Last November my DW and I went to SLC and rented a car and visited Arches, Canyonlands (Island in the Sky) and Capitol Reef National Parks. We also visited Goblin Valley State Park.
I am not sure that you will have enough time in the parks you named compared with the time driving back and forth to SLC.
Going to Zion and Bryce are more often visited from Las Vegas than Salt Lake City.

Have you thought about just staying around Salt Lake..maybe Park City about 45 minutes from airport? You could proab get some really cheep hotel rates and that time of year the aspens are beautiful

I'm living in Utah right now, Bryce and zions are pretty close together and its an easy drive from SLC (about 4.5 hour drive)....thats what I would do since you could hit two on the same vacation, but again thats my traveling style.

I'm not a big fan of Park City its resort town and nothing special. I've not been to yellowstone so I can't speak to that but my friends have and didn't really have much to say about it.

the parks around moab... Arches, Canyonlands (Island in the Sky) and Capitol Reef National Parks are 5-6 hours away from SLC but the drive is not as easy as going to zions bryce (the drive to zions and bryce) for the most part are on straight roads and speed limits were just increased to 80 or 85 on some stretches.

Vow,that's a great plan for one.Salt lake city is the best choice.Have a nice time!

All of the parks are very different.

Assuming you have 6 fulls days not counting travel I would first look at a few things.

Have you ever been to the Utah parks? What are the chances that you are able to return in a reasonable amount of time.

Assuming the worst, that you don't expect to return in a reasonable amount of time I would go to Arches with a quick stop in Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point then drive over to Bryce & Zion (not sure which order as one is farther from Moab but the other is closer to SLC.

www.utah.com/nationalparks

Arches Bryce Canyonlands Zion

u do not have time for anything else

amazing enough I love Arches best

for the awesome sculptures and mountain biking

around Moab.

classic.mapquest.com long slog up to Jackson

will be supercrowded too.... would avoid

Thanks guys- any hotel recommendations. Have a budget of around 150 a night or happy to camp. Scenic places if poss.

if you haven't been to yellowstone and Grand Teton, go there
If you have, Arches

Always try for in park.

After reading what starrs wrote I'm having second thoughts.

I been to the Utah parks and Bryce & Zion several times (Arches once).

I went to Yellowstone & Grand Teton last year and could easily go back again.

Each park has a theme. Yellowstone has several. Then add in the spectacular GTNP.

Plan two trips.

ooh - so torn!! Thinking of flying now into SLC and out of Las Vegas. so the itinerary would be:

Day 1- Fly into SLC AM- drive to Moab
Day 2 Moab- Arches
Day 3- Moab- Canyonlands?
Day 4- Leave Moab AM and drive through Bryce Canyon to Zion
Day 5-Zion
Day 6-Zion and drive to Las Vegas for flight in late PM

Is this too much? Any tweaks welcome!

You would be kicking yourself for years if you drove into Las Vegas just to turn in your car and pay a drop off fee. I think I would drive all night on I-15 to turn in the car back at SLC.
On our November trip we stayed at the Robbers Roost motel in Green River for 6 nights. (Less than $80/night).
For a 7 day trip to Grand Teton and Yellowstone, plan on flying to Jackson Hole and renting a car there.
Beware of Fox Rental cars.

I love the Utah parks, but I would think that you would find the weather in GTNP and Yellowstone much nicer at that time of year. If the elk are in rut, you will have a very memorable spectacle and the parks are fantastic. If you did the drive from/to SLC you would still have a nice visit in the parks.

Have a great trip no matter which route you take.

Ok great. Would love to fly to Jackson Hole but the flights are just so expensive!

I see by your recent posts that your 6 days include arrival and departure days.

You don't drive thru Bryce Canyon.

Now that I see your days this is what I would do.

Fly into and out of SLC. SLC will probably have less traffic than LAS. It's a small airport and car rental is right in front of you. So even though it's a longer drive it's probably a better drive. And save money. No drop-off fee.

Day 1. Drive to Moab. You'll probably pass Arches around 5PM. Go directly in before going to Moab. Hike Delicate Arch trail in time for a great sunset. Then check in at Moab.

Day 2. Arches.
Try to make reservations for the Fiery Furnace ranger-led hike. You can now make reservations online in advance.

Also, the Windows section is very compact and several excellent arches. North & South Windows, Double Arch, Turret Arch. You also go right by and stop at Balanced Rock.

Add more as time permits. Research which are of interest to you.

Day 3. Canyonlands & Dead Horse Point.
Other than Mesa Arch in Canyonlands (this is the only arch you'll see where you approach it at the top) which is a very, very short walk, I liked Dead Horse Point more.

In fact there are many other things I would do before spending more time at Canyonlands. Personal opinion.

Leave by 3PM

If you skip Canyonlands and maybe spend an hour or two at Dead Horse Point and then leave you can spend a few hours going to Goblin Valley. It's about 30 minutes out of your way and a fun stop for a couple of hours.

I would be tempted to go to Zion first for a few reasons. I believe the drive from Bryce to SLC is a bit shorter and leaving Bryce at the right time might be easier. See my Bryce plan below.

Day 4 & Day 5. Zion.
Select hikes at Zion. Emerald Pools, Angel's Landing. Maybe Narrows. Select based on conditions and interest.

Leave by mid-afternoon of day 5 and do the Canyon Overlook hike on the way out of Zion's east entrance/exit on the way to Bryce.

Get to Bryce in time for sunset (not one of the strong points but still worth it.

Day 6.
Get up very early and over to Bryce point for a spectacular sunrise.

Then grab a snack breakfast and hike down Navajo Loop and back up Queen's Garden. This will give to a great feel for the Bryce hoodoos.

You should easily have this completed by noon. I normally suggest people see the Natural Bridge viewpoint as it's the only one that's different and you will have seen Bryce Point (sunrise), Sunset Point (start of Navajo Loop) and Sunrise Point (end of Queen's Garden). However, if you've been to Arches NP you've seen enough arches.

The start and end point are a half mile apart so you'll have a great scenic walk to get your car.

The drive from Bryce to SLC is very pleasant and very easy. Excellent highway.

SLC is very close to the city and it's a small airport. Auto return is simple and fast.

You could have a great little trip.

It is about equal drive time from Bryce or Zion back to SLC (about 4+ hrs.)
It is about 3 hrs from Zion to Las Vegas. For an extra hour drive time you could save drop off fees.
This is a tough trip to make in 6 days, though Myer has done a valiant effort to give it a good try. His plan works pretty good for me. I also feel like Canyonlands can be seen in half a day. Take the Mesa Arch trail, the Shafer trail, Grand View and Green River Viewpoints and you are done.
I'd skip Goblin Valley, Capitol Reef and hwy 12. From Moab take I-70 to either Bryce or Zions.
Skip the scenic drive in Bryce, just stay in the area of the main amphitheater. It is where all the best stuff is anyway, (sunrise, sunset and inspiration points). Take the Navajo to Queen's Garden loop trail. Simply luscious.

Woops. Didn't mean to take the Shafer trail... just look at it from the overlook.
Actually taking it would be an adventure, but probably not in your time frame.

Just want to add that the Shafer Trail is a high clearnce dirt road and I wouldn't attempt it in a regular vehicle. Most Rentals also don't allow off road driving...and this is off road! If you are tempted, they do rent 4 x 4 jeeps in Moab and it's a great drive into Canyonlands!

Utahtea

Wow thanks guys

If you have the time, go to the Grand Canyon it's Magnificent, if you go, be sure to go to the IMAX Theater. I used to live in SLC and I thought that Park City was a great place to visit for someone from out of town.

For good reason the three most popular NPs in Utah are Zion, Bryce, and Arches. A loop drive to these three parks could in include very scenic Highway 12. The drive is about 950 miles, excluding detours.

Grand Teton NP and Yellowstone NP are about 800 miles round trip from Salt Lake City. It's pretty much a toss up. You can't go wrong which ever route you choose.

HTTY

Sorry, another good option is North Rim of Grand Canyon and Bryce and Zion on the return trip. That round-trip is about 1000 miles, too.

HTTY

I would stick with Myers last plan for the most part.

If you are happy camping, then I would camp at a couple of spots. Goblin Valley would be awesome and it does have showers. Goblin Valley is awesome at night. Stars are fantastic.

Capitol Reef is my least favorite park, but you could spend the night there in the campground. It is one of the prettiest campgrounds ever and you can eat all the apples you want for free, right in the orchards. These are very large orchards, btw. Apples I think would be "in season" about that time.

Arches, Zion,North rim, and Bryce all have nice looking campgrounds as well. Very few have showers though.

I don't think you could go wrong with either Yellowstone or any of the parks you choose in Utah. You could just head to Moab and spend the entire time there. There is a ton to do a each spot. Personally I wouldn't camp at Yellowstone. I would never sleep being afraid of bears.