Utah National Parks - Zion, Bryce and Arches

I would figure out where you can find camping accommodations first. Create that itinerary, then figure out your flights. If you start at Zion, then fly into Vegas. If you start at Arches, then SLC. I'm not sure what specifics you mean when you say "we like to avoid crowds when possible." The National Parks in Utah pick up crowds starting at spring break. Early May will be a nice time. It will be less crowded than the height of summer, but the parks won't be empty. But they sure are beautiful. Enjoy!

Check prices for multi-trip...arrive one airport, return another airport. (Of course it may be cost prohibitive to drop off a camper van in a different return location.)

One tip to avoid crowds is when you go, go early in the morning or as early as possible. Plus you can avoid having to book a timed entry if you go in before 7:00 AM.

Also do you have National Parks pass for seniors? You can get an annual pass for $20 and a lifetime pass for $80. I have one although I got mine back when it was only $10 about 8 years ago.

You also might want to think about stopping at Canyonlands which is very near Arches. It's got some beautiful scenery there and you don't have to walk far to see it..

One very popular hike at Arches is the hike to Delicate Arch which is a little over 1 1/2 miles each way. But it is uphill most of the way there and so will take a bit of time. I'm afraid of heights but I managed to do it. 😊 And that's the only way you'll really get to see the beauty of Delicate Arch up close and personal.

I also agree with KD about trying to do a multi-city trip so that you fly into one city and fly out of another. Yes you'll probably have to pay a drop-off fee because of that but given the extra time and gas you would use, I would imagine you would come close to breaking even; at least in time and energy.

And with regards to which airport, I like Salt Lake because I've flown into there a lot and it's been a while since I flew into Las Vegas. But I think either are fine. I would check to see which has the best flights and again I would check into the multi-city fares to see if those are feasible financially.

I think if it were me though I would possibly fly into Salt Lake if you forego the multi-city option. I like Salt Lake City and if you had an extra day or so at the end, it's a nice place to spend some time. It's a very attractive city and there's a lot to see and do there.

I suggest that you research and consider some of Utah's terrific state parks as well as the Big 5 National Parks, many of which rival the NP's but are often overlooked - Fewer crowds and some of the same spectacular scenery you'll find at the more well-known (and much more crowded) locations

It can still be cold in early May. I was in Bryce on May 11th several years ago and there was snow on the ground and a very cold wind. Take warm clothes just in case.

Those are gorgeous parks. We've been to Arches and Bryce multiple times. I agree, consider some time in Canyonlands.

A couple things come to mind. First, you both do not necessarily need the senior pass. I'd pay the $80/ lifetime for one of you. Hiking up the Virgin River (wading) in Zion is quite memorable. You do need to be a bit careful and avoid days with potential for rain, or start "earlyish" in the morning due to the risk of flash flood. I would check at the ranger station the first day you are in Zion and get a recommendation. Its amazing to do and worth the slight hassle.

We were in Bryce at the end of summer and it snowed. It was very cold and very, very beautiful.

All, those parks can be difficult to get campsites. I would check to see where you can reserve sites. Typically the website is Recreation.gov. You likely need to book six months in advance which, I guess, is now. Some parks have sites that are unreservable. If so, they tend to book up early in the day. There are national forest campsites near Arches National Park

There are quite a few really good shorter hikes in each of the three parks. You can get hike information on each park's website.

First, you both do not necessarily need the senior pass. I'd pay the $80/ lifetime for one of you.

Oh, that’s right, Jules. I forgot that only one person with a pass will admit everyone in the car.

The only 'answer/suggestion' I have is to start in Vegas and end in Salt Lake to have the best odds of good weather.

The questions that come to mind:
1- Have you done this sort of travel before?
2- Why a camper van? A one way rental, from a quick look, is $300 per day, plus all the 'consumables'. Doesn't seem to be a (meaningful) money saver
3- If you plan to do a single point in/out flight plan, then whichever has the best combined cost of flights and camper rental would be how I would choose.
4- Have you researched the cost and availability of parking spaces?

In May the crowds should be like a normal weekday in NYC, rather than Times Square on New Year Eve.

Keep in mind the closest airport to Arches is Grand Junction, CO though you won’t get direct flights from NYC. The drive along hwy 128 (after you get off I70) is quite scenic leading into Moab if you fly into GJT.

If you do Arches and Bryce, you will almost surely drive through Capitol Reef NP - could be worth a stop and I know there are some short hikes there. Go to the NP’s website to figure out what is open and what hikes are doable for you. Canyonlands is just a short drive (the Island in the sky section) from Arches and has a great campground that is on a first come basis. If you get there by 9 on a weekday you may have a good chance of snagging a site. The large areas leading to Canyonlands has lots of open camping for RVs etc but it is all out in the open with no shade or privacy if the campgrounds are full. Note - the area around Moab has camping restrictions.

Elevation: canyonlands and I’m assuming Arches are around 6,000 ft, Bryce is over 8,000 ft while Zion is much lower. Hence, pay attention to the weather in Bryce and make sure to enjoy the drive on Hwy 12 from Boulder to Torreys and Capitol Reef

Connecting Zion Bryce and Arches will take you through lovely Capitol Reef.
The state parks are wonderful. Utah Hwy 12 is one of the most scenic roads you will ever drive :
https://capitolreefcountry.com/scenic-byway-12/
Arches and Zion will be busy and probably hot. Bryce is almost 8000 ft. so cooler.
Brad

I agree with Robert's post - Utah has some wonderful state parks so be sure to keep those in mind.

We spent five days in Moab in August 2024 and did Dead Horse Point State Park, the Canyonlands Needles District, and Arches. Goblin Valley State Park and Little Wild Horse Canyon were also on the list but we just didn't have the time (our trip to Moab was a 'bonus' long weekend following a conference in SLC). You'll have twice the time we had but I would caution against planning too much; the distances between parks are considerable and we didn't want to feel like we'd spent more timing driving to places than being in places.

Also in Utah - Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, Kodachrome Basin State Park, Cedar Breaks National Monument, Golden Spike National Historical Park, Northrup Grumman Rocket Garden.

The John M. Browning Firearms Museum in Ogden is interesting

Deb, Howdy!
My husband and I are also planning a trip to visit the Big 5 plus a bunch of the awesome state parks in Utah for 2.5-3 wks in mid Sept 2026-early Oct. I am curious about your plans to maybe fly into one city and fly out of the other. We have been thinking of doing that too, but not sure.
You might think about including Capitol Reef (less visited) and Canyonlands (sounds awesome-quiet, uncrowded, plus Horseshoe Canyon there as pictographs) as long as you are there. That's what we are doing anyway. We live in New England and we never get over to Utah so we're trying to do as much as we can as long as we're in the area. We were going to also visit Mesa Verde which sounds so awesome but we are just getting to tight with the schedule and want to leave time for some chilling so will do that another trip. Can share our itinerary draft if you're interested.
We have found that making a spread sheet or a list of the deadlines for making reservations to be helpful. For example, all the campsites, back country permits reservations all start at different times/dates (rolling 6 month/or some start reserving May 10/etc.), so just be aware of things like that. For example if you plan to visit Arches and want to do the Fiery Furnace Guided Hike (a very popular cool hike), you need to reserve that at a certain time. So just keep track of all the important due dates. We are planning to do part camping, backcountry camping, and part ABNB/Inns/etc so we need to be on top of those reservation dates. Know that Arches is probably going to a timed ticket reservation so keep an eye on that.
Some excellent books we have found helpful are the Falcon Guides for the national park hikes and the National Geographic pack of all the National Parks of Utah Maps (get one for each park) was a good investment for hike/scenic drive planning). The Moon Guide for Utah is really good for all of Utah for lodging, Food, the Parks. We have listened to several podcasts and have found their suggestions helpful: Dear Bob & Sue (annoying but helpful) and The Amateur Traveler. We also bought a Delorme Utah which is awesome for showing in detail all the roads and also a big paper Rand McNalley map of Utah that we keep out and highlight, mark up for our at home planning. Check out the amazing youtube vids by Jerry Arizona of the many hikes of Utah's NPs and SPs--they are so helpful in seeing what hikes look like for difficulty and beauty. A+ Use your public library to preview books you might want to buy for the trip.
I agree with previous posters, don't for get the amazing state parks which there are sooo many! Cedar Breaks, Goblin Valley, Kodachrome, Dead Horse, Valley of Fire, Newspaper Rock.
We can keep in touch if you want to share info. I'd love to hear what you have learned in your research. We don't have any friends who hike like us, camp, or sea kayak so we're always looking for info. Cheers, Julie

Hi Deborah -
I'm very late to the party but somehow missed your post until it was resurrected by the Badgergrrrl's entry above. We have hiked all three of the parks you've listed more than once, and all three offer the sort of shorter hikes you're looking for. The most recent trip had us in the Moab area two years ago in late April - so roughly when you plan to visit - and we were surprised to find Canyonlands Island in the Sky unit - the closest of that park's units to Moab - busier than on previous trips. We skipped Arches as we'd already done that one 3 times prior and we knew it would be very busy. No reason for a first-time to stay home, though!

A couple of questions? With 10 - 14 days you have time to add stops at more parks, both National and State, plus so some local hikes such as the previously mentioned Canyonlands NP Island in the Sky, Dead Horse State Park (very near IITS), Coral Pink Sand Dunes (enroute from Zion to Bryce), Goblin Valley State Park (between Capitol Reef and Moab), etc. As you'll be driving between Zion and Moab, Capitol Reef NP and Goblin Valley State Park are along the way so for sure spend some time either or both.. As this post is almost 3 months past your original query, have you made your reservations yet (I sure hope so!!!) and can share those so suggestions can best apply to where you'll be and for how long?

As well, there are 3-5 mile hikes that are flat and easy, and 3-5 mile hikes that involve some scrambling/climbs up/down but are not at all technical. Can you be more specific about what you feel you can do? I'd love to give you great suggestions for some within your abilities. BTW, the DH and I are both 70.

In addition, your BEST sources of info are the park websites themselves. All of them break down their hikes from easy-to-difficult, and the State Park websites and the town of Moab site have useful info too. An example for Arches hiking (we have done all on the list + Fiery Furnace):
https://www.nps.gov/arch/planyourvisit/hiking.htm

DO look at both Canyonlands Island in the Sky and Capitol Reef:
https://www.nps.gov/cany/planyourvisit/islandinthesky.htm
https://www.nps.gov/care/index.htm
The Horseshoe Canyon unit of Canyonlands is great but involves a loooong gravel road that isn't passable when very wet, and a 7 mile RT trek including a pretty good climb out. The Needles Unit also offers terrific hiking is also great but isn't exactly along your route, and may also be more than you'd like to take on.

Goblin Valley can be a stop-by for as little or longer a time as you wish:
https://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/goblin-valley/

Dead Horse Point:
https://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/dead-horse/

Moab:
https://www.discovermoab.com

One of America's top-rated scenic drives is between Bryce and Capitol Reef:
https://www.visitutah.com/articles/the-all-american-road-scenic-byway-12
We have stayed in Torrey and hiked Lower Calf Creek Falls, parts of Capitol Reef and Kodachrome State Park, mentioned in the articles.

It would be most efficient if you could fly into one airport and out of another but you'd need to explore drop-off cost/ability. Specific to Arches, plan to get up and to the park EARLY - if not camping in it - to avoid long backup lines and temporary entrance closures due to crowding. This park has previously required advance entry reservations during peak season (April - October) but it's unclear if they'll continue that this year. If they do, you can get around it by entering before 7:00 AM...which I'd STRONGLY advise in any case.

Julie, give a private message shout if there's anything I might be able to offer up for you too? :O)

Thanks a lot, Kate, as we narrow down our Itinerary I very well may have some questions for you! That's awesome! One thing! if you remember any favorite places you stayed that would be helpful. (Provo or Park City, Cedar City, Boulder, Green River, Moab) We have a good list of places but great to have in put. We're backcountry camping at Bryce, Canyonlands (The Needles), camping at Goblin, maybe Dead Horse SP)

Just a heads up: read today on Arches NP Instagram that they are NOT going to require timed reservations this year for park entrance, but will still require reservations for everything else. From everything I have read and like Kate said, try and get to park early or plan to go later.

Badgergrrrl, to be honest, we don't camp so can't help you with camping spots. What I CAN do is suggest hikes which we've done. As well, this is deborahlenorekaplan's thread so I don't really want to discuss more than what applies to her trip. If you want input on hikes in the regions you'll be visiting, then PM me.

Oh and in addition, it was just announced that Arches won't require timed-entry reservations for the most popular visiting hours this year. Having witnessed some of the parking chaos and traffic backups at the entrance there in years before the pilot reservation program, I don't think returning to the 'open season' approach is a good one. I see I've got company in that regard!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/americansouthwest/posts/1941210469841751/

From the excellent (and independent) "National Parks Traveler" website:
"Visitors are encouraged to arrive early, explore lesser-traveled areas if certain locations are busy, and be flexible when enjoying the park. Arches is an international dark sky park, and visiting after hours is highly encouraged"

https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2026/02/major-destination-national-parks-dropped-timed-entry-reservations

LOL, a best experience at that one was hiking up at Delicate Arch for sunset, staying until dark, when all but a few others had left (it's a VERY popular sunset spot) and hiking down under the stars and a full moon (and a flashlight!) If wanting your own shot at sunset, get to the trailhead a few hours before to find a parking spot. Have a tailgate supper to pass the time before heading up, or pack one along to enjoy from a spot along the rim. Julie, 'll also highly recommend Devil's Garden Primitive Trail and Tower Arch Trail if up to them. We didn't personally think Fiery Furnace was all that but what the heck, give it a go if you have the time.