Each March our family tries to shake the winter blues and head somewhere sunny and warm, usually to the Desert Southwest. This year we set our sites on the canyons and sandstone of southeastern Utah.
As we began our research we quickly realized we were going to be in for a treat. Everyone has heard of Arches National Park, and we knew a bit about Canyonlands National Park, but was we were finding was a whole beautiful part of the west that is largely unknown to the rest of the county. Capitol Reef National Park was by far our favorite surprise, but the Escalante area, Natural Bridges National Monument, Dixie National Forest and the North Wash area all thrilled the whole family.
We also learned that sunny would be a possibility, but warm was going to be a little tougher to come by. But we were already sold so that didn’t stop us!
We drove a loop out and back but spent the week romping through the slot canyons, taking in the sweeping vistas, and generally just exploring parks that receive few visitors that time of year. It was awesome! (And no one froze to death!)
Our Adventure Trip Video
Our Adventure Map
Pecos National Historical Park
Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument
Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Four Corners Monument
Stone Lizard Lodge
House On Fire Ruins (Mule Canyon Trailhead)
Natural Bridges National Monument
Leprechaun Canyon
Strike Valley Overlook (Capitol Reef NP)
Capitol Gorge (Capitol Reef NP)
Cathedral Valley (Capitol Reef NP)
Grand Viewpoint (Canyonlands NP - Island In The Sky)
Big Spring Canyon Overlook (Canyonlands NP - Needles)
SpringHill Suites
Moab Brewery
Fiery Furnace (Arches NP)
Delicate Arch (Arches NP)
Devil's Garden Trailhead (Arches NP)
More Content From This Adventure Trip
8 Tips on How to Experience Arches National Park
Loop The Fold?
Cathedral Valley Loop?
Adventure Summary
Day 1 (Tent Rocks)
After having left in the early afternoon the day before to drive to Amarillo, we woke up and loaded up to drive from our hotel in Amarillo to two spot before checking in for the night in Santa Fe.
The first stop was Pecos National Historical Park to check out the ruins of several different eras and to study the battlefield there (Battle of Glorieta Pass). We had a picnic lunch there and carried on to head just west of Santa Fe to Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument.
Tent Rocks was an awesome start to the trip! The main feature is a straight forward 1.5mi. trail that begins by heading across the desert toward big rock formations. After a half mile you enter a slot canyon that is easy to navigate but has nice winding passages and tall walls. Finally you pop out and hike up and above to the see the namesake tent rocks and sweeping views!
That night we stayed in Santa Fe and headed downtown to wander around a bit and have a great dinner at the Blue Corn Cafe & Brewery.
Day 2 (Chaco Canyon & Four Corners)
As we left out of Santa Fe for a 3-hour drive across the flats of NW New Mexico, we knew the day would be a long one with almost 7 hours of driving by the time we rolled into Blanding, UT that night. But, we did well to break it up with some interesting stops.
First up was Chaco Culture National Historical Park where we checkout several ruins, especially the impressive Pueblo Bonito (top). They could be some of the best pueblo style dwellings I’ve ever seen. Walking through them you could really get a sense for how immense their communities were. After a picnic lunch, the kids bagged their Junior Ranger badges and we were off having invested a little over 3 hours into Chaco which felt about right.
We stopped briefly at the Navajo Nation-controlled Four Corners Monument and did some obligatory poses while being in four states at once (the only place in the US you can do that). It wasn’t too late when we pulled into the quaint but nice Stone Lizard Lodge. We all thought it felt good to stretch our legs to walk several blocks to the local drive-in!
Day 3 (Natural Bridges & Leprechaun Canyon)
Although the day started as a cloudy one, it started off right when we headed down the Mule Canyon Trail to get to a recently-made-famous ruin site. House on Fire Ruin (top left) has been highly photographed and well published here lately with Trump foolishly deciding to take it our of Bears Ears National Monument. It’s still on federal land but significantly less protected. We were driving right by the trailhead so we had to see it!
The rest of the day took us up to Natural Bridges National Monument where spent the bulk of the midday hiking to all three (very different) natural bridges as the kids completed their Junior Ranger badges. This little-known park unit is well worth the stop.
From there we picked a route over the Glen Canyon at Hite and up Highway 95 to what could be the highlight of the trip–Leprechaun Canyon. It was an amazing spot to explore with twisting, narrow slots and grandiose red walls rising into the sky. The whole family got hooked on slot canyons there!
BONUS PICS – The Open Road From Day 3
Part of what made this day so great was the beauty of the Southwest was on full display. Mel continually commented how taken aback she was by the stunningly beautiful scenery and how completely unaware she was of this part of the country. We’ve been to lots of spots in the Desert Southwest, including in Utah, but from Blanding to Torrey we saw some of the best.
Day 4 (Loop The Fold)
Having been given a tip from one of my best “national park friends”, I knew were going to want to spend some time in Capitol Reef National Park (CARE). So we arrive the night before and checked into one of the casitas the Cougar Ridge Lodge in nearby Torrey.
The morning was cold and clear when we hit visitor center right as it opened at 8am. An hour later we were headed down the Scenic Drive into Capitol Gorge (top left) to hike to the Pioneer Register (names from early explorers carved into the rock). It’s an easy 2mi RT hike through the canyon and we were the only ones out there…perfect!
On the way back we stopped to read about the famous orchards (nothing growing in March), the Fremont River, and some historic settler buildings (though most were closed because it was still off-peak season) and then headed out for the adventure of the day–a 125-mile Loop The Fold scenic drive around the Waterpocket Fold.
What an awesome way to experience Capitol Reef! We picked up a guidebook in the visitor center for $2 and it was perfect. We learned about the geology and human history of the whole route and barely saw another car. Parts of the road are gravel, parts are paved and the highlights included the petrified oyster beds, “stripped” rock formations, Surprise Canyon, Burr Trail switchback, an awesome picnic site (middle left), lava boulders, snow-bound aspens, and of course the 4x4 Upper Muley Twist Canyon Road–a thrilling 3 mile drive up a rough 4 wheel drive road to the Strike Valley Overlook which is by far the best view of the whole Waterpocket Fold.
Day 5 (Catherdal Valley Loop & Flat Tires)
Having had so much fun the day before we were resolved to take on the Cathedral Valley Loop Road for the day before heading on to Moab. At the visitor center, they told us the Fremont River ford was 21″ deep 10 days before, so we decided if we were going to do the 90+ mile (all off-road) loop we’d need to run clockwise so we’d come to the river ford first, not at the end.
As we stopped to see some petroglyphs along the Fremont River, I didn’t like the velocity of the river (top left), but once we hit the ford (top right) I started feeling better. We made it across with no problems but about 20 miles in trouble hit–a gashed tire. I was prepared for that with a proper tire iron and we had a full-sized spare. But only one of them…and 70 miles to go. Never fear, we made it!
Wow! This north area of the park is gorgeous. We did need some tire repair though so we skipped a slot canyon on the way to Moab to get to the Ford dealership there before it closed. After a day like that, dinner had to be at the Moab Brewery for a Dead Horse Amber!
Day 6 (Arches at Sunrise & The Needles)
With our base established at the awesome SpringHill Suites in Moab, we decided to explore Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park for 3 days. First up, was Arches in the morning and what better way to kick it off with a 3mi RT sunrise hike to Delicate Arch! Despite hiking in the dark, there were dozens of people on the trail as well.
The rest of the morning was spent in The Windows area of the park and as the crowds picked up, we bailed south to The Needles District of Canyonlands NP with a stop at Newspaper Rock (top right). Here the crowds are lighter and a lot of areas are pretty accessible. (Unless you are heading into the Chesler Park area.) We hit Pothole Point for a picnic lunch, then on to Big Spring Canyon Overlook and back to Cave Spring.
The evening started with a great dinner at Pasta Jay’s and wound down with some pool time at the deluxe heated hotel pool. You can’t go wrong with 4 hot tubs and 3 fire pits!
Day 7 (Island In The Sky)
The day was looking cloudy and cool with chances of rain so we decided to spend it in the Island In The Sky District of Canyonlands NP. It was a “sleep-in day” so we got a late start but spent some time in the Visitor Center before stopping at Mesa Arch for some great photos (top left) and out the 2mi RT hike to Grand View Point Overlook (top right). Wow! What a view! This is a Desert Southwest must-do.
As it started spitting sleet at the Green River Overlook, we new we were in for the coldest picnic lunch of the trip at Upheaval Dome. The others decided to warm up in the car, as I decided to get the blood flowing by hiking up Whale Rock for a few of the passing storm.
We headed back into Moab to get our car back, grab an early dinner, pack up and hit the pool again. After the worst dinner of the trip (at Zax’s Restaurant) we came up with the plan to go to bed early and get up by 5am and into Arches before sunrise.
Day 8 (Arches in the Dark & the Fiery Furnace)
Getting into Arches NP super early gave me the chance to shoot some star trails and catch the Milky Way over the landscape. It was chilly but I got some decent shots. From there, we headed out to Devil’s Garden to hike the 0.8mi to Landscape Arch to catch the first beams of sunrise lighting it up.
As if this wasn’t enough for the morning already, we ran back to the hotel around 8:30am for breakfast and then as it warmed up, back to the park to use our permit we secured to hike into the Fiery Furnace. We got the permit 2 days earlier and went through the NPS briefing. This is a sensitive area and they limit the number people who can enter it each day.
As we wound up and down canyons exploring this area, we really appreciated the sense of adventure of trying to wander about yet make sure we could get out again. While you didn’t have to follow it, there was a marked route with occasional 4″ long reflective arrow attached to the rocks. Finding them became scavenger hunts of sorts for all of us. When we emerged we knew this was definitely the highlight of Arches!
The kids somehow talked us into a bit more early afternoon pool time before we had to say goodbye and drive on to Grand Junction. There we walked around their great downtown and enjoyed a cool dinner at Taco Party just a few blocks from our SpringHill Suites there.
Day 9/10 (The Drive Home)
The day and a half long drive home started in Grand Junction, CO (western edge of Colorado) and would end 1,000 miles later at home with a stop over in Junction City, KS. Along the way we got to climb up and over the Rockies in winter. I’d only been once before (skiing at Copper Mountain) so it was treat to see, especially topping out at 11,158 feet above sea level as the interstate cuts through the Eisenhower Tunnel (bottom left). We stopped at a Noodles & Company in Denver and a great little Mexican spot in Salina called La Casita.