buglady59

I'm taking my first trip to Utah in May. I will have 7 nights and I'm not sure the best route or which parks I should target. I'm interested in seeing as much as I can, and would like to do some easy hikes as well. We will be driving from Durango and my first thought was to do Arches and Canyonlands, but I don't know how many nights minimum we would need to see the parks. I'm very interested in Bryce and Zion as well but since they are on the other side of the state I didn't know if they were doable in the amount of time we have. We are avid photographers and are looking for the best photo ops along our route. I'd also like to see some slot canyons (antelope?) and Monument valley on our way home. What is a realistic route and number of nights needed at each place? Also the best places to stay along the way.

Thanks all.

PaulRabe

On a seven day trip into Utah, starting from Durango, and which includes Monment Valley, then getting to Zion and Bryce is pretty much out of the question. It's DO-ABLE, but you'll suffer from the "If It's Tuesday, This Must be Zion" Syndrome. Some minimums for potential parks:

Arches -- one day
Canyonlands -- two days
Other places around Moab (Fisher Towers, Crystal Geyser in Green River, Dead Horse Point) -- one day

On your way down to Monument Valley you can see Goosenecks of the San Juan, Natural Bridges NM, Valley of the Gods, Muley Overlook, etc.

With just these added to MV, you've already spent your week.

WhereAreWe

Define your goals for the trip and go from there. As you know, early and late is best for photography. Mid-day sucks, particularly in these areas. You can get decent travel photos but near impossible to get fantastic shots.

Sticking to easy hikes (depending on how you define easy) means you won't see much of the parks. Big scenic views overlooks, yes. If that appeals to you, go for it. You'll have to really research the prime sunrise/sunset locations and map out a route accordingly.

So, for someone who's an avid photographer and only does easy hikes, it's possible to hit a lot of different areas. Get up early for sunrise, do a short hike or two and hit the road to the next park for sunset. Repeat every day for a week and you've got a lot of different photos ops and short easy hikes under your belt, as well as a lot of driving.

This all assumes you're primarily looking for landscape photo ops. Personally, as much as I like the thought of having great photos with dramatic lighting, I no longer plan vacations around that as it tends to lead to a lot of disappointment if lighting conditions are sub-optimal. It's also a lot easier to dig in and get great photos when you're familiar with an area, so for your first trip I'd stick with a smaller itinerary. Skip Bryce/Zion and get to know Arches and Canyonlands, or skip Arches/Canyonlands and get to know Bryce/Zion. Since Moab is about a 3 hours drive from Durango, I'd focus on Bryce/Zion and whatever you can see on the way to/from there. To me, it would make more sense to use a weeklong vacation to get a bit further from home (Bryce/Zion) and save Arches/Canyonlands for a long weekend (or multiple long weekends if you desire).

With that in mind, a couple nights at Bryce and 2-3 in Zion, plus a night coming and going would be about right.

buglady59

Actually we are coming from Dallas, TX and were going to overnight in Durango on the way as we have a free place to stay. I'm open to moderate hikes, but I'm a bit fearful of hights so I'm not looking for anything to scary.

WhereAreWe

Then I would say focus on Arches/Canyonlands to minimize the driving. I wouldn't want to drive from Dallas and then continue on to Zion and Bryce.

You can definitely find enough easy to moderate hikes in the area for a week, combined with PaulRabe's suggestions.

Dayle

Hi buglady,

A week in the Moab area would be wonderful. There are enough moderate hikes to keep you busy, plus do a 1/2 raft trip (float if you want) and/or jeep trip. How about a scenic flight? AWESOME.

I would spend a couple days just for Arches. Antoher day for Island in the Sky District of Canyonland. Combine this day with Dead Horse Point as it's on the way on the same mesa. You could do one day down in the Needles District or see it one the way south if you get a really early start.

Another day to see some arches outside the park like maybe Corona Arch and Paul Bunyon's Potty. Short, easy hike out on the Potash Rd. west of town with a GREAT reward. Lots of rock art to see on the way along the CO River too.

Cathedral Valley east of town is quite scenic too, as is the La Sal loop heading up out of Cathedral Valley and ending south of Moab just a bit. This road goes way up into the aspens altitude.

There is SO much more. Plenty for a week.

utrechtman

utah is magnificent if you like natural scenery, but the distances between sites is generally huge. lot's & lot's of driving!! you should really take that into consideration and try to have more than one driver. keep a cooler with water, etc in the trunk too. other than that, it's an awesome state to visit. i did the four corners and it was absolutely breath-taking!! have fun...

utrechtman

oops, i forgot. if you are heading south towards the end of your trip, consider muley point for a breath-taking panoramic view of the valley of the gods. it's off the beaten path when we were there (for about 30 minutes) there was not one person or car around. just the sound of wind and an unforgetable view! it was there that i came to appreciate the native american concept of silence in nature. along the way there's also mokee dugway and it 1,100 foot, 3-mile drop. make sure you've got a reliable car too!

buglady59

Sounds like I will keep to the eastern side of the state. Thanks all for your great input.