Utah has the perfect road trip ingredients

A friend recently moved to Utah and until then we haven’t really considered it much as a destination. One can’ t deny the fact that, especially in the towns and cities, the LDS Church has had a tremendous impact on the state, but there is SO much more to Utah than SUV-driving suburbanites, drinking laws, and Mormons.

What a surprise when we discovered some of the most iconic landscapes in the United States, inspiring people and some of the best coffee yet found on our travels. Most people travel from Las Vegas in neighbouring Nevada to visit the national parks in southern Utah and combine it with a visit to the Grand Canyon, but you can do a roundtrip from SLC in 6 or 7 days and still fit in some of the most awe-inspiring sites of Utah.

Our visit centred around 4 places: Salt Lake, Moab, Monument Valley and Duck Creek Village. From Salt Lake we headed down to Moab via US-6, Highway 71 and US-191 – which is about 230 miles and took us about four hours including comfort stops. From Moab we continued down the US-191 to Monument Valley (approximately 150 miles and took about 3 hours with stops). From Monument Valley to Duck Creek Village is about 250 miles and took just over 4 hours. The final leg from Duck Creek Village to Salt Lake took 7 hours for a total distance of about 380 miles, including a detour via Zion National Park.

Salt Lake City and surrounds

From London we flew to Salt Lake City via Paris and spent an amazing white Christmas in and around the city. Salt Lake City, or just ‘Salt Lake’ or ‘SLC’, itself isn’t big to American standards and is home to about 180,000 people. The city is fortressed in by ginormous snowcapped mountains on the one side and the Great Salt Lake on the other – an impressive glittering sight as we came in to land at Salt Like City International Airport.

I struggled a bit with Salt Lake. Perhaps because it was winter and everyone was hiding indoors (or playing in the mountains), but it left a strange forlorn impression. The mountain backdrop is beautiful though and I felt drawn to the mountains rather than the city.

Antelope Island State Park is about an hour’s drive from the city on I-15 via the town of Syracuse and a great way to spend a day. We saw loads of wildlife, including buffalo, coyotes, and several bird species. We went in the off-season and Island Buffalo Grill was closed, but we still visited the Fielding Garr Ranch and drove around the island. It is a great way to see the Great Salt Lake.

Antelope Island State Park is about an hour's drive from Salt Lake City. — Antelope Island State Park is about an hour’s drive from Salt Lake City.

Since the 2002 Winter Olympics SLC is also one of the top skiing and snowboarding destinations in the world, in particular resorts like Park City (ski-lift right from the centre of town!) and Sundance Mountain Resort about an hour away. And it’s not just winter sports that attracts people here. Utah is now a mecca for outdoor fanatics, including mountain biking, hiking, fishing, camping and most other activities involving going fast downhill, slowly uphill or sleeping under canvas.

Park City is a vibrant ski-town a short drive from SLC. The ski-lifts begins right in the centre of town.

Moab

Originally a mining town, Moab these days are making a name amongst film makers and thrill seekers alike. It was the perfect base to day-trip into Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park.

A group selfie at the Canyonlands National Park entrance with our hosts and fellow travellers, Emile and Cecillia.

Choose your location and time well when visiting Canyonlands National Park as it gets very busy – even during winter as can be seen here at Mesa Arch.

People were dwarfed by a large and complete arch in the Windows section of Arches National Park.

Sarah’s choice of winter fashion was needed in Arches when temperatures dropped down to -14 degree centigrade.

Arches National Park on a bitterly cold winters day.

Petroglyphs left behind by early Native Americans southwest of Moab out on the Potash Road.

The Corona Arch was our favourite hike around Moab. It’s about a 6km round trip hike and you can also see the adjacent Bowtie Arch.

Monument Valley

We spent New Years at The View Hotel in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. It was a quiet, alcohol free (cough, cough) affair and an inspiring start to 2015. Winter is off-season for The View and it felt like it. We had a good stay, but occasionally we felt a bit neglected – like when the fire in the main reception area kept going out. Still, and with ‘that’ view from your balcony, there was no reason to hold grudges. (You might also want to read our full review on Tripadvisor.)

Duck Creek Village

Our last base was a wooden cabin at Duck Creek Village in the Dixie National Forest (where the outlaw Butch Cassidy hid from the law). Sheltered from the cold by a log fire and sipping story-laden bourbon late into the night, was perhaps the perfect way to end an unforgettable trip through Utah.

From Duck Creek we day-tripped around Dixie National Forest and into Bryce Canyon National Park. Bryce Canyon National Park is an eery landscape and wandering amongst the hoodoos was an almost spiritual experience.

Walking the Navajo Trail in Bryce Canyon National Park was another highlight. The fairy tale landscape and bright colours were surreal.

On our way back to Salt Lake we drove through Zion National Park and as it was winter (off season), we could do the popular scenic route in our own vehicle rather than by bus. Without the crowds it was easy to get around this amazingly beautiful park.

We didn't spend much time in Zion National Park, but it made for a perfect minor detour back to SLC. — We didn’t spend much time in Zion National Park, but it made for a perfect minor detour back to SLC.

Highlights

That view at Monument Valley. I’ve seen it a million times before in movies and on photos, but it still took my breath away.
The Navajo Trail at Bryce Canyon is a relatively easy hike, but take food and water as the height above sea level (2400 – 2700 meters) and steep inclines do take their toll.
Staying in a wood cabin at Duck Village and sitting and chatting late into the night by a log fire.

Viewing Monument Valley at night and a few days after full moon was a definitive highlight of the trip. These special moments are what travelling is all about.

The John Wayne hut at Goulding Trading Post, Monument Valley. Several classic John Ford westerns were filmed here.

Duck Creek Village in the Dixie National Forest, just off Scenic Highway 14.

An abandoned house in Grafton ghost town.

Crows are everywhere to be seen in southern Utah.

They made us do it! On a replica pioneer wagon at Bluff Fort.

Fine Print

The national parks are crowded, relatively so even in winter.
At Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park no alcohol is available. It is a shame as there is a fridge in each room and with that view, there’s perhaps no better sundowner location in the whole of southern Utah.

Other info

We travelled a total distance of 2414km over the course of 7 days. Utah’s road network is excellent, but don’t underestimate these distances.
Two days in Moab gives you enough time to do Canyonlands and Arches. We even went into Arches twice to get different light conditions at different times of the day. We were able to do several of the shorter walks and also two longer hikes.
Visiting the parks during the winter months is great on the one hand as you don’t have the heaving crowds, but on the other hand it was extremely cold and walking on compacted snow and ice was outright scary sometimes. Sarah even had a nasty fall and made us invest in Yaktrax for grip (check out our Gear section to get your own).
Two days for Monument Valley was perfect. It gave us enough time to relax and take in the view and also do a few shorter hikes. It also allowed me to take several great photographs at different times of the day under various light conditions.
Duck Creek Village is a good base to explore the Dixie National forest and also to do day trips into Bryce Canyon National Park.

And finally, along the way things got a bit weird…

Old registration plates on a fence somewhere along the road to Monument Valley.

And then selfie madness kicked in…

Published by Petrus