Arizona Utah Road Trip
I am SOOO beyond excited to share this Southwest USA road trip with you!! These destinations have been some of our absolute favorites in all of our travels (it’s the most magical part of the US in my opinion). If you love nature and adventures, you’ll LOVE these MUST VISIT national parks, hikes and bucket list sights.
I’m sharing ALL of our favorite Southwest USA destinations so you can pick and choose the places that your intuition is calling you to or if you want the most epic adventure, you could do all of these in 1 big trip. We did all of these spots in a few different trips but you can mix and match or do it all depending on how much time you have and what you’re looking for.
Road Trip Itinerary:
Airport to fly into: Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport PHX (check Kayak for flights)
Rental car: Kayak
Scottsdale, Arizona (2 nights)
Sedona, Arizona (2 hour drive from Scottsdale, 3 nights)
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona (2 hour drive from Sedona, 2 nights)
Horseshoe Bend, Arizona (2 hour 20 min drive from Grand Canyon, drive through on way to Lake Powell)
Lake Powell, Arizona (12 minute drive from Horseshoe Bend, 2 nights)
Monument Valley, Arizona (2 hour drive from Lake Powell, drive through on way to Moab)
Moab, Utah (2 hour 30 min drive from Monument Valley, 3 nights)
Zion National Park, Utah (5 hour 20 min drive from Moab, 3 nights)
Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah (1 hour 45 min drive from Zion, 1 night or stop on the way to Vegas)
Las Vegas, Nevada (4 hour drive from Bryce Canyon, 2 nights)
Death Valley National Park, California (2 hour drive from Vegas, 1 night)
Airport to fly out of: Las Vegas Airport LAS (check Kayak for flights)
Total driving time: 24 hours
Total number of nights: 18 (if you wanted to keep it to 2 weeks, I’d just do 2 nights in Moab & Zion and just drive by Bryce Canyon on the way to Vegas instead of staying the night). This is really the bare minimum amount of time to spend in each place and it all depends on how you like to travel.
National Park Pass: I highly recommend getting a USA Annual Park Pass. This way, you pay once for the pass that gets you into all of the parks versus paying individually for each.
If you prefer to break this up into multiple trips, here’s what we did:
Trip 1: 12 nights
Airport to fly into: Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport PHX (check Kayak for flights)
Scottsdale, Arizona (2 nights)
Sedona, Arizona (3 nights)
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona (2 nights)
Horseshoe Bend, Arizona
Lake Powell, Arizona (2 nights)
Monument Valley, Arizona
Moab, Utah (3 nights)
Airport to fly out of: Salt Lake City International Airport SLC (check Kayak for flights)
Trip 2: 4 nights
Airport to fly into: Las Vegas Airport LAS (check Kayak for flights)
Zion National Park, Utah (3 nights)
Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah (1 night?)
Airport to fly out of: Las Vegas Airport LAS or Salt Lake City International Airport SLC (check Kayak for flights)
Trip 3: 4 nights
Airport to fly into: Las Vegas Airport LAS (check Kayak for flights)
Las Vegas, Nevada (3 nights)
Death Valley National Park, California (1 night)
Airport to fly out of: Las Vegas Airport LAS (check Kayak for flights)
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Scottsdale, Arizona
Click here to see my complete Scottsdale Travel Guide with more recommendations on where to eat, stay, best hikes, etc.
Vibe: The vibe of Scottsdale is California meet the desert, kind of like Palm Springs. It’s sunny, hot, dry and there’s palm trees, cacti and beautiful flowers everywhere. Scottsdale has an upscale vibe with incredible restaurants, luxurious resorts with dreamy pools, beautiful homes and great shopping. There’s also great hiking and nature close by.
Best things to do: Shop/walk around old town, hike, rent a boat at Canyon Lake, pool day, explore downtown Gilbert
Best hikes: Camelback Mountain (Echo Canyon Trail), Piestewa Peak, Tom’s Thumb, Pinnacle Peak, Boulder Canyon to Viewpoint
Where to stay: The Scott, Hotel Adeline, Super Fun Home in the ❤️ of Old Town, Pool & Games
Where to eat: Kaleidoscope Juice, Herb Box, La Grande Orange, Chelsea’s Kitchen, The Parlor Pizzeria, Toca Madera, The Henry, Sushi Roku, Citizen Public House, Echo Coffee (for coffee not food)
Sedona, Arizona
Click here to see my complete Sedona Travel Guide with more recommendations on where to eat, stay, best hikes, etc.
Vibe: Sedona is a very unique, magical small desert town surrounded by beautiful, red rock mountains. There’s lots of great hiking, food, spiritual and wellness activities and shops.
Best things to do: sunset at the Sedona Airport Scenic Outlook, shop/walk around Uptown Sedona, Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village, Grasshopper Point swimming hole, get a massage at Gateway Cottage Wellness, Page Springs Cellars Winery
Best hikes: Bear Mountain Trail, Cathedral Rock Hike, Bell Trail, Devils Bridge Hike
Where to stay: Luna Suite Modern Luxury Uptown w/Private Entry, Beautiful Home with Stunning Views + Next to Trail, *5 Star Luxury Villa with Panoramic Red Rock Views, Walking distance to Cathedral Rock trail
Where to eat: Hideaway House, Picazzo’s Healthy Italian Kitchen, Local Juicery, Javelina Cantina, Mariposa
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
Vibe: The Grand Canyon is truly jaw-dropping. I wasn’t expecting to be so shook by the beauty and vastness of it because I’d assumed it was just another famous touristy destination. It is, but for good reason. There aren’t a lot of restaurants or places to stay near the Grand Canyon so I’d plan on centering your time here around hiking and seeing the Grand Canyon.
Best things to do: see/hike the Grand Canyon
Best hikes:
Plateau Point Hike: Amazing 13.3 mi out and back hike (3,402 ft elevation) in the Grand Canyon. We started around 5am and ended in the afternoon. It’s downhill the first half as you go into the Canyon and the turnaround point is at a cliff overlooking the Colorado river (this is where we got engaged!). The second half is all uphill as you climb out of the canyon. It’s an intense hike so bring a lot of water and enough food.
Where to stay: Our first night, we stayed at the Thunderbird Inn inside the park. It’s old and not that great to be honest BUT it’s a decent place to sleep and it was sooo convenient for starting our super early morning hike. We had dinner at the Bright Angel Lodge and it seemed a bit nicer so I’d recommend trying to stay there if you want to stay inside the park.
Our second night, we attempted to stay at Under Canvas. Since we’d just gotten engaged, Trevor wanted to surprise me with a really cool experience. We drove up to a magical property of yurts, beautiful string lights and fire pits. We had drinks by the fire, watched sunset and had an amazing dinner. To make a long, hilariously dramatic story short, our cast-iron fireplace in our yurt caught on fire as we were falling asleep. We ended up getting the hell out of there (no way was I going to use the fire again or sleep in the 30 degree weather covered in smoke LOL) and went to the closest hotel we could find at midnight. I would recommend trying it out if you want a trendy, glamping experience but I’d probably call and ask about the fireplace situation before going ;)
Where to eat: There are very few places to eat inside the park. We had dinner at the Bright Angel Lodge and it was fine. We packed peanut butter sandwiches for our hike the next morning and made the world’s strongest french press coffee in our room at 4am LOL.
Lake Powell, Arizona (Page, Arizona)
Vibe: Lake Powell is one of the most interesting, magical lakes. It looks like a desert lake on top of Mars! I would plan your time in Page around renting a boat on Lake Powell and going to Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend.
Best things to do: rent a boat on the lake, Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, sunset at Lone Rock Beach
Best hikes: N/A
Where to stay: We stayed at the Hyatt Place Page and it was nice, simple and in a good location. There are also some great Airbnb’s in the area:
New Home with incredible views of Lake Powell
AMAZING VIEWS! Lake Powell View House
Lake Powell Shore House. Hot Tub and fire pit!
Where to eat: Sunset 89 (Asian Fusion), Rainbow Room (good for drinks/views, food is just okay), El Tapatio (Mexican), Birdhouse (fried chicken)
Monument Valley, Arizona
Vibe: This part of the drive is truly magical. We didn’t stop for long but long enough to get some photos and fall in love with this incredible desert mountain backdrop.
Monument Valley
Moab, Utah
Vibe: Moab is one of the best nature towns in my opinion because you have Arches National Park, Dead Horse State Park and Canyonlands National Park, all of which are absolutely amazing. It’s also a cute town with some good restaurants and shops but there’s not a ton to do outside of the nature/hiking.
Best things to do:
Dead Horse State Park: Absolutely STUNNING desert landscape with incredible views of canyons and desert woodland. Go for sunrise or sunset! This is where we got our engagement photos done :)
Arches National Park: One of the coolest, most beautiful national parks with incredible, natural rock arches! There’s tons of good hiking and it’s a great park to be in for Sunset. Reservations are required at certain times so make sure to check the website for your dates.
Canyonlands National Park: Canyonlands is breathtaking and is similar to the Grand Canyon. It’s a HUGE park with tons of hiking and sights to see. We just barely scratched the surface in the 1 day we spent here but you could easily spend several days exploring the park. Next time, we want to explore the Needles area!
Walk around downtown Moab and explore the shops
Best hikes:
Devils Garden Hike: beautiful 7.9 mi loop hike (1,085 ft elevation) in Arches National Park. Take the primitive trail on the way back - it’s really pretty.
Delicate Arch: 3.2 mi (629 ft elevation) out and back hike to the most iconic arch in Arches National Park.
Gooseberry Trail: 4.2 mi (1,548 ft elevation) out and back hike in Canyonlands National Park. It’s a super steep hike down into the canyon with a lot of switchbacks and coming back up is also intense. You could cut the hike short and turn around when you’ve gone as far as you want.
Where to stay: Hyatt Place Moab or if you’re looking to splurge for resort vibes and don’t care about being super close to everything, the Sorrel River Ranch is really beautiful
Where to eat: 98 Center (amazing ban mi salad - add flank steak), Sultan Mediterranean, Sunset Grill (for casual drinks with a view), Sorrel River Ranch (a SUPER nice ranch hotel about 30 minutes from the main part of Moab - it’s a beautiful drive and very tranquil place to get drinks or dinner)
Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Vibe: This is one of the strangest, coolest sights in the US! It looks like thousands of giant drip sand castles made out of red rocks. There’s not much to do or see outside of the park so I’d suggest just stopping here on your way to Zion and maybe doing a small hike. It’s amazing but it’s the kind of place that once you’ve seen it, you’ve seen it :)
Bryce Canyon National Park
Zion National Park, Utah
Vibe: Zion is one of the coolest National Parks we’ve been too. The mountains are unique and majestic and the hikes are absolutely amazing! The main road that goes through the park is like driving in the middle of a canyon - it’s amazing!
Best things to do: hike & drive through the park
Best hikes: Angels Landing Trail, Zion Canyon Overlook Trail, Scout Lookout Via West Rim Trail
Where to stay:
Hampton Inn & Suites Springdale/Zion National Park
Cliffrose Springdale, Curio Collection By Hilton
Where to eat: Anthera, Spotted Dog Cafe, Cafe Soleil
Las Vegas, Nevada
Vibe: Most people know Vegas for the partying and gambling but the nature near Vegas is actually amazing (and why we love to go). One of my favorite hikes we’ve ever done was actually in Vegas on my 29th birthday!
Best things to do: hike, wander around/eat/shop at the Strip
Best hikes:
Hot springs Via White Rock Canyon: One of my favorite hikes EVER!! You can cliff jump into the Colorado river and you have to hike through a few hot springs which was so cool. It’s an EPIC, BEAUTIFUL hike!!
Where to stay: we stayed in this Airbnb and it was nice, quiet and a good location for hiking and eating out
Where to eat: Tao (Asian Fusion restaurant on the Strip - get the sea bass!), Coffee Class (good coffee)
Death Valley National Park, California
Vibe: Death Valley is like going to another planet. It’s SUPER dry and is the hottest place on Earth in the summer. It’s a big desert valley surrounded by mountains and the park is huge!
Best things to do: Dante’s Point (our favorite spot, 1 mi hike up to 360 degree views of the park at 5,000 ft elevation, the temperature drops as you go up FYI), Artist’s Pallete (really amazing drive through colorful mountains with epic views), Bad water Basin (giant salt flat)
Skip the sand dunes and marble hike - they weren’t anything special.
Best hikes: We didn’t hike (besides Dante’s trail which is only a mile) and instead focused on spending our time seeing more of the park. It’s a huge park and you can see a lot more driving and going to the lookout points.
Where to stay: Stay at The Inn at Death Valley in the park for a night for the full, luxury experience; it’s absolutely beautiful and conveniently located right inside the park.
Where to eat: Bring food - there’s not really anywhere to eat in the park besides The Inn at Death Valley.
Death Valley National Park
Google Map of All Arizona Utah Road Trip Recommendations
I saved all of my recommendations for you in the map below to make it super easy to get around! Here’s the full link so you can save it: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/1/edit?mid=1Mn4ef91rqjFLRijIupEHHMQthbA-NKs&usp=sharing.
Here’s a driving specific version of the map with directions (the one below just shows the stops): https://goo.gl/maps/Jz6bFszA1qP1BGaS8.
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