Last week, I wrote an article on Grand Canyon National Park -- specifically about how to hike the famous, and infamous, rim-to-rim trek. This week, I would like to discuss and rank Utah’s five national parks based on their uniqueness and hikes.
Today, there are 59 national parks in America; each is exceptional and impressive in their own way. Last year, the National Park Service recorded over 307 million visitors to the 59 parks. Many of the most popular parks are located in Utah, which is arguably the prettiest state in the Union. These parks include Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef and Zion. By visiting each of these parks and hiking thoroughly in them for years, I have gained an understanding of their distinctiveness. The following is my opinion of these parks, ranked. If you can only visit one or two of these national treasures, you can visit the best of the best.
5. Capitol Reef National Park
Personally, I believe Capitol Reef is the weakest of the five. Located in south-central Utah, the park is composed of 378 square miles of desert landscape. Unfortunately, most visitors simply drive through the park via Utah 24. However, if you would like to hike on one trail, I would highly recommend the Hickman Bridge trek. It is a simple 2-mile round-trip journey that ends with a beautiful sight of Hickman Bridge, a 133-foot long natural bridge carved by the Fremont River.
4. Bryce National Park
Bryce Canyon is one of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring places in the world. When you visit for the first time, seeing the hoodoos will make you think it was Mars. A beautiful trek within the canyon is the Queens Garden Trail. The best way to experience it is to descend Sunset Point and ascend Sunrise Point because it is much more steep at the former than the latter.
3. Canyonlands National Park
Canyonlands is a spectacular park located near Moab. Unfortunately, it does not offer many hikes in the Island in the Sky, but you can hike throughout the needles in the Maze. To get the best view of the canyon, you must drive through Island in the Sky. From here, you can see a canyon within a canyon within another canyon! You can also see a road on the canyon floor, Shafer Canyon Road. While it is amazing to be at the bottom, this is one of America’s 10 scariest and most dangerous roads.
2. Arches National Park
The National Park Service couldn’t have chosen a better name for this national gem. Arches National Park is also located near Moab, and has over 2,000 natural stone arches. The most famous arch, as seen in most advertisements in Utah, is Delicate Arch. This hike is three miles round trip, and should be done closer to sunset to get the perfect sundown glare off the red stone arch. At the top, you can go under the arch and see the vast valley behind.
1. Zion National Park
Not only is Zion the most spectacular National Park in Utah, but also it is considered by many to be the best National Park in the United States -- and in the world! The park is located in southwestern Utah, and offers beautiful scenery of red cliffs. If you wanted to hike one trail, I highly encourage hiking to Observation Point. This trail is 8 miles round trip. From the top, you capture the most stunning view of the valley. The hike is not fear-inducing like Angels Landing and does not require you to be 4 feet deep in water as in the Narrows.