How to navigate 3 National Parks in 2 days

Apr 5

Good afternoon Mountain Movers! I am so excited to be back with another installment of Trail Talk! This week we’re switching it up to something a little different as opposed to stories about my adventures. Today’s blog is going to be how we - my parents, myself, & Cinnamon - visited three national parks in the span of two days. I want to include these types of posts as informative and encouraging. Even if you only have a day or two, you can see so many gorgeous parks, features, & sights if you’re determined.

The first place we started on the planning front was Moab. Picking a destination is always fun. If this is a predetermined trip, see if there are any NPs or National Park Sites near your destination. For this trip, we knew we were going to Moab and wanted to see as much as we could in a four day time frame. While the trip technically lasted four days, two days were reserved for driving since Moab is at least a five hour drive from Denver. Arches & Canyonlands were a given on the must see list. Arches is located in Moab while Canyonlands is roughly a 20 minute drive up the mountain. Finally, we chose Capitol Reef as the third and final park of our Moab adventure. It was at least a two hour drive southwest of Moab, but after researching the park it made sense to check it out. Bryce Canyon & Zion NPs were options, but Capitol Reef was closer and we decided to dedicate a longer trip to see all of Zion. Glen Canyon NRA was another popular option that was closer than Capitol Reef, but on the journey to 63, you prioritize the parks.

Once we’ve decided which park to visit, I get to work researching what are the MUST DO’s for that park. For Arches, it was obviously Delicate Arch & Double Arch hikes. We also decided to do Park Avenue hike, Balanced Rock, & Skyline Arch viewpoint. After deciding on the great features to see in the park, I print out a park map and label each destination on the map marking it as “must see” or “maybe”. “Maybes” are completed if there is time or crowd sizes are small. If we don’t get a chance to do it, I’m not heartbroken. For example, Delicate Arch was a non-negotiable and marked as “must see”. I would have been devastated if we hadn’t done the hike. The key to planning multiple parks in a day is to know your limitations & hit the high points you deem “must see”. A great hack is to visit parks during their “off seasons” and get in the park early. Off seasons mean less likelihood of needing a timed entry reservation and fewer crowds at popular viewpoints & hiking trails in the park. I try to have a good mix of the park’s iconic destinations as well as some lesser visited places. Having both provides an all encompassed view of the park.

Morgan’s Tips for Easy Adventures:

Prioritize seeing NPs if this is the end goal or you have a timeline.
Plan as far in advance as you can!
See if the park requires a timed entry reservation.
If you want to hike a permitted hike or backpack through a park, enter the lottery four months before your planned trip. You can also enter the lottery the day before but this is risky.
Make your “must see” list clear & stick to it!
Pack plenty of snacks & water.
Know your limitations.
Most importantly, HAVE FUN!

I’ve loved sharing a small insight into my extreme trip planning of seeing 3 of Utah’s Mighty 5 in two days. Check out my next blog post on my “must see” from these three! I look forward to sharing more with you soon!

See ya on the trail!
-M