Utah national parks road trip planner for the Mighty 5 road trip itinerary and cost

What is the best order to visit Utah national parks?

Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Arches, then Canyonlands, starting in Las Vegas and finishing in Salt Lake City. Run it in reverse if the flights from your city into Salt Lake are cheaper. Either way the route runs one direction and every drive is under three hours, which leaves each afternoon for a trail.

• Las Vegas to Springdale (Zion): about 2.5 hours, 160 miles
• Zion to Bryce Canyon: about 1.5 hours through the Zion-Mount Carmel tunnel
• Bryce Canyon to Torrey (Capitol Reef) on Scenic Byway 12: about 2.5 hours, and the drive is a sight in itself
• Torrey to Moab (Arches): about 2.5 hours
• Moab to Canyonlands Island in the Sky: about 40 minutes
• Moab to Salt Lake City airport: about 3.5 to 4 hours

A round trip from Las Vegas works too, but Moab to Las Vegas is about six and a half hours, so the last day is spent in the car. If your route also takes in the Grand Canyon, the national park road trip planner covers the Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce loop from Las Vegas, and our Grand Canyon trip cost breakdown prices the South Rim night by night.

How many days do you need for Utah's Mighty 5?

Seven days is the comfortable minimum for all five parks, and eight to ten lets you hike rather than drive between viewpoints. Two nights in Springdale for Zion, one near Bryce, one in Torrey for Capitol Reef and three in Moab for Arches and Canyonlands is a seven night loop that works for most first visits.

With five days, drop one park rather than rush all five. Zion, Bryce and Capitol Reef from Las Vegas, or Arches, Canyonlands and Capitol Reef from Salt Lake City, each fit five days without a single drive over three hours. With ten days, add a second Zion day for the Narrows or Angels Landing, a night at Goblin Valley or Kodachrome Basin, and a slow morning in Moab.

Do you need reservations for Utah national parks in 2026?

Fewer than in recent years. Arches ended its timed entry pilot, which ran from 2022 through 2025, so in 2026 you can drive in during operating hours without an advance ticket. The Fiery Furnace hike and Devils Garden Campground still need a reservation.

Zion has no entry reservation, but the Angels Landing hike needs a permit from a lottery: $6 to apply for up to six people and $3 per person if you win, through the seasonal lottery or the day before lottery on recreation.gov. The Zion Canyon Scenic Drive is closed to private cars for most of the year while the park shuttle runs, so you park in Springdale or at the visitor center and ride in. The plan names which permits your days depend on and when they open, and you check each park page before you go.

Is the America the Beautiful pass worth it for Utah?

Yes. Zion and Bryce Canyon charge $35 per vehicle, Arches and Canyonlands $30 each and Capitol Reef $20, so the five parks cost $150 at the gate. The $80 annual pass covers the car at all five and saves $70 on a single Mighty 5 loop, more if you add the Grand Canyon or come back within the year.

Visitors from outside the US pay an extra $100 per person age 16 and over at Zion and Bryce Canyon from 2026, unless they enter with the $250 nonresident annual pass, which covers the pass holder and up to three other adults. A couple flying in from Europe pays $400 in nonresident fees at those two parks without it, so the pass pays for itself before the second park.

Should you fly into Las Vegas or Salt Lake City?

Fly into Las Vegas if Zion is the park you care about most, because it sits two and a half hours away and Las Vegas usually has more nonstop flights and cheaper rental cars. Fly into Salt Lake City if Arches and Canyonlands come first, since Moab is three and a half to four hours from that airport.

For all five parks, an open jaw (into one, home from the other) saves a full day of driving back. A one way rental between Nevada and Utah often carries a drop fee, so compare that fee against the day you save and the hotel night you skip. The planner treats the two airports as fixed points and builds the loop between them.

How the Utah national parks road trip planner works

You write a short brief: the parks you want, or just "Mighty 5, eight days, two adults, moderate hikes", your dates, how many are going, a total budget and the US city you fly from. The plan comes back in about a minute with the parks in driving order, the nights split between Springdale, Bryce, Torrey and Moab, each drive placed on its day with the time it takes, and a cost on the flight, every stay, every hike, meal and local ride.

Every line carries an estimate, and the budget meter shows the totals for the flight, the stays, the travel between stops, and the activities, food and local transport. If three Moab nights in October push the trip over, ask for that day again with a lower budget, or move the trip to July and watch the stay estimate drop. For family trips, the family vacation planner sets shorter hikes and earlier evenings for the same loop.