Day 1: Las Vegas Arrival & Gear Up

Arrive in Las Vegas. Pick up your rental car and stock up on supplies — this is your last opportunity to buy cheap gear. Visit an REI or Walmart to stock a road trip box: cases of water (you’ll need them), snacks, sunscreen, a cooler, and a first-aid kit. Check into your Vegas accommodation and enjoy one last Strip evening — you won’t see anything resembling nightlife for the next week. If you have time, visit the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign for the obligatory photo.

Accommodation: Las Vegas ($30-60/night budget).

Day 2: Valley of Fire & St. George

Drive 1 hour northeast from Las Vegas to Valley of Fire State Park ($15/vehicle). The name says it all — 40,000 acres of fiery red Aztec sandstone, carved by wind into petrified dunes and beehive formations. The Fire Wave Trail (1.5 miles, moderate) leads to a swirling sandstone formation that looks like a frozen ocean. Stop at Mouse’s Tank Trail for ancient petroglyphs etched into the rock by the Paiute people.

Continue east on I-15 to St. George, Utah (1 hour). St. George is the gateway to Zion and a good resupply point. Visit the St. George Temple visitors’ center (beautiful gardens, free) and walk the historic downtown. Early dinner and an early night — tomorrow you hit Zion.

Transport: Rental car (2 hours total driving).

Entry: Valley of Fire ($15/vehicle).

Day 3: Zion National Park

Drive 45 minutes east from St. George to Zion National Park. Zion is one of America’s most popular parks — arrive at the visitor center by 7:30 AM to get parking. Take the free Zion Canyon Shuttle into the main canyon. Angels Landing (5.4 miles round trip, strenuous, requires a permit — apply at recreation.gov months in advance) is the most famous hike, with chains bolted into a narrow spine of rock. If you don’t have a permit, hike Observation Point (8 miles, strenuous but no permit needed, views looking DOWN onto Angels Landing).

For an easier option, walk the Riverside Walk (2.2 miles, paved) along the Virgin River to the entrance of the Narrows. The Zion–Mount Carmel Highway drive through the 1.1-mile tunnel is an experience in itself. Stay in Springdale (just outside the park entrance).

Entry: Zion NP ($35/vehicle or America the Beautiful pass).

Transport: Park shuttle (free, runs March–November).

Day 4: Bryce Canyon National Park

Drive 2.5 hours northeast from Zion to Bryce Canyon National Park. Bryce is famous for its hoodoos — thousands of spire-shaped rock formations in shades of orange, pink, and white. Stop at Sunrise Point or Sunset Point for your first view — it’s like looking at an amphitheatre of stone giants. Hike the Navajo Loop + Queens Garden Trail (3 miles, moderate) — this combines the two best trails into a loop that descends among the hoodoos and gives you a completely different perspective looking UP.

Drive the full 18-mile scenic road to Rainbow Point at the park’s southern end (8,000 feet elevation). On a clear day, you can see the Vermilion Cliffs 60 miles south. Stop at Natural Bridge (a natural arch, not a bridge, 0.2 mile from the road) and Farview Point for the best panorama. Stay in Bryce Canyon City or Tropic (small towns right outside the park).

Entry: Bryce Canyon ($35/vehicle, America the Beautiful pass).

Day 5: Capitol Reef National Park

Drive 2 hours northeast from Bryce to Capitol Reef National Park — the least visited of Utah’s Mighty 5 and in some ways the most spectacular. The park protects the Waterpocket Fold, a 100-mile-long wrinkle in the Earth’s crust. Drive the Scenic Drive (out and back, $20/vehicle, or America the Beautiful pass). The road ends at Capitol Gorge — a narrow canyon with pioneer inscriptions from the 1880s carved into the canyon walls.

Visit the Fruita Historic District — a Mormon pioneer settlement with orchards where you can pick your own fruit (apples, peaches, cherries, depending on season, $3/hour). The Fruita Schoolhouse and Gifford Homestead sell excellent pies ($5/slice, the cherry and apple pies are legendary). Hike the Grand Wash Trail (2.5 miles one way, easy, shuttle back) through a narrow slot canyon. Stay in Torrey, a small town 10 miles east of the park with excellent restaurants for such a remote location.

Entry: Capitol Reef ($20/vehicle or America the Beautiful pass).

Day 6: Scenic Highway 12 to Moab

Drive Scenic Highway 12 from Torrey to Boulder — one of the most beautiful drives in America. The road climbs over the Boulder Mountain plateau with views of the Aquarius Plateau and the Henry Mountains. Stop at the Hogsback, a narrow ridge with sheer drops on both sides. In Boulder, visit Anasazi State Park Museum ($7) to see an excavated Ancestral Puebloan village.

Continue on Highway 12 through Escalante and Calf Creek Falls Recreation Area ($7) — the 3-mile hike to Lower Calf Creek Falls leads to a 126-foot waterfall in a desert canyon, one of the best hikes in Utah. The water is cold and perfect for a swim. Continue east on Highway 24 to Moab (3 hours from Boulder). Check into your Moab accommodation — you’ll be here for three nights.

Transport: Rental car (5 hours total from Torrey to Moab, but the scenic stops make it a full day).

Day 7: Arches National Park

Drive 10 minutes north from Moab to Arches National Park ($35/vehicle or America the Beautiful pass). The park protects over 2,000 natural stone arches, the highest concentration in the world. Start early (before 8 AM) to beat the crowds and heat. Drive the 18-mile scenic road to the end. At each stop, you can walk 0.2-1.5 miles to see dozens of arches.

Must-see arches: Delicate Arch (3 miles round trip, strenuous, no shade — go at sunrise or sunset for the photo and cooler temperatures). Double Arch (0.5 mile, easy, two massive arches sharing a common base). Landscape Arch (1.6 miles round trip, easy, the longest arch in the park at 306 feet — it’s so thin you wonder how it holds). The Windows Section (1 mile loop) has North and South Windows plus Turret Arch in one easy walk. Stay in Moab for a third night.

Entry: Arches ($35/vehicle or America the Beautiful pass).

Accommodation: Moab ($70-120/night for these 3 nights).

Day 8: Canyonlands National Park

Drive 30 minutes southwest from Moab to Canyonlands National Park — Island in the Sky District ($35/vehicle or America the Beautiful pass). This is the most accessible section of Canyonlands, perched on a mesa 1,000 feet above the surrounding canyons. The views are jaw-dropping — the Green River and Colorado River have carved a labyrinth of canyons below you.

Drive the Grand View Point Road with stops at every pull-off. Mesa Arch (0.5 mile, easy) is one of the most photographed spots in the Southwest — the arch frames a drop and the distant La Sal Mountains. Grand View Point (2 miles round trip) gives a 360-degree perspective of the entire canyon system. Upheaval Dome (1.8 miles round trip) is a mysterious crater — scientists still debate if it’s a meteor impact or a salt dome collapse. Return to Moab for a third night.

Entry: Canyonlands ($35/vehicle or America the Beautiful pass).

Day 9: Monument Valley

From Moab, drive 2.5 hours south through Blanding and Bluff on US-191 to Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park ($20 per vehicle, 8 AM–5 PM). The red sandstone buttes of Monument Valley are among the most iconic images of the American West — you’ve seen them in every John Wayne movie. Drive the 17-mile unpaved scenic loop (allow 2 hours with stops). The road is washboard-rough but fine for a standard car if you go slowly.

Key viewpoints: John Ford’s Point (where the director filmed countless Westerns), The Three Sisters, and Artist’s Point for the classic silhouette shot of the mittens. Consider a Navajo-guided tour ($60-80/person, 2-3 hours) which takes you into areas of the valley the self-drive road doesn’t reach — the Anasazi ruins inside the park are spectacular. Stay in Kayenta (10 miles south, the only real town nearby).

Entry: Monument Valley ($20/vehicle, Navajo Tribal Park pass).

Accommodation: Kayenta ($80-130/night) or The View Hotel ($200+, right inside the park with butte views).

Day 10: Page – Antelope Canyon & Horseshoe Bend

Drive 2 hours south from Kayenta to Page, Arizona. Page sits on the Colorado River at the Utah-Arizona border and is the base for two of the most photographed places in the Southwest. First: Antelope Canyon. This narrow slot canyon is a Navajo Tribal Park — you must visit with a guided tour ($50-80/person, 1-1.5 hours). Upper Antelope Canyon is wider with famous light beams (best at 11 AM–1 PM May–September). Lower Antelope Canyon is narrower, less crowded, and involves climbing stairs (better for photographers, no light beams). Book online weeks in advance.

Drive 10 minutes south of Page to Horseshoe Bend ($10 parking fee) — a 270-degree meander of the Colorado River, 1,000 feet below. The 0.75-mile walk from the parking lot is across loose sand — it’s harder than it looks. The view at the end is worth it. For sunset, drive to Glen Canyon Dam overlook (free) or Wahweap Overlook on Lake Powell.

Transport: Rental car (2 hours driving).

Entry: Antelope Canyon tour ($50-80), Horseshoe Bend ($10 parking).

Day 11: Grand Canyon South Rim

Drive 2.5 hours south from Page to Grand Canyon National Park (South Rim). Enter through the east entrance (Desert View) — the first view as you approach the canyon is spectacular. Stop at Desert View Watchtower (free) for 360-degree views. Drive the 25 miles west along the rim to Grand Canyon Village, stopping at viewpoints along the way: Lipan Point, Moran Point, and Grandview Point.

Take the free Hermit Road shuttle from the Village west to Hopi Point, Pima Point, and Hermits Rest. The canyon looks different at every stop. If you want to hike into the canyon, the South Kaibab Trail to Ooh Aah Point (1.8 miles round trip) gives you a sense of being inside the canyon without a full-day commitment. Watch sunset at Hopi Point or Yaki Point — the canyon layers turn from red to purple to deep blue. Stay in Grand Canyon Village or Tusayan.

Entry: Grand Canyon ($35/vehicle or America the Beautiful pass — if you bought the pass, you’re covered).

Day 12: Grand Canyon Sunrise & Departure

One final sunrise at the South Rim. Mather Point and Yaki Point are the classic spots. The park shuttle starts at 4:30 AM in summer. Watching the first light hit the canyon walls is the perfect punctuation for this 12-day journey through the American desert.

After sunrise, walk a final section of the Rim Trail between Mather Point and Maricopa Point. Visit the Grand Canyon Visitor Center if you haven’t already. Then begin your drive to either Flagstaff (1.5 hours, limited flights from FLG) or Las Vegas (4.5 hours, major hub). Flagstaff is a lovely mountain town worth a brief stop — the historic downtown has a Route 66 vibe, good coffee shops, and a walkable railroad district.

Departure: Fly out of LAS (most connections) or FLG (limited, via Phoenix/Denver).