Star Studded Journey | The Canyons of Utah

Days 1-2

Salt Lake City

Arrive in Salt Lake City, Utah. Two nights here to find your feet and explore the Mormon Capital of the World. Salt Lake is a fascinating city of contrasts, the beautiful white buildings of the Temple area, the natural majesty of the surrounding lakes and mountains and, of course, where films such as High School Musical, Independence Day and Pirates of the Caribbean were shot.

2 nights Salt Lake City

Day 3

Salt Lake City to Sundance

Sundance Mountain Resort is owned by one of the world’s most acclaimed actors, Robert Redford, and the filming site of Jeremiah Johnson, this chic eco resort is synonymous with film, as the birthplace of the internationally renowned Sundance Film Festival. If you can tear yourself away from the hotel you can take the lift to the top of Ray’s Summit, enjoy hiking or mountain biking; alternatively, try your luck on the Provo River, one of the world’s premier trout rivers. The resort is expensive so you might like to stay nearby in Provo or the mountain resort of Park City.

1 night Sundance

Days 4-6

Sundance to Moab

Moab is not only the ‘adventure capital’ of Utah, but it is surrounded by astonishing natural beauty. Moab itself is a bustling town with lots of hotels, restaurants and bars but you are really coming here to see the 2,000 natural stone arches of Arches National Park and the jaw-dropping Canyonlands National Park. Amongst the many activities available, Frontier America would suggest a Hummer tour, some white water rafting or some horse-riding. Moab has plenty of hotels in town, but we would recommend the Red Cliffs Resort about 25 minutes out of town where the fascinating Movie Museum of Moab is housed or Sorrel River Ranch, just down the road, was where Johnny Depp stayed when they were making Lone Ranger. Notable film credits include Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade which were filmed at the Arches, Thelma and Louise’s famous cliff jump was at Dead Horse Point State Park.

3 nights in Moab

Days 7-8

Moab to Monument Valley

Monument Valley is in the Navajo reservation established in 1958 on the border of Arizona and Utah; it is about 5,500 feet above sea level with temperatures averaging about 90F in summer with just 8 inches of rain per year. Yet despite these tough conditions, Monument Valley has been the setting for more Western movies than any other site in the United States. You cannot help but be fascinated with its unique sandstone formations, the Navajo Indian Nation and the Four Corners Monument which between them define this vast, open desert region. Classic films such as Stagecoach and the Easy Rider films of the 1960s were filmed here along with more recent offerings such as Forest Gump and the Lone Ranger.

You can stay either in the heart of the valley or in nearby Bluff. Although not a movie destination, you might want to take advantage of the fact that only a couple of hours detour would take you to the extraordinary cliff dwellings of the Puebloan people in Mesa Verde.

Be warned! if you stay in the Valley, the reservation is “dry” in all senses of the word and you will only be served non-alcoholic drinks.

2 nights Monument Valley

Day 9

Monument Valley to Capitol Reef or Lake Powell

Today is decision day! You can either drive to the Capitol Reef National Park or decide that you need a break from the Parks in the utter luxury of the Amangiri Resort near Lake Powell. Capitol Reef is a hidden treasure filled with cliffs, canyons, domes and bridges in the Waterpocket Fold, a geologic monocline (a wrinkle on the earth) extending almost 100 miles.

Your hotel for the night will either be at the Broken Spur Inn in Torrey or, as they say for something completely different, an old fashioned Airstream (many of which have been used by stars such as Cary Grant whilst on location) at the Shooting Star RV park in Escalente. Between Capitol Reef and Bryce Canyon is one of the one of the most scenic of all the scenic byways in the USA: Scenic Byway Highway 12. There are lots of places to stop along the way, one of the more interesting is the Upper Valley Graineries

Tucked into the cliff face above this pull-out is a small stone-and-mud-daubed structure constructed by Ancient Puebloans. The structure is thought to be a storage place for corn, grain, and other foods grown and harvested nearby. A viewing tube directs your eyes to the granary that would otherwise be hard to see as it blends so well into the landscape

If you choose Amangiri, assuming you can pull yourself away from the resort, you can visit Bryce Canyon and Lake Powell and rejoin the main holiday in Zion.

1 night wherever you choose

Day 10

Capitol Reef to Bryce Canyon

See the spectacular red rock amphitheatre of Bryce Canyon and its thousands of delicately carved, brilliantly coloured spires (like giant red rock Terracotta Warriors). On a quiet day, stand in the valley floor and you will hear the rocks cracking sending pebbles bouncing down sounding like rainfall. Millions of years of wind, water and geologic mayhem have shaped and etched the pink cliffs at Bryce, which isn’t actually a canyon but the eastern slope of the Paunsaguant Plateau.

The Bryce Amphitheater is one of a series of “breaks” eroded into the eastern slope of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. The rock that caps the plateau has a pink hue and it varies considerably in terms of hardness. Over millions of years, softer spots have eroded away. Harder rock has remained and has been chiseled by wind and water into interesting shapes – the cliffs, hoodoos and castles that make Bryce famous.

You can drive on to Zion, but we recommend a night at Ruby’s Inn or the Lodge at Bryce Canyon in the park so that you can gaze at the stars at night led by expert ‘Dark Rangers’.

1 night Bryce Canyon

Days 11-12

Bryce Canyon to Zion National Park

Head to Zion National Park. Zion was first inhabited over 8000 years ago by small groups of Native Americans but the name comes from the Mormons who settled the area in the 1850s. The Zion Canyon, which is 15 miles long and up to half a mile deep, was cut through the reddish and tan-coloured Navajo Sandstone by the North Fork of the Virgin River and results in one of the most stunning of all the amazing US parks. Hiking possibilities are endless but amongst the favourites are The Narrows through the waters of the Virgin River or up the steep face of Angels Landing.

During your 2-day stay, film buffs can visit Grafton, the ‘ghost town’, near Springdale where the famous bicycle scene in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was filmed. You might like to detour to the film industry town of Kanab, close to Lake Powell and home to the Little Hollywood Museum. Kanab’s film debut was in 1924 with Deadwood Coach and when Frank Sinatra came to town with the Rat Pack, he paid for a swimming pool to be built at the Parry Lodge – where guests can still stay. We suggest staying at Zion Mountain Ranch near the back entrance to the park or Zion Lodge which is in the park.

2 nights Zion

Days 13-15

Zion National Park to Las Vegas

The switch from the natural beauties of the Utah National Parks to the razzmatazz of Vegas might just blow your mind, but on the assumption that you survive, we recommend a couple of days in Vegas before returning home. A visit to the Grand Canyon can form part of your stay too.

3 nights in Las Vegas

Day 16

Las Vegas

Time to leave and fly back home to the UK