Jessie goes hiking

Home | The map | About me | Hiking buddies | Gear list

Southwest Utah Road Trip

I went on a week-long road trip with some friends to Southwest Utah and Arizona, exploring four national parks: Death Valley, Zion, Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon.

Who: Jessie, Ellie, Elliot, Hester, Rich, Steph, Jaimie, Alex, Kieran, Nick
Dates: April 3-9, 2026
Permits: America the Beautiful Annual Pass, Angels Landing Lottery

Death Valley National Park

Explored the Mesquite sand dunes, Zabriski Point, and the Artists Palette drive. Then drove through an Area-51 themed town, past Las Vegas, and onto Zion National Park. After arriving in Utah we got great burritos and then headed to our campsite in the national park. It was completely dark.

Zion National Park

Waking up was awesome, because we realised we were encapsualted by huge walls of red rock. The campground here was amazing and the stars were insane. Each site had square pavement, a shelter, picnic table and bear box. There were no fire rings but rather a communal fire ring closeby. We did a bunch of hikes throughout the main section of the NP. Exiting the park was stunning and was a super scenic drive. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to do the famous Narrows hike - adding this to the list for when I eventually go back!

Angels Landing

Instagram people call this the hardest hike in the U.S., which, in my opinion, is total codswobble. Keep three points of contact on the rock and chain at all times and you’ll be fine lol. This is called Angels Landing because a minister in 1916 visited the park when it first opened, and quipped that “only angels could land there”. This hike was 10/10 beautiful and the views from the top were GORGEOUS. The ground squirrels at the top were relentless and very accustomed to humans. This trail was VERY popular - we were lucky to score 9am permits so didn’t have much trouble ascending to the top, but we had to stop a lot on the descent for streams of people to pass. Do this hike as early as you can to avoid crowds!

Stats: 5.4 mile, 3,564 ft
Difficulty: Medium (Lots of switchbacks, and exposed cable section. Personally I didn’t find this too sketchy if you just hang on to the chain)
Start/end: The Grotto Parking: Zion NP campground; took the NP shuttle to the TH
Trails: West Rim Trail -> Walter’s Wiggles -> Scout Lookout -> Angel’s Landing
Wildlife: Deer, lizards, ground squirrels, turkey vultures

Pools

The viewpoint

Bryce Canyon National Park

After leaving Zion, we drove about an hour and a half northeast towards Bryce Canyon National Park. On the way, we made a few classic road-trip stops, including the legendary Homade pies, a tourist-trap rock museum, and a short hike out to a plateau with dinosaur footprints. That evening we arrived at our Airbnb in Hatch: a huge three-storey wooden house right on the river, complete with a patio, backyard, gazebo, and SIX bedrooms. Unreal. The next morning meant another early start so we could reach the trailhead by 8 a.m. — a good call, considering we grabbed one of the last remaining parking spots. We then set off on the iconic Navajo Loop Trail, descending down among the HOODOOS (lol) and winding through the canyon below. After the hike, we stopped by the visitor centre for obligatory swag before driving to the far end of the park road overlooking the surrounding canyon country, where we did the Bristlecone Loop Trail. We rewarded ourselves with ice cream afterwards, then headed back to the Airbnb to chill and get organised for the drive to the Grand Canyon the next day.

Bristlecone Loop

Grand Canyon National Park

After leaving Bryce Canyon, we began the four-hour drive south to the Grand Canyon. Along the way, we stopped at Arizona’s famous Horseshoe Bend for a few photos and tried our luck in the lottery for permits to visit The Wave. All ten of us entered, and none of us got selected, which wasn’t entirely surprising once we learnt that only 16 people per day are allowed access loool

When we reached Grand Canyon National Park, our first view of the canyon through the entrance station was ridiculous in the best way possible. The scale of it is hard to process until you see it in person. Layer upon layer of rock stretched across the landscape, with some of the exposed formations at the bottom dating back nearly two billion years.

We set up camp at Mather Camgpground, and immediately headed out for a hike before catching the shuttle to the geological museum, where we learnt more about the canyon’s rock formations and history. We finished the day watching the sunset over the canyon which was EPIC. The next day, we said our goodbyes and embarked on the 13 hour drive back to Davis (RIP).

Ooh Aah Point

Trail: Ooh Aah Point
Stats: XX
Difficulty: Medium (Lots of switchbacks on the return ascent, 100% exposed)
Start/end: XX
Parking: Visitor Center (all day, free), and free shuttle to the TH
Wildlife: Deer, lizards, ground squirrels, turkey vultures
Accommodation:: Mather campground