The Grand Circle: 5 Parks
Full route: Las Vegas → Zion → Bryce → Capitol Reef → Arches → Canyonlands → Monument Valley → Page → Grand Canyon → Las Vegas
Las Vegas → Zion → Bryce → Capitol Reef → Arches → Canyonlands → Monument Valley → Page → Grand Canyon → Las Vegas
Arrival in the Neon Oasis
Grab your rental car (SUV highly recommended for comfort). This is our base camp before we head into the wild.
Harry Reid International Airport
Grab your rental car (SUV highly recommended for comfort). This is our base camp before we head into the wild.
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is the newer main street of Las Vegas, offering boundless entertainment opportunities through gambling, restaurants, shows and more. Visitors with money to spend and the energy for nightlife will get the most out of The Strip, although since the 1980s attractions have developed for families and travelers on a budget as well.
Into the Zion Sanctuary
Leave the glitz behind as the landscape turns to jagged limestone.
Depart Las Vegas
Leave the glitz behind as the landscape turns to jagged limestone.
Zion National Park
Even among America's national parks, few can match the stunning beauty of Zion National Park. Situated between the Dixie and Canyon Country regions of southern Utah, the park protects a series of incredible rock formations and high sandstone cliffs, and is a favorite spot for hiking, backpacking, canyoneering and climbing.
Springdale
Spend the night just outside the park gates. The shuttle system here is great, so leave the car at the hotel once you're settled.
The Hoodoos of Bryce
This drive is an attraction itself, featuring a tunnel carved into the cliffside and switchbacks with massive views.
Zion-Mount Carmel Highway
The Zion – Mount Carmel Highway is a 25-mile (40 km) long road in Washington and Kane counties in southern Utah that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park is a national park in Utah's Canyon Country. Some 35,835 acres (14,502 ha) or 56 mi² (145 km²) in extent, the designated area around the spectacular Bryce Canyon (not actually a canyon, but rather a giant natural amphitheater created by erosion) became a United States National Monument in 1923 and was designated as a National Park in 1928.
Bryce Canyon City
Bryce Canyon City, sometimes shown as Bryce on maps, is a town in Garfield County, Utah, United States, adjacent to Bryce Canyon National Park. Formerly known as Ruby's Inn, the town was officially incorporated on July 23, 2007, under a short-lived state law. The population was 336 at the 2020 census.
The Loneliest Scenic Byway
Often called the most beautiful road in America. You’ll cross "The Hogback," a narrow ridge with drops on both sides.
Highway 12
Often called the most beautiful road in America. You’ll cross "The Hogback," a narrow ridge with drops on both sides.
Capitol Reef National Park
Capitol Reef National Park is a national park of the United States in south-central Utah. The park is approximately 60 miles (100 km) long on its north–south axis and just 6 miles (10 km) wide on its east-west axis, on average. The park was established in 1971 to preserve 241,904 acres of desert landscape and is open all year, with May through September receiving the most visitors.
Torrey
Torrey is a town in Utah's Canyon Country and a gateway to the nearby Capitol Reef National Park and other attractions in Canyon Country.
Moab: The Adventure Hub
A quick detour to walk among "mushrooms" made of stone. It feels like another planet.
Goblin Valley State Park
Goblin Valley State Park is a Utah State Park on the edge of the San Rafael Swell in Eastern Utah. This park encompasses a large number of rock Hoodoos ranging in size from 1-3 meters tall.
Arches National Park
Arches National Park is a national park that is in Utah's Canyon Country near the town of Moab. It is home to the world's greatest concentration of natural arches, including Delicate Arch, one of the state's most famous icons.
Moab
Moab is a town in the Utah's Canyon Country and a gateway to the nearby Arches National Park and other attractions in Canyon Country.
Island in the Sky
Canyonlands National Park
Canyonlands National Park is a national park in Utah's Canyon Country. The small town of Moab is the gateway to this and the nearby Arches National Park. It is divided into three districts not connected by roads interior to the park: the Island in the Sky, the Needles, and the Maze (including Horseshoe Canyon).
Dead Horse Point State Park
Dead Horse Point State Park is in Utah, near the city of Moab. It offers a panoramic view of the Colorado River far below as it makes its way toward the Grand Canyon.
Moab
Moab is a town in the Utah's Canyon Country and a gateway to the nearby Arches National Park and other attractions in Canyon Country.
Monument Valley & The Long Road
Stop for the famous photo looking down Highway 163 toward the monoliths.
Forrest Gump Point
Stop for the famous photo looking down Highway 163 toward the monoliths. [ -109.9908, 37.1014 ]
Monument Valley
Monument Valley (Tsé Bii' Ndzisgaii in Navajo) is perhaps the most famous example of the classic American West landscape. In the Navajo Nation close to the border of Arizona and Utah, the valley has been the backdrop for many movies and advertisements, ranging from Marlboro cigarette ads to the films of John Ford to Back to the Future 3, Forrest Gump and Easy Rider.
Page
Page is a city of 7,600 people (2018) in northern Arizona. The city is best known for its two main attractions, Antelope Canyon and Lake Powell.
Antelope & Horseshoe
Antelope Canyon
Page is a city of 7,600 people (2018) in northern Arizona. The city is best known for its two main attractions, Antelope Canyon and Lake Powell.
Horseshoe Bend
A short walk to the edge of a massive 1,000ft drop where the river turns 270 degrees.
Grand Canyon South Rim
Arrive at the final National Park on our list just in time for the golden hour at Mather Point.
The Grand Finale
Hike down into the canyon for an hour or two to feel its true scale. Don't try to go to the bottom and back in one day!
Bright Angel Trail
The Bright Angel Trail is a hiking trail located in Grand Canyon National Park in the U.S. state of Arizona.
Desert View Drive
The Desert View Drive is a scenic road located on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The road runs from the Grand Canyon Village to Route 64 (AZ), passing by many scenic points and trails. The road is named after the Desert View Watchtower. There are many points along the way for tourists to stop at.
Grand Canyon Village
The Grand Canyon is in northern Arizona, and is one of the great tourist attractions in the United States as well as one of the seven natural wonders of the world. The massive canyon encompasses several distinct areas, most famous of which is Grand Canyon National Park, a national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Route 66 & Departure
Seligman
Seligman is a town in the state of Arizona. The city is located on the old Route 66 and is home to the greatest concentration of Route 66 kitsch in Arizona if not the country, which makes it a frequent pit stop for travelers passing through on their way to more exotic destinations.
Hoover Dam
Boulder City is a city of 15,000 people (2021) in Southern Nevada, which was built for construction workers of the nearby Hoover Dam. It is one of only two cities in Nevada where gambling is prohibited.
Harry Reid International Airport
Return the car and catch your flight home, likely with a few pounds of red dust in your boots.
- Day 5: last stop 19:00 — leave earlier or drop a stop