Drive to Arches National Park, Delicate Arch Trailhead. (236 miles- 4 hours)
Evening hike to Delicate Arch
Meet at the trailhead at 5:00. (If you stop in Moab first, plan for 40 minute drive to trailhead.) Early evening hiking is magical! This famous hike is 3 miles across red rock and takes 2-3 hours. It’s listed as “more difficult” but our little kids have done it without any problems. Bring a head lamp for the hike back.
Late dinner in Moab (8:00)
Thursday
Departure 9:00 AM
Drive to Arches National Park
Start at Landscape Arch.
This arch is more than a football field in length. It’s super cool! The trail is 2 miles and relatively flat- probably one hour of hiking.
Hike to Sand Dune Arch.
This is a super short (15 minute, ½ mile hike) We’ll spend some time here playing in the sand. You might want to bring a little towel to wipe down sandy bare feet. Get ready for an epic long jump contest.
Lunch- Head to the picnic area near Balanced Rock
We’ll eat sack lunches and have a game of Ultimate Frisbee
Afternoon hike to Windows and Turret Arch– 1 mile loop.
The rest of the afternoon can be spent wherever you want. You can go back to Moab, conquer another hike, explore the Visitors Center, or take a scenic drive.
Dinner in Moab
Friday
Departure 9:00 AM
Drive to Canyonlands National Park(Island in the Sky Entrance is 21 miles from Moab)
Hike Grand View Point Overlook
This is 2 miles along the canyon edge. Hold on to your hat and your small children! You’ll be humming the song “I’m On Top of the World.”
Drive to Whale Rock Picnic Area and eat sack lunches.
Hike to Whale Rock
About 1 mile walk to the tail of the whale.The kids will love climbing all over the whale.
Drive to Mesa Arch for final hike. Less than a mile.
Check it out- http://backcountrygallery.com/mesa-arch-sunrise/
Saturday
Drive to Corona Arch Trailhead 20 minutes from Moab via US-191 and UT-279 in Bootlegger Canyon.This will be our grand finale. It’s a 2.5 mile hike with a few cables, a ladder, and some natural stairs through steep parts. We’ve never done this one, but it sure looks fun and should be less crowded than the national parks- especially on a Saturday.
Lunch: You can bring sack lunches again or pick up something on your way home.
Arches National Park entrance fee $25
Canyonlands National Park entrance fee $25
If you have a 4th grader, make sure you get your free NP pass!
Cooler full of food for 2-3 lunches.
If we get to have tin foil dinners in Canyonlands, we’ll join forces to pull that together.
2-3 dinner meals at restaurants and possibly lunch on the drive home
I think it’s time I posted one of our favorite annual traditions: The 5-Year-Old Backpacking Trip. When our first child turned five, my husband took him on a backpacking trip. The next year, he invited our 5-year old niece.
Every year since, we’ve organized a family overnight backpacking trip for anyone who wants to go. However, only the kids who are five years old or older are invited. This has become a kind of “coming of age” event for children in our family. They can hardly wait to turn five and be included in the adventure. After 17 years, our trip includes nearly thirty people!
Destinations
My husband chooses destinations that can be reached by an easy 1-2 mile hike. We live in Utah, so we have lots of hiking options nearby. Most of our trips have been in the Uintah Mountains, but we’ve also backpacked canyons closer to Salt Lake City. You can find lots of trails that are family friendly on websites and hiking apps like All Trails.
Food
The menu for the trip is always the same. (This adds to the feeling of tradition.) The group eats the fish they catch, Uncle Ben’s rice, steamed broccoli, and either s’mores or berry cobbler. For breakfast, we eat oatmeal hot chocolate, and bagels. It’s the same every year and the kids all love it. In fact, they all love to eat fish and we think it’s because of this annual trip. (No self-respecting five-year-old is going to let the older kids mock them for not eating fish.)
As our group has grown, we haven’t been able to catch enough fish to feed everyone. No problem! We pack in seasoned frozen salmon fillets wrapped in tin foil and cook them in the fire to supplement our meal.
We live near many mountains so this trip is very inexpensive and a highlight of the year. There’s a lot of power (and a whole lot of fun) in family traditions!
Capitol Reef is one of our favorite places. In fact, we’re hesitant to share it with the world. We feel like it’s a bit of a secret… and we like it that way. Our favorite time to visit is in the fall when the orchards are full of ripe fruit. We love camping in Fruita Campground, picking apples, and exploring the park. It’s a special place and we’ve visited many times over the years.
Hanging out in Capitol Reef
This 3-Day itinerary is a great vacation plan for families with young children. In addition to Capitol Reef, you’ll head over to Goblin Valley, which is a great place to let your imagination go wild. We took eight families from our neighborhood on this trip. Our little ones loved climbing in all the holes, caves, and cracks in the rocks at Capitol Reef. We let them stand up in the car with their heads popping out of the sunroof to bask in the glory of Capitol Gorge Road. They played hide and seek among the trolls and monsters of Goblin Valley and ran up and down the elephant skin mountains near Caineville. This is a magical place!
Capitol Reef & Goblin Valley 3-Day Itinerary
Find your way to Torrey, Utah. It’s a little town 206 miles south of Salt Lake City. We suggest rolling into town in the evening and grabbing some pizza at Red Cliff or burgers at Slackers. There are lots of lodging options in Torrey. For campers, we love Capitol Reef’s Fruita Campground.
Day 1: Capitol Reef
Capitol Gorge
Start your morning with an incredible drive down the Capitol Gorge Road to the Capitol Gorge trailhead. This drive is like a slot canyon for your car. We hope you have a sunroof. If not, stick your head out the window as far as you dare. It’s AMAZING!
Capitol Gorge Road- A slot canyon for your car!
At the end of the scenic drive, you’ll find yourself at the Capitol Gorge trailhead. Jump out and start walking. There are holes in the rocks everywhere. Little and big climbers rejoice!
You’ll see petroglyphs 0.2 miles in, followed by the pioneer registry at 0.6 miles. Early pioneers in the area carved or shot their names into the sandstone. The trail has eroded over time, so the names are high up on the walls. It’s pretty cool to think of early settlers and rotten outlaws coming through this trail hundreds of years ago. Go a little further and you’ll find some small pools of water known as the Tanks. Then, make your way back to the parking lot where there are covered picnic tables. Pull your cooler out of your car and bust out the sandwiches for lunch!
Hickman Bridge
After lunch, make your way back through the gorge and head to Hickman Bridge. This is an easy 2-mile hike to a large beautiful arch. You’ll find some shade below the arch and the kids will enjoy bouldering around the area. This is climbing kid paradise.
Hickman Bridge
Head back to Torrey or your campsite for the evening.
Day 2: More Capitol Reef
Start your day with a 3.4 moderately difficult hike to Cassidy Arch. If you go in summer, start by 8AM and take lots of water. It’s uphill much of the way to the arch. Make sure you watch for cairn markers to find your way. The trail is hard to spot once you’re on the slickrock.
Cassidy Arch
Cassidy Arch is one of the few arches you can walk on. Mom almost had a heart attack watching the kids walk across it. The arch is very thick and the kids felt completely safe, but moms have a hard time with danger sometimes. Is your mom like that? Even so, this is an amazing hike through the Grand Wash and ending with an incredible arch. We found this post from Earth Trekkers helpful: Cassidy Arch
Cassidy Arch in Capitol Reef
After your hike, stop by the Gifford House to buy some pie and eat your lunch at nearby picnic tables. When you’re rested and ready to go again, head out for Sulphur Creek.
Sulphur Creek
If you have two vehicles, shuttle one car to the visitor center and take your group in the second car to the Sulphur Creek trailhead 3.3 miles west of the visitor center. If you don’t have two vehicles, you can adapt your adventure accordingly. Make sure everyone has good shoes that can be immersed in water as they hike.
Sulphur Creek
Sulphur Creek is an incredible hike with waterfalls, a 600-feet deep gorge, cool rocks, and lots of opportunities for wading and swimming. It’s a child-friendly hike that’s fun for everyone. The route is six miles long from the Chimney Rock area to the visitor center. This is a fun afternoon hike when the the weather is warm/hot.
Work your way down the streambed until you run into Sulphur Creek. Splash your way downstream all the way to the Visitor Center. If you don’t have a car at the Visitor Center, go as far as you want, then walk back. Water levels vary greatly based on the time of year and rain. Check with the park rangers before you go, especially if you have little kids. MORE INFO
Day 3: Goblins and Slots
Pack up and drive an hour to Goblin Valley State Park. Make sure you look around at the other-worldy landscape as you drive through. It really does look like you’re on another planet. The area around Caineville looks like the hills are covered in elephant skin!
Walking on Elephant Skin near Caineville Utah
Goblin Valley
There’s a $15 entrance fee at Goblin Valley. Spend a few hours playing hide-and-seek and exploring the valley. Take time to soak in the magic. Try naming as many hoodoos as you can. When you’re done exploring, find the pavilion with picnic tables and eat lunch.
Hide and Seek in Goblin ValleyHoodoos in Goblin Valley
Little Wild Horse Canyon
Next, head over to Little Wild Horse Canyon, six miles down the road. This is a family favorite. It’s a kid-friendly slot canyon that will add to the delightful experience you just had in Goblin Valley.
Little Wild Horse Canyon
The slots are narrow, twisty and very colorful. There’s a little bit of bouldering in one section. Make sure to check the weather. Stay out of the slot canyon if there’s any chance of rain. We hope you’re there on a sunny day to enjoy this incredible canyon. It’s a perfect grand finale!
We live near many mountains so this trip is very inexpensive and a highlight of the year. There’s a lot of power (and a whole lot of fun) in family traditions!
