Heading to Cannonville in June with the family. What are some myst see/do while there?

We plan on going to Bryce Canyon, Zion, Arches and Canyonlands NPs.

Not interested in super strenuous hikes but moderate hikes under 10 miles would be ideal.

My wife already shot down Angel's Staircase.

Anything else we should do outside the national parks?

Tagged - relevant to my interests.

Since you’re from a place that worships a mediocre hamburger chain on the sane level as burger king, do yourself a favor and get some in n out in St George.

I'd ask your fellow Texans that invade CO and UT all summer and winter.

Better that the Cali's though

OP, the four parks are awesome.  They will take up all your time.  Devil's garden in Arches is my favorite hike.

There's an in n out less than 8 miles from my house.

Don't plan on driving 1200 miles just to eat mediocre hamburgers.

Dead horse Point, Goblin Valley, Hole in the rock, monument valley

Lower Calf Creek Falls. I have it on good authority that a 9 year old boy found an arrowhead along the trail about a month ago.

Rafting in Moab. Grab a burger at Milts in Moab. Hike Mill Creek falls (left hand) and go cliff diving in Moab. Climb the indian ladder in moonflower canyon in Moab.



I like Moab

I-70 is a beautiful drive; but north of where you're going.

I've asked around and every Texan I asked said to drive 10 under in the left lane and let everyone know I'm from Texas. So I've got that on the list to do.

White Rim Trail.

If you have time a nice loop is drive the Burr Trail from Boulder through Grand Staircase Escalante NM to Capitol Reef National Park  then head north on Notom  Rd to  24 then west through Capitol Reef to Torrey than south back to Boulder on 12. 4wd is best and be prepared with sufficient water and provisions in case of breakdown. You will be out in the backcountry on fairly decent roads and the scenery and sense of seclusion is outstanding.

Make sure you have entry ticket reservations for all the parks.

The state parks are less crowded.  Dead horse state park is a good alternative to Canyonlands.

The brewery in Moab is good.

The dinosaur trackways near Moab are awesome.  A bunch on BLM land readily accessible from the highway.  BLM just destroyed a few ancient tracks in the last year.  

Been scouting out southern Utah for early fall, and hopefully my back will be healed from surgery next week.

If your wife comes around to Angel's Landing, know that it is online reservation only now.  One of my friends just got back from Zion and swears that the Narrows hike is one of the best hikes he's done.

Just be prepared for crowds. It’s like Going to Disneyland crowded in the four parks, though a little less so in Canyonlands, butt Moab is a zoo.

I just got back from Kanab 8 days ago. The best hike I did was wire pass and buckskin gulch. It’s an in and out hike of slot canyons.
Download the  Recreation.gov app on your phone. Arches now requires reservations to get in. You can also enter the lotto for the wave on it. You will also need it to pay for wire pass if you decide to do it.
The needles section of canyonlands is in my estimation better than island in the sky.

ETA:  We we’re in Moab the week before thanksgiving last year. So, take 191 north out of Moab to Potash road. Turn left and there is a nice hike with 2 arches at the end of it. All of it is slick rock walking. Lots of climbing done on that road too.
Also if you turn right off 191 there, it takes you up into the LaSal mountains.

At Cedar Breaks, there is a trail that goes along the rim.  Easy and scenic, it goes through a Bristlecone Pine forest, some of the oldest living things on earth.  Sitting above Cedar Breaks is Brian Head, the tallest thing around and great views, you can drive to the top.

Probably a lot less crowded than Bryce and Zion, if that matters.

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You’re going to love it.

Thanks for all the replies so far.

We already have a reservation for Arches and we also have a season pass for the National Parks.

Last week the road was still blocked and they still had 2’ of snow.

Personally no interest in anything crowded and touristy. Took a motorcycle ride with three friends last summer. From a motorcycling perspective, highlights were Monument Valley, Valley of the Gods, the Moki Dugway, Muley Point, Burr Trail + Burr Trail Switchbacks, UT 12 between Boulder & Escalante, the Hogback on UT 12 south of Boulder, and UT 24 between Torrey and Caineville.

It will be gone by June most likely.

Go get stuck somewhere and call Matt's Off-road Recovery.

They have penguins now.

I'll have to get AAA first.

Castle Creek.... there is a winery on the route with decent wines. But that drive is like taking a ride along the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. Well worth the time.

A quick link to show some of the beauty

For good hiking info buy yourself a subscription to all trails. It’s worth it.

Didn't find a whole lot better to eat in Southern Utah.  Would like to know where there is some good food.  Jacob Lake had a good little restraunt with trout, but that's Northern Arizona.  

I am working on a list of places if I get a Wave reservation.    I am up to six or so slot canyons,  Natural Bridges National Monument, Horseshoe Bend in Page, AZ.  The Goblin place.

Day 1

Wave  (Mini wave, second wave, Big Mac)

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1-aRFTFoamiYs77ee2nIrrp64cLQ&ll=36.996058%2C-112.00631999999999&z=14

Day 2

Wire Pass and portions of Buckskin Gulch  (slot canyons)

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/embed?mid=1M4-E2TAb9l3SObcvaAaoPDTW6pk&ll=37.02270204137605%2C-112.00420763110354&z=14

Day 3

Day 4

Goblin Valley State Park

Little Wild Horse Canyon (about six miles west of Goblin State Park):

https://www.foxintheforest.net/little-wild-horse-canyon/

https://www.earthtrekkers.com/little-wild-horse-canyon-bell-canyon-loop/

North about 0.7 mile from Goblin Valley then west (left) on Utah 1013.  About four miles.  110.803 W, 38.58 N.     On westbound I-70 head south at the Highway 24 exit toward Goblin Valley/Hanksville. After about 24.2 miles, you’ll turn right on Temple Mountain Road – following signs to Goblin Valley State Park.

Continue for a few miles down Temple Mountain Road, then turn left onto Goblin Valley Road. You’ll follow this road for about 6 miles, then make a right on Wild Horse Road. From here it’s another 5.4 miles to the trailhead, which is clearly marked on the right after a wash.

Wild Horse Window     https://www.climb-utah.com/SRS/whw.htm

North of Goblin Valley State Park

Wild Horse Window is located in Emery County between the towns of Green River and Hanksville.    From Green River, Utah follow I-70 west for 11 miles to Exit #149 and Highway 24.  Follow Highway 24 south for 24 miles to mile maker 136 and the signed turn-off to Goblin Valley State Park.  Follow the Goblin Valley road west for 5.2 miles to Temple Junction and a BLM information kiosk.

At Temple Junction, the road heading west (straight ahead) leads to the Temple Mountain Pictographs and other destinations. Take the road heading south (left) and follow it for 0.3 miles to an unsigned dirt road heading west (right).   Follow the dirt road for 0.3 miles to its end overlooking Temple Wash. This is the Wild Horse Window Trailhead.

From the Wild Horse Window Trailhead (N38° 38' 51", W110° 39' 46") look directly west, about half way up the side of the reef you will see what looks like a giant cave.   The giant cave is Wild Horse Window.   Hike west following a hiker made trail, cross Temple Wash and climb up the west bank. Take a sighting on the giant cave and make a beeline for Wild Horse Window (N38° 39' 12", W110° 40' 35").     Lots of fun can be had by all exploring the area around Wild Horse Window.    On the hike back to the trailhead it is possible to visit a kiddie slot canyon if you look in the entrance of the canyon known as Wild Horse Canyon just to the south.

Day 5

Little Death Hollow Slot Canyon-Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument

Natural Bridges NM

Day 6

Balanced Rock at Arches NP

Delicate Arch

Miscellaneous to be researched:

Horseshoe Bend (Page, AZ)

Slot canyons

https://www.earthtrekkers.com/slot-canyons-american-southwest/

3.    Horseshoe Bend slot canyon (Secret Canyon):    https://horseshoebendtours.com/

$135 (Reservations)

4.      Canyon X :    

https://www.antelopecanyon-x.com/antelope-canyon-x-photography-tours/

5.  Zebra slot canyon:  Escalante, Utah.  Likely to be dropped due to standing water pools.

https://www.earthtrekkers.com/slot-canyons-american-southwest/

Loved Zion on two wheels!

Little Wild Horse Canyon and Goblin Valley.

Beat.  Goblin valley is pretty cool and tops my recommended list.

In Zion: Angel’s Landing is worth the hike. As is Observation Point.

Rent a UTV with Moab Cowboy Off-Road Adventures in Moab and go on a tour with them.

How far did you go in BuckSkin Gulch?

I may get a Garmin GPSMAP 66i to get the InReach satellite communication capability.

Emerald Lakes at Zion will have a surreal ending…feels like a different planet.
Narrows is cool too as long as no flash flood thunderstorms.

In n out is shit.  Go to culver's.

I second this. Rode this on a motorcycle 10 years ago, and the sights were outstanding.

As warned, be prepared with lots of water in case you get a flat or stuck in a sudden monsoon rain.

It is secluded, and you won't see many people in there.

4 wheel drive is recommended. It can get sandy along stretches.

Grand view point at sunset is one that not a ton of people make the trip for. It’s an out and back so you can hike as far as you want.

You have plenty on your schedule, but we also like Dead Horse

Hike the Fiery Furnace in Arches. I’d advise getting a guide though.

Wouldn’t be hard to get lost and die in there.

I guess hiking the Subway is out then

Rt12 between Escalante and Torrey.  Goes through Boulder which was the last town in the continental US to get year-round mail delivery (at least that is the claim).

It pretty much always makes the top ten scenic roads in America. A lot of varied scenery in a relatively short drive.

Meander through slick rock country, red rock canyons, and alpine-ish meadows going over Boulder Mountain.  There is a place up fairly high where there is no berm, narrowish, and a big drop-off on both sides  I don't have any pics of that).  I don't like heights.  It was disturbing going over that section on the bike.

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Thanks for the ideas for my trip this fall. Marked on maps for future use.

Southern Utah & northern Arizona is God's country.

Just stepped off the plane a few minutes ago.  

Bell & Little Wild Horse Canyon are cool.  I only saw one other person in Bell, by the time I made it to Wild Horse it was really busy.  Little Wild Horse gets pretty tight, go there early and have fun before everyone else gets there.

If you end up near Hanksville go south about 20 miles and do Leprechaun Canyon, it's only like 2 miles and awesome!

Willis Creek is another easy slot in Grand Staircase.

Enter dinosaur tracks on Google Maps, there's a couple on Potash Rd near Moab and a bunch of petroglyphs nearby too, both right off the road.

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Didn't see Capitol Reef mentioned and it's in between Bryce and Canyonlands so no reason not to hit it too and St Rt 12 is around its western edge.

Yeah, In & Out is disgusting. There's one 4 minutes from the house that I've eaten at twice. The first time was gross, thought maybe they didn't have their shit together and I caught them at a bad time, gave them a second shot, and it was even worse. I sure as shit wouldn't burn an out of state meal on that garbage.

OP, speaking of food, I always check Yelp and the Food Network app when I'm traveling.  They've served me well in hitting the places locals hit that aren't gross touristy places.

Be sure to visit Escalante.

I visited southern Utah in 2006 and went to some of those parks.  Frankly I was underwhelmed mainly because of the crowds.  Despite the scenery I just couldn't feel like I was in " natures embrace ".

Escalante on the other hand? Awesome.  It was raining, and raining hard.  Locals said it was the most rain they've had in a few years so I was unable to get into any of the canyons but driving through that area is breathtaking as its so open, and I was able to get out and do some hiking.

You need to wake up earlier.  I've been alone on Angels Landing and a handful of other popular hikes just by starting before 8am.

I stayed in the campground which was packed..I did get to Angels landing the afternoon/evening I arrived and there weren't many people there, but the other parks ? All simply too packed for my tastes, especially Zion.  

Good trip though and I want to get back out there.