City Airport: 4 hours 35 minutes
Flew back home out of Salt Lake City (May 29)
Frequently Asked Questions:
Question: How many days do you need to do Utah Mighty 5?
Answer: You can successfully complete the Utah Mighty 5 in 8 days. If you wish to skip Escalante and only spend one day at each park, you need 5 days. In the condensed version of 5 days, you will be driving later evenings or early mornings to ensure you have a full day at each park.
Question: How far is the Mighty 5 from Salt Lake City?
Answer: The mighty 5 is 230 miles from Salt Lake City if you begin at Arches National Park via US-6 W. The mighty 5 is 308 miles from Salt Lake City if you begin at Zion National Park via I-15 N.
Question: Which is the largest National Park in Utah?
Answer: The largest National Park in Utah is Canyonlands National Park.
Question: What is the Big Five in Utah?
Answer: The big five in Utah is the five National Parks in the state: Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, and Zion.
Looks like a wonderful itinerary. Keep pursuing your travel adventures and enjoy the national parks!
I commend you for the very detailed description of your trip. I wish we had something like this before we went on our Utah trip a few years ago. If I hear of someone planning a National Parks Utah trip, I will certainly tell them about your blog. Your pictures were great. I really like the introductory photo.
Thanks for the feedback, Glenn!