5-Day Utah and Arizona National Parks Tour

Utah State University Eastern Prehistoric Museum
After we pick you up from Salt Lake City International Airport, we will start the tour at the USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum. Here, you can discover what life was like when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth. View real dinosaur bones, full-body dinosaur mounts, and even some items from the Fremont people and mammal skeletons from the Ice Age.

Dead Horse Point State Park
Located only a few miles from Canyonlands National Park, Dead Horse Point State Park offers a unique view of the Colorado River 2,000 feet below. While driving around, your tour guide will tell you the unusual story of how this park got its name.

Canyonlands National Park
This national park is made of three main districts: The Maze, The Needles, and Island in the Sky. For this tour, we will be exploring the Island in the Sky district, known for its rock climbing locations and stargazing sites. Island in the Sky allows you to overlook places in the valley, such as the Colorado River, from atop high canyons.

Moab
Here sits the town between two national parks, Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. With many attractions in the area, you will be able to walk downtown to check out shops and restaurants before going to your hotel to prepare for the next day.

Accommodations: Hotel in or near Moab

Meals: N/A

Arches National Park
We will start the morning going to Arches National Park, widely known for having over 2,000 natural stone arches. Check out Delicate Arch, Landscape Arch, Double Arch, and many more. This is a national park you sure won’t want to miss!

Potash Road
After visiting Arches, your tour guide will come pick you up from your hotel and take you to see Potash Road. Located right outside of Moab, this road winds along the Colorado river with water on one side, and a huge rock cliff on the other. Along this road, your tour guide will show you ancient petroglyphs and dinosaur tracks, as well as additional arches that can be accessed by foot.

Moab
After returning to Moab from your visit to Arches National Park, you’ll have some free time to enjoy the area on your own (please note: these activities are not included in the tour price). Moab offers plenty of exciting options, such as river rafting, speed boating, or even taking a scenic helicopter ride. If you prefer something more relaxed, you can explore the town, go for a hike, or just enjoy the local atmosphere.

Accommodations: Hotel in Moab

Meals: Breakfast

Goosenecks State Park
  This state park was created after the San Juan River meandered and cut through the earth leaving 3 horseshoe bends in its wake. Here we will hike and sightsee the views that extend for miles and see Mexican Hat, an incredible sombrero-shaped rock.

Monument Valley
After driving through the 17 mile loop for the scenic drive, take a hike to stretch your legs while seeing buttes that reach heights over 1,000 feet. This is also where they filmed the scene in Forest Gump where he runs across the country. Don’t forget to bring your camera as this landscape is considered by NASA as of the most photographed places in the world.

Flagstaff
​For the last leg of the day’s journey, we’ll drive towards Flagstaff, Arizona which is perfectly situated between Sedona, Southern Utah, and Grand Canyon National Park. Located in one of the world’s largest ponderosa pine forests, this city is the perfect place to relax after a long day’s journey.

Accommodations: Hotel in Flagstaff

Meals: Breakfast

Petrified Forest National Park
The location where many Triassic fossil have been found, ​Petrified Forest National Park is an ancient 225 million year old forest composed of what appears to be stone trees. Petrified wood is made when a tree is buried by sediment, protecting it from organisms that would cause it to decay. Over time, minerals in the groundwater replace the wood, turning it into stone, changing along with the past subtropical rainforest into a current day desert.

Meteor Crater
Meteor Crater is a 550 feet deep, 1 mile wide hole that was created from the impact of a meteorite that struck earth more than 50,000 years ago. Due to the appearance of the crater and the lack of plant life, Meteor Crater looks more like the moon than the earth. In fact, NASA used this crater in the 1960s to train the early Apollo astronauts due to its similarity to the moon.

Sedona
  ​Nestled amongst towering red cliffs, Sedona is the perfect place to relax and observe the sunset. We’ll start by exploring the local landscape and hiking some of the beautiful trails outside of Sedona. Afterwards, we’ll return to Sedona and check out some of the beautiful architecture that the town has to offer, such as the Chapel of the Holy Cross, a brilliant structure built into the surrounding red rock. As the sun sets, you’ll eat dinner at one of the incredible restaurants in town.

Accommodations: Hotel in Sedona

Meals: Breakfast

Grand Canyon National Park
In the morning, your tour guide will come pick you up from your hotel and you’ll depart for the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Arizona, with an estimated 5.9 million people visiting yearly. This canyon was carved by the Colorado River over a period of 6 million years, resulting in an astonishing panoramic view.

Las Vegas/Salt Lake City
​Continuing on, we’ll depart for Las Vegas to drop you off at the airport or a hotel of your choice. If there is time remaining, your tour guide can take you around Las Vegas. If you’d like to end your tour from an area other than Salt Lake City, please let us know and we’ll make arrangements.

Accommodations: N/A

Meals: Breakfast