Our challenge for 2026 was the “Mighty Five,” Utah’s five famous national parks. Except for us it was the Mighty Six, since we couldn’t skip past Great Basin in Nevada. We planned this trip carefully, weighing the options of flying into Las Vegas or Salt Lake City, ultimately deciding on Salt Lake City because we could make an easier loop around the Utah parks from “A to Z,” as they say. Greg’s parents made plans to join us for our first two parks, Arches and Canyonlands, so we rented a townhouse in Moab and booked them a flight to SLC that connected in Charlotte so we could fly out together.
We packed light, taking two large suitcases and two duffel bags for a week-long trip, in addition to our backpacks and cooler. One of our suitcases was filled with sourdough bread! I made a goal this year not to buy any gluten free sandwich bread, so we baked half a dozen loaves and froze them for the trip. I also brought gluten free challah since we were traveling over Shabbat. It probably seems silly to bring so much food with us, but a lot of national parks are in rural or remote areas and the grocery options are very limited.
Claire knew we were going to “Hoo-tah” and asked every day if it was today. Finally, it was time. We met up with Greg’s parents when they walked off the plane in Charlotte, and flew straight out to Salt Lake City. We used Claire’s car seat on the plane again (she had her own ticket this time) and she did great! The big hit this time was mini kits of kinetic sand that I found at Target. My kids played with them for hours during the flight.
We made a quick stop at the Utah State Capitol, taking note of the locally quarried marble, giant lions, Utah’s Liberty Bell, and the Mormon Battalion sculpture. After a fantastic dinner in Spanish Fork at Aubergine Kitchen, we drove the rest of the way to Moab and checked in. Our townhouse was in a complex called Entrada, perfectly located only 7 minutes from the park entrance. Highly recommend!
Despite its popularity, Arches is what I consider a simple park – no timed entry or pesky activity permits. The challenge is the temperatures, easily over 100 degrees in the summer. We tackled our biggest hike first thing in the morning, a 3 mile roundtrip to Delicate Arch. If you’ve ever seen an Utah state license plate, you’ve seen Delicate Arch. It’s the classic Utah symbol! The hike out is incredible, one of my all-time favorites. Because of the terrain, you can’t see the giant arch at all until you’re actually right above it. We rounded the corner and it took my breath away! The arch is in a round bowl-shaped area, with steep sides that sharply drop toward the middle. It’s mildly terrifying if you have small children like me. We scooted ourselves over to a small rock ledge where we had to fight off the crows for our salted cashews. Rachel of course dropped a shoe and it started spiraling toward the crater before Greg retrieved it. It’s really surprising how many close calls we’ve had with shoes over the years.
I’m always trying to get candid pictures of what it looks like to be hiking with six children (and in this case four adults), like this picture above. It’s also a good example of the trails we were on – there’s no clear path, just piles of rocks. You can see at the top that a metal rod has been hammered into the rock as a trail marker.
If you go halfway around the circular edge, there’s a place to carefully walk out under the arch itself. Greg’s parents declined the opportunity to do this and chose to watch from the safety of the trail. We got a bunch of amazing family photos under the arch thanks to a friendly hiker – although I’m so glad I didn’t realize at the time that the rock arches are incredibly fragile. When we saw the park film, back at the visitor center, they explained that all arches have a lifespan, and all of them will eventually crumble. This was news to me – I really thought they were permanent fixtures!
We went over to Balancing Rock, another notable rock formation, and Greg scrambled up some rocks around the base. You can spot him in the photo below – and get a sense of how enormous it is!
We picnicked at the Devil’s Garden area, in a tiny shelter that gave us some welcome relief from the sun. You can tell that the Berries are from a national park family because when you ask if they need to use the bathroom, they’ll respond cautiously, “Is it a real bathroom?” This comes from far too many experiences with pit toilets, which are not toilets at all in the proper sense of the word but just holes in the ground covered with four crude walls and a little pipe on top to release the fumes. There aren’t many things in life worse than a pit toilet.
After lunch, in 101 degree heat, we made it out to Landscape Arch (and back, which is the most important part). This one is the longest natural rock arch in North America. It was a hot hike, but not, as I reminded everyone to boost our morale, our hottest hike – that record is from Saguaro in Arizona, where it reached 102. The only other people at Landscape Arch were an elderly Asian couple with a parasol and a group of young British men. It’s a giant arch, well worth the 2 mile hike to see it. My little ones almost melted down (literally) on the way back though.
Greg saw a postcard for Double Arch at the visitor center and immediately wanted to check it out. We got there at golden hour, the red rock walls glowing just before sunset. Double Arch is only a short walk from the road. It’s possible, although dangerous, to climb up into the arch. Greg took the kids up while Claire and I took photos, and Greg’s parents watched from far below.
Here’s a quick update on our challenge: in 7 years, we’ve officially been to 2/3 of the US national parks! We have 21 parks left and it feels like the end is in sight. Doing one park trip a year is truly putting all of our respective eggs in one basket – praying for no flight cancellations, no major storms, no wildfires, no pandemics, etc. Next year, Lord willing, will be our last park trip in the contiguous United States. It almost feels unnecessary to say we are loving the process. The last few years are a happy blur of parks, hikes, and flights. So many sandwiches eaten on a picnic blanket looking out at incredible views… so many different places around the country… so many sunset snuggles and visitor center exhibits and scenic drives and family photos and maps and National Park passport stamps. We didn’t even fully realize what a privilege it is to visit our national parks. I’m so grateful for all of it, even the hard parts.
=)
