✈️Spring Break: Zion, Bryce, Arches – Utah National Parks & More for Midwest Families

Planning a Utah National Parks trip? Start Here

For families wanting a breath of fresh air and a hearty dose of adventure, we’ve got a fantastic idea that goes beyond a midwest escape: get yourself to Utah’s National Parks.

Planning a trip to Utah’s national parks is one of those adventures that sounds amazing, but can also be intimidating with all the details to figure out.

But good news! We’ve been there, and with a little planning, this can easily become one of the most unforgettable family trips you’ll ever take.

We took our family of five (three kids, ages 7, 10 and 13 at the time of the trip) and it rates as one of our family’s all-time favorite trips, even years later. While a few things have changed since our visit, many remain the same. Here’s a look at what we learned from our 8-day adventure:

Why Utah? Tips From Our Trip.

Within one state, you’ve got all five national parks (aka, Utah’s Mighty Five): Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, and Capitol Reef National Park. On top of that, there are incredible spots like Monument Valley, Lake Powell, and Goblin Valley State Park. Best of all, it all connects into one big, doable road trip.

Zion National Park Spring Weather Prediction

Spring and fall usually have the best weather for exploring, while summers can be extremely hot and winter temps can be crazy cold, especially in higher elevations. Seeing as we’re from Michigan, we’re used to the weather rollercoaster and were okay with this reality. Just know this isn’t a only-pack-shorts kind of vacation.

During our visit in the spring, we found a sweet spot with the weather. It was sunny and in the 50s-70s the whole time, and it didn’t rain at all.

Summers can be blazing hot and also peak tourist season. Snow and ice are not unheard of in March at Zion, so you need to be prepared for whatever weather might come your way.

• Warmer Days, Longer Nights: In March/April, Zion warms up to about 65-70°F in the day, but nights can still be chilly in the 30-40s. You’ll get about 12 hours of daylight to explore.
• Expect Some Rain: The 30-day rainfall average for this time of year is around 1 inch. Compared to what Michigan sees, that’s not much.
• A Bit of Snow: Snow’s not common in March, but you might see a light dusting, usually less than an inch. April snow is rare but does happen.
• More Sunlight: Days get longer, and thanks to Daylight Saving Time kicking in mid-March, you’ll have more evening light for adventures. Data Source

Utah’s Mighty 5: Know Before You Go

To be honest, eight days is not enough to see everything you’ll want to see in Utah. The landscape is completely opposite from what the Midwest offers. But, if you’re going for Spring Break, an 8-day itinerary might be all you can muster. During planning we did make a few trade-offs, and I still wonder if we should have gone to the Grand Canyon. I’ll present my case and let you be the judge.

An entrance pass is required to enter all of the parks on this itinerary, so you’ll save money purchasing the $80 America the Beautiful pass. Otherwise, you’ll be paying $20-$35 for standard entrance passes at each park you visit. If you have a 4th grader, your family can get into every national park for FREE all year long with the 4th grade park pass!

Bryce Canyon National Park

After landing in Vegas and sorting out car rentals, head straight to Bryce Canyon. This half-day hike among the famous hoodoos (rock spires) along a 3-mile trail gives you a magical introduction to Utah’s natural beauty.

An entrance pass is required to enter Bryce Canyon National Park. Bryce operates a shuttle that is free and included with park admission.

Arches & Canyonlands National Parks

We went to Arches National Park in Moab for several hours, but ran out of time to do Canyonlands justice and wish we would have stayed longer than 30 minutes.

Side note: Arches National Park is gorgeous, but if you need to chop something from your itinerary, it might be Moab. Moab is a small tourist town that is as popular as Traverse City in the summertime. It can be expensive and hard to get hotel rooms. Book ahead if you can.

Exploring the Southeast

Drive the scenic Moki Dugway, visit Goosenecks State Park, and take a mesmerizing drive through Monument Valley.

In Page, Arizona, tour Antelope Canyon and get a look at Glen Canyon Dam.

Antelope Canyon is stunning. Before you go, you should know that tours are expensive and crowded. They are on Native lands and your access, unless you are Native, comes via a tour operator. This was a fun stop, but you should know what the photos aren’t telling you before you sign up.

Zion National Park

You’ll definitely want to go to Zion National Park. So does everyone else. These days, a shuttle into the canyon runs March through November; this is the only way to access Zion Canyon Scenic Drive if the shuttle is running.

Hiking the Narrows. One of our all-time favorites from this trip was hiking the Zion Narrows. It’s other-worldly to spend a day scrambling and sloshing your way through the river waters, with canyon walls soaring up beside you.

Since it was Spring Break, the water was freezing cold. We kept an eye on the water conditions as our trip neared, knowing that a sudden change in weather could disrupt our plans. Luckily, it all worked out and we were able to keep our reservation for the kids’ full-body dry suits and adult dry pants from Zion Outfitter in Springdale. (There’s no way we could have done this adventure without this gear to keep us warm.)

The Narrows and the other popular Zion attractions, like the like Emerald Pools and Weeping Rock hikes, are located along the park’s north/south scenic drive. Access them via the south entrance near Springdale, or the East entrance via Zion Park Boulevard.

The drive into Zion from the East entrance, with its stunning vistas including tunnels and the Checkerboard Mesa, is unforgettable.

Canyoneering in Zion. Canyoneering involves rock climbing equipment, but instead of scaling walls, you basically scramble, climb and rappel your way through a canyon.

We hired a private guide for a half-day tour and it was the other “most-favorite thing” we did on our trip. Our Red Desert Adventure Guide was fantastic at making all of us, and especially our youngest, feel comfortable. He even escorted her down the rock faces whenever she didn’t want to go alone.

Note: Canyoneering tours are not allowed inside of Zion. This adventure happened just a short distance away on similar terrain.

Zion Lodging

We stayed in a 3 bedroom VRBO in La Verkin because it was a lot more affordable than Springdale and it let our family of five have a little breathing room.

The trade-off was more drive time during the days we headed to the park.

For lodging inside of most national parks, book one year in advance of the day you want to start your stay.

Additional Utah Adventures

Don’t miss the Red Reef Trail at the Red Cliffs Desert Preserve for another day of splashing around.

Utah is home to numerous state parks and hidden gems like these ‘puddle jumpers’ pools and can be a nice change of pace from the bigger park systems.

Grand Canyon

Of course, you may opt to visit this off-the-charts stop in lieu of another. if I had to do it again, I’d skip Antelope Canyon and do the Grand Canyon instead.

Let’s Talk Driving (Because There’s a Lot of It)

Getting from park to park needs to be part of the plan. Make your driving route knowing how far some parks are from others.

As mentioned, you won’t have time to see all of the major sites in the area in just 8 days. One factor to consider is the airport you’ll be flying into. Here are several route options, the first one is the route we followed:

Don’t just wing it. Make the most of your time in Utah by mapping out a route and plan ahead of time. You’ll be so glad you did. And when you’re traveling with kids in the car, make time for roadside attractions, and stops along the way to break up the drives. We’re guessing by the end of the trip those little legs will be thrilled to get back in the car where they can rest on the way to your next park.

• Las Vegas to Utah National Parks: Approximately 18 hours total travel time.
• Las Vegas to Utah National Parks + Grand Canyon: Approximately 19 hours total travel time. Omits Page, AZ.
• Salt Lake City to Utah National Parks: Approximately 17 hours of driving time.
• Phoenix to Utah National Parks (via Grand Canyon, excluding Moab and Moki Dugway): Approximately 16 hours total travel time.

The Flight Plan: Traveling to Utah from the Midwest

For our trip, we flew out of Chicago and into into Las Vegas, where we rented a minivan.

You could fly into Salt Lake City or Phoenix for a similar experience.

Leaving from Chicago made sense for us because we found extremely cheap flights for our family of five. If you can score tickets from GRR, DTW, or your home airport, go for it. Otherwise, if you’re leaving from Chicago, plan to park off-site for the best park-n-go rates.

Would We Do It Again? ABSOLUTELY!

Yes, there’s driving, some early mornings, and a bit of planning involved, but it’s all worth it when you’re standing in picture-perfect, out-west landscapes with your kids.

We especially love planning bigger National Park trips when we have a 4th Grader in the family. They can get a FREE National Park Pass that gets them (and everyone in their vehicle) into all the National Parks, landmarks, and historical sites all-year-long! Make sure you have your 4th grader get their pass ahead of time!

Are Utah’s National Parks on your list?