Utah Mighty 5 Itinerary: 7 Days or 10?

The seven-day version gives you a useful introduction to each park. The ten-day version adds nights in Moab, Torrey, and Bryce Canyon City. It keeps the same four bases, so three extra days do not create more hotel changes.

Two complete trips with identical airport gateways

The extra three days buy 12 additional activity hours in this worked plan. They also add 2 hours 30 minutes of local driving because you make longer park visits and return to the same hotel. Ten days spreads the work more comfortably; it does not magically remove the miles.

Build your Utah route with Xploreum using the version that fits your leave allowance. Start with the four bases above, then change the hiking pace or flights before adding more destinations.

What these numbers include

Both versions assume a regular passenger car, hotels in the named towns, and travel in late April, May, September, or early October, subject to actual conditions. Day 1 assumes a flight landing in Salt Lake City by about 10 a.m., with the rental car ready by noon. The last day assumes a Las Vegas flight at 4 p.m. or later. Long international arrivals, jet lag, or late flights can justify an airport night and an additional calendar day.

The shared base-to-base driving allowance is 17 hours: Salt Lake City Airport to Moab 4 hours 30 minutes; Moab to Torrey 3 hours 30 minutes; Torrey to Bryce Canyon City via UT-12 3 hours 30 minutes; Bryce Canyon City to Springdale via US-89 and UT-9 2 hours 30 minutes; Springdale to Las Vegas Airport 3 hours. The daily tables add park roads and local excursions. They exclude meals, fuel stops, airport formalities, entrance queues, and unexpected road delays.

Activity time means walking, looking at overlooks, and visiting park exhibits. Shuttle rides and waiting do not count. Allow another 90 minutes for meals and ordinary breaks on a park day, and about two hours for Zion's canyon shuttle travel and waiting. These are planning budgets, not measured performance. If your dates or vehicle require a different road, recalculate before booking.

Moab serves Arches and Canyonlands' Island in the Sky district. Keep both parks under one hotel reservation. This itinerary does not include the Needles district or a drive on the White Rim Road; those would change the trip substantially.

Torrey puts you beside the Capitol Reef portion of the journey and at the northern end of the UT-12 transfer. Bryce Canyon City keeps your Bryce morning close to the amphitheater. Springdale gives you a practical base for Zion's south entrance and the town shuttle. Compare the exact hotel location, parking charges, and cancellation terms, not just the nightly rate.

Book the car as a one-way Salt Lake City to Las Vegas rental. Check the final price with the different return location selected. A cheaper flight combination can lose its advantage once the rental arrangement and extra hotel night are included.

Seven days, six nights, all five parks

Day 1: make Moab the destination

Drive from the airport via I-15, US-6, I-70, and US-191. The four-and-a-half-hour allowance is driving time; add a meal and a break. With the car ready at noon, plan to reach Moab around early evening. Check in, collect breakfast and lunch supplies, and leave the parks for tomorrow. An arrival-day sunset hike would depend on a flight, rental desk, traffic, and your energy all cooperating.

Day 2: Arches with a clear hiking choice

Start with Landscape Arch at Devils Garden, then work back through the park toward the Windows area. The Landscape Arch walk is 1.8 miles round trip; continuing beyond it introduces more difficult terrain. Turn around at Landscape Arch in the default plan.

Later, combine the one-mile Windows route with the 0.6-mile Double Arch walk. Pause at Balanced Rock and the Park Avenue viewpoint as time permits. Five activity hours allow you to look around without treating every stop as a timed photograph.

If Delicate Arch is your priority, replace Landscape Arch and some viewpoint time with that hike. The NPS describes Delicate Arch as a strenuous three-mile round trip with exposed slickrock and a narrow ledge. It is a different commitment from viewing arches close to the road. Make it the day's main walk, with a lighter afternoon.

Day 3: Canyonlands, then the longest transfer

Leave Moab around 7 a.m. for Island in the Sky via US-191 and UT-313. Walk to Mesa Arch, visit the Grand View Point overlook, and stop at Green River Overlook. The Mesa Arch trail is 0.6 miles round trip. The full Grand View Point trail would take a larger share of this short visit, so save it for the ten-day version.

Continue toward Torrey by returning to US-191 and using I-70 and UT-24 through Hanksville. The day's 5 hours 45 minutes comprises the shared 3-hour-30-minute Moab to Torrey leg plus 2 hours 15 minutes for the Canyonlands diversion. Add three activity hours and 90 minutes of breaks: this is a 10-hour-15-minute day. Have lunch packed and avoid adding Dead Horse Point or Goblin Valley to the transfer.

Day 4: Capitol Reef before the UT-12 drive

Begin early at Hickman Bridge. The park's trail guide lists 0.9 miles each way and 400 feet of elevation change. Allocate roughly two of today's activity hours to the walk. Use the remainder for Fruita and short stops on the 7.9-mile paved Scenic Drive. Turn around where the paved portion ends; dirt spur roads are outside this worked route.

Return through Torrey, then follow UT-12 over Boulder Mountain, through Boulder and Escalante, to Bryce Canyon City. The day includes 1 hour 45 minutes of Capitol Reef driving and the 3-hour-30-minute transfer. With meals and breaks, allow almost ten hours overall. Reach your hotel before adding any optional Bryce evening visit. If you start late, shorten the Capitol Reef stops instead of rushing the mountain road.

Day 5: Bryce from the rim, then Springdale

Walk the one-mile round trip between Sunset and Sunrise Points, then visit Bryce Point. This gives you several angles into the amphitheater while preserving time for the next drive. The three-hour activity budget does not also include a long descent among the hoodoos.

After lunch, take UT-12 to US-89 and UT-9 toward Zion's east entrance and Springdale, provided the road and your vehicle are permitted. Keep this afternoon for the transfer and check-in. The route's road caveats and an alternative approach appear below.

Day 6: Zion without a permit-dependent centerpiece

Start with the canyon shuttle and Riverside Walk from Temple of Sinawava. Turn around at the paved trail's end to keep this a dry walk. Later, use the Grotto Trail between the Grotto and Zion Lodge, then return toward the visitor center for a comfortable portion of Pa'rus Trail.

The five activity hours include time looking at the canyon and resting along the walks. Keep shuttle travel separate: the NPS gives about 45 minutes each way between the visitor center and Temple of Sinawava, before waiting or intermediate stops. Leave enough margin to return well before the last bus.

Day 7: protect the departure

Leave Springdale in the morning via UT-9 and I-15 for Las Vegas Airport. Budget three hours driving plus a break, rental return, and the check-in window your airline requires. A flight from 4 p.m. onward gives useful margin; a morning flight calls for a Las Vegas hotel on night six and a shorter Zion day. Use the local times on your flight and hotel confirmations when crossing state lines.

The longer version retains the same direction and gateways. It gives Canyonlands its own day, separates Capitol Reef hiking from the UT-12 transfer, and adds a proper Bryce hiking day.

Ten days, nine nights, with the extra time assigned

What the extra nights actually change

Moab's third night: Canyonlands no longer shares a day with a hotel transfer. The full Grand View Point and White Rim Overlook walks are each 1.8 miles round trip. Together with Mesa Arch, they give you several distinct rim perspectives. Shorten this menu if heat, wind, or your group's walking pace calls for it. There is no need to descend from the mesa.

Torrey's second night: the arrival afternoon becomes a gentle introduction to Fruita. On the full park day, combine Hickman Bridge with the Scenic Drive and the Fremont River Trail. The latter starts gently and then climbs; the NPS lists one mile each way and 480 feet of elevation change. Turn back before the climb for a shorter walk. Fruit picking and Gifford House purchases depend on season and operations; check Capitol Reef's current information rather than making them essential to lunch.

Bryce's second night: use the cool morning for the 2.9-mile Queen's Garden and Navajo combination, descending from Sunrise Point and returning via Two Bridges to Sunset Point. It gains 625 feet and needs about two to three hours under ordinary conditions. Then drive toward Rainbow and Yovimpa Points, visiting selected overlooks on the return. The Southern Scenic Drive has its own road and weather constraints, so the rim remains the fallback.

If Zion is your main reason for coming, move Bryce's second night to Springdale. You gain another Zion day but lose the separate Bryce hiking day described here. Recalculate the daily activity allocation instead of assuming both fit. Similarly, a second Arches morning would use part of another park's allowance.

Book flights and the one-way car together, then reserve the four bases. Check essential access arrangements before making accommodation nonrefundable. The core walks above do not require winning an Angels Landing lottery or obtaining a Fiery Furnace booking.

Arches: the official 2026 guidance removes advance timed-entry reservations, but congestion can still temporarily restrict entrance. Campground and Fiery Furnace arrangements remain separate. That 2026 announcement does not establish the policy for 2027.

Zion: shuttles currently require no reservation, and private cars generally cannot use Zion Canyon Scenic Drive while the shuttle operates. Consult the schedule for your dates; a full 2027 schedule was not established by the pages checked. Angels Landing's chains section requires a permit. Treat it as a replacement for a substantial part of a Zion day if you obtain one.

The Bryce to Zion road: Zion announced the Mount Carmel Highway's reopening on October 9, 2026, with temporary gravel repairs. This is a dated condition, not a guarantee for your trip. The park also enforces vehicle dimensions and weight limits. For a closure, unsuitable rental terms, or an oversized vehicle, use the official Highway 20 and I-15 alternative to approach Springdale from the west. Replace the 2-hour-30-minute transfer allowance with at least 3 hours 30 minutes, then verify live routing and weather.

The current pass calculation for this route

Using the private-car fees displayed on October 12, 2026, separate admission totals $150: Arches $30, Canyonlands $30, Capitol Reef $20, Bryce $35, and Zion $35. Both plans include Capitol Reef's paid Scenic Drive.

The current America the Beautiful annual passes cost $80 for eligible US citizens and residents and $250 for nonresidents. Two nonresident adults aged 16 or older paying separately would add $400 in combined Bryce and Zion surcharges, bringing this example to $550. The $250 nonresident annual pass covers entrance and applicable nonresident fees for its holder and passengers in a private vehicle. These figures concern admission, not lodging, camping, parking, tours, or future guaranteed prices.

Spring and autumn are useful starting points, but the elevation differences matter. Bryce can receive snow in October and heavy spring snow in March or April. Its below-rim trails and southern road can need a different plan from the warmer parks. If trails are icy, retain open rim viewpoints and remove the descent.

In summer, shorten exposed walks and make early starts; Zion reports summer temperatures regularly above 100°F. The seven-day version has little room to replace hiking hours lost to heat. In winter, use fewer parks or more days instead of applying the same driving and activity budgets to shorter daylight.

If UT-12 has unsuitable conditions, use a verified highway alternative and surrender optional stops. If Zion's river conditions are poor, keep the visit on open dry trails; Riverside Walk does not commit you to entering the Narrows. Current closures always take precedence over a named itinerary.

Choose two or three parks and remove the long Moab leg. A Las Vegas trip centered on Zion and Bryce, with Capitol Reef added only if the pace suits you, gives more time in each place. Use the Xploreum Zion and Bryce road-trip guide for that route. The all-five version is most useful when Arches and Canyonlands matter enough to justify the extra driving.

For the ten-day route, the extra cost is primarily three hotel nights, three more days of car rental, food, and additional fuel. Compare actual quotes using those quantities. You do not need to buy a second set of park admissions merely because the full vacation lasts ten days; the visits to each individual park remain consecutive and short.

Copy this prompt into Xploreum:

Start with Salt Lake City arrival, Moab, Torrey, Bryce Canyon City, Springdale, and Las Vegas departure, visiting all five Utah national parks. Compare seven calendar days with nights 2/1/1/2 against ten days with nights 3/2/2/2. Ask what I want to change: flight times, daily driving limit, hiking difficulty, budget, or park priorities. Keep airport days in the count, show the driving and activity totals, and identify which experience must be removed when something is added.

Use the resulting route to make your own bookings. For planning features and account options, see Xploreum's public FAQ. For dates that depend on a permit, keep the park permit calendar alongside the official park page.

• Visit Utah: Salt Lake to the Mighty 5 and the longer Mighty 5 journey, useful regional context. The schedules and calculations in this article are original planning models.
• Arches visit planning; individual NPS trail links appear beside their distances above.
• Canyonlands hiking; Capitol Reef conditions; Bryce conditions; Zion conditions.
• NPS entrance passes and the five linked park fee pages for the admission calculation.