Places to see

⬇️Epic non-national park stops in Utah that are less than 1 mile from the car ⬇️

📍Long Dong Silver (1.8 miles RT) Located off Utah Highway 24, near the town of Hanksville. There is no official trail, and the ground is soft and sandy in the entire area.

📍Toadstool Hoodoos (1.8 miles RT) Easy hike. Located near Kanab, UT. Great place to stargaze and a drone paradise.

📍Great Chamber (0.5 miles RT) High clearance 4x4 required. You will be driving about 8 miles on unpaved deep sand road from Crocodile Staging Area/Hog Canyon OHV Trail System to the cave.

📍Moonscape Overlook (No hiking required)

📍Purple Mountain (0.4 miles RT)

📍Belly of the Dragon (No hiking required) Located right next to the parking lot. Fun stop suitable for all ages. Make sure you bring a lamp or your phone as it is dark and slippery in the tunnel. Please DO NOT write on the walls.

📍Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park (0.2 miles RT) $10/vehicle entrance fee. Lots of fun activities such as sandboarding/sand sledding and Off-Highway Vehicle riding. Best time to photograph the sand dunes is sunset.

📍Red Canyon Peekaboo (0.7 miles RT) 4x4 required. 3.7 miles drive on unpaved deep sand road from Highway 89 to the parking area. We highly recommend you to air down prior to traveling on the unpaved road.

📍Nautilus (0.9 miles RT) Located 45 minutes east of Kanab or 35 minutes west of Page, AZ. The Nautilus is a hidden gem of Southern Utah. ~0.8-mile RT, the trail is sandy but flat.

📍Paria Townsite (No hiking required) A pretty ghost town near Grand Staircase Escalante. Great drone spot. Pets are allowed on leash.

📍Inchworm Arch (0.2 miles RT) 4x4 required. You will be driving about 8 miles on unpaved deep sand road from Nephi Pasture Staging Area/Inchworm Trailhead to the feature.

📍Factory Butte (No hiking required)

📍Muley Point (No hiking required) Offers great distant views on Goosenecks State Park

Most people don’t visit the most beautiful part of Capitol Reef National Park, for that it is remote and difficult to access.

After visiting the Utah Mighty 5, Capitol Reef is the MOST UNDERRATED Utah National Park in our opinion, especially the remote and beautiful cathedral valley and temple of the sun and moon.

🥾To access Cathedral Valley, you MUST have a high clearance 4x4. Major stops along Cathedral Valley include:

📍Upper Cathedral Valley Overlook (0.1 miles RT) 📍Walls of Jericho (roadside pull-off) 📍Glass Mountain (roadside pull-off) 📍Temple of the Sun (roadside pull-off) 📍Temple of the Moon (roadside pull-off)

🔥Bonus: while not technically within the park boundary, Bentonite Hill is a pretty stop right outside of Cathedral Valley worth a visit. It is a patch of badlands with beautiful stripes.

No hiking required for most of these spots, but you are free to roam around for different angles of the temples! Please practice “Leave No Trace” while exploring this remote part of the park.