Salt Lake City to Zion National Park Road Trip
On the way to Zion National National Park, stop at these other national parks and monuments on the way.
Explore this fun multi-day driving itinerary from Salt Lake City through Grand Staircase, Bryce Canyon, Zion and Cedar Breaks national park sites.
Start: Salt Lake City
Tradition and energy collide in Salt Lake. Find juxtaposition in Utah’s capital where tradition meets a progressive and energetic cultural scene.
Park City
Follow your trail in Park City, Utah. From mountain biking to al fresco dining to arts and culture, Park City, Utah, has a trail for everyone. Just outside Park City, experience what it’s like to be an Olympian at the 400-acre Utah Olympic Park.
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
Head for the scenic Utah Byway 12 from Boulder to Escalante and into Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. It’s rated one of the ten most scenic highways in the nation by Car and Driver Magazine.
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is named for the 5,500-foot stairstep-like rise of formations from the rim of the Grand Canyon and up to the Bryce and Escalante River canyons. And the monument is surrounded by state parks and recreation areas.
Want to travel more sustainably? Follow our eco-friendly vacation itinerary of this section of the road trip from Boulder, Utah to Zion National Park.
Bryce Canyon National Park
Explore Bryce Canyon National Park’s famous red rock spires and horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters. Bryce Canyon transcends 2,000 feet of elevation, and therefore exists in three distinct climatic zones: spruce/fir forest, Ponderosa Pine forest, and Pinyon Pine/juniper forest. Don’t miss our top seven viewpoints and five favorite hikes in the park.
Then discover the solitude you’ve been searching for just east of Bryce Canyon National Park in towns like Boulder and Escalante in Bryce Canyon Country.
Kanab, Utah
Kanab is Utah’s best-kept secret. Stay in the center of Utah’s wild country with national parks and monuments galore including White Pocket, The Wave and Buckskin Gulch. After you work up an appetite, sample Kanab’s truly incredible culinary scene.
Zion National Park
As visitors drive through Zion National Park, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the size and vertical orientation of the canyon walls that are all around you. You feel tiny considering the scale of your surroundings. Spend the day hiking one of the famous trails like the Emerald Pools, Angels Landing (Not for those scared of heights) or Zion Narrows (Be prepared to wade through water.) Also don’t miss our top three vistas in Zion National Park.
Cedar Breaks National Monument
Welcome to Utah’s “Dixie,” known for a mild climate and history as a pre-Civil War-era cotton growing region. There’s a 7,500-foot drop from the cool forest of Cedar Breaks National Monument to St. George on the edge of the Mohave Desert. This is “Color Country,” known for the vibrant hues of cliff faces and especially Zion National Park.
Cedar Breaks is a natural amphitheater, sort of a miniature Bryce Canyon. The canyon rim is 10,000 feet, so snow effectively shuts down the monument from October to May.
Nearby Cedar City hosts the annual Utah Shakespearean Festival, from late June to mid-October. Plays featured this season in repertory are: Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing, Pride and Prejudice, Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps and Great Expectations: A New Musical.
St. George is one of the fastest-growing communities in the country for the past 20 years, attracting retirees drawn by the mild winters. Just 43-miles east of St. George is Zion National Park.