Weekend Getaway Guide to South Utah

Living in Flagstaff, Arizona, I knew I was so close to Utah and its many national parks. I spent four years going to school and working in Flagstaff but once I knew I was moving I suddenly realized I hadn’t visited the places I wanted to. Oops. So, the Southern Utah trip was born.

Previously, my family had taken a major Utah road trip and had gone to all the major parks, so I was excited to go back. My boyfriend and I planned a trip to meet up with my brother, who is going to college in north Utah. Read on for the details to plan the perfect weekend getaway to Southern Utah including Bryce National Park and Zion National Park!

Weekend Getaway Guide to South Utah. weekend getaway ideas USA, Zion National Park guide, Bryce National Park guide

Contents hide

1 Where to Stay

1.1 Here are some other budget-friendly options:

1.2 National Park Fees and Tips

2 Bryce National Park

3 Zion National Park

3.1 Grafton Ghost Town

4 What to Pack

4.1 Summer

4.2 For your day pack:

4.3 Winter

4.4 For your day pack:

5 More Southwest America planning guides:

6 My Travel Essentials

7 Save to Pinterest

Where to Stay

For my weekend trip to South Utah, we stayed in Brian Head, UT, which is a bustling ski town in the winter, but a peaceful mountain town in the summer. It is about an hour and a half drive to each park, but since we only had one real day to spend in each park, this was the perfect middle ground.

The Airbnb we stayed in was $215 for two nights for four people (although it did fit 6 guests). If this will be a road trip (i.e. you’ll have a car), I highly recommend checking out Brian Head for affordable lodging options. If you’re visiting in the winter depending on the snow conditions, Brian Head could still work. Alternatively, I would look for lodging around Route 89 which connects the two parks.

Here are some other budget-friendly options:

Camping at the National Parks is one of the most budget-friendly options costing $20-50 for a night. You can make reservations for some of the campgrounds at Zion or Bryce here.

Outside of the national parks, you can camp for FREE on Bureau of Land Management or Forest Land Service public lands. For a full map of campsites, visit this site.

If you really want to be right next to each park, there are a few hotels, but they can be expensive, especially during the popular summer months. Take that as you will.

National Park Fees and Tips

If you are planning to go to multiple national parks, you’ll want to buy the America the Beautiful pass. You can get them at the gate to most national parks. When we went it was $80 for a full year of national park and monument access from the purchase date. Check out the full list of places it is accepted here. If you are only planning to go to a couple parks, you can pay a $30 fee per car per park. Each individual national park pass is good for 7 days into that same park. You can see why the America the Beautiful Pass is a good choice if you go to 3+ parks. Also current military can get a free annual national park pass.

Bryce National Park

First we hit up Bryce National Park. Bryce is great because you can drive through the whole park yourself, so make sure you fill up your gas tank ahead of time. There aren’t any gas stations in the park but there is one right before you go in. The first place where we stopped was Inspiration Point.

The second you see Bryce Canyon you see the awesome rock formations. This means you get to learn some geology! These awesome rock formations are called hoodoos. The hoodoos in Bryce Canyon form from “frost-wedging” due to the many freeze/thaw cycles the rocks experience each year. When the water gets into the cracks of the rocks then freezes, it expands creating larger cracks. When the water melts, it leaves behind the cracks you see. In addition to “frost-wedging”, rain also helps to sculpt the rock. Rain is slightly acidic (pH 5.2ish) and helps slowly dissolve the limestone making the hoodoos appear smooth. There is a rate of erosion, which means that the Bryce Canyon hoodoos will eventually erode away within a few hundred years.

National park travel photos, Utah, bryce — Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah, USA

There are plenty of hikes to explore. I personally am not the biggest hiker, especially in the dead of the hottest summer months, so hike for me and go boldly where no woman has gone before…meaning me.

Be sure to check out hikes outside of the national parks. One of my favorites we discovered was about 15 minutes from the Bryce Canyon visitor’s center, is a beautiful “hike” called Mossy Cave. It’s more of a stroll about one mile round trip through a canyon to a waterfall and small cave. It was way less crowded than anywhere else we visited in Bryce and was beautiful!

mossy cave grotto trail, southern utah hiking, easy family friendly hikes utah, things to do bryce canyon national park — Waterfall at Mossy Cave in Bryce Canyon.

Zion National Park

Zion is a little different than Bryce Canyon. You can drive through certain parts but the motherlode is only accessible via tram. In order to get on the tram you need to park outside of the gates in Springdale, and walk to the tram station, which is located next to the visitor’s center by the South Entrance. There is a parking lot that you can pay for but it is an extra charge.

We parked on the streets of Springdale and took the free bus line to the visitor’s center. We needed the America the Beautiful Pass to go through the entry station to the visitor’s center. There is a ticket booth there as well.

Canyon in Zion National Park in Utah with a small river surrounded by large mountains and green trees in the summer on a sunny day — Zion National Park has lots of great relaxing areas to rest in the summer heat.

We only had one day in Zion so we decided to take the Emerald Pool Trail. We got off the tram at the Zion Lodge and crossed the street to the trailhead. It was the dead of summer so the picturesque waterfalls that you would normally see were more like dribbles. Nonetheless it was gorgeous! Everyone definitely climbed up to some of the dribbles to get completely soaked.

If you plan on going in the streams or water at all, I highly suggest water shoes as it can be really slippery. As you hike farther up, you get some great views and finally reach some of the actual pools.

best trails Zion national Park, south utah, road trip southern utah national parks — Dip in the water dripping down on the Emerald Pools Trail.

Grafton Ghost Town

Another cool thing to stop and see near Zion is the ghost town Grafton, Utah. The town was founded in 1862 as a cotton farm for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Soon they realized they needed their land for food rather than cotton and eventually their farm life just wasn’t sustainable. They left by 1945.

Some cool places to look at include Alonzo H. Russel’s home built in 1862 (above) and the cemetery (below). The cemetery took us awhile to find. When you first enter the town, there is a small fork in the road. The town was to the right very clearly, but the cemetery is on the left. It was much easier to see for us on the way back, leaving the town, as it appeared almost right in front of us. Take the time to find it because it has some neat gravestones.

cemetery of the inhabitants of a ghost town in Utah — The cemetery at Grafton ghost town has incredible views of the surrounding mountains!

What to Pack

Utah weather can hit both extremes depending on the time of year. Here’s what I recommend to pack for a weekend trip for each season:

Summer

2 pairs of shorts

2 athletic tank tops or T-shirts

underwear & socks

sports bras

tennis shoes

water shoes (if you’ll be going in the Emerald Pools, the Narrows, etc.)

pajamas

bathing suit (if applicable) — my Airbnb had a jacuzzi, and you might want one if you plan to play in the water with kids, for example

toiletries

For your day pack:

sunscreen — this one is my favorite for acne-prone skin

reusable water bottle — I’ve had my insulated Fifty Fifty bottle for 4 years now!

snacks

hat

America the Beautiful pass or money for park entry

Winter

2 pairs of pants

2 T-shirts or long sleeves

Comfortable jacket — I would go with a packable puffer jacket so you stay warm.

underwear & socks

thermal underwear to layer up if it’s legitimately freezing