Bryce, Capitol Reef, & Goblin Valley in a week...guess where I spent the most time?
When should we go?
Give me all the hikes please!
How do we manage all of this in a week?!
Where do we stay for free with good cell service?
If you're doing the Utah 'mighty five' (all five national parks), be warned that, once leaving St. George (west of Zion), you're not going to see another Walmart, Target, Petsmart, or Planet Fitness until Grand Junction (about 2 hours from Moab). Get your necessities (other than groceries) purchased there to last throughout your journey, and don't forget about the pet food and treats!
Bryce Canyon isn't fully open until mid-April. I was lucky that I showed up early April and didn't have to navigate any snow or ice, but unfortunately the Fairyland Trail and the Wall Street Trail were not open until a few days after I left. However, I was still able to enjoy the Navajo Trail and Queen's Garden loop, and it was magical! Also, the Rim Trail is fully paved and welcome for you and your dog, so of course Smith joined me every day for a walk with the classic views of fins, spires, hoodoos, and beauty.
The lodge restaurant was open, and had free WiFi, so I became a staple there during their late lunch hour. The waitstaff was unbelievably nice and charismatic, the food was dynamite (the wraps are on point), and the WiFi is reliable enough to download videos, edit photos, and type blogs all at the same time. It does get busy from noon till about 230p, so it might be smart to call in a reservation if you don't want to wait. However, I was able to be seated within 15 minutes every day I went, so I don't know that it is vital to reserve in the off season. While the staff is in button-downs and pressed pants, I showed up post-hike every day and was not underdressed for the clientele. It is, after all, a restaurant in the middle of a National Park. Best part: they serve beer, wine, and root beer floats! Everything I wanted after a long day of hiking in fantastic weather.
There is also a Bryce Canyon village right outside of the main entrance that has laundry and a small selection of groceries and firewood. If you go to the General Store in Bryce (past the lodge), you can purchase a $2 token that allows for a 7 minute shower (no limit of how many tokens you can purchase) between the hours of 830a-5p. Those showers are clean, HOT, and have great water pressure. There is an RV dump located on your way out of the General Store area during the 'on' season (free), or one located at the Sinclair gas station right across from the village outside the main entrance ($5) in the 'off' season. Either are easily accessible and easy to use. I stayed about 12 minutes outside of Bryce and was able to get a few bars of service off Tom's Best Spring Dispersed Camping. Great location to local trail heads outside of the park, and nice and quite camping with separation between spaces.
Once I left Bryce, I was very excited to go to Capitol Reef (shout out to Chris Hunt for letting me know it was his favorite park) to explore. If you hear anything about Capitol Reef, you usually hear that people haven't been, or that they have been and LOVE it. I am now happily and officially in the latter category. Not knowing anything about the park, I walked up to the ranger and asked for two moderate and two strenuous hikes. Boy, am I glad I did that! I was recommended to the Golden Throne Trail, Cassidy Arch Trail (both 'strenuous'), and the Hickman Bridge and Canyon Trail (both moderate). All of them were amazing, but my favorite was the Cassidy Arch Trail. The arch is massive, breathtaking, and wide enough to comfortably do a cartwheel on...though not necessarily a graceful one...
Not to be downplayed, the Golden Throne Trail had views for miles and miles and miles. So many ledges to run out and take photos on (carefully, not to disturb any nature or vegetation off trail), so many views to look at, and even an "End of Trail" sign, which is treated more as a suggestion, as there are a few park-approved trails marked with carins to take you to the absolute edge of the view. Expect a lot of elevation gain at the beginning of the trail, and then a steady minimal incline for the remaining hike that snakes you through canyon edges and magic views. I paired this with the wash trail that is at the same trailhead, which takes you to the 'tanks' and the 'pioneer registry', where you can see actual markings on the canyon walls from the pioneers that first came to settle this area. Please don't add your own markings...no one cares that "[name] wuz here", and marking on rocks is a serious fine and potential jail time. Leave nature as it is!
Don't forget to stop by their General Store for all kinds of treats and eats, including ice cream, salsas, creamed honey, and freshly baked pies. Get there first thing to stand in line if you want a pie! They go quickly, as there are a finite number made every day in the park. The store is also a historical house remaining from the pioneer days, as are many of the buildings in tact throughout the park. During the late spring months (most popular time to visit), you can even pick fruit off of the trees in the orchards open to the public in the Fruita district. Please be mindful that there is a fee to pick fruit, and that the fruit is for everyone to enjoy, so pick responsibly!
I stayed at the Capitol Reef Overflow Dispersed Camping a few nights (very busy, but cell service and even enough data to post to Insta and stream a movie at night), and at Capitol Reef East Dispersed Camping (no service, no people, very calming and beautiful sunsets) the first night. Depending on which description sounds better to you, both had decent roads and mostly flat areas to camp in.
One more note about Capitol Reef: bring your tri-pods. There are very few people to ask to take a photo of you, and more views than you can imagine for the size of the park. You will want the photos, and you wont necessarily want to wait around for someone to hike by you, you could be waiting an hour to see another human! Smith's elbow hairs in this photo always kill me haha!
Lastly on this leg of the journey: Goblin Valley State Park...AKA Smith's paradise! This park is fantastic, with hikes, biking trails, OHV trails, and a pick-your-own-adventure area called Valley of the Goblins (go figure). This area is a free-for-all (in terms of not having hiking trails only, still hike respectfully), dog-friendly area that Smith went nuts exploring. When there were no people in my eyesight, I let him off-leash and sprinted to keep up with him jumping all over the area. Dogs are meant to be leashed, and he was leashed any time there were people around us, which meant being dragged down hoodoo and toadstool hills by a dog that was having an absolute field day. It isn't a very large park in terms of amount of hiking trails, but you could easily spend an entire day there and not explore all of the Valley of the Goblins area. Whether you have a dog, a kid, or just haven't fully grown up in your heart, you will enjoy this area! I saw people of every age there, it is a very "all in the family" park.
I stayed at the South Temple Wash dispersed camping area, which is a massive area with a ton of individual and group spaces along some very well maintained dirt roads. Enough service to stream and use Insta, not enough to work on the blog. I stayed one night, but would be very comfortable staying multiple nights there. Not even 5 minutes from Goblin Valley State Park. It is, as usual, dusty, but it's a great location!
If you hadn't figured it out, I stayed at Capitol Reef the most time. It was too beautiful to leave quickly! I highly suggest spending more than two nights there. For the small acreage size of the park, it is really quite a lot to do!
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