So much useful information! Weather and astronomy info posted daily to help you catch certain…read morenatural events at the right time. Bought my very own National Parks book! I'm a sticker gal, and I love to cross things off a checklist! For anyone who didn't double check like me, that brown National Parks book that has the retro designs in it...it comes with stickers! I didn't know, so I ended up buying another set for an extra $20. But it's alright because I'm supporting National Parks. Big shout out to TERRY! He was so kind and friendly, helped us plan our dark sky adventure. After a decade in healthcare, I am always so grateful when I meet a genuinely amazing person. Terry, you are absolutely one of the highlights of this Utah trip. Thank you for spreading positivity and kindness.

It's a nice spot to get information, buy maps, souvenirs and use restrooms. We looked at the free…read moreinformational brochures to get the information we were looking for. The associate seemed nice. She was helping some tourists. Street parking available.

This was my first time to Arches National Park. It was amazing weather in late October with a…read morelittle rain one morning but we took our time as did everyone else entering the park. Over 2 days we saw so many amazing national formations: Balanced Rock Window Loop Double Arch Double O arch Skyline arch Broken arch Tapestry arch Sand dune arch Navajo arch Partition arch Fiery furnace lookout Delicate arch Landscape arch Highly recommend spending at least 2-3 days exploring all the diverse terrain.

Make sure to fill up on water prior to entering in the park, water is located at the visitor's…read morecenter and Devils Garden. We spent two days at Arches. We started our visit at the Wolfe Ranch trail head to Delicate Arch. Parking is limited but we got lucky, overflow parking is 1 mile down the road. The hike is 3 miles round trip with a steady slope along the flat side of the rock. There is minimal sun on this hike so go early in the morning. The trek is worth it for the view of the arch. This was our favorite arch out of the whole park. We stopped at several quick lookouts along the way including Balanced Rock. We had permit reservations this day for the Fiery Furnace. Fiery Furnace is a maze where you try to find your way in and out, there are about 20 small arrows along the route to guide you, we all enjoyed this hike, it required critical thinking and climbing skills with narrow squeezes. Reservations for solo trips or ranger guided trips open 10am MDT at recreation.gov, permits sell out quick so be ready. The second day we walked part of Devil's Garden to see some additional arches, our trip was cut short due to some thunderstorms that passed by. We did the short walks though Broken and Sand dune arch and across to the camp ground. Eventually ending our trip at the Windows Trail which was beautiful and a lot of fun. There are minimal water stations at the park. With everything, bring plenty of water and salty snacks. There are some water refill stations along the way but be sure to check in advance. I recommend having a hydration pack with a water bladder, plenty of sunscreen, bandaids and a hat.

This week's adventure took us through the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park,…read moreand every stop seemed to top the last. Stop #1: Island in the Sky Visitor Center Started the day with incredible views overlooking the famous Shafer Trail, with its dramatic switchbacks winding down the canyon walls. It's an amazing introduction to the park's vast landscape. Stop #2: Aztec Butte A short hike led us to ancient Puebloan granaries tucked into the sandstone cliffs. Standing where people lived and stored food hundreds of years ago adds a whole new layer to the scenery. Stop #3: Upheaval Dome One of Canyonlands' biggest mysteries! Scientists still debate whether this enormous crater-like formation was created by a meteorite impact or the collapse of an underground salt dome. Whatever its origin, it's a fascinating place to explore. Canyonlands is massive, rugged, and absolutely unforgettable. Every overlook makes you feel tiny in the best possible way.

This is very different from the previous 3 parks this trip. We entered at section island in the…read moresky. The rim route has a lot of turn outs and restrooms about every third one. Most of the pic nic areas had covered ramada's. But parking is a beast. And it seems most hiking trails are longer and the return elevation is severe. So we just did the turn outs and had a pic nic. The Canyon and River views are beyond any expectations. Wonderful.

Giving 5 stars even just for the view coming out here. It is SO gorgeous! There is a really nice…read morevisitor center just before you enter the park as well where you can get recs from staff or pick up a map or some other souvenirs). I didn't do the drive into the rest of the park because it's a $20 entry fee and I only had like 20 mins at the time to explore so I didn't think it would be worth it to pay and just drive further in/out for 20 min. But again, even just the view there is absolutely beautiful, the vistas are stunning - like an extension of both Capitol reef and Canyonlands. It's very remote though, so make sure if you really want to explore you have at least a few hours to do some of the longer trails. The little hoodoos are very cute and there are many ways to view them here so if you want to explore these more, this is definitely a fantastic spot (along with Bryce Canyon of course, and some of the small other random hikes through Arizona and Utah eg the Toadstools hike right at their border).

We took this as a side trip and we really should have given this more time. If you are thinking of…read morecoming here, I recommend looking at all the activities offered to see how much is here to do so you won't feel as though you missed out on some of what makes this park FUN! As for us, we ran around the valley, played hide and seek, marveled at how these "goblins" were made and just had a great adventure with the time we had.

I had friends in town from out of state. I took them to the Eastern Utah Tourism and History…read moreAssociation to get some ideas on where to go. They helped us so much! They gave us so much good information! They know so much about the area and they really helped make our visit great! My friends even got some great books and rocks from them to remember their trip!

From the owner: We are your one-stop shop for all things Eastern Utah. We carry a full line of brochures to help…read moreyou plan your trip and our Interpretive Bookstore features great titles in local and regional history, prehistory and geology. We also carry a wide variety of maps and guidebooks.

Back in June 2022, I went to Canyonlands National Park (NPS). I dropped by their visitor center to…read morepick up some magnets as I always do. It's a very nice visitor center with tons of souvenirs. The center wasn't that big, but organized and clean. Staff was friendly and very helpful. Tons of people looking around and shopping. They have lots of goodies and souvenirs. Restrooms are outside... they have actual little potty stands in a building. So do drop on by and check them out when you're at Canyonlands NPS. You may find something nice to bring back home as a remembrance of your lovely visit. Happy Canyon'ing!

Quick and easy stop in between national parks for a stunning view. Easy to navigate for mobility…read moreimpaired.

Dead Horse Point State Park is absolutely stunning--and pet friendly! The overlooks alone are worth…read morethe stop, but there are also several trails to choose from. We hiked the East Rim Trail, which connects to the West Rim Trail, for a total of about 3.9 miles. I'd rate it as easy to moderate: mostly flat with a few sections of light climbing. The views throughout the hike are breathtaking, and when we went, it wasn't crowded at all. Keep in mind that the park is very hot with almost no shade, so bring plenty of water. If you're traveling with a dog, be mindful of the ground temperature to avoid burning their paw pads. The visitor center itself isn't pet-friendly, but the bathrooms are located outside and accessible. My only complaint is that the trail markers could be clearer--since some trails overlap, it can get confusing. Entry is $20 per vehicle, paid at the gate. We spent about 2.5 hours exploring, though you could easily stay longer if you want to sit, relax, and take in the scenery. Overall, this is a must-visit stop in Moab.

Island in the Sky is the most popular/visited part of this massive national park (Canyonlands)…read more This is because it is the most easily accessible part for most people traveling in regular cars/RVs (whereas other parts of the park e.g. the needles require high clearance/AWD). This visitor center is clean, nice, and well equipped. The NPS staff are friendly and helpful and the info video is very interesting (that's where I learned about the other three main sections of the park!) and runs often. The gift shop is located here too, and there are water fill stations. Do note that the bathrooms here are all the "glorified portapotty" kind where you don't flush/there is hand sani but they are not air conditioned and do have that classic outdoor bathroom smell. Nevertheless, they were fairly clean/well taken care of. The parking situation is decent; there is one main row of spots that do fill, but there is a lot of turnover so I did get a spot quickly and most folks behind me did too while others were leaving. Of note, the overlook just across the street from the visitor center of the monument basin is one of the best views in the park -- definitely stop here for pictures before you go!

Riddle me this why are there nasty outhouse in our national parks? Anyway, we stopped at visitor…read morecenter for short hike recommendations. The lady explained the map and highlighted the stops. We stopped at each overlook and did short hikes. I did buy some Arches and Canyonland stickers and pins.

The delicate arch is probably the most famous of the arches in Arches national park. There is a…read moreshort walk to the "viewpoint" where you can see the arch from a few miles away, but there is a longer hike where you can actually get up close to the arch itself. I went to the viewpoint because I was short on time and couldn't do the whole hike. Even from far away you can see pretty clearly what it is, and that there are points on the arch that are skinnier than the rest so it looks like it could easily fall (hence the name "delicate arch"). I think it's worth it to at least go to the viewpoint if you don't have time to do the full trail! It's just a short drive off the main road to get to the parking lot that leads to the viewpoint, and the walk takes about 10 min or less (there is a pretty good sized hill though -- be mindful if you have mobility restrictions that getting to the top of the viewpoint could be difficult). Of note, there are a couple national park bathrooms at the lot (the kind with sanitizer that don't flush). They had just been pumped out when I arrived (saw the staff undoing the pumps and leaving) so they were actually very clean and didn't have any smell. I don't know if they're usually like that but it was one of the cleanest experiences I've had involving a national park bathroom!

Delicate Arch is the face of this national park, maybe for the entire park service, Moab, UT, and…read moreeven the American West. The first known photo of this arch was taken in 1906, and it appeared in LIFE magazine in 1953.  We climbed up to the top of the hill, which is opposite the arch. The Green Rock signifies the change of time. The green sediments come from a humid era in Archer's Jurassic past, which included braided rivers, floodplains, and a nearby volcano. Volcanic ash full of iron settled atop clay, silt, and other sediments here.

As part of our quest to visit all 63 U.S. national parks, we set off on a six week road trip. I…read morehave a personal rule: I only count a national park as "visited" if I actually spend time there, hike or walk through it, and truly experience it. On this trip, we visited 14 national parks, and Capitol Reef National Park became one of the most beautiful surprises of the entire journey. The drive from Death Valley to Capitol Reef was already an adventure, with constantly changing landscapes along the way. But nothing prepared us for the moment we arrived. Suddenly, the desert opened up into an incredible world of red rock formations, towering cliffs, and colors that seemed almost impossible. It was breathtaking. Capitol Reef is a smaller national park compared to some of the giants we visited, but it has a beauty and personality all its own. In fact, it became my husband's favorite park of the entire trip. There is something about the combination of landscapes, colors, history, and peacefulness that makes this park truly special. The scenery changes dramatically throughout the park. One area is filled with the famous red rock formations, cliffs, and sandstone walls that look like they were painted by nature. Then, as you explore other areas, the landscape changes into lighter limestone formations, with shades of yellow, cream, and gray. Everywhere you look there is a different view, a different texture, and a different color. One of the unique things about Capitol Reef is the historic Fruita area, where early settlers planted orchards along the Fremont River. Today, visitors can still see these beautiful fruit groves, which feel almost magical surrounded by the desert landscape. There is also a historic building in the Fruita area where they sell homemade fruit pies, and it is incredibly popular for a reason. The pies are absolutely delicious. We could not resist and enjoyed having pie and ice cream one morning for breakfast. When you are traveling, sometimes breakfast rules become a little more flexible! The park also has fascinating history, including ancient petroglyphs left by the Fremont people. Seeing these markings carved into the rock walls was a powerful reminder that people have been connected to this landscape for thousands of years. The hiking was another highlight. I especially enjoyed hiking through the Narrows, where I was able to explore on my own and experience the beauty and quiet of the canyon. Walking through the towering walls, surrounded by the colors and textures of the desert, was unforgettable. Capitol Reef feels like nature's own painting. The reds, oranges, yellows, blues, turquoise, and greens all come together to create a landscape that is constantly changing depending on the light. It is a park that invites you to slow down, look around, and appreciate the incredible creativity of the natural world. Capitol Reef may not always get the same attention as Utah's more famous parks, but it deserves it. It is beautiful, peaceful, full of history, and absolutely worth the visit.

This is an amazing national park. One thing I noted about the park is that it offers things for…read morepeople to do regardless of their activity level. If you're super fit and want to do hikes, good for you as there's plenty of strenuous hikes! If you aren't as active or use a mobility assistive device, you can travel on the very, very scenic drive and also learn about the ghost town of Fruita (although the NPS employees live there). If you time your visit right, you can even pick fruits from the orchards. I combined the Rim Overlook trail with the trail to Hickman Bridge to get amazing views, as well as hiked the Cassidy Arch trail. The trails weren't too crowded, so it was a great place to listen to nature and focus on hiking. You're rewarded with amazing views. Definitely hit up Gifford Homestead for fruit pies. They often sell out in the afternoon.