How to Explore Utah’s Mighty Five

Most states have only one national park. Utah has five

I want to break down each of them a bit for you and show you the easiest way to explore them and the harder way

Back in 2013, the state of Utah launched a state tourism campaign

They took five parks conceived of and founded over half a century apart with more than 400 miles of road between them, and they made them a unit

The Mighty Five was born, and it's one of the most mind-blowing road trips in the world

The Mighty Five tourism campaign ran from 2013 to 2015, and it was way, way more successful than the state ever imagined

In the years following the campaign, four of the five parks hit their highest ever visitation levels, with millions of people visiting each park every year

It turned one of the most sparsely populated regions in the U.S. into one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world

But the Mighty Five are about so much more than just a two-year ad campaign

They're about hundreds of geological formations and unique ecosystems that were formed over millions of years

Let's explore. All five parks are located in southern Utah, on the Colorado Plateau

The easternmost park is Arches National Park. Arches is known for, well, it's arches

Arches are naturally occurring rock formations where eons of weathering and erosion carve out the middle of a rock

leaving a long, thin strip above. Arches National Park has the greatest concentration of these natural phenomena anywhere in the world

In the 76,000 acres of the park, there are more than 2,000 arches

Most of the arches are made up of soft red sandstone that was deposited over 150 million years ago

Major geological features include delicate arch which you can also find on Utah license plates balanced rock double arch and fiery furnace The easiest way to do arches is to drive There a scenic drive that runs through the heart of the park It starts in Moab Canyon at the park entrance and goes all the way to Devil Garden

There's stops along the road with short trails to see the sights. You can see Balanced Rock, the windows, Turret Arch, and Sand Dune Arch easily this way

For a bit more of a challenge, there's a 1.5 mile trail that leads you to Delicate Arch

It's all on slick rock, which gets really slippery, so make sure to wear your hiking shoes

If you're feeling really ambitious, you can hide Devil's Garden Trail. It's a 7.7 mile loop that leads you past seven of the park's major arches

Be sure to bring lots of water, especially if you're hiking in the summer. Park rangers recommend at least a gallon per person

Last time I visited, I did this and I still got heat stroke, so be careful out there

next up is canyonlands national park canyonlands is known for being big it's 340 000 acres in total

there are three main areas of the park number one is island in the sky it's a mesa rising 2 000 feet

up from the valley floor the second is the needles marked by red and white pinnacles 400 feet tall

and third is the maze a remote region at the very edge of the park the most accessible part of the

park is the island in the sky. You can drive right along the top of it and see

all the canyons in the valley below. The scale of this place is truly breathtaking

For more of a challenge, go to the Needles. There's a popular 5.5 mile trail

called Confluence Overlook Trail and then there's also the more scenic 2.5

mile Slick Rock Trail. This area has formations like Molar Rock, Angel Arch

and Pothole Point. If you head Western Canyonlands, eventually you'll hit Capitol Reef National Park

Even though it in the middle Capitol Reef is the most remote of the five parks It named for a colorful section of cliffs near the Fremont River that look like an ocean reef and also for its domed white rock formations that look a little bit like the U Capitol Building The park is full of these massive domes and canyons Two people groups left their mark on

Capitol Reef, the Fremont Tribe and Mormon pioneers. The Fremont were an ancient people

group who lived here from about 300 to 1300 Common Era. Why they left is still debated by scholars

The Fremont are known for their beautiful rock art, also called petroglyphs

Almost 600 years later, Mormon pioneers settled in the area and established a town called Fruta at what is now the center of the park

Like arches, Capitol Reef has a scenic drive that runs straight through the park

The roadside is dotted with old pioneer structures and viewing decks to see the petroglyphs on the side of the cliffs

You'll also see fantastic rock formations this way. Deeper in the park, there are two excellent hikes

The Rim Overlook Trail is a little over two miles along the clifftops and it gives you a great view of Fruita in the valley below

Or you can hike 1.7 miles up to Cassidy Arch, which is actually named for Butch Cassidy, the famous outlaw who is said to have a hideout up in the canyon

The fourth park is Bryce Canyon National Park. Bryce is known for its distinctive hoodoos, which are tall, thin rock spires that stick up from a basin or a badland

Badland. The park has the greatest concentration of hoodoos on earth. Bryce runs along the edge of

the Posagant Plateau, which drops off sharply into a dense amphitheater of seemingly endless

rock formations. Famous formations include Thor's Hammer, Wall Street, and Queen's Garden

You can see many of the sights in Bryce by driving along the top of the plateau. If you start at Bryce Point, you can see the grottos, the alligator, and the sinking ship

From here, you can drive to Inspiration Point, then Sunset Point, where you can see Thor's Hammer

and Silent City. If you're looking for more of a challenge, hike the Navajo Loop Trail

combined with the Queens Garden Trail This gives you a nice 2 mile loop into the canyon below Or if you really wanna level up you can do the strenuous eight mile Fairyland Loop Trail

and that'll take you past all the hoodoos your heart could ever desire

Last, but probably the most popular, is Zion National Park. Zion's a massive canyon surrounded by sheer cliffs

Mormon pioneers called the rocks natural temples of God and gave the park its name

The walls of Zion were made by millions of years flowing water cutting through red and white beds of Navajo sandstone. You can

drive through the park by taking the Zion Mount Carmel tunnel. It's a famous mile-long tunnel straight through the cliffs and it'll take you to the Zion

Canyon Scenic Drive. The most famous part of the park is the Narrows where

canyon walls are 2,000 feet high. You can see it by taking the two-mile paved

river sidewalk. The best view in Zion is Angels Landing. It's a high open spire

rock at the end of a 2.5 mile hike on the very edge of a cliff. According to the guidebooks

if you're afraid of heights, you should definitely skip this one. So that's Utah's Mighty Five. Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, and Zion National Park

Now you know just enough to start planning your own adventure to all five. Thank you so much for

watching. These are some of my favorite places in the world, and I hope you can enjoy them just as

much as I do. If you want to find more adventures, BrightTrip.com is the place for you. It's a great

way to become a more informed and prepared traveler. If you're an avid road tripper like me

you'll love the course on how to road trip Southern Iceland. I'll see you on the road