Sample Full 7-Day Southwest National Parks Tour of America's Canyonlands

a tour itinerary that begins in salt lake city, utah and ends in las vegas nevada

All our itineraries are custom designed for your specific tour needs. This is just a sample itinerary.

Itinerary

Day 1 ~ Relax in Salt Lake City

Take the complimentary hotel shuttle from the airport to your evening accommodations.

Day 2 ~ Walk as Ants in Arches National Park

The first full touring day will take you from Salt Lake City to the Moab area, where you will visit Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Dead Horse State Park, and other scenic sites.

Adorning the landscape of eastern Utah’s high desert, Arches National Park is host to the greatest density of natural arches in the world. It is a striking environment of contrasting colors, landforms and textures. Over 2,000 arches exist here, ranging in size from a three-foot opening (the minimum size considered to be an arch); to the world’s most famous arch, Delicate Arch, seen on Utah’s license plate; to the world’s largest natural arch, Landscape Arch, measuring 290 feet from base to base. Other extraordinary features of the park such as towering spires, pillars, fins, columns, balanced rocks, and pinnacles paint an ethereal backdrop to this remarkable collection.

Day 3 ~ Explore an Island in the Sky

As Utah’s largest national park, Canyonlands is a spectacular showcase of geologic formation whose diversity staggers the imagination. Its vivid landscape has been eroded into thousands of canyons, mesas, and buttes by the Colorado and Green Rivers, which divide the park into four distinct districts, each unbelievably scenic, each with a character all its own.

A lone promontory surmounting sheer sandstone cliffs, Dead Horse Point State Park is one of Utah’s most dramatic parks. Connected to the mainland by only a slender ribbon of rock, this aerial mesa affords an incomparable panoramic view of the Colorado River winding its way through the scenic canyon country of southeastern Utah some 2,000 feet (609 m) below. Crystal clear desert skies offer incredible visibility - from 80 to 100 miles (129 to 161 Km) on average.

Day 4 ~ Mingle with Monuments of Nature

After a morning departure from Moab, visit Mexican Hat and Goosenecks State Park on your way to a tour of the Monument Valley.

Monument Valley is instantly recognizable as the sweeping backdrop of the classic Southwest. A striking panorama of windswept desert punctuated by immense sandstone monoliths ascending some 1,000 feet (300 m) above the earth, this desolate countryside evokes a timelessness that few others can. Monument Valley has been chosen for the setting of over 16 major motion pictures (including the unforgettable John Wayne films Stagecoach and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon), as well as countless commercials, making it easily one of the most extraordinary, beautiful, and legendary landscapes in the world.

With nearly 2,000 miles (3,218Km) of stunning red-rock shoreline, Lake Powell is not only one of the largest man-made lakes in the USA, but also one of the most scenic. This contrasting assortment of captivating, water-filled canyons, resultant from the man-made monolith, Glen Canyon Dam, has become America's favorite house-boating destination.

Day 5 ~ The Compelling Grand Canyon’s North Rim

Worthy of its rank as one of the seven natural wonders of the world, the Grand Canyon overwhelms the senses and captivates the imagination with its spectacular combination of incredible scale, dramatic views, awe-inspiring rock formations, and untamed beauty. Over a mile deep (1.6 Km) at its deepest point, 18 miles (29 Km) across at its widest, and 277 river miles (446 Km) long, the Grand Canyon is often deemed to be one of the world’s most visually commanding landscapes, an immensely majestic gorge with temple-like bluffs; plummeting depths; fiery chestnut cliffs, towering plateaus; and vibrant, labyrinthine topography dappled with deserts, plains, forests, mesas, lava flows, cinder cones, streams, waterfalls, and one of America’s premier whitewater rivers.

Of the five million annual visitors to Grand Canyon National Park, only 10% get to experience the rugged solitude of the North Rim. More than 1,000 feet (305 meters) higher than the South Rim, here the Canyon reveals its perfect balance of serenity and power, peace and intensity. Here one can absorb the breathtaking enormity of the Grand Canyon, unmatched in majesty and magnificence, and appreciate the subtleties of one of the most studied geologic landscapes in the world.

Day 6 ~ See the Color Kaleidoscope of Bryce Canyon National Park

Leaving the Grand Canyon behind, you will traverse the Kaibab Plateau back into Utah, where you will begin touring Bryce Canyon National Park.

Located in southwestern Utah, Bryce Canyon National Park is a geologic masterpiece considered by many to be the most colorful of all the National Parks. Sometimes referred to as a forest of stone, Bryce is unique due to its thousands of delicately carved spires, called hoodoos, which rise in brilliant color from the canyon floor. Centuries of wind, water, and geologic mayhem have etched what was once mere sedimentary rock into towering rock pinnacles and immense amphitheaters. These superb formations stretch for miles along the eastern edge of the nine-thousand-foot-high Paunsaugunt Plateau. Evening and early morning light brings the brilliant hues of these formations to life, giving them a lustrous transparent glow.

With rim elevations that vary between 8,000 and 9,000 feet (2,400 to 2,700 meters), Bryce canyon transcends over 2,000 feet (650 meters) of elevation and three distinct climactic zones. This diversity of habitat provides for high bio diversity. Over 160 species of birds, dozens of mammals, and more than 1,000 plant species proliferate within the canyons and plateau that compose Bryce. While touring in the park one may see black bears, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, ground squirrels, marmots, mule deer, prairie dogs, pronghorn antelope, Rocky Mountain elk, and even possibly mountain lions. And should one care to search, one may find migratory hummingbirds, peregrine falcon, swifts, swallows, jays, nuthatches, ravens, eagles, owls, and California condors taking wing.

Bordering the rim of the canyon are ponderosa pines, high elevation meadows and fir-spruce forests, beyond which spread panoramic views of three states, up to 160 miles (260 km) distant. This area boasts some of the nation's best air quality, which, coupled with the lack of nearby large light sources, creates unparalleled opportunities for stargazing. Stargazers can see 7,500 stars with the naked eye, contrasted with the 2,000 or less that can be seen most other places.

Bryce’s namesake, Ebenezer Bryce, a Mormon pioneer who homesteaded in the area in the late 1800’s, described his namesake canyon as a "helluva place to lose a cow.” This remains true today, as the throng of intertwining slot canyons, spires, and hoodoos define a labyrinthine web that is exhilarating to explore.

Day 7 ~ Nearly Two Miles of Stone from the Top of Bryce to the bottom of Zion National Parks

Between the top of Bryce Canyon in the morning and the bottom of Zion Canyon in the evening, you will witness nearly 2 miles (nearly 10,000 ft) of sedimentary rock strata eroded in fascinating formations.

Massive canyon walls ascend toward a brilliant blue sky. To experience Zion, you need to walk among the towering cliffs, or challenge your courage in a small narrow canyon. These unique sandstone cliffs range in color from cream, to pink, and to red. They could be described as sand castles crowning desert canyons.

As Utah's oldest and most visited national park, Zion’s topography is an exquisite spectacle of canyon–mesa country. Encompassing one of the most scenic cliff-and-canyon landscapes in the USA, Zion’s 229 square miles (593 km) are internationally known for their dramatic canyons, towering rock faces, overhanging cliffs, sparkling waterfalls, hanging valleys, high plateaus, rock formations, dripping springs, shaded pools, and particularly for the Virgin River Narrows – one of the premier hikes on the Colorado Plateau. The word Zion is ancient Hebrew meaning a place of refuge or sanctuary, and Zion National Park is just that – an exquisite respite from the surrounding world.

The Virgin River winds its way through Zion Canyon’s scenic 15-mile stretch, cutting through reddish and tan Navajo Sandstone, nourishing the landscape, and serving as a natural corridor for exploration. The Canyon is up to a half mile deep, serving as a haven for rock climbers with massive cliff faces radiant in the sunshine. Some of Zion’s most noted geographical features include the Virgin River Narrows, a gorge as narrow as 20 feet (6 m) wide and up to 2,000 feet (610 m) deep; Angels Landing; Emerald Pools; Hidden Canyon; The Great White Throne; Checkerboard Mesa; The Three Patriarchs; the Temple of Sinawava; and one of the world's longest arches, Kolob Arch.

The Kolob Canyons region in the northwest of Zion National Park is little-traveled in comparison to the more popular Zion Canyon, but every bit as stunning. Home to Horse Ranch Mountain, Zion’s tallest peak, as well as twisting slot canyons, sinuous arches, extravagantly streaked and colored rocks, hanging gardens, drifting streams, and picturesque gorges with sheer cliffs towering above emerald vegetation. The name Kolob comes from Mormonism, where it is considered the dwelling closest to the throne of God.

Zion National Park encompasses 5,000 feet of elevation change. Such unique geography and resultant variety of microclimates allows for remarkable plant and animal diversity: Zion is home to over 78 species of mammals (including 19 species of bat), 291 species of birds, 44 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 8 species of fish. Visitors to Zion can spot badgers, bank beavers, bats, bighorn sheep, cougars, coyotes, desert cottontails, foxes, jackrabbits, Merriam's kangaroo rats, mule deer, porcupines, raccoons, rattlesnakes, ringtail cats, rock squirrels, skunks, and whiptail and collared lizards. Soaring over canyons or chasing one another through the trees can be found bald eagles, California condors, canyon wrens, dippers, gnat catchers, golden eagles, peregrine falcons, pinyon jays, red-tailed hawks, and white-throated swifts.

Plant species common to Zion include cottonwood, cactus, datura, juniper, pinyon pine, ponderosa pine, box elder, sagebrush, manzanita shrubs, cliffrose, serviceberry, scrub oak, yucca, gambel oak, aspen, and various willows.

Day 8 ~ Find Breathtaking Sanctuary in Zion National Park

More of Zion National Park and Kolob Canyons will be toured, followed by a return to Salt Lake City.

This tour day ends on arrival at your accommodeations in Las Vegas Nevada.