The High Desert - Cacti and Canyons

From the red colored mesas to the towering cacti, the American Southwest’s colorful and diverse landscape is a must-see destination for any traveler.

Horshoe Bend in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Our journey to explore this incredible area consisted of a 14-day trip covering Arizona, Southern Utah, and Nevada. Along with the three states, we also explored 6 of America’s greatest National Parks.

The Drive

Our trip, a bit of a variant on the Grand Circle road trip, began in Phoenix, AZ. From Phoenix, we took the approximately 2 hr drive south into Tucson, AZ to visit the towering cacti of Saguaro National Park.

The namesake cacti of Saguaro National Park

The 92,000 acre Saguaro National Park, split into two distinct regions by the city of Tucson, provided a nearly private experience within both sides of the park. The sight of the magnificent Saguaro cactus with the Tucson Mountains to the west and the Rincon Mountains to the east, combined with the calls of the over 200 bird species within the park create a truly immersive experience within this gorgeous desert landscape.

The ancient petroglyphs of Saguaro National Park

Staying in Tucson is the most convenient way to see this great park as it places you within a 30 minute drive of both districts, and provides all the food and shopping options you could ask for. We spent 2.5 days walking among these icons of the southwest before we headed northeast through the incredible Salt River Canyon and into the exotic land of Petrified Forest National Park.

Welcome to Petrified Forest National Park

The 5 hour drive to Petrified Forest National Park took us away from the endless landscape of Saguaro cacti, and into a colorful, ancient world of the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. This park, full of bentonite clay badlands, fossilized logs from the Triassic Period, and its rich cultural history provided an excellent contrast to the mountainous, cactus-filled environment of Saguaro National Park.

Petrified wood of Petrified Forest National Park

As Petrified Forest National Park does not offer lodging within the park, we set up our home base in the town of Holbrook, Arizona. This small town located on historic Route 66 provides an array of food and shopping options for those post-park evenings.

Historic Route 66 runs right through Holbrook, AZ

Spending 2 full days within Petrified Forest National Park proved to be the perfect amount of time to explore the park in its entirety. Next, we took Route 40 (The Purple Heart Highway) west into Flagstaff for a quick stop for breakfast before heading north to the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.

The awe-inspiring beauty of the Grand Canyon

While most people are well aware of the Grand Canyon, seeing it in person is hard to put into words. The over 1 mile deep, 277 mile long chasm cutting through northern Arizona can literally take your breath away as you walk up to Mather Point (the vista which provides the first views for many visitors to the park) and look into the seemingly endless, colorful Canyon.

The incredible Bright Angel Trail at Grand Canyon National Park

We chose to stay outside the park in the Kaibab National Forest which provided a much needed reprieve from the nearly 5 million tourists that visit this marvelous landscape.

The Desert View Watchtower at the east end of Grand Canyon National Park

Aside from exploring the South Rim from the Rim trail, we chose to truly dive into the untamed wilderness of the Grand Canyon and hike below the Rim on the South Kaibab and Bright Angel trails. Venturing down these steep, windy, and fully exposed trails will provide you with uninterrupted views of this incredible park.

Parker staring into the void of Grand Canyon National Park

For those not going Rim to Rim at Grand Canyon National Park, 2 days is a perfect amount of time to explore the overlooks and tackle a day hike into the Canyon. For us, we left the park through the East Entrance as we made our way out of Arizona and into Utah toward Bryce Canyon National Park. The scenic drive up Route 89 N takes you right through the scenic Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, which provides access to the incredible Horshoebend and nearby Antelope Canyon. Entering Utah brings you into the town of Kanab. Kanab, aka “Little Hollywood” truly embodies the look and feel of the wild west, and offers adventures around every corner.

The striated slickrock in Kanab, UT

Stopping off at Horseshoe Bend, and then exploring Kanab provided a much needed break from the 5 hr drive between Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon National Park. The Sand Caves in Kanab, just over an hour from Bryce Canyon National park, provide an excellent opportunity to climb on the striking red rocks of this unique southern Utah town.

The unbelievable Sand Caves in Kanab, UT

Continuing our drive north into Bryce Canyon City, we entered the 4th National Park on our journey through the Southwest: Bryce Canyon National Park.

The multi-colored Hoodoo’s of Bryce Canyon National Park

We chose to drive directly to Sunset Point to get our first glimpse of the truly unique Hoodoo’s of Bryce Canyon National Park. The Amphitheater of Bryce Canyon National Park provides views of a sea of Hoodoo’s scattered across this wild landscape. During our 3.5 days at the nearly 36,000 acre park, we “hiked the hoodoo’s” to the fullest extent, and were able to explore every area of the park. For astrophotographers, Bryce Canyon National Park offers an incredible Dark Sky location for undisturbed views of the night sky.

The countless stars shine bright over Bryce Canyon National Park

Outside the park gates, Bryce Canyon City offers a range of activities to please any visitor. While we stayed a short drive away in the small town of Cannonville, we were able to explore the open land around Bryce Canyon City by ATV! Going through Bryce Canyon Off Road Rentals gave us the ability to truly enjoy the wide open space around Bryce Canyon National Park. Off Roading through Dixie National Forest and the surrounding areas was also a nice change of pace from our many days spent on the trail.

Non-stop smiles off-roading around Bryce Canyon National Park

After our time at Bryce Canyon National Park, it was time to head deep into the wilderness of southern Utah as we drove towards the small town of Torrey and into the incredibly off-the-grid Capitol Reef National Park

The out of this world landscape of Capitol Reef National Park

Capitol Reef National Park, the least visited and most remote of Utah’s Mighty Five, is 242,000 acres of rugged wilderness protecting the unusual Waterpocket Fold. While many people describe the landscape of Badlands National Park as “moon-like”, walking through Capitol Reef National Park may make you feel as if you are walking on Mars. The striking red hues of sandstone in Capitol Reef National Park truly give you the feeling of being on a different planet.

The Freemont River cuts through the heart of Capitol Reef National Park

As there are no lodging options with the park, we chose to stay just beyond the park entrance at the Capitol Reef Resort. The resort provides an array of lodging options, all of which offer an incredible view of the park. Additionally, they offer the truly unique Llama hiking experience, which is a truly fun way to hit the trails with a furry companion!

A Llama hike through a wash at Capitol Reef National Park

While we spent 3 days exploring the wild and wonderful Capitol Reef National Park, this is a park that one could spend weeks in and never fully see the entirety of the park. As we had to bid farewell to this fantastic park, we made the 4 hour drive to the spectacular Zion National Park.

The fertile valley and towering walls of Zion National park

Coming from the near desolate location of Capitol Reef National Park to the crowded streets of Springdale, UT, brought a bit of culture shock to our family. The beauty of Zion National Park just cannot be overstated even when confronted with the well known crowds of the park.

The many switchbacks leading to Angel’s Landing at Zion National Park

We were fortunate enough to stay directly across from the entrance gate to Zion National Park which provided easy and immediate access to the Zion shuttle system for travel through the park. While the nearly 5 million visitors to this park is immediately obvious, the majesty of this 146,000 acre landscape should be experienced by any outdoor aficionado.

The unique Checkerboard Mesa in Zion National Park

We spent 2.5 days in Zion National Park, which provided plenty of time to explore the Zion Canyon and the scenic East Zion region of the park. We also wanted to get outside of our comfort zone (as if Angel’s Landing isn’t enough) and did an excellent via ferrata climb through ROAM Outdoor in Zion’s East Region. For anyone on the fence about a via ferrata, I highly suggest it, as the thrill of standing atop the gorgeous red rocks of Southern Utah is second to none!

The iron rungs of the via ferrata at Zion National Park

As our time in Zion National Park came to an end, it was time to make our way to Las Vegas to prepare for our flight home. On our way to Las Vegas, we made a quick stop at the phenomenal Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, rented some sleds and sandboards, and had a blast enjoying the vibrantly colored dunes just a short drive from Zion National Park.

The brightly colored Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park

While we have learned over the years that cities are not really our thing, the convenience of Las Vegas to this spectacular region cannot be denied. We were able to catch the fabulous Beatles Love Show, as well as visit the engineering marvel: The Hoover Dam.

The dropping water levels of Lake Mead at Hoover Dam

Over our 14 days through the American Southwest, we traveled over 1300 miles, hiked nearly 120 miles of trail, explored 6 jaw-dropping National Parks, and spent time in 3 great states. The unbelievable diversity, ruggedness, and unbelievable beauty of the region makes it clear why this is such a heavily visited region of the world. For us, this trip marked a new appreciation for mystical allure of the high desert fo the American Southwest.

Capitol Reef National Park