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Location: National Parks in Utah and Arizona// Time: whenever you can, stone erodes slowly
 In this post I am going to take you on a 2000 mile trip across Nevada, Utah and northern Arizona. You will visit 6 National Parks, 6 State Parks and the amazing Navaho Nation with Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon and the Horseshoe bend. If you love travelling to breathtaking places and you love photography, this post is for you! I had dreamt about this road trip for many years, and finally came true in late 2010. And before my memory becomes fuzzy and I start exaggerating how epic this trip was, here’s the route we took, on a VW minivan, through the Southwest National Parks. Man, I never thought rocks could come in so many different and weird shapes.
When to visit the southwest National Parks?
Two main characteristics define the National Parks in Utah and northern Arizona: desert and high altitude. To avoid extreme heat or extreme cold my recommendation is that you go either in early spring or late fall, when temperatures will not be too hot in the lower elevations like Zion (4000 feet) and snow will not be present in the higher elevations like Bryce or the north rim of the Grand Canyon (both at 8000 feet). Don’t get me wrong though, many of the locations in this trip are amazing in the snow, so if you are not afraid of the cold then winter is for you! Always check out weather forecasts if you are heading out to canyons, as flash floods can and do happen without notice. Afternoon thunderstorms are quite common from mid-July to mid September throughout the entire region, so be prepared. If you want to see the autumn colors in full swing your best bet is September-October for the high country and early November for the lower elevations.
Getting around
 We rented a VW camper minivan (photo left) in Las Vegas, our starting point. This minivan gave us total freedom of movement to camp quite inexpensively at many locations within National Parks and State Parks. It’s not too big, so it does not drink gas like the big RVs. Keep in mind that securing a spot/room within or nearby a National Park can be difficult, so I suggest you make reservations as soon as you know you’ll be visiting. Having Las Vegas as a initial/final point in our route was quite convenient, as both flights and hotel rates are very inexpensive, that is, if you don’t loose your savings in the casinos. We ended spending just one night in Vegas, and quite honestly that was enough to see what the whole business is all about. A similar loop to the one described here can be started/ended in Salt Lake City, Utah, about 4h away driving (240 mi) from Moab.
Photography tips and equipment for Southwest National Parks
Best light conditions for amazing landscape photography tend to happen right around sunrise and sunset, so get to know what time those two events will happen. As I have done before, I highly recommend using Suncalc to check out sunrise/sunset times and specially, to know exactly where the sun will rise/set. This will greatly help you determine your position for the best composition.
Bring a tripod. This is a must, as it is highly likely that you will shoot with slow shutter speeds during sunrise/sunset. If you have a cable release, bring it too.
Lenses: Shooting in these National Parks is mostly about great landscapes, which means that I ended up using wide angle lenses a lot. I primarily used the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8, which due to its large maximum aperture is also great for night photography of startrails. To avoid changing lenses too often, which will end up in dust in your sensor, I also recommend bringing a zoom lens with a wider range of focal lengths. I used the Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 which, although is not the sharpest lens ever made (far from that), is a good compromise with a wide range of focal lengths.
Filters: ND graduated filters are very useful to tame the light at sunrise and sunset. If you don’t have ND grads I highly recommend to take multiple exposures that can be later merged in Photoshop (learn how to do that in this tutorial). Anyways, don’t expect to be able to correctly capture the sunrise/sunset with a single exposure without filters. It’s just not going to happen.
The problem of people in your frame: yes, it is a big problem. Many times you will want to photograph something and people will be in your frame. If there is a place where I fully suffered it, this is Delicate arch, in Arches National Park. People walking everywhere, oblivious as they should of photographers trying to get a nice shot.
What can you do if you want people out? Well, although yelling to people to move out is an option I strongly recommend against it. People will not move, and you will get mad looks, at least. The best way to deal with these situations is to set your camera on a tripod and take a number of exposures. Usually people are not static in one place, so the idea is to take multiple identical exposures in which people will be in different places in the frame. Then, working with layers in Photoshop, people can be easily removed by erasing the part of the frame they are in. Oh well, I just realized this deserves further explanation, so I will make a post about it!
The Route
We drove for 11 days and more than 2000 miles, so if you are not into driving maybe this isn’t for you. Keep in mind that we spent at least one full day at each location, and the longer you stay, the better! To enlarge the map click the icon on the upper right corner.
And now, let’s get down the road across the most amazing sights of the American Southwest! Although we were primarily interested in visiting National Parks of the Southwest I will also walk you through Monument Valley and other amazing places in the Navaho Nation, as well as lesser known State Parks in between.
1. Las Vegas to Zion National Park
 Driving distance/time: 150 mi 2h 30 min. A good stop halfway is Mesquite, where you can get groceries. Freeway all the way. This is the first park we encountered and it’s the one at the lowest elevation.
We camped at the Watchman Campground, at the entrance of the park, and that night I took my very first startrail photo (below). By the length of the trails you can guess how tired I was after spending much of the day driving from Las Vegas. Check out this startrail photography tutorial if you want to learn how to make photos likes this.
Zion National Park is at a relatively low elevation, which made this the hottest leg of the trip. This is the main reason we only spent one full day in the park. If possible, plan your visit to Zion as a last stop in the fall/summer or first stop in the spring.
Zion highlights and photo locations: what you should not miss
When light is best: light is pretty harsh here most of the day, so if you are looking for softer golden hour kind of light I would suggest either sunrise or sunset. If you are inside of a canyon then this does not matter all that much.
Angel’s landing trail: This is not a hike for everyone. For once, avoid hiking it when it’s very hot, as there are very few shadow areas along the trail, which climbs relentlessly. And yes, it is scary once you hit the final part of the trail. It is very narrow and there are many people going up and down, next to very steep drops on both sides. There are fixed chains along the most exposed sections, but if you are afraid of heights or just don’t want to risk your life on a hike you can also stop before the chained area, which offers amazing views of the canyon below.
The Narrows: this trail takes you deep into the canyon carved by the Virgin river. It’s a very good idea to have special shoes for the water (which you can rent), as this trail will get your feet into the river. We didn’t have enough time to do this, and instead just walked along the river for a while (photo below), but I really recommend getting deeper into the canyon. Flash floods can occur without warning, even if it’s not raining there, so check the weather forecast with the rangers before you hike into the canyon. If you want to know how the photo below was made check this post on how to blend two photos painting over luminosity masks.
Emerald pools: a short hike into a shaded area of the canyon. It’s quite refreshing.
The subway: an amazing photo location we didn’t have the time to visit. Be aware that getting there requires a lot of hiking and a special permit (more info here). This is definitely on my bucket list. Next time! And now let’s move to the next leg of the trip!
2. Zion to Bryce Canyon National Park
Driving distance/time: 90 mi, allow 2 hrs. Check for potential delays due to road construction/improvements, specially getting out of Zion.
Bryce is every bit as amazing as you have heard. It almost seems like a giant man-made theme park of hodoos, those weird looking towering structures that populate the side of the canyons. I had long awaited this visit and I was not disappointed. Just as we made it into the park, after finding our camping spot in the north campground, we went to one of the lookouts into the Bryce amphitheater to try photograph the sunset, but we made it pretty late and the golden light was already gone. However, that allowed me to scout the location and decide that I would come back for sunrise next morning.
Bryce highlights and photo locations: what you should not miss
When light is best: Bryce is best photographed at sunrise, as the best views of the park mostly face east. Above you can see the sunrise from the rim trail near Inspiration Point, overlooking Bryce amphitheater. I took this photo using ND grad filters to tame the rising sun’s light, obviously using a tripod. At the time of the year we visited Bryce (late September) this is probably the best location for a sunrise photo, as the tree line below in the canyon naturally leads to the sun rising. This will obviously change depending on the month you visit, so check out sunrise time and location.
The best views of the park are from the rim that overlooks the canyons (photo above). Some of the nicest overlooks around the rim are, from north to south, Sunset point, Inspiration Point and Bryce Point. You will find ample parking at all those overlooks. As I mentioned above, sunrise was the best option when I visited, although around the month of January sunset from Sunset point could also be a nice option (that I have not tested myself).
Hike: Navaho and Queen garden’s trail loop. Even though the general views from the rim are beyond amazing, you will not get to know Bryce unless you hike down to the canyon, in between the hodoos.
There are multiple trails and the one that I recommend is the Navaho-Queens garden loop. This 3.5 mi trail combination departs from Sunset point and descends into the so called Wall Street (photo right). It will take you to the bottom of the Bryce amphitheater through very high walls of hodoos to slowly make its way up the rim to reach Sunrise point. Once there, you can reach Sunset point through the rim trail. There are plenty of opportunities to photograph the hodoos from up close. At the beginning of the Navaho trail you’ll be able to see Thor’s hammer, a specially stunning hodoo.
3. Bryce to Escalante, Utah.
Driving distance/time: 53 mi, 1h 20 min. 
This was our first transition stage between Bryce and Capitol Reef National Parks. Although you can make this a quick drive to Escalante, I recommend stopping at Kodachrome Basin State Park (photo left). It’s only 9 mi (20 min) away from Cannonville, a little town you have to drive through on highway 12. There you can relax away from the crowds and hike some of the trails in the area before heading back to Hwy 12 and Escalante.
 From Cannonville you will reach Escalante in about 45 min (34 mi). There we spent the night at the Escalante Petrified Forest State Park, where you can either pitch your tent or camp with your RV. If you have the time, I highly recommend hiking the 1 mi loop trail that goes up to the petrified forest. Look along the trail for many petrified tree trunks like the one you can see on the right.
4. Escalante to Moab, through Capitol Reef National Park
Driving distance/time: Escalante to Capitol Reef, 75 mi allow 2 h. Escalante to Moab 220 mi, allow 4h 30 min.
This was a long day. We left Escalante for Capitol Reef, the plan being to reach Moab by the end of the day. So we knew we would only have time to see a few things in Capitol Reef. This huge park is mostly about the backcountry, so we were not going to see it in depth anyways.
Capitol Reef highlights and photo locations: what you should not miss
When light is best at Capitol Reef: I bet there are plenty of ideal locations to photograph both sunrise and sunset. However, due to our limited time at the park we did not get to visit them, so I can’t talk about it.
Around Fruita, check the Gifford homestead and barn (photo above). It’s a good opportunity to learn how people lived here a few decades ago.
If you don’t have much time, like in our case, I recommend driving the entire length of the Scenic Drive (from Fruita, 8.2 mi one way, allow for 90 min in and out) which gets you into the Waterpocket district (photo below). If you have more time your car has high ground clearance you can take some of the dirt spur roads that get you into some of the washes.
Petrogliphs along highway 12: you just have to drive 1 mi east on Hwy 12 from the visitor center in Fruita.
If you have a lot more time, like a few days, this park is meant to be discovered slowly. I would totally recommend taking the Cathedral Valley tour, a long (59 mi) loop. Make sure your vehicle has enough ground clearance to negotiate sections like river fords. This region is truly amazing and is where most spectacular features in the park are located, like the temples of the sun and the moon and the Cathedral Valley itself.
Side trip: if you have the chance, stop by the Goblin Valley State Park on your way from Capitol Reef to Moab. The park has a campground and a very peculiar landscape with some great photo opportunities. To get there, drive 19 mi north of Hanksville on Hwy 24 and the road to Goblin Valley will be on your right. Drive 12 more miles to get to the Park.
At the end of the day, once we got to Moab, we camped the first night along the Colorado river, on the side of Hwy 128. You fill find many places to camp there for next to nothing. Also expect the amenities provided to be next to nothing. During our second night we camped at the Moab Valley camping and RV park.
5. Arches National Park, Moab.
Driving distance / time: 5 mi, 10 min from Moab.
This National Park rocks, literally. In Arches National Park it’s hard to believe in how many shapes rock can erode. I know, it takes a long time and it does not happen in many places. But still, it’s just amazing. To see many of the rock features in this park up close you will have to hike. Not hard hikes, but still, be ready for some hiking.
Arches highlights and photo locations: what you should not miss
When light is best: there are so many features and in so many possible orientations that you will find plenty of opportunities for both sunset and sunrise at many rock features.For a spectacular sunrise/sunset I would definitely consider Delicate arch. Check Suncalc for that! Now the park areas, in order from closer to further from the park’s entrance:
Balanced rock and the windows section: one of the most accessible sections. This is the perfect place if you are thinking about night photography, as the parking lots are very close to the rock formations. Plenty of arches here.
Delicate arch: don’t miss this. You will have to hike up a petrified sand dune for 3 mi roundtrip. A great place for sunset and sunrise photos. I recommend you move around the arch to find the best composition. In my case, I took the photo below from behind the arch. And keep in mind that it will be next to impossible to avoid having people in your frame. Bonus: You will find great petroglyphs at the beginning of the trail.
Fiery furnace: in order to hike here you will either have to sign-up for a ranger-guided tour or apply for a permit to go on your own. This area has no marked trails and it’s quite a big maze of sandstone cliffs. We didn’t have time to visit it, but the place sure is worth your time if you have it.
Double o arch trail: departs from the Devil’s garden trailhead and in two miles reaches the double o arch. Along the way you will find arches like the infamous landscape arch. Go check it out before it collapses!
6. Canyonlands National Park and Deadhorse State Park, Moab
Driving distance/time: 30 mi, 45 min from Moab.
Canyonlands National Park has three different regions or districts: Island in the Sky, the Maze and the Needles. The Maze, and specially the Needles are very remote, and therefore a lot less traveled. Since we didn’t have much time we decided to focus on the Island in the sky District, which covers the area north of the Green and Colorado rivers junction and is the most visited. If you have the time and a nice AWD vehicle, this park begs to be discovered slowly, just like Capitol Reef.
Canyonlands highlights and photo locations: what you should not miss
When light is best: As a photographer and visitor I think the area has two major highlights. The first one is seeing the sunrise from Mesa arch. This is probably the most magical sunrise I have ever witnessed. And the second one is seeing the sunset from Deadhorse State Park, right by Canyonlands. So here’s my suggestion, go see the sunset from Deadhorse point the day you get there (photo below) and go to Mesa arch in Canyonlands for the sunrise. Pure magic.
Since I wanted to be able to photograph the sunrise from Mesa arch, we decided to camp nearby Canyonlands, at the Horsethief campground, where I took the photo you can see below.
Next morning, we headed to Mesa arch very early in the morning (5ish). Keep in mind that you will have to hike around 20′ to get to the arch from the parking lot (0.5 mi). And when the sun rose, it was the most amazing thing I have seen a rock do. The rock underneath the arch turned from faint red, to yellowish, to be on fire (photo below).
And just to give you an idea on how many people were there well before sunrise, take a look at the photo below… pretty bad quality, I know, but you get the idea right? This is unfortunately the not so nice part behind some photos…
Oh well, I was just trying to do what everyone else was there for, so can’t complain much. And believe me that when the sun rose there was a symphony of shutters, all firing at once, many times. Some people just seem addicted to the continuous shooting mode. Finally, just to show you how important light conditions are, below you have a photo of the same place in the afternoon, when the sun is behind the viewer. Now pick when you want to take your photos there
7. Moab to Natural Bridges Natural Monument
Driving distance/time: 120 mi, 2h 30 min.
A good stop point along the way is Blanding, where we spent one night. Our plan was to visit Monument Valley (MV), but the drive from Moab to MV is quite long and so we decided to break the trip into two legs by visiting the Natural Bridges Natural Monument.
Why should you visit Natural Bridges? Because they have very impressive Puebloan pictographs and petroglyphs that are quite accessible (photo below).
I strongly recommend that you stop by the rangers station to get info on the possible hikes and art sites. We ended up hiking to the Owachomo bridge and the Kachina Bridge where most of the Puebloan petroglyphs and pictographs can be found. You can reach both bridges after very short hikes that in the case of the Kachina bridge involve going down some ladders into the canyon.
8. Natural Bridges to Monument Valley
Driving distance/time: 70 mi, 2 hrs.
Be aware that a long portion of Hwy 261 is unpaved and descends into the lower elevations through many switchbacks. However, this route is suited for any kind of vehicle. If you have the time, it is worth stopping at the Goosenecks State Park where you can take a pretty impressive photo of the San Juan river below.
Monument Valley is the pure image of the american west. Is there any one out there who has never seen the Mittens?? Well, to know everything you need to know about this sacred place in the Navaho Nation take a look at my Photography guide to Monument Valley where you will find all the information related to camping within the park, taking photographic tours and taking photos of star trails with the Mittens in the foreground, among other cool things. Don’t miss it!
9. Monument Valley to Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe bend, Page AZ
Driving distance/time: 130 mi, 2h 30 min.
If you think that between Monument Valley and Grand Canyon there’s not much to see and photograph, think twice, because around Page you will find some of the most amazing places to photograph. In Page we camped in the Wahweap campground by the Lake Powell.
Page highlights and photo locations: what you should not miss
Page is like a big playground for a photographer. In its vicinity you will find three outstanding places to shoot: Antelope Canyon, the Horseshoe Bend and The Wave in the Coyote Buttes area. Let’s take a look at these places:
Horseshoe bend
How to get there: drive south on Hwy 89 (1.4 mi from Hwy 98 junction), and a unpaved parking area will be to your right. From there you will have to walk 10-2o min up and down some sandy slopes to reach the river overlook. Be aware that there are no security railings at the overlook and fatalities have occurred here in the past. Nothing prevents your from falling if you get too close!
Photo tips for Horseshoe bend: light is definitely best at sunset, when the sun will be in the frame, like in the photo below. As usual, either use multiple exposures or ND grad filters to tame the sunset light (I did use filters). I recommend using a super-wide angle lens to capture the entire bend. An 18mm lens on a crop-sensor DSRL will not be enough. I used the Tokina 11-16mm at its widest end.
Antelope Canyon
How to get there: from the junction of Hwys 89 and 98, drive 5 miles east on Hwy 98. The upper Antelope canyon will be to your right and the lower to your left.
Security first: check the weather forecast for the entire region around Page. You don’t want to be inside such narrow slot canyon in the event of a flash flood, which does happen. Believe me, it is very narrow at places and is very crowded.
Photo tips for Antelope Canyon:
Bring a tripod, as there is little light inside of the canyons and you will most probably take long exposures. It is dusty in there, so avoid changing lenses as much as possible, for instance, by using zoom lenses.
Bring a cable release or remote, since your time inside the canyon is limited. You don’t want to be waiting for the timer for every photo, do you? I suggest you use spot metering mode and expose for the areas you want well exposed. Most photographers come to this slot canyon to photograph the light shafts that form at certain moments of the day, some days. So if you go there just to see/photograph the shafts keep in mind that you may not see them.
I would definitely contact professional photographers in the area before your visit to know what time is best to see the shafts at the time of your visit. I have mixed feelings about Antelope Canyon. It is a spectacular place to visit and I had very high hopes as a photographer, as I had seen very cool photos of the place. Reality however, was a little different.
Upper Antelope Canyon is extremely crowded and my idea that I would have the time and space to take photos of the light shafts just didn’t happen . I even booked a photo tour with the Navaho’s, but they got me into a regular tour instead (I didn’t notice initially), reason why I was late to the light shafts and basically moving with a ton of people around me. It was even hard to get the money back for the failed photo tour. For these reasons many people decide to visit the Lower Antelope Canyon instead, which is less crowded, although what I hear is that is not as nice. In retrospect I wish I had a quieter time in a different location. But that is just me.
Coyotte Buttes and The Wave
This place is out of this world. I you don’t know what I am talking about just google “the wave” with one hand and hold your jaw with the other. It is very cool, yes, reason why everyone seems to want to go there. And yes, you guessed it right. Access to the area is extremely regulated, to the point that you may need a miracle to obtain a permit. We tried to get a walk-in permit, and didn’t get it. Oh well, in my next life maybe! There are multiple ways to get a permit, all of them equally unlikely to make you a winner. If you want the full explanation check out this website. Good luck!
10. Page to Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park
Driving distance/time: 95 mi, 2 hrs.
This was a side trip for us before reaching the North Rim at Grand Canyon National Park. If you don’t have the time, just skip it. However, it’s a cool place to chill away from the beaten path in a quite peculiar landscape. If you want to know more about this State Park, take a look at this post. Sunset is probably the best time to photograph here (left), as well as during the night for some spectacular star trail photos.
11. Coral Pink Sand Dunes to Grand Canyon North Rim
Driving distance/time: 110 mi, allow 4-5 hrs.
Another long day on the road here. The North Rim is pretty remote and far less visited than the south rim. It’s also cooler, all good reasons to choose it over the south. However, the views are somewhat less impressive for some, as the north rim sits on a side canyon, not the principal canyon (photo below). We decided to camp at the North Rim Campground, which is fairly close to the Grand Canyon lodge (it’s very well worth visiting, if only for the views from inside).
Grand Canyon North Rim highlights and photo locations: what you should not miss
When light is best: Sunset at Bright Angel Point (photos below). Sunset and potentially sunrise at Cape Royal. Sunrise from Point Imperial.
As you can imagine from last line, three of the best places to photograph are Bright Angel Point (0.75 mi from the lodge, paved), Point Imperial and Cape Royal. All of them let you stick your nose into the void of the Grand Canyon, and I would definitely visit them all.
To get to Point Imperial and Cape Royal you will have to drive quite a little bit from the Grand Canyon Lodge, but this is a very nice scenic road. Don’t miss it, For day hikes into the canyon check out this page. Be aware that descending into the canyon is strenuous and can be dangerous due to heat and dehydration. You have been warned.
12. Grand Canyon to St. George
Driving distance/time: 95 mi, 4h 30 min. A good stopping point is the Pipe Spring National Monument, 14 miles east from Fredonia on Hwy 389. There you will learn some history about the area and the first settlers. Although driving from the North Rim to Las Vegas can be done in less than seven hours we decided to split the trip and make a stop in St. George. Turns out they have a pretty nice museum (www.) with a huge amount of dinosaur tracks and other fossils that were discovered in the area. So if you have the time it’s worth a visit! We spent the night camping at Sand Hollow State Park. This was one of the last nature photo before hitting Las Vegas again.
13. St. George to Las Vegas.
Driving distance/time: 140 mi, 2h 30 min.
End of the trip for us. Just don’t gamble all your money now! As always, if you have any questions or comments let me know!
And if you found this guide useful you can also take a look at my other photography and travel guides:
Photography guide to Monument Valley
Photography guide to Maui, Hawai’i
Photography guide to Alaska
Photography guide to Olympic National Park: the woods
Photography guide to Olympic National Park: the coast
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