On this page
- Which are Utah's five national parks?
- In what order do you drive Utah's national parks?
- How many days does a Utah road trip need?
- When is southern Utah too hot or too snowy?
- What do the Utah parks cost a visitor from abroad?
- Which Utah parks need a booking in 2026?
- Is Monument Valley in Utah?
- What time is it in Utah?
- FAQ
Utah holds five national parks in the southern half of the state, and the best things to do in Utah are mostly inside them. They are the canyon at Zion, the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon, the orchards of Capitol Reef, the arches near Moab and the river canyons of Canyonlands.
All five line up along one Utah national parks road trip from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City. The order you drive them in decides how much of the trip is spent at the wheel.
Every figure below is from the National Park Service's own pages, checked on 26 October 2026, except the drive times marked as approximate.
Which are Utah's five national parks?
Utah's five national parks differ more than their shared red rock suggests, and each one has a town that works as its base. The visitor figures are the Park Service's counts for 2025.
| Park | What it is | Base town | Visits in 2025 | $100 surcharge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zion National Park | A deep sandstone canyon, walked from a shuttle | Springdale | 4,984,525 | Yes |
| Bryce Canyon | An amphitheatre of hoodoos, seen from the rim | Bryce Canyon City | 1,967,367 | Yes |
| Capitol Reef | The Waterpocket Fold, a ridge almost 100 miles long, and pioneer orchards | Torrey | 1,388,476 | No |
| Arches National Park | Over 2,000 stone arches, 5 miles from town | Moab | 1,511,740 | No |
| Canyonlands National Park | Canyons cut by the Colorado and Green rivers | Moab | 796,057 | No |
Zion takes almost half of all the visits to the five, and it feels like it in spring and autumn. Canyonlands takes the fewest, partly because its districts share no road between them. The Park Service advises seeing only one or two of them on a single trip.
Bryce Canyon changed how it counts visitors in 2025, so its figure cannot be compared with earlier years.
In what order do you drive Utah's national parks?
Utah's national parks are best driven from southwest to northeast. Fly into Las Vegas, start at Zion, and finish near Moab, four hours from Salt Lake City. That order follows the roads rather than crossing back over them, and it puts Scenic Byway 12, the most spectacular stretch, in the middle.
| Leg | Distance | Drive time |
|---|---|---|
| Las Vegas airport to Zion | about 170 miles | 2.5 to 3 hours, approximate |
| Springdale to Bryce Canyon | about 86 miles | about 2 hours |
| Bryce Canyon to Torrey (Capitol Reef), on Scenic Byway 12 | about 115 miles, approximate | about 3 hours |
| Torrey to Moab | about 156 miles | about 2 hours 45 minutes, approximate |
| Moab to Arches entrance | 5 miles | about 10 minutes |
| Moab to Canyonlands, Island in the Sky | 32 miles | about 40 minutes |
| Moab to Salt Lake City | about 234 miles | about 4 hours, approximate |
The Springdale to Bryce leg goes through the Zion–Mount Carmel tunnel. Since 7 June 2026, vehicles over 11 feet 4 inches tall, 7 feet 10 inches wide or 35 feet 9 inches long may not use that road at all. A large motorhome takes Highway 20 instead. The Park Service puts that route at 150 miles and two and a half hours.
Our Southwest national parks loop takes the other common shape. It runs Zion and Bryce, then south into Arizona for the town of Page, Arizona and the Grand Canyon, and back to Las Vegas.
How many days does a Utah road trip need?
A Utah road trip through all five national parks needs seven days at the least and ten to be comfortable. The legs above add up to roughly 700 miles, before any driving inside the parks.
- Zion: two days. One for the canyon floor and the shuttle, one for a long hike.
- Bryce Canyon: one day, with a night nearby for sunrise on the rim.
- Capitol Reef: half a day to a day, with the drive on Scenic Byway 12 taking the rest.
- Arches and Canyonlands: two to three days from a base in Moab.
- Travel days: one at each end, Las Vegas in and Salt Lake City out.
With five or six days, drop Capitol Reef and Canyonlands rather than rushing all five. The remaining three still make the classic trip. Arches and Zion are the two parks a short visit should not skip.
When is southern Utah too hot or too snowy?
Southern Utah is at its best in spring and autumn. The Park Service calls April to May and mid-September to October the most temperate and popular seasons at Arches, with daytime highs of 60 to 80°F.
Summer is hot at the low parks. July in Moab averages a high of 99°F on NOAA's normals. From July to September, monsoon storms can send flash floods through Zion's canyons from rain that falls 15 to 20 miles upstream. Zion closes the Narrows and the slot canyons when the risk is high.
Winter is cold at the high park. Bryce Canyon sits at 8,000 feet, with average December to February lows of 17 to 18°F and 15 to 20 inches of snow a month, on NOAA's normals for park headquarters. After a storm the road beyond the Mile 3 gate can close for a while until the plows reach it.
What do the Utah parks cost a visitor from abroad?
A visitor from abroad pays the non-resident surcharge at two of the five Utah parks, Zion and Bryce Canyon. Both appear on the list of eleven surcharge parks. The fee is $100 per person aged 16 or over, added to the $35 car fee at each.
| Two adults from abroad, one car | Without a pass | With the $250 non-resident pass |
|---|---|---|
| Zion | $235 | included |
| Bryce Canyon | $235 | included |
| Arches | $30 | included |
| Total | $500 | $250 |
Capitol Reef and Canyonlands add their own entrance fees without the pass, so the pass pays for itself well before the end of a five-park trip. Our guide to national park fees for international visitors covers how to buy it before the flight.
Which Utah parks need a booking in 2026?
Arches dropped its timed-entry reservations for 2026. Visitors now enter at any time during opening hours with a valid entrance pass. When the car parks fill, rangers may close specific locations or hold the entrance gate for a while. Fiery Furnace permits still need booking ahead. Devils Garden Campground takes reservations from March to October and is first come, first served from 1 November to February.
At Zion, the Angels Landing hike needs a permit all year for the chained section beyond Scout Lookout. The permit comes through a seasonal lottery or a day-before lottery on Recreation.gov. It costs $6 to apply and $3 per person if drawn.
Is Monument Valley in Utah?
Monument Valley sits on the Utah–Arizona border, across 91,696 acres of the Navajo Nation, but the visitor centre and the 17-mile Valley Drive are on the Arizona side; Goulding's and Mexican Hat are in Utah. It is a Navajo tribal park rather than a national park.
The Navajo Nation's park page lists an entry fee of $10 per person per day plus $15 per vehicle, raised on 1 January 2026. Our Monument Valley guide covers the drive, the tours and the clock.
The Mittens and Merrick Butte in Monument Valley at sunrise.
The national park pass is not accepted. Some landmarks, such as Ear of the Wind, can only be reached on a tour with a Navajo guide. The Navajo Nation also keeps daylight saving time in summer, unlike the rest of Arizona, which matters for tour times.
What time is it in Utah?
Utah keeps Mountain Time with daylight saving time, like Colorado. Arizona keeps Mountain Standard Time all year. From March to November, a clock in Zion therefore runs one hour ahead of a clock in Page or at the Grand Canyon, a short drive away.
In 2026 daylight saving ended on Sunday 1 November, after which Utah and Arizona show the same time until March.
