Utah NP's

As a family of 4 with 9 year old children, we did the following:

Zion: 5 days and really, really, did NOT want to leave. We were hiking from sun up to sun down all days and didn't see all we wanted.

Capitol Reef: 2 nights and would have liked 3. But I didn't see need for any more than that.

Bryce: 2 nights. Why oh why did we give this one only two nights??? Between hiking and star gazing, we were on the run from sunrise to midnight or later. There were still several things we wanted to do.

This being said, we have friends that say they went to Bryce. They spent 2 hours there. Seeing the main overlooks or doing the drive through is kind of like looking at a snapshot. You can't "experience" the park that quickly.

Most of it's been said here. HOT in the summer so bring water. The weather will start to warm up in April. Take your time and enjoy! They are beautiful and so different from each other.

If you go to Arches and are able (it's strenuous), sign up IN ADVANCE for the Fiery Furnace ranger-led hike. It's awesome! In summer it begins at 9am and some of it will be shaded but it will still be hot.

Fiery Furnace Hike in Arches

Depends on how active you want to be. If you just drive to all the viewpoints and take photos you can be in and out of each in a day. If you want to walk, dayhike and explore you're good for 2, 3, 4 days at each place, depending. Each NP is so unique and beautiful in its own way that taking your time will reward you with lots of great photos and memories.

What do you mean by "to do" a park? Escorted tours typically "do" Arches and Canyonlands on the same day, then move on toward southern Utah. Because of distances and congestion, Bryce and Zion usually get a day each with an overnight in between. Clientele for these tours does not usually spend much time off the bus, in the heat of summer (May-October).

People who go to Canyonlands to drive the trails often spend two or three days in the park, depending on how much they choose to drive. Similarly, there can be two or more days hiking in Arches, if hiking is what you do, depending on how many trails you want to hike.

Capital Reefs, few tour catch that one, but you can get across the middle in one day with an hour's stop at the visitor center, or you can spend almost a week back-country hiking the longest trail.

Ken is right on - as usual. Depends on what your wants and needs are and how well you are equipped. We have spent many visits to each of different lengths.

How much do you like to hike? It's not possible to make a generalization without know what activity level you are looking for.

For parts of Canyonlands, one needs a 4x4 and I don't know whether you have access to one. One can rent for a day or two, but if you have your own, you can go a lot more places.

Also as noted, it is hot in the summer which restricts how much one can accomplish. Give us some idea as to when you will be there.

Check the itinerary for the Great Western Parks tour by Adventure Caravans to see how many days the experts spend at each location.

It was JULY when we visited both Arches and Zion (not by choice - it was the only time we could make that trip work...). Yes - HOT - "but it's a dry heat.." :) Many hikes in Arches and Zion - so much depends on what you want to do. 3 days would be doable at each one. ST

If you are going to do some hiking when visiting these parks, keep Zion high on the list, followed by Bryce and Arches. We liked the bus system in Zion, no need to worry about traffic or parking, buses come along very often and are free.