Utah & Colorado Road Trip Itinerary
+ Top Attractions

Las Vegas is frequently hailed as the entertainment capital of the world, hosting an array of casinos, shows and performances, clubs and music festivals, and many other activities.

The Las Vegas Strip is a massive boulevard lined with countless themed mega-casinos, many of which are incredible and worth admiring. These casinos recreate the canals of Venice, the skyscrapers of New York, the ancient Roman Forum, the Great Pyramid and Sphinx of Egypt, and even a half-sized replica of the Eiffel Tower, among many other marvels such as a pirate ship bay and a volcano. The Strip also hosts the world's largest Ferris wheel, the 550 foot (170 m) tall High Roller.

Beyond the Las Vegas Strip is the outdoor Neon Museum of the city's old neon signs, as well as a zipline over the LED canopy-covered Fremont Street, the city's Old Las Vegas Strip. In the mountains west of Las Vegas are several gorgeous hiking trails including Red Rock Canyon, First Creek, and Pine Creek. On the eastern outskirts of the city is the iconic Hoover Dam.

Zion National Park is centered around the majestic red rock Zion Canyon, which is surrounded by many incredible natural features. The Virgin River flows through this lush canyon which is filled with abundant wildlife such as elk, deer, and turkeys that you're quite likely to see. The canyon walls are up to 0.5 miles (0.8 km) tall and are very impressive.

Bryce Canyon is a truly unique and incredible landscape, which is riddles with hoodoo formations and natural amphitheaters amongst a vast red rock area with dense forests and a good chance of observing wildlife.

Most of the sights within the park are along Highway 63, which travels south from the town of Bryce into the park, gaining in elevation as you make you way up the plateau with countless viewpoints along the way. This highway passes many stunningly gorgeous overlooks, including Fairyland Point, Sunrise Point, Sunset Point, Inspiration Point, Bryce Point, and Rainbow Point all the way at the top of the plateau.

Bryce Canyon's most popular hiking trail is a combination of the Queens Garden and Navajo Loop Trail which journey through these mystical hoodoo formations. A longer route passing many mesmerizing formations is the Fairyland Loop Trail, which ventures around a different hoodoo amphitheater.

Arches National Park is home to the largest concentration of natural arches on Earth, along with many other unique rock formations surround by picturesque scenery and red rock. Both Arches and Canyonlands National Parks are adjacent to the city of Moab.

Canyonlands is a vast national park carved out by the Green River and Colorado River (upstream from the Grand Canyon) that contains many unique natural formations amongst the mesas, buttes, and canyons that make up this gorgeous landscape.

A majority of the park's best and most easily accessible sights are located in the Island in the Sky District of the park near Moab. This area is a giant towering plateau which is almost completely surrounded by winding rivers and canyons, essentially creating an island.

Colorado National Monument is a stunning landscape of canyons and complex rock formations, located next to the Colorado River and the city of Grand Junction in Western Colorado, adjacent to the Utah border. Colorado National Monument is postioned about halfway between Moab and Glenwood Springs, about 1.5 hours by car from either city.

The national monument is best known for its incredibly scenic road which follows along the canyon walls, offering countless aamzing viewpoints overlooking the beautiful landscape. Monument Canyon and Ute Canyon are some of the most photogenic stops in the park. There's also the possibility of hiking down within Monument Canyon.

Next to Colorado National Monument are the McInnis Canyons, which are home to the second largest concentration of natural arches in the world, second only to the nearby Arches National Park of Utah.

The route between the cities of Denver and Aspen/Glenwood Springs passes through a vast wilderness of forests and mountain. Just west of Denver is Mount Evans, one of the few high altitude peaks of the Rocky Mountains which has a road leading to the summit, passing by Echo Lake and beautiful Summit Lake. From the top you can enjoy stunning views over the Chicago Lakes and surrounding landscape. Nearby you can admire the St. Mary's Glacier and Saint Marys Lake which it feeds.

Continue along the highway, taking detours to the Loveland Pass which sits atop the Continental Divide, as well as the picturesque Dillon Reservoir in the city of Silverthorne. The scenic route to Aspen includes the majestic Independence Pass and the mesmerizing Grottos Trail, which hosts slick intricate grotto caves carved out by ice and waterfalls.

Denver is the capital city of Colorado and is located just east of Rocky Mountain National Park. The national park is adjacent to the suburb of Boulder. In Downtown Denver you'll find the historical Larimer Square, which hosts many shops, restaurants, and a thriving nightlife scene. Denver also hosts the impressive Denver Art Museum, as well as the lush Denver Botanic Gardens, which features many abstract and modern art pieces on display.

Rocky Mountain National Park is centered around one of the most gorgeous natural areas of Colorado, located with the grand Rocky Mountains range, just west of Denver. This area features countless hiking trails, many of them venturing up to pristine glacial lakes within the densely forested mountains past beautiful streams and waterfalls. You're also very likely to see wildlife such as deer, moose, and mountain goats within these vast forests.

The Colorado Springs area hosts many amazing natural and man-made attractions. The city's most iconic sight is the Garden of the Gods, a gorgeous landscape of striking steep red rock formations that you can walk amongst. Nearby is a similar area known as Red Rock Canyon which hosts more hiking opportunities.

This day will mostly consist of a long scenic drive, with several notable attractions along the way, as you make your way up towards Colorado Springs from Durango or nearby Mesa Verde National Park. Within the San Juan National Forest you can admire the stunning Treasure Falls and views from Wolf Creek Pass Overlook.

Further along the route is the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, which features a massive natural sand dune sea set amongst the mountains. Create your own hiking path in the sand while exploring these stunning vast dunes while enjoying the scenery. Nearby you can hike to the gorgeous Zapata Falls.

Much further northeast is the Bishop Castle, an incredible structure which has been built out of stone by one man over many years. Finally if you still have time you might visit the Royal Gorge Bridge, which spans a deep canyon.

Mesa Verde National Park is the largest archaeological preserve in the USA, containing a high concentration of very old and impressive Native American structures and sites. Be sure to pre-book ranger-led tours if you'd like to explore several of these amazing structures up-close, including the Long House, Balcony House, and Cliff Palace.

The drive through the park is quite scenic with many great viewpoints to stop at along the way, such as the Montezuma Valley Overlook. The remote western portion of the national park hosts the stunning Long House and Step House ruins.

Along the park's southern road you'll encounter the Chapin Mesa Archaeological Museum as well as the rest of the park's main ruins, including the Coyote Village, Far View House, Spruce Tree House, Square Tower House, Cliff Palace, and Balcony House among others. In addition you'll find countless smaller structures and many amazing views overlooking the cliff dwelling-filled canyons.

Visit Monument Valley, a stunning desert landscape with massive sandstone buttes and mesas that rise above rise high above the valley floor. This valley has been featured in many films and TV shows as an idyllic portrayal of the great American Southwest. Monument Valley sits along the border of Arizona and Utah and is a Navajo Tribal Park.

The best way to see the valley is to drive along the smooth 17 mile (27.5 km) dirt road loop, which is incredibly scenic offering many viewpoints along the way (and can be traversed by almost any vehicle). Within the park you'll find the iconic John Ford Point, countless stunning formations, as well as beautiful and inexpensive handmade Navajo jewelry and crafts. The park's only hiking trail is the Wildcat Trail, which loops around the Sentinel Mesa.

Consider booking a Navajo-led tour to see the picturesque Lower Monument Valley, as well as several arches, Anasazi ruins, and petroglyphs. This section of Monument Valley is only accessible via guided tour and contains many scenic and highly picturesque sights.

The city of Page is located in Northern Arizona very close to the Utah border and the extremely scenic Lake Powell, in an area of immense natural beauty. Page is surrounded by stunning geological formations such as the gorgeous Horseshoe Bend, a massive and picturesque canyon bend in the Colorado River that's approximately 1,000 feet (300 m) tall.

Just east of Page are the iconic Upper and Lower Antelope Canyons, which consist of incredibly beautiful winding red slot canyons. Upper Antelope Canyon is known for the famous beams of light that shine into the canyon, however both canyons are extremely scenic and used in images such as screensavers around the world.

Around Page you'll find many other mesmerizing places, some of which are only accessible via special tours, such as Rainbow Bridge National Monument, Secret Canyon, and X Canyon.