50 Best Short Hikes in Utah's National Parks

By Greg Witt

Get the guide to 50 of the best short hikes in Utah’s five national parks.

Dramatic arches, natural bridges, soaring cliffs, balancing rocks, mysterious hoodoos, and slot canyons—Utah is famous for the unparalleled beauty of its five national parks. There’s so much to take in, and you want to see the best of it all. Make the most of every minute with 50 hikes recommended by adventure guide Greg Witt.

Whether you have several days of exploring to do or just an afternoon, this guide has you covered. The hikes are divided by park: Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion. Each entry includes a map and route description, as well as important details like distance, elevation range, facilities, and GPS coordinates. Plus, beautiful full-color photographs supplement the easy-to-read text.

Inside You’ll Find

• 50 carefully selected hikes, from 1 to 8 miles
• Recommendations for top hikes by categories, such as best views and best for small children
• 50 detailed trail maps and 6 overview maps
• Fascinating insights on plants, animals, and geology

The best way to experience Utah’s national parks is on foot, so get ready to be amazed! Every hike is an adventure that’s waiting for you to enjoy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wilderness Press
• Release date: Dec 21, 2021
• ISBN: 9781643590745

Book preview

ARCHES NATIONAL PARK

Park Overview

ARCHES NATIONAL PARK showcases the highest concentration of natural stone arches in the world—more than 2,400 of them. Along with the arches, you’re treated to an amazing landscape of balanced rocks, soaring red-rock cliffs, monumental towers, and stately sandstone fins. It’s inspiring scenery, with routes that are accessible to hikers of all ages and skill levels.

The arches and varied landforms spawn from an underground salt bed deposited 300 million years ago, when a sea flowed into the region and then evaporated. Subsequently, residue from floods, winds, and the ocean covered the salt bed and became compressed as rock, up to a mile thick in some places. Under this heavy rock layer, the salt bed shifted, liquefied, and buckled, causing domes to form and vertical cracks to appear in what we now see as fins.

Before being designated as a national monument in 1929 and a national park in 1971, the area had been inhabited for nearly 10,000 years, most recently by Fremont Indians and ancestral Puebloans, followed by Paiute and Ute tribes, Spanish missionaries, and Mormon pioneers.

◆ Just One Day?

ARCHES IS A COMPACT PARK, ideally suited for visitors who want to take in the natural spectacle on short walks and hikes. Starting at the visitor center, continue into the park on what may be the most dramatic entrance to any national park in America as you ascend a road cut through sandstone to the Park Avenue Viewpoint. Continue to Balanced Rock for a quick leg-stretcher, and then travel into the Windows section for a walk to the North and South Windows before heading up to Double Arch.

The must-do hike in Arches is Delicate Arch, the most iconic arch in Utah, if not the world. If you have any time and energy remaining, head to Devils Garden and pay a visit to Landscape Arch—quickly, before it collapses. This seemingly razor-thin span of rock continues to defy gravity and delight visitors.

 1  PARK AVENUE

◆ Description

THE ARCHES EXPERIENCE gets off to an impressive start as you leave the Arches Visitor Center and ascend a road carved below sandstone cliffs. Arriving at the Park Avenue Viewpoint and Trailhead, you’ll need to decide whether to do this hike as a one-way—in which case you’ll need a shuttle driver to meet you at the Courthouse Towers Viewpoint—or as a round-trip. If you have limited time and hope to pack as much hiking into your day as possible, do this as a one-way hike.

Park Avenue

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Park Avenue is a good introduction to desert hiking in general. You’ll discover sandy washes, slickrock, and immense sandstone cliffs. You’ll encounter cacti and other desert plants and learn to recognize and avoid stepping on biological soil crusts. You’ll learn to navigate by watching for cairns (small rock piles). The hike also exposes you to full sunlight, so you’ll want to quickly establish the habit of packing water and staying hydrated. It’s best to learn the ropes of desert hiking on a short and easy stretch such as Park Avenue, so you’ll be prepared for bigger adventures deeper in the park. From observation points at either end of the trail, you’ll be able to view most of the towers and walls of Park Avenue. But nothing can match the experience of hiking Park Avenue dwarfed by these monuments on all