justicemoney

Our family of three (me, wife and 15yo son) is leaving this week for 17 days in S. Utah hitting all five NPs (as well as GC). We have a lot planned during daylight, so I am sure we will be falling into bed at night, but I am interested in knowing what there is to do after dark? Is there anything which we shouldn't sleep through?

utahtea

All the national parks in Utah have evening ranger led programs.

Here is the link to Zion's for August:

http://www.nps.gov/zion/activities/r...ities_0518.pdf

Just outside of Zion and the Grand Canyon are IMAX theaters that each have a movie on their national park.

If you do nothing else, just go outside and look up at the stars!

Utahtea

gwburk

We just returned from 10 days at Capitol Reef and stayed in Torrey. I have been to the other Utah parks and this one is the best (gotta get out and hike). The scenery and variation of the rock formations is spectacular. More variation than the other parks and utter solitude. Torrey only has 120 residents, 3 gas stations, a handful of motels and restaurants. Go to Brinks Burgers (excellent food and shakes).
We stayed at the Wonderland Inn and were completely satisfied. The Rim Rock restaurant has good food with a great view at sunset next to the park. Across the road is a Best Western motel. There is not really anything to do after sunset, but after hiking all day, by 9:00 you will be ready for bed. There are a half dozen gift shops around town also.

justicemoney

Thanks for the advice. I totally ignored the fact that the ranger-led programs go into the evenings.

As to Capital Reef, on this trip (our first to the area) it is getting short shrift (1 night). But that only means we will give it proper treatment on the next visit (which I am already thinking about).

gwburk

The same thing happened to us on the last trip to Utah. Capitol Reef was the park we left out. We made a point to spend the lions share of this trip at this park based on a lot of research and somewhere I read that Capitol Reef is the favorite park of Utah residents. Definitely more difficult to get to some of the trailheads or drive out to Cathedral Valley in the back country. We were fortunate to do this.
Have a great trip. The whole state is beautiful.

gail

We visited in early July a few years ago, so daylight lasted later. But we tended to eat dinner later than we would at home, so by the time dinner was done, it was almost time for bed - especially since we wanted to do things early in day before it got hot.

One night at dusk we drove into Bryce, saw sunset, looked for animals. (Saw lots of deer, drive carefully). Another night we drove to Tropic, UT for a later dinner.

From a practical point of view, save shopping, laundry, etc. for evening. We also spent some time reading guide books, sorting thru maps and brochures to plan next days. Our then 16 year old son also spent time watching some idiotic TV shows and playing computer games on his father's laptop. Somehow, we did not get bored in the evening.

lisatravels

When we were at Bryce during the full moon they were offering a night-time hike down the Fairy Trail, which we heard was incredible. We were planning to go, but ended up opting for bed rather than more hiking. I believe this is only offered when there's a fullmoon, though.