Utah National Parks vacation: 7-day guided geology tour
This small-group Utah national parks vacation package explores un-tamed landscapes from the “deep time” lens of earth history and tells stories of Native Americans, early explorers, miners, outlaws and Mormon settlers.
Highlights
Learn how to “read the rocks” of iconic western landscapes, including Colorado National Monument, Capitol Reef, Arches National Parks, Goosenecks and Dead Horse Point.
Visit ancient cliff dwellings and see petroglyphs and pictographs from Fremont and Ancestral Puebloan people and Native Americans.
See artifacts from prehistoric Native Americans in the Edge of the Cedars museum on your Utah national parks vacation.
Cross the San Juan River to Monument Valley – you’ll recognise its cinematic western scenery – for a tour led by a Navajo guide.
Travel with Russell Davies, a geologist passionate about Native American lore, and stay in hotels with unforgettable views of the area’s characteristic red rock.
Monument Valley
Overview
SE Utah holds a wealth of fascinating geological and cultural stories. Join our geo-tour to learn about the rocks and their influence on the history of the area.
Starting in Grand Junction we travel west across the flat desert landscape to Torrey, the gateway to Capitol Reef National Park. We will hike a slot canyon of Capitol Reef’s dramatic Waterpocket Fold, walk to Hickman Bridge (examining a granary and pictographs along the way) and visit early Mormon settlements along shady tree-lined streams.
We will then head southeast to Bluff, a quiet but historical town that has escaped being over-run by overzealous tourists. We will enjoy spectacular views across the Colorado River and learn about towns and canyons buried when Lake Powell formed behind the Glen Canyon Dam. There will be an opportunity to walk narrow canyons with paintings and etchings of long-vanished communities and to view cliff dwellings in the canyon walls. A side trip to Arizona allows for a Navajo-guide led tour of Monument Valley.
Our route continues north to bustling Moab and the accessible landscapes of nearby Arches and Canyonlands national parks. We will walk among arches, spires and dinosaur tracks and have the opportunity for a hike across settings featured in countless Westerns.
- Start / finish: Your tour starts and finishes in Grand Junction, Colorado.
- Activity Level: Leisurely. Walks are generally less than ¼ mile (½km), with the option of walks of up to 2 miles (3km) on several days (view our activity level definitions).
- Transport: We will use a comfortable coach suited to the number of attendees.
- Weather: Spring and Fall days in southern Utah are generally mild to warm, with cool nights. Rain, and even snow, is always possible.
- Accommodation: We will be lodging in hotels with iconic views of red rocks, landscapes and rivers. See our list of hotels in the Need to Know tab.
Where you will visit…
The group will meet in the morning at a location in central Grand Junction for an overview of the tour and then depart for a drive across the Colorado National Monument, discussing the geology and the history of the Grand Valley with a few short walks for dramatic overviews. Drive west with a brief stop at Thompson Springs to view petroglyphs and pictographs on cliff walls.
Continue west across the San Rafael Swell, a major dome rising from the desert floor, making several stops for panoramic views to ‘read’ the landscapes and hear about Native Americans, ranchers, outlaws and mining. Picnic lunch at one of the stops.
Continue southwards into Torrey along the Fremont River.
- Hotel: Capitol Reef Resort, Torrey
- Introductory group dinner, Torrey
Visit Capitol Reef National Park, beginning with a stimulating walk to the spectacular Hickman Bridge, a large natural arch (1.5 miles / 3km, 400 foot / 120m elevation gain), passing a Fremont pit house and granary ruin along the way. After a brief stop at the park’s visitor center we will visit the old town of Fruita, review the area’s geology and have a picnic lunch.
We then drive along Slickrock Drive to Capitol Gorge, absorbing the landscapes, geology and history of the park. We will take a short, easy walk into the narrow, impressive gorge (1 mile / 1.6km roundtrip, no elevation change) to view petroglyphs and see Register Rock with names of early explorers.
Return to Torrey, stopping along the way to admire spectacular Fremont petroglyphs along the Fremont River. If the night is clear after dinner, return to the park for star gazing. The park is designated as an International Dark Sky Park.
- Hotel: Capitol Reef Resort, Torrey
- Free evening for dinner
Leave our Torrey hotel following breakfast and drive east to Hanksville and then southward past the Henry Mountains to the Colorado River. Stops will include key geological and archeological sites, such as petroglyphs exposed near springs, and panoramic views of Lake Powell.
Continue to Blanding making several stops to view prehistoric ruins along the roadside and abandoned ruins at the end of a short trail. Turning south on UT 191 at Blanding leads across the flat plains into Bluff.
- Hotel: Bluff Dwelling Resort and Spa, Bluff
- Group dinner outdoors at the hotel with a view of the red rocks
Morning free to enjoy the hotel spa, explore the town of Bluff and Bluff Fort, or participate in an optional morning tour with choices of the Wolfman Panel, Monarch Cave (with 3 miles of moderate hiking) or a drive across the Valley of the Gods and up the Moki Dugway to the Muley Point Overlook. Many of these areas are now protected in the boundaries of the Bears Ears National Monument. We can arrange a tour with a local guide.
After lunch, we drive to Gooseneck State Park for spectacular views of the meanders in the San Juan River, and then on to the Navajo Tribal Park in Monument Valley, known for its rock spires as backdrops to westerns, for a tour from a Navajo guide.
Dinner at the View Restaurant in Monument Valley before returning to Bluff.
- Hotel: Bluff Dwelling Resort and Spa, Bluff
- Group dinner in Monument Valley
We begin with a stop at a renowned site of petroglyphs along the San Juan River and then head to Blanding and the Edge of the Cedars Museum, adjacent to rebuilt ruins and kivas. Our visit will include a back-room tour to see many artifacts not normally on display.
We then continue northward towards Canyonlands National Park to a spring in the valley adjacent to Newspaper Rock, a cliff panel with pictographs that represent different Native tribes over a thousand years. This is one of the most dramatic assemblages of petroglyphs discovered and is now protected as part of the Bears Ears National Monument. Picnic lunch.
Free afternoon in Moab to visit the visitor center, shops and have dinner in town on your own.
- Hotel: Fairfield Inn and Suites, Moab
- Free evening for dinner
Breakfast in the hotel and early departure for Arches National Park.
Morning and picnic lunch in the park, where we will elaborate on the fascinating 300-million-year history of the rocks – a story of ancient seas, deep burial of the rocks and later uplift back to the surface. Our expert will reveal how the origin of the different rock layers helps create the spectacular arches and discuss controversies about their evolution. We will view some of the park’s many arches up close. Our visit will include a short walk to the Delicate Arch viewing point (1/2 mile / .8km).
Drive north to Dead Horse Point State Park, with dramatic views of the Colorado River and Canyonlands National Park. Stops to see classic Fremont petroglyphs along the river and dinosaur tracks.
- Hotel: Fairfield Inn and Suites, Moab
- Final group dinner
Leisurely morning at the hotel to enjoy the sunrise along the cliff faces and the peaceful views of the river. For early risers, a walk into red-rock country can be arranged before the 11 AM checkout.
Return to Grand Junction along the river road through Cisco, a ghost town, onto I-70. In Fruita, Colorado, take a short hike along a trail to an active dinosaur quarry.
Tour ends; participants can be delivered to a downtown hotel to continue their exploration of the American West or to the Grand Junction airport.
Note: If required for reasons beyond our control, GeoCultura reserves the right to substitute alternative accommodation of equal or higher quality or adapt the itinerary if required.
Double room for single occupancy is £685.
Your tour starts and finishes in Grand Junction, Colorado.
The activity level is rated as LEISURELY, requiring an average level of fitness (view our activity level definitions).
Most stops will require walks of less than ¼ mile (1/2km), but days 2, 3 and 5 will include walks of up to 1 ½ miles (2km) with modest elevation gains (up to 400 ft / 120m). Some walks will take place on irregular surfaces, so sturdy footwear is required. The activity level will be described at each stop and participants can decide whether to participate.
We will travel in a comfortable air-conditioned vehicle suited to the number of attendees.
Spring and Fall days are generally mild to warm (18–28°C/65–82°F) with cool nights (10–18°C/50–65°F). However, changeable conditions should be anticipated, with rain or snow possible, and a wind- and waterproof jacket is recommended. Tour elevations are between 4000–6000 ft (1200–1800 m).
The tour includes:
- The services of your tour expert, who will be with the group throughout the tour, providing pre-visit briefings, walking seminars and available to answer questions.
- A tour manager, who will attend to logistical matters, oversee the group’s health and safety and assist participants with their queries.
- All transportation costs from the start to the end of the tour, including the services of a professional coach driver.
- All accommodation costs for the nights stated, assuming double occupancy rooms. Single occupancy rooms are available for a surcharge. See Single Supplement in “Need to Know” tab.
- All breakfasts, lunches and dinners, except for the dinner in Torrey on Day 2 and Moab on Day 5.
- Entry fees, local guide fees and activity fees, where arranged as part of the tour.
- All service charges and most gratuities.
The tour excludes:
- Travel insurance: Guests should carry their own health and travel insurance.
- Alcoholic drinks with meals are not included.
- Optional activities as described in the tour itinerary or extra activities that are not described in the itinerary.
- Personal expenditures, including bar bills, laundry bills, and the cost of meals on two free evenings.
- Transportation to the start venue or from the end venue of the tour (air fares are not included).
- Passport and visa fees.
Our tour leader is happy to provide suggestions for alternative activities for guests who prefer not to participate in certain parts of the tour walks or visits, or group dinners.
Nights 1 and 2: Capitol Reef Resort, Torrey, Utah
Located at the doorstep of Capitol Reef National Park, with stunning sightseeing and gorgeous mountain views.
Nights 3 and 4: Bluff Dwelling Resort and Spa, Bluff, Utah
Bluff’s newest hotel is nestled among the majesty and solitude of hundred-million-year-old sandstone cliffs, where history whispers ancient legends from ancestral Puebloan-inspired dwellings.
Nights 5 and 6: Fairfield Inn and Suites, Moab, Utah
This newly-renovated property is the closest hotel to Arches National Park. Its comfortable rooms offer dramatic views of the park and of the Colorado River.
Note: If required for reasons beyond our control, GeoCultura reserves the right to substitute alternative accomodation of equal or higher quality or adapt the itinerary if required.
Deposit: A deposit of 10% of the tour price is due upon registration for a tour.
Final payment: Full payment is due 60 days before a tour begins, or upon registration if within the 60-day window.
Cancellation by participant: A participant may cancel a registration after securing a confirmed place on a tour for any reason. The following refund terms will apply:
- Greater than 60 days before tour begins: Any monies paid plus half of the deposit will be refunded
- 30 to 59 days before tour begins: 35% of tour price will be refunded
- 15 to 29 days before tour begins: 25% of tour price will be refunded
- Within 14 days of tour or during the tour: No monies will be refunded
Cancellation by GeoCultura: GeoCultura reserves the right to cancel any tour due to low enrolment, inability to run the tour or concerns about the safety, health or welfare of participants. If a tour is cancelled before it begins, all monies paid will be refunded (including any deposit).
Please refer to our Terms and Conditions page for additional details.
Your tour leader
Russell K. Davies
Russell K. Davies is director of GeoCultura’s subsidiary company, GeoCultura Inc. He splits his time between homes in Dallas, Texas, and Grand Junction, Colorado. He developed an interest in the rocks around Moab, Utah, over 30 years ago and has been leading geological field trips to the area ever since.
Russell is employed as a global geological advisor to the oil and gas as well as alternative energy sectors. He works on consulting projects for a range clients, teaches and has published papers on the structural geology of areas around the globe, including on the deformation of rocks across the Colorado Plateau.
He finds time each year to explore the high desert plateau and deep canyons of SE Utah, searching for ruins, rock art and new hiking trails and unraveling geological mysteries, making geology more of an avocation than a vocation. In his spare time he reads, hikes, bakes bread, rock crawls in a jeep and spends time with family.
Moonrise over Grand Junction, Colorado.
View from Capitol Reef Resort, Torrey, Utah.
Hickman Bridge natural arch, Utah.
Hite Crossing Bridge over the Colorado River, Utah.
A view of Castle Valley from La Sal Mountain, Utah.
Testimonials
The tour was just magic. The visits and particularly the extra people you got to interact with us were first class, not to mention the wonderful places we stayed in – routing around in Bluff was so good. Great itinerary from Russell on the route back to Denver – St Elmo Ghost town was wonderful!
Landscapes and Cultures of Utah, USA | Sally M, September 2023
Some trips are memorable for the destinations, others for the experiences. This tour was both. I’ve travelled extensively, and I can now say Utah is the most beautiful, visually exciting place I’ve seen. There was so much to look at, I didn’t want to blink, but the team’s attention to the little details also made the trip a joy. The small group experience meant we could always both see and hear, something you can’t [always] count on when you sign up to a tour.
Landscapes and Cultures of Utah, USA | Kate B, September 2023
[The best bits were] driving through those huge formations, especially the Swell and the Ridge and recognising them for what they were. Putting a picture together of the land and the people. The visit to the Edge of the Cedars Museum and having so much time with the curator; fantastic collection too.
Landscapes and Cultures of Utah, USA | Sandy C-S, September 2023
This trip was like none other. Exploring the region of southeastern Utah is magical. In places the landscape fools you into thinking you are on another planet, and yet at the same time the history of the earth and the ancient people comes alive as the tour guide weaves together the stories of geology, archaeology, and the mysteries of the petroglyphs.
The days are filled with so many gems of discovery. It’s hard to decide what the best part is – stunning rock art, magnificent landscapes, or learning how all the parts come together. I choose all of them.
Landscapes and Cultures of Utah, USA | JCD, April 2023
UPCOMING TOURS
Prices from GBP £4,235 pp
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