Our Grand Circle Road Trip
Six National Parks in seven days through three different states; totally incredible and totally worth it!
At-A-Glace Itinerary
Day 1: Fly into Las Vegas, Drive to Grand Canyon, Camp
Day 2: Drive to Lake Powell, Rent Jet Ski, Drive Jet Ski all over Lake Powell and explore Antelope Canyon, Drive to Mexican Hat and stay at Bluff Dwellings Resort and Spa
Day 3: Drive to Moab, Drive along Gemini Bridges Road to see Gemini Bridges (cut off on Bull Canyon beforehand to see Gemini Bridges from below), Drive to Canyonlands and see Mesa Arch, Drive along Shafer Trail Road, Camp
Day 4: Drive to Arches and see Delicate Arch and Skyline Arch, Rent UTV in Moab and go to 4x4 off-roading trails: Fins N Things and Hell's Revenge, Camp
Day 5: Drive to Capitol Reef and see Petroglyphs and Goosenecks Overlook, Drive through the Grand Staircase-Escalante, Drive to Bryce Canyon, Camp
Day 6: Rent Electric Bikes and Gear in Zion, Bike 8 miles to The Narrows, Hike along the Narrows, Camp
Day 7: Fly home to Atlanta
In-Depth Itinerary
Day 1
- Flew from Atlanta to Las Vegas (4 hour flight, 3 hour time change)
- Drove to meet up with our Pacific Overlander 4Runner Camper Rental
- See more details regarding this rental at the bottom
- Drove roughly 4 hours to the Grand Canyon North Rim
- We arrived an hour before sunset and hiked Bright Angel Point. The hike
was super easy, only half a mile roundtrip. The views were STUNNING. We
stayed and watched the sunset, it was breathtaking!
- Drove 30 minutes to camp in dispersed campsite near "East Rim Viewpoint Trailhead". It was VERY cold this night.
Day 2
- Drove 2.5 hours from campsite to Wawheap Marina on Lake Powell
- Reserved Jet Ski ahead of time here
- Jet Skied on Lake Powell for 4 hours
- Drove to Antelope Canyon on Jet Ski, parked jet ski on sand bank and
hiked around on the sandy portion of the canyon
- Lake was not crowded at all, we had a BLAST driving all over the open
waters!
- Drove 20 minutes from Marina to Horseshoe Bend Viewpoint
- 30 minute hike round trip
- Jaw-dropping views
- Very crowded
- Drove 2 hours to Bluff Dwellings Resort and Spa
- This was a surprise to celebrate our anniversary!!
- HIGHLY Recommend! Hot Tub, Semi-Warm Pool with Slide, comfortable
beds - this was quite a treat after such a cold night the previous night!
Day 3
- Breakfast at Bluff Dwellings
- Drove 2 hours to Moab, get gas and maps of the area
- Drove onto Gemini Bridges Road - incredible views, definitely need a 4x4
vehicle
- Took a 4x4 trail called Bull Canyon which took us to a trail head that lead to the base of Gemini Bridges. This was absolutely insane!! The hike was short and easy, but WOW the view UP was incredible
- Drove back out of the canyon, continued on Gemini Bridges Road until the Gemini Bridges Trailhead
- This trailhead leads to the TOP of the natural bridge - you can actually
walk across it! This was terrifying and amazing all at the same time!
- Continued driving to Canyonlands National Park, drove to Mesa Arch Trailhead
- This hike was short and easy, the views were awesome! Definitely
crowded, we had to "wait our turn" to take a picture in front of the arch
- Drove onto the Shafer Trail Road from within Canyonlands
- This trail was terrifying, but SO COOL! Crazy steep drops on one side of
the vehicle, lots of switch backs down into the canyon, these were some of
the BEST VIEWS!
- We got out A LOT along the trail once we finished the descent into the
canyon, there was even a "horseshoe bend" that was more stunning than
the "official one" and we were the ONLY ONES there!! WOW - a highlight of
the trip for SURE!
- We ended up camping at a dispersed campsite off Gemini Bridges. We were on Shafer Trail for at least 2 hours (all of it was BEAUTIFUL!) and then drove an additional 30 to get to the campsite.
Day 4
- Drove 15 minutes from campsite to Arches
- We'd heard Arches was filling up fast and people were being turned away
as early as 11am, we got there at 8am
- Drove straight back to Devil's Garden but the parking lot was full and they turned us away. We decided to do the quick 1 mile hike to see the upper viewpoint of Delicate Arch - it was great to see it but was a little underwhelming at such a distance
- Drove to Skyline Arch, which was gorgeous. It was a quick, flat hike all the way up to the arch. Mike and I spent some time climbing around on rocks too, it was great fun!
- Drove 20 minutes back into Moab to High Point Hummer and ATV
- We got our Can-Am (street legal!) UTV and drove 10 minutes to the Salt Flats where there are famous 4x4 trails. We spend 4 hours driving all over Fins-N-Things and Hell's Revenge
- I would not suggest these trails if you are scared of heights or do not have
off-roading experience. There were a few moments on these trails that I
experienced real, deep fear. It was an absolute rush, and so completely
worth it - but man, this was not for the faint of heart!!
- After we returned our UTV, we grabbed some dinner in Moab and then drove 2 hours to a dispersed campsite just before Fruita, UT along the Fremont River
Day 5
- Started the day with a freezing shower from a bag... not a high point haha
- Drove 15 minutes to see Petroglyphs (carvings on mountain walls) within Capitol Reef National Park. We just walked around and looked at all the crazy carvings for about 30 minutes and then made a pit stop at the Visitor's Center
-Drove 2 hours to Bryce Canyon
- This drive was GORGEOUS!! We drove through the Grand Staircase-
Escalante which was just unreal. We also passed thousands of aspen trees.
This drive was just fabulous! It was crazy watching the terrain change so
quickly!
- At Bryce Canyon we hiked the trail called Queen's Garden. It was a 2 mile roundtrip hike that took us down through the Hoodoos to the lower part of the canyon. I was SO taken aback by how incredible I found the Hoodoos to be. They were unlike anything I had ever seen. At this point in the trip Bryce Canyon was my favorite National Park I'd seen (but I didn't know what was in store for me at Zion!!).
- Drove one hour from Bryce Canyon to Twin Hollows Campground
- Our spot was beautiful, we crossed the creek and had a perfect creekside campsite
Day 6
- Woke up at 6am and drove 40 minutes from our campsite to Zion National Park . The drive into the park was absolutely awe-inspiring. I had never been so in awe of God and His creation as I was in Zion. It was spectacular!
- We realized late the night before that Zion was not allowing anyone to drive into the park. We were supposed to have reserved a shuttle ticket two weeks in advance. Zion was, however, letting folks walk or ride a bike into the park.
-Drove to Zion Cycles and totally lucked out and were able to rent two electric mountain bikes. Most of the 8 mile ride into Zion to the Narrows was uphill, so we splurged and decided the electric bikes would be worth it. I had never been on an electric bike before - essentially when you start pedalling the motor gives you a "boost", so you still get a workout, but you can go much farther!
- Biked to Zion Outfitters where we rented neoprene socks and canyoneering boots for The Narrows. Mike also bought us some hiking polls, as they were out of free walking sticks. I HIGHLY recommend getting this gear if you plan to hike The Narrows, 100% worth it!!
- Biked 8 miles (40 minutes) to The Temple of Sinawava which is where you start the hike to The Narrows. We hiked along the paved path for about a mile and then put on our gear for The Narrows.
- Hiked about 3 miles into The Narrows - this was by far my favorite part of the entire trip. At least half of the hike is in the Virgin River. We waded through the water and climbed over rocks. The gap between the canyon walls on either side of us got narrower and narrower the further back we went. Everything about this experience was extraordinary!
- After we hiked back through The Narrows we had the most epic downhill bike ride. This bike ride in and of itself rivaled other thrills and experiences on this trip. The assist of the motor going downhill allowed us to reach speeds around 50mph on the bikes!!
- We grabbed some pizza in town before we drove about 2 hours to a dispersed campsite in Silver Reef, Utah
Day 7
- Drove 2 hours from our campsite to Las Vegas, dropped off our rental and grabbed an Uber to the Airport
- Flight left at 2:30 (4 hours long, 3 hour time change) - we got back to ATL at 9:30 pm
Details regarding the 4Runner Rental
- We rented the 4x4 4Runner with a pop-up tent on top from Pacific Overlander
- The vehicle came with SO MANY amenities! We were shocked and SO satisfied
- Includes:
• Roof-top tent with 3.5 inch memory foam mattress that comfortably
sleep 2 people (additional tents, cots, pads, & sleeping bags available
upon request)
• 2 camp chairs & a camp table
• ARB fridge/freezer with dual-battery system
• Locking internal storage drawers
• 5 gallon water can
Cooking and dining equipment:
• Dual-burner stove, propane tank, & lighter
• Cookware, silverware, plating, and mugs for up to 4 people
• Pour-over brewing cone & kettle
• Cleaning basin, sponge, pot scraper/brush, biodegradable dish soap,
and a small spade
• 1 camp lantern, first-aid kit
- These vehicles get booked FAST, I would suggest booking this item FIRST and planning the rest of your trip around the vehicle's availability
- Customer Service was FANTASTIC! We met up with a guy from the company to pickup/drop off the car at the Las Vegas Whole Foods which was about 5 minutes from the airport
Details Regarding Food and Showers
- Breakfast: most mornings we made coffee and breakfast at our campsite. The 4runner came with a coffee press and we made Mountain House breakfast meals with boiled water (so tasty!)
- Lunches: we made sandwiches everyday and stored the ingredients in the fridge inside the 4runner
- Dinners: we ate out a couple nights, but every other night we had Mountain House Meals - they were shockingly delicious!
Showers: the only REAL shower we had was the night we stayed at Bluff Dwellings resort on Monday. The only other shower we took was with the "pocket-shower" provided with the 4runner.
Optional Shower Locations:
- Capitol Reef National Park Visitor's Center
- Bryce Canyon, near the General Store
- Zion Outfitters
Please reach out personally if you are planning a similar trip and have questions! I am MORE than happy to help. This trip was an absolute dream that I hope others will enjoy as well!
ความคิดเห็น