4 Day Itinerary for Southwest Utah (National Parks, Small Towns, + State Parks)

If you’re planning a trip to the Zion/Bryce area of Utah and only have a few days in the area, look no further. Below you’ll find the actual items from the Word Document I put together for a recent trip to Utah. During our 4 days we visited 2 National Parks and 3 State Parks in both Utah and Nevada. We hiked about 10 miles and were able to visit a variety of restaurants and local coffee shops. Overall, it was a wonderful long weekend!

Day 1 – NV & UT State Parks

• Book an early flight into Las Vegas
• If you’re from the east coast, stop at Dutch Bros on your way out of town
• Drive 45 Minutes to Valley of Fire State Park and check out one of the below trails
  • White Domes Trail 1.1 miles
  • Rainbow Vista – 1 mile 
  • Petrified Logs Loop – .3 miles
• Leave around lunch and check out one of these spots for lunch as you head toward Utah
  • Mesquite
    • Los Lupes Mexican 
    • La Fonda
    • Cafe Rio
    • Ponchos Taco Shop 
  • St George
    • The Avenire Hotel
    • George’s Corner Restaurant and Pub 
    • Morty’s Cafe Burgers 
    • Irmitas Casita Mexican 
• Drive 2 Hours to Snow Canyon State Park and check out one of the below trails
  • Jenny’s Canyon – .3 Miles
  • Butterfly, Lava, Petrified Loop Trail – 2.8 Miles 
  • Pioneer Names Trail – .4 Miles
• Purchase the Zion + Bryce GPS GuideAlong Audio Tour and turn it on a bit east of St. George. This is a MUST DO.
• Drive 2 Hours to Zion Mountain Ranch + Check In
• Have dinner at the Cordwood restaurant on site and then relax for the evening

Day 2 – Zion + Kanab

• Wake up early and drive about 30 minutes to the Zion Visitor Center. If you didn’t listen to the Guide Along Tour the day prior, turn it on when you get in the car!
• Choose one of the below hikes !
  • Kayenta Trail to Pools – 4 miles
  • Scout Lookout – 3.6 miles
  • Emerald Pools – 3 miles  
  • The Watchman Trail – 3.1 miles 
• Grab lunch at one of the spots in downtown Springdale
  • Oscars Cafe
  • Camp Outpost
  • Whiptail Grill 
  • Parkhouse Cafe
• Book a horseback ride through the hotel or another adventure for the afternoon
• Pick one of the below options for the evening
  • Option 1: Drive through Kolob which is another area of the park and grab dinner in Springdale on the way back
    • Kolob Canyon
      • Grapevine to Left Fork Falls – 2.2 Short 
      • Grapevine .6
      • Lava Point Overlook .1
      • Timber Creek Overlook 1.1
    • East
      • Zion Canyon Overlook – .9
      • Mary’s Pools 2.3
      • Petroglyphs to Slot Canyon 1.2
      • Shelf Canyon .7 
      • Clear Creek Wash 2.3 Miles – Slight slot canyon  
      • Cascade Falls 2.2 Miles
      • Goat Trail .7
      • Checkerboard Arch 1.1 
  • Option 2: Drive to Kanab while exploring along the way and grab dinner in town
    • Explore Kanab area
      • Toadstool hoodoos -1 mile hike 
      • Sand caves – 10 min from town. 1.2 miles round trip
      • Dinosaur tracks trail .7 miles
      • Upper Huntress Slot Canyon 2.6 miles 
      • Coral pink Sand Dunes State Park
    • Dinner Options
      • Rocking V Cafe – can join waitlist
      • Wild Thyme Cafe 
      • Brown Box Bakeshop 
      • Peekaboo Canyon wood Fired Pizza 
• Head back to the hotel and relax around the fire pits or on your porch for the evening
  

Day 3 – Bryce

• Drive just over an hour to Bryce Canyon for sunrise and listen to the information on the Guide Along audio tour along the way!
• Choose a hike in the park
  • Navajo to Queens Garden Trail – 3 miles
  • Wall Street and Queens Garden – 3.2 Miles
  • Fairyland Loop Trail – 7.9 Miles
  • Navajo Loop – 1.5 Miles
• Drive scenic road & visit the overlooks (if you’re using the audio guide, he will tell you which are the best to stop at and the history of them)
• Grab lunch
  • Bryce Canon
    • Bryce Canyon Lodge 
    • Hatch Station 
    • Arriba Mexican Grill 
  • Tropic
    • IDK BBQ
    • Stone Hearth Grill 
  • Escalante
    • Coffee at Kiva Koffeehouse (closed M and T)
• Drive to Kodachrome Basin State Park and do some hiking (one of my new favorite state parks)
  • Angels Palace Trail – 1.4 miles
  • Panorama Trail – 2.9 miles
  • Grand Parade – 2.1 miles
• Head back toward the lodge and either grab dinner at the Cordwood if you haven’t yet, or check out one of the other towns like Panguitch, Orderville, or Mount Carmel for dinner on your way back

Day 4 – Head Home 

• Check out of the Zion Mountain Ranch
• Stop at Deep Creek Coffee in Springdale for breakfast
• If you have more time before you flight, you can check out some of the areas below
  • Visiting Hoover Dam
  • Explore Snow Canyon State Park
  • Check out Valley of Fire State Park 
  • Visit Las Vegas
  • See Lake Mead
  • Check out Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area

Extending Your Trip

If you have more than 4 days in the area, there’s a lot of other areas to explore in Utah and Arizona including:

• Capitol Reef National Park – 2 hours 30 min
• Grand Canyon – 3 hours 30 min
• Goblin Valley State Park – 4 hours
• Arches National Park – 4 hours 30 min
• Canyonlands National Park – 5 hours
• Monument Valley – 5 Hours
• Moab – 5 hours

If you have an extended amount of time in the area, you can check out what we did on our 12 Day Southwest Road Trip. We’ve been on multiple road trips since, including the one for our wedding and honeymoon in Alaska, and this one is STILL our favorite one.