By Emily Hlavac Green
The tail end of summer felt like a good time to escape the city and head out west for an adventure. Having never visited Utah or Colorado, we made a rough plan to drive east from Las Vegas to Escape’s Denver campervan rental location. 11 nights, 10 hikes, 7 national parks.Zion to Bryce
I could’ve spent a week in Zion alone, but we were on the move so squeezed in one more hike there. We rented a wooden stick (crucial) and waded up the river through The Narrows hike. At times the river was waist-deep and we scrambled over rocks, which was such a thrill!
Later en route to Bryce Canyon the rock formations began to change, getting more carved out and spire-like. We set up camp at Cabin Hollow just out of Bryce. With a backdrop of hoodoos behind us, the temperature was much cooler so we snuggled round the fire and dried out our soaked boots.
Bryce to Escalante
The next morning we hit Bryce early and hiked a decent chunk of the trails – Queens Garden to Wall St, and Peek a Boo to Two Bridges. It was magnificent walking through arches and popping out into another expanse of orange ant-hill like formations. Onwards to Escalante, we stopped at a cool little store called Escalante Mercantile for fresh local mozzarella, tomatoes, and arugula to make pizzas. I was determined to see what we could create in our Escape kitchen, and it worked! You can check out my pizza recipe here. That night we camped at Hole in The Rock amongst wildflowers under a clear, starry sky.Escalante to Capitol Reef
The slow bumpy drive out to Spooky and PeekaBoo slot canyons in the middle of Escalante taught me the true meaning of washboard roads. Getting there is totally worth it though, and the place was completely quiet. After a searing hot walk through the desert we found the canyons and slalomed our way through, some gaps only just big enough to fit through with rock falls to crawl under and the odd tarantula. I can see why they call them spooky! Later that day we drove along the top ridge of the Dixie pass road and stopped at a very hidden trailhead to Upper Calf Creek Falls. We scaled the rocky cliff down for a swim then hiked back up to the van. The rest of the alpine pass through to Capitol Reef National Park was stunning; glittered with birch trees catching the twilight and open ranch cows grazing roadside. Barely able to move after miles of hiking, that night we camped just out of the park surrounded by towering red rock, with a few well-deserved beers.Capitol Reef to Monument Valley
This next leg was a biggie; we covered some serious ground in a single day and I reckon could have done with an extra night in here to explore Capitol Reef more. But we got on the road early, stopping on a local’s recommendation at Mesa Farm Market for fresh goat cheese, yogurt, and wood-fired bread. We hit up Natural Bridge National Monument and Bears Ears, continuing the drive through Mexican Hat to stop for a delicious Navajo Taco, and onto the epic Monument Valley.Monument Valley to Canyonlands
I should’ve done a little more research here as Canyonlands is HUGE, and just one day isn’t enough. We chose the southern Needles section and hiked the Devils Kitchen route – a decent 18km walk. Afterward, we drove through Moab to find an epic camp spot perched above the Colorado River where we met up with our friends traveling from Seattle.Arches National Park
Our group hiked the Devils Garden Loop, this was pretty short but had some fun rock scrambles. It was the busiest of all the parks we visited, and to be honest, not as challenging as some. We favored the longest or most difficult rated trail in a park, and this was a breeze. The highlight of the day was actually a shorter hike to Mill Creek Waterfall trail in Moab for a swim and beers in the afternoon sun.Moab to Durango via the San Juan Skyway
This portion of our journey was where we really saw the landscape change as we entered Colorado. Parts of the winding drive were along the old silver mine trails with minerals making the mountains striking pink and trees changing from green to fiery yellow. There were still beautiful old wooden sheds intact high on the hills and against the autumnal palette it felt like driving through a postcard. We made a detour to Telluride for a coffee, then spent a cool night camped just out of Durango in a forest.Great Sand Dunes National Park to Valley View Hot Springs
The thing about these dunes is you really have to see them in real life to truly understand their scale. We rented a couple of boards and wax from the store on the way in and loaded up on oatmeal in the camper before taking to the slopes. It is a tough hike up to the highest peak, and not many people were going the distance, but worth it for the exhilarating trip back down on the sand boards.To treat ourselves on our last night, we booked a camp spot at Valley View Hot Springs and arrived in the dark. We spent hours under the stars in the natural hot tubs soothing our achy legs and swapping stories with travelers from all over.
