10-Day Road Trip from LA to Utah
23 Nov, 2020
My husband and I recently came back from a 10-day road trip from LA to Utah, stopping in Arizona and Nevada on the way. It was one of the best road trips I ever had! Not only did I get a chance to visit many National Parks that I have been dreaming about visiting for a while - Grand Canyon, Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, I also had a lot of fun exploring many lodging options, from tiny homes, to a tree house, and then a memorable tipi experience near Las Vegas.
While there are many things about this trip I want to go into detail about, I’m writing this post first to give a brief sum-up of our itinerary and what you can expect to see on my blog for the next couple months!
Day 1 - Driving from LA to Williams, AZ
We stayed at this very cute Bed & Breakfast called Trapper's Rendezvous . The decor of this place screamed Western, which I find super intriguing! In the morning, hosts Emily and Matthieu delivered an amazing breakfast to our room, which remained the best breakfast we ever had on our trip! This place is full of character and is spotlessly clean. I highly recommend it for anyone who plans a visit to Williams or Grand Canyon South Rim (about an-hour drive from Trapper’s Rendezvous).
Day 2 - Exploring Grand Canyon South Rim
This is our first time seeing the Grand Canyon in person. Sometimes photos can’t do a place any justice and Grand Canyon is definitely one of them. Grand Canyon originally wasn’t on the top of my list because all the photos I had seen before didn’t really convince me to go visit. We decided to stop by this time since we were close by. I have to say the view of the Grand Canyon absolutely blew my mind and went beyond my expectation! It is massive and quite awe-inspiring. I attempted to take many photos there to capture what I saw but to be honest, I still don’t think photos can capture the true beauty of this place. It’s one of the places that you need to witness with your own eyes.
We also did the South Kaibab Trail to Ooh Aah Point to get a closer look of the Grand Canyon.
Day 3 - Driving from Flagstaff, AZ to Page, AZ
On day 3, we spent an afternoon checking out Meteor Crater Natural Landmark and Winslow, AZ for some historic route 66 landmarks. After that, we continued our drive to Page, AZ.
Day 4 - Horseshoe Bend, Monument Valley and driving up to Moab, UT
In the morning, we went on a short hike to see the famous Horseshoe Bend. From Horseshoe Bend to Moab is about a 5-hour drive and we also chose to drive through Monument Valley. I was completely star-struck the whole time seeing Monument Valley. This place is so unique and imposing, I questioned if I somehow went to another planet!
Day 5 - Canyonlands National Park
Even though it was just the 2nd week of November, the weather already went down to less than 40-degree Fahrenheit in Moab. As we were driving into Canyonlands National Park, it started snowing and everything turned into a winter wonderland!
Although this was super unexpected and we clearly didn’t pack enough clothes for this kind of weather, we were still very excited seeing snow!
Day 6 - Arches National Park
Arches National Park is why I decided to plan a road trip to Utah. I had been wanting to see these arches for a long time. Most of the well-known arches in the national park are accessible from a very short hike. The most difficult one is the 3-mile loop with quick elevation gain to the Delicate Arch, which we did towards the end of the day.
Day 7 - Driving from Moab, UT to Escalante, UT
From Moab to Escalante is about a 4-hour drive. Can you believe that I picked Escalante because of a tiny home I found there? While researching where to stay near Bryce Canyon, I came across this place called Escalante Escapes. I had watched many videos about tiny homes and always wondered how it felt to live in one. I’m so glad that we picked this place to stay! Throughout the entire trip we have had some amazing lodging experiences, but this one definitely took the first place. I will dedicate an entire blog post for this tiny home and Escalante later!
Day 8 - Bryce Canyon National Park and Staying at a Tree House
Bryce Canyon National Park is another top of my list. Seeing it in person is an absolutely mind-blowing experience. When we visited, the canyon was partially covered by snow which gave it a beautiful color contrast. I had my DSLR camera around my neck the whole time and taking pictures every minute!
For the night, we stayed at this tree house in East Zion Resort, which was another cool lodging experience we had!
Day 9 - Driving from East Zion to Las Vegas, Valley of Fire State Park
I had heard many great things about Valley of Fire State Park so we made a stop there while driving towards Vegas. We did the Fire Wave Trail (1.5-mile roundtrip) where you can see the wave in the rock. It’s definitely unique as I haven’t seen anything similar.
For the last night of our trip, we stayed at a Tipi near Las Vegas. This was my first ever glamping experience and it was so unique that I definitely want to experience more in the future!
For anyone who's interested in booking this place, check it out here: https://www.vrbo.com/1546505
It's also available for booking on Airbnb.
Day 10 - Driving from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, stopping at Calico Ghost Town
On our way back home, we also visited Calico Ghost Town, located only 2-hour drive from LA. Calico is an old mining town. Here you can find many cute shops, restaurants and an old school which remind you how booming this town once was.
