Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Wonderful Family Vacation - SW Utah "Mighty Five"

The VarmintWife and I just returned from a wonderful and amazing 9 day venture to Utah's "Mighty Five" National Parks (Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef and Zion!) along with two Utah State Parks ("Goblins" and "Dead Horse").
We chose to hire a tour/guide service that provided wonderful and comfortable Mercedes vans as well as a competent guide along with that company arranging our top flight motels (8 nights) and all breakfasts and lunches and 4 of our 8 dinners.
Everything they provided was first class!
We did 2 to 3 short to medium distance hikes in each park and the insights our guides provided were much appreciated and informative.
Our first stay (2 nights and 2 days) after being picked up in Salt Lake City was near Canyonlands National Park in the town of Moab, Utah. Unbeknownst to us the town of Moab was hosting a week long Jeep Fest/Safari and there were literally THOUSANDS of Jeeps (most heavily customized) in that area for their yearly meeting.
It was fun to see so many thousands of people having good clean fun out in the remote spaces of Utah camping and Jeeping.
Each park we visited/hiked in had stunning views and natural wonders and we were surprised so many children were seen along the trails and roads - apparently many kids were on spring break or being home schooled and taking a break. All the youngsters seemed to be having a great time and were most often seen NOT holding/looking at electronic devices!
My two Nikon cameras were clickin away to the point I was worried their "memory cards" would be filled.
Much wildlife was observed along our travels including Mule Deer, Elk, Prairie Dogs, Rock Chucks. Antelope galore and the highlights of our wildlife viewing being three different groups of Desert Bighorn Sheep and two California Condors!
The real highlights of the trips though were the natural wonders, arches, spires, formations, huge cliffs and geology of that whole vast area.
Our guide put just at 1,000 miles on escorting us about in their van, and again, the comfort of it was welcomed as we put on the miles.
Our guide service allowed us into three or four "routes/tours" that private vehicles are NOT allowed to use.
The weather for our whole trip was sunny and cool to warm with much unmelted snow adding contrast to the countless pictures we took.
Our guides constantly pointed out and took us to secret places including springs, viewpoints, petroglyphs and places to view death defying "rock climbers" in action - I thought their service and convenience was well worth the dollars spent on them.
I highly recommend this area (the "Mighty Five" National Parks of southern Utah) for a relaxing, educational, awe inspiring and beautiful family style vacation.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Yes, I think that is beautiful country.

I spent a lot of time there in the 50s and 60s, before many of those Parks were created.

Then in the early 2000s we camped, 4 wheeled, and explored a lot of the Green River, San Rafael, Sand Dunes, and other country West of Salt Lake and the town of Nephi.

Buffybr: We crossed the Green River there and at the time we had three guides in our tour van - all of them had fished the Green River and gave it rave reviews.
I'll get back there fishin someday.
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VarmintGuy

Sounds like an amazing trip. My best vacation to date was a family trip through SD to Yellowstone. I love the West and would like to make it back to see UT and AZ.

VG glad you liked it down here, southern Utah sure is some beautiful country. We shot the heck out of prarie dogs just outside the town of Green River about 3 weeks ago.

What was the guide service, VG? Even for Utah residents, that sounds like a great vacation.

Sounds like you had a great time! I love it down there, I go every few years. Always try to hit up Goblin Valley if I am that far south, it is easily one of the coolest places in the state if you ask me.

RockyRaab: The VarmintWife says it was "Southwest Adventure Tours"!
Two of the three guides were wonderful Mormon fellows who are independently wealthy and just do the tours to meet and greet folks from around the world and the third guide was a recently retired Utah State Park guide who had served at Antelope Island, Dead Horse Point parks and others.
All were lifelong Hunters, Boy Scout leaders, outdoorsmen and avid Trump supporters.
One of our guides had led a backpack week long tour down into and along Grand Canyon the week before our trip - he got snowed on and did a slippery exit up and out of that canyon.
The Southwest Adventure Tours has a great website and some of our photos are shown on the "Vamoose" portion of that site.

Timebrmaster: Indeed the "Goblin Valley" Park took our breath away as it was mostly a surprise to us - must have taken a hundred photos there.
Sunrises in those parks were just soul touching!
Good for you getting down that'away so often.
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VarmintGuy

Nice write up, Dale.

Sounds like a wonderful trip. Giving me a blueprint for the upcoming Morewood family tour of the contiguous US.

wouldn't go near Moab on Easter week........sorry

Fuggin Z O O

Thanks for rekindling some memories - did those five and ran all over the back country black tops in that realm on motorcycles with some former students a while back - simply beautiful and uncrowded big country - colorful rocks, blue sky, big vistas. Then, ran up to nearby Panguich Lake for fishing - rich with big trout.

Thanks. I'll look them up for sure.

Edit: That Mighty Five trip looks great, and it is a bargain, IMO.

Good sight seeing, but hard to really see Utah, because of restricted road access.

Take a float trip from Flaming Gorge down to Green River.

Go back of Moab, towards the Manti La Sal towards Urivan or follow the Colorado up to Grand Junction.

Go west past Delta, into the Wah, Wahs , probably won't see anybody for a least a day, maybe more if you try.

Head north into Park Valley or south from Wendover, into Gold Hill country if you like rock hunting or really south to Fish Springs for duck and geese hunting.


And then theres backpacking in the high country, but thats another vacation.

Or deer hunting in the Butch Cassidy country above Vernal below Soda Springs (Idaho). yet another vacation.

Tikkanut: We were there (Moab) for two days of "Easter Week" and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!?
I never saw a law enforcement (town police or county sheriff) in the time we were thereabouts.
Do the jeep enthusiasts get drunk and rowdy or is it just the full up and no vacancy signs at the hotels, motels and campgrounds?
The folks who I approached to admire their highly modified Jeeps were all friendly and helpful - this again occurred mid-days and the motel we stayed at allowed me to sleep through the night with NO interruption by loud Jeeps/vehicles.
Please enlighten as, if I live long enough I would like to go back there during the cool/warm springtime (Easterish).

Etoh: I appreciate the tips and will mark them down.
I have indeed Hunted out of Soda Springs several times for Mule Deer - some of the Mule Deer trophy mounts I saw in hotels, motels, restaurants and bars there in Utah REALLY impressed me!
One of our guides moved to Vernal (I will look this area up) when he retired recently, to enjoy the fall Hunting thereabouts.
Thanks again.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

The Jeep people that go to Moab are mostly out of SLC. and are part of the Mall crawler Jeep fix up crew. Not saying thats bad, its what it is. You won't see those jeeps in other parts of Utah, they are very specialized climbers which is a sport by itself, just like drag racing.

west desert has lots of long range shooting, 50 cal and up, with a yearly event held in Wendover.

Border above Vernal into Wyoming has some of the best prairie dog hunting you will ever see. (coyotes, and sage grouse also)

and the Bookcliffs from the Colorado border to Price has great cougar hunting.

After living here for 35 years, I've learned that the amazing thing about Utah is that you can find it or get away from it - no matter what "it" is.

I’m hoping to get my wife out there soon after my trip out in November. Absolutely beautiful country!

IZH27: Now I am probably "older" than the average CampFirer and probably not in as good as shape as the average CampFirer but "I" would NOT like to take this tour and do all the hikes we did in July nor August!
I think November (early November) might be a pleasing time to tour the parks.

Rocky Raab: I should spend more time in Utah - I did Hunt Mule deer there once years ago south of you in an area in which the dirt "road" Skyline Drive bisected.
Our van sped past "Skyline Drive" as we were heading south and east from SLC. And seeing that road/turnoff brought back fond memories of the dandy Mule Deer Buck I saw from Skyline Drive but did not get a standing shot at.
And what is up with the traffic there 50 miles north and 50 miles south of Salt Lake City?
One of our Mormon guides had 7 (seven!) children and I forget how many grandchildren!
Anyway the traffic was "noticeable" thereabouts for me.
Enjoy your great state.
I sure like ONE of your United States Senators.
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VarmintGuy

Two-thirds of our state's population lives in that 100-mile stretch, and half of it commutes to work every day. Or used to. Congestion has eased a lot due to work at home rules. They never finish work on I-15, they just move to different parts of it year after year. Salt Lake City is a true crossroads, with interstates and trains coming in from all four directions, plus it's a major airline hub. Walmart, Costco, Sysco, Fedex, and UPS all have massive transport hubs here. So, yeah, we have traffic and air pollution. When Ol' Brigham said "This is the place" he wasn't kidding.

The upside is that once you clear that stretch, the state is as open, clear, and wild as you discovered it is.