Some general starting tips & good-to-knows for Utah. I'll add more as I think of them!
- Starting/Ending Point: We chose to fly in/out of Vegas because of the convenience of flights from the Bay Area. Another seemingly good alternative we considered was Salt Lake City, UT.
- References: The official Visit Utah site (here) is a great starting point to researching your trip. We used this site heavily when first planning out our trip. They highlight a variety of different road trip options and offer excellent general information about each of the parks. We also liked this feature from National Geographics (here). Both of these site are great starting points to help you get a general idea of what you can do on your trip. Once you decide on the specific sites, I would recommend searching up specific itineraries for each park/monument.
- Car Rental: We rented a compact car and had no problems with it during our trip. There might have been one or two spots where having a serious 4x4 would have been helpful (I'll highlight these places in later entries), but otherwise, it was just fine and suited our needs perfectly.
- Annual Park Pass: If you are visiting multiple national parks, consider buying an annual pass ($80 for 2016). It's good for over 2,000 locations - not just national parks in Utah. The pass is good to cover one vehicle and can also have two authorized owners. Note that Navajo Tribal National Parks are not covered by this pass. More info on the pass here.
- Permits and Reservations: While we didn't find advance reservation to be needed for most of the things we wanted to do, there may be times when it is absolutely necessary. Two places we encountered this was the Fiery Furnace (Arches National Park) and the photography tour at Upper Antelope Canyon (for those who have serious gear and want to bring tripods).
- Drinking Laws in UT: Two things we learned during our trip re: drinking in Utah - (1) all beers on tap are 4% by volume (3.2% by weight) and (2) no drinking without some type of food order. Definitely more laws around drinking exist in Utah, but the two I mentioned were the most commonly encountered on our trip.
- Flash Flood Risks: Due to the number of canyons you'll likely be encountering on this trip, flash floods are an important risk to consider. Make sure to check at the visitors center and online for weather updates before starting your hike. For your own safety, make sure you know the signs of a potential flash flood and ways to protect yourself.
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