I have business in SLC Monday morning 12/9/13 plan to arrive late Friday night prior. Have two days, never been to Utah except to ski. Want to see the famous Utah sights like the Arches, Zion, or Bryce and take a few short hikes. Considering the season and time allowed where to go for best visit in short time allowed. 3 - 4 hour drive no issue, would leave SLC Saturday morning by 7 AM. I'm from Buffalo, cold no problem but don't want to hike in snow as won't have winter gear other than jacket/hat/gloves.

It is a hard choice, but IF there has been no snow in the Moab area, I would head for Arches. The air is quite dry out there, so the snow tends to leave the surfaces that have any traffic quite quickly. You could be in Arches by late morning (your body will be on east coast time so it will feel like you slept in). For sheer beauty, I also love Canyonlands, and you could do half a day there either before or after Arches.

If there has been lots of snow in the Moab area as you are arriving, then you might want to head to Zion, it is lower in elevation and tends to be warmer. We were there in January several years ago and the trails were dry and snow free.

They are all beautiful - but partial to Zion.

I agree with emalloy. See what you can in Arches. If it has snowed a lot, just go skiing a few miles south of SLC.

Any of them would be great - but I'm partial towards Arches.

I think Arches would be iffy. I live in the Four Corners area and we go to the Moab area once or twice a year to hike & bike, plus pass through several times a year. It's desert, but the Colorado Plateau definitely still gets winter weather. I could be wrong, but I wouldn't plan a hiking trip to Arches in December. A drive-through, maybe. We have camped in Canyonlands (same general area) in the spring several times, and it can be brutally cold and windy. Just sayin'. But as someone said, you could always check the weather report and take a chance.

Zion- Not sure what you like to do. But, for me, I would be very disappointed to not be able to do The Narrows and Angels Landing. It is likely you would not be able to do either of those hike.

Arches-I think everything would be doable in Arches and a little bit of snow would only add to the beauty. You should add a stop at Goblin Valley and see it too(It's an easy stop and pretty much on your way).

Bryce-More likely to have snow here than anywhere, due to the higher elevation. Would be a shame not to be able to hike the Navajo Loop/Queens Garden or at least one of the trails down in the canyon/amphitheater. Snowshoeing might be an option. Bryce Lodge would not be open at that time, and I really like to stay at the historical lodges.

It certainly could be cold at any place. I've been to all the places you mention multiple times and I would have a hard time picking a favorite.

There would be a real possibility you would be hiking in snow at any of the places. Take appropriate gear, just in case.

BTW, I would pick Arches for that time of year.

Thanks everyone, Arches will be the target depending on weather. I'll be on my own so pretty flexible. Wish I had longer, but look forward to getting a taste of the area.

I would suggest seeing

Double Arch(not to be confused with Double O Arch), The Windows, Turret Arch--All of these are in the same area and take about 5 minutes to walk from your car to each. So maybe allow an hour for all of these.

Balanced Rock--Again, get out of your car and actually walk up to it, to fully appreciate it. Allow 10-15 minutes

Delicate Arch--Allow 3-4 hours. Most people like it at sunset, I prefer sunrise(usually there are tons of folks there at sunset-I doubt this would be the case in winter.

Landscape Arch--Allow an hour. Or do the entire primitive trail that goes past several cool arches. If you do the entire trail allow about 4 hours.

Goblin Valley--allow about an hour here. This is the most unusual place you are likely to ever encounter in your life. It's another planet.
Right near Goblin Valley is Little Wildhorse Canyon(not to be confused with Wildhorse, you want Lil WH). This is fantastic slot canyon. It is 8 miles to do the entire loop, but you can just walk in for 30/45 minutes and then turn around, to get a good feel of it. It may have some water in it in the winter, so you might not want to go that far anyway. Ask the Visitor Center at Goblin Valley for info. It is 3 or 4 miles nearby from the Goblins.

A good way to see Canyonlands is with www.slickrockair.com Canyonlands is huge. You might want to drive to Deadhorse Point, this overlooks part of Canyonlands. It is similar loo to the Grand Canyon overlooking the Colorado River(maybe prettier).

My very favorite thing I've ever done in any National Park is with www.deserthighlights.com--Canyoneering, very safe, amazing.

I find the 4 wheel drive tours in Moab to be very very scary and frankly, unsafe. Just seems like an accident waiting to happen to me.

I’m back from cold and snowy Utah, thank you all for your help. Arrived late Friday 12/6 to cold, but dry weather. Stayed at the Sleep Inn in West Valley, OK place for the night. Headed out early Saturday to light flurries that gradually turned in to almost blizzard conditions by the time approaching Soldiers Pass. Very tough drive to Arches, took almost five hours to go 230 miles in an AWD Explorer. Probably six inches or so of snow at Arches overcast/light snow, but beautiful. Brief stop at Park Avenue then straight back to Devils Garden. Hiked Primitive Trail viewing Landscape, Double O, Pine Tee, and Tunnel arches in that order. Fell on my keester three times coming down some slippery slopes on the trail even with hiking boots. From there headed towards Delicate arch viewing Skyline, Sand Dunes, and Broken arches on the way. Road to Delicate Arch viewpoint closed due to snow. Parked at Delicate arch trailhead lot and people returning advised not to try it, treacherous even with proper gear. Figured I’d come back Sunday morning. Headed to Windows section then on to Best Western Greenwell in Moab for the night. Very nice Best Western with excellent hot breakfast right in the middle of town. Moab had their festival of lights parade that night that was surprisingly good with the snow adding to the fun. I think everyone in the county must have been there, town was packed.
Up the next morning and back to Arches –CLOSED! Anticipate opening early afternoon. Same thing happened to us at Crater Lake on September 25th this year, rim road closed due to early snowstorm – I’m jinxed. Asked at the Arches visitors’ center about Canyonlands, closed as well. Asked about anything else to see in the area, wise guy ranger (actually very nice) said no we’re it! Then suggested Dead Horse Point and being a state park may be plowed by their crews. Headed off there and while snow covered road passable and a spectacular view. I think rivals the Grand Canyon (though not nearly as extensive) - so glad I went. Drive back to SLC much nicer with only a few slushy/icy spots so took only about 3.5 hours. Next two nights at the Embassy Suites West Valley for meetings. Very nice new hotel, different non atrium layout than other Embassy Suites I’ve stayed at. Watched the weather while in Utah, was warmer back in Buffalo the whole time I was out there. Next time back to SLC in the winter should probably just stick to skiing like the last time I went in 2008. Save the red rocks and canyons for spring or fall.

Glad you got to Arches, it must be awesome with snow on the red rock. Thanks for the followup and I hope you get there again soon.

Here are some pictures, pretty lousy being overcast/snowing and with a cell phone. Being there when it's 10ºF hard to imagine when it's 110ºF. Include driving on 70, Landscape, Pine Tree, Tunnel, Skyline, Sand Dune arches as well as entrance to Devils Garden and Dead Horse Point.

https://docs.google.com/presentation...it?usp=sharing

Deadhorse Point looks really nice in the snow!!

WOW...thank you for sharing your photos. You will definitely have to come back in the summer so you can experience the other extreme!

Utahtea

Shame you had such heavy weather - but growing up in Klamath Falls, Oregon - I well remember there could be some big storms as early as September - which blocked nearby Crater Lake also. Better luck next times.

Loved the picture of Canyonlands in the snow from Dead Horse Park. Thanks for posting them.