Okay, so you’re finally ready for a road trip and curious about where to go. Utah is filled with amazing locations that are so out of this world, I’d highly recommend this being your next trip! I had such an amazing time on this trip and saw such beautiful sites that were just out of this world.
Starting from Los Angeles, our first stop was Salt Lake City, Utah. We started our road trip up north and worked our way down, so when it was finally time to go home, we weren’t left with a 13-hour drive back home!
The first spot we visited was the Bonneville Salt Flats! WORTH the trip. This widely stretched dried up lake was the coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time. Stretches of pure salt bed for miles. The lines formed on the floor are patterns left by the lake that once used to occupy the land.
Our next stop was the Window Arches at the Arches National Park. The entire park is MASSIVE. Small note: there is a small fee to enter the park, I think it was about $30, give or take. They do give you a pamphlet and a detailed map of the whole area so you know exactly where everything is because each site spot in the park is a good drive from the other. Just an FYI, as soon as you enter the park, it is a cellular dead zone. You won’t find one drop of service until you leave. The entire time I felt like I was on a Star Wars set. It was magnificent! To just take in Mother Nature and the fantastic rock formations.
We drove about 20 mins into the park, parked our car, and walk around the area that had the Window Arches, which is what we wanted to see.
Going in mid October it was super hot, about 90 degrees. Pack yourself some water if you plan on walking around! I can imagine this area is super cold during winter and spring because it is a desert.
The very last place we visited was the Horseshoe Bend in Arizona! Pure magic but be careful and don’t get too close to the edge! There is a gated off area that is where they assume most tourists will stick by. It’s completely man-made and safe to stand on. You do have the option of veering off to the sites where there isn’t a railing but please be careful when doing so! There have been deaths because of people falling, slipping, or just crazy freak accidents. I do suggest you stick to the railed area for safety purposes.
Beneath the Horseshoe Bend is a lake called Lake Powell. It’s definitely a hot spot for tourists that are interested in laking canoes or jet skis and touring the lake bend!
*There is an entrance fee to see the bend and a small 15-minute walk towards to edge of the cliffside.
We didn’t actually get a chance to go into the hot springs at Mystic Hot Springs but I wanted to mention it because it’s such a cool spot to stop by.
You do need a reservation at least a day before the visit (which I did not know lmao. Lack of research on my end) but we did stop just to check it out since we were driving through!
The hot springs are off the road from the highway in a small town called Monroe. You drive down this neighborhood filled with homes until you hit a dead end. Once you go past the barrier (which they’ve boarded off because of COVID-19, you’ll find an open field with the hot springs being surrounded by a beautiful view of the mountains. It’s quiet, it’s relaxing, and a treat to visit!
Because of COVID, they’re only allowing 2 reservations a day so keep that in mind! Also, the hot springs are cleaned out thoroughly each night and ready for the next day.
Where we stayed when visiting each attraction:
Bonneville Salt Flats – We stayed in Park City when going to visit the Bonneville Salt Flats! It’s only about 1.5 hours away from the salt flats and 30 minutes from Salt Lake City if you plan to spend a few days in this area to site see! Park City is a little cheaper when it comes to hotels and Airbnbs plus more of an energetic city in regards to restaurant spots and energy in comparison to Salt Lake, which is why we stayed there!
Where we ate here: Old Spaghetti Factory has some UHmazing pasta. 10/10
Arches National Park – We stayed in a very small town called Moab, UT when visiting the arches. We only stayed one night and this is the closest town you’ll find next to the arches. Before and after is very bare so I’d suggest either staying there or committing to a bit of a drive outside of the sites! There are plenty of hotels/motels in the vicinity as it is a national park so there are definitely options if you rather wait to find accommodation until you get there!
Where we ate here: Arches Thai for lunch/late dinner. Really great Thai place! There was an hour wait because of its location right next to the national park.
Zion National Park & Horseshoe Bend – We figured since we were going to spend our last two days viewing these sites, wed stay somewhere in the middle instead of changing hotels again. The city we stayed in (which was also our favorite) was Kanab! This little town is the cutest place with the nicest people! It’s about 45 minutes from both Zion and Horseshoe which was perfect for us.
Where we ate here: Rocking V Cafe for dinner and Sunny Creek Coffee for breakfast! On the second day, we had lunch at Escobar’s Mexican Restaurant, which has amazing Mexican cuisine.
There you have it! That was our trip. There were some spots that we wanted to visit and weren’t able to because of their closure since COVID-19 such as Antelope Valley and the Wave, but weren’t hoping we’ll hit another round sometime next year when they open back up again!
Safe travels! xx
