Utah National Parks tour: exploring geology & culture
Discover GeoCultura's Utah National Parks geology and culture tour on this all-inclusive, fully inclusive small group vacation.
Highlights
Discover the history, culture and geological wonders of Utah and Colorado.
Explore the awe-inspiring landscapes of Colorado National Monument, Arches National Park, Deadhorse Point, Goosenecks, and Monument Valley.
Visit cliff dwellings, petroglyphs and pictographs of the ancient Fremont and Puebloan peoples, and enjoy an exclusive tour the Edge of the Cedars museum.
Follow the footsteps of early Mormon settlers and visit the unique desert towns of Bluff and Moab on your Utah national parks tour.
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.
Dead Horse Point State Park
Overview
Join geologist Russell Davies and learn to “read” the landscapes and hear about the influence of the rocks on local history on this journey through SE Utah.
Starting in Grand Junction, we drive west through Colorado National Monument’s Grand Valley and then south to the dramatic Colorado River overviews at Deadhorse Point State Park on our way to explore the bustling town of Moab. From our location in Moab, we will spend a day exploring the rugged but accessible landscapes of Arches National Park.
We then head south to Bluff, Utah, a quiet town with a fascinating history. From here we will visit narrow canyons with cliff dwellings and see petroglyphs and petrographs left by long-vanished communities, amble through a reconstructed Mormon town, walk to the edge of a deep canyon overlooking the sinuous river meanders of the San Juan River and enjoy a Navajo led tour of Monument Valley.
We then return to Grand Junction through Moab taking a picturesque loop through the La Sal Mountains into Castle Valley and along the Colorado River.
Useful details about your Utah national parks tour:
- Start / finish: Your tour starts and finishes in Grand Junction, Colorado.
- Activity Level: Leisurely. Walks are generally easy and less than 0.5 mile (0.8km), with the option of longer and slightly more challenging 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 very comfortable 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 early evening for introductions and an overview of the tour over drinks on a terrace overlooking the landscape of western Colorado.
- Hotel: The Maverick Hotel, Grand Junction
- Free evening for dinner
We begin our journey by heading to the Colorado National Monument, discussing the landscapes and geology and the history of the Grand Valley as we experience sheer-walled, red rock canyons along the twists and turns of Rim Rock Drive. We then head west and stop at Sego Canyon to view petroglyphs and pictographs on cliff walls and have a picnic lunch.
Turning south towards Moab, we drive to Dead Horse Point State Park, named for its use as a natural corral by cowboys in the 19th century where horses often died of exposure. The location above the edge of the Colorado River provides dramatic views of Canyonlands National Park.
We finish the day with a short drive into the bustling town of Moab. After checking in to our hotel we will head to the Sunset Grill restaurant for a group dinner. On a hill overlooking the town of Moab and the desert beyond, the restaurant is the former home of Charlie Steen, “The Uranium King of Utah”.
- Hotel: Spring Hill Suites, Moab
- Group dinner at Sunset Grill, Moab
We will spend the morning and early afternoon with the fossilized dunes of an ancient desert in Arches National Park. We will hear how the complex blocky terrain developed and how the spectacular arches were created within narrow bands of eroded sandstone. Our visit will include several short walks to some of the arches, including the Windows section of the park, Delicate Arch viewpoint (0.5 mile / .8km), and Tunnel and Pine Tree arches on the Devil’s Garden trail (1 mile / 1.6km). We will enjoy a picnic lunch in the park.
We will make a stop along the Colorado River to see some spectacular Fremont rock art high up on the cliffs before returning to Moab, where participants will have time to explore on their own before selecting a restaurant for dinner.
- Hotel: Spring Hill Suites, Moab
- Free evening for dinner
Today we head south from Moab through Spanish Valley and past the La Sal and Abajo mountains to Utah’s Scenic Highway 95. This road is part of a large loop known as “the Trail of the Ancients” and hosts a succession of well-preserved archaeological sites. We will stop at Butler Wash Indian Ruins, where an easy round-trip walk leads to an overlook of several ancient dwellings (1.5 miles / 2.5km, 200 foot / 60m elevation gain), and to the roadside archeological site called Cave Tower Ruins, which includes a partly restored kiva, a tower, and a small block of rooms.
We then drive the loop through Natural Bridges, Utah’s first National Monument, where three majestic natural sandstone bridges invite you to ponder the power of water in a landscape usually defined by its absence.
Weather permitting, we will take the steep switchback roads of the Moki Dugway, with mind-bogglingly beautiful views of Monument Valley’s red-rock spires rising from the vast desert floor, into Bluff.
- Hotel: Bluff Dwelling Resort & Spa, Bluff
- Group dinner outdoors at the hotel with a view of the red rocks
We begin the day with a visit to the remains of an Ancestral Puebloan Great House over 1000 years old on a hilltop overlooking Bluff and then stop at the renowned Sand Island Petroglyphs, a 300-foot (100m) long panel overlooking the San Juan River with images that are 300 to 3,000 years old.
We will then take a short drive westward to the spectacular views of the meanders in the San Juan River at Gooseneck State Park and enjoy a picnic lunch while hearing how the landscape was formed. We then drive into the dramatic setting of spires, buttes and towers that is Monument Valley, familiar as the backdrop of numerous western films, and a highlight of the trip: a tour of the Navajo Tribal Park from a Navajo guide.
We will have dinner at The View restaurant, overlooking the towers of the Valley, before returning to Bluff.
- Hotel: Bluff Dwelling Resort & Spa, Bluff
- Group dinner, Monument Valley
The morning is free to explore the town of Bluff and Bluff Fort or to relax and enjoy the hotel amenities. An optional activity is to explore the treasures along Comb Ridge including Wolfman Panel, a renowned petroglyph site with remarkable precision in the rock art, and Monarch Cave ruin, a well-preserved cliff ruin from the Ancestral Pueblos. These require a short drive from the hotel and MODERATE walks through uneven terrain with round trip that does not exceed 2 miles (3km) (extra cost).
In the afternoon we will drive east to an area cut by numerous canyons that once housed thousands of inhabitants but is today nearly barren. We will visit several famous sets of ruins and towers preserved at Hovenweep National Monument and place them into a geological and archeological context.
- Hotel: Bluff Dwelling Resort & Spa, Bluff
- Final group dinner, Desert Rose Inn, Bluff
We will depart Bluff in the morning for the Edge of the Cedars Museum in Blanding. The museum has an extensive collection of Ancestral Puebloan artifacts on display as well as rebuilt walls and kivas of a Puebloan village. Our visit will include a back-room tour to see many items not normally on display. A picnic lunch is provided on the museum grounds.
We continue northward to a spring at the edge of Canyonlands National Park and to Newspaper Rock, a cliff panel with pictographs drawn by different Native tribes over a period of a thousand years. This dramatic assemblage is now protected as part of the Bears Ears National Monument.
We return to Grand Junction by way of a loop road across the La Sal Mountains into Castle Valley (where we will see some dinosaur tracks), a scenic drive along the Colorado River and a stop at the ghost-town of Cisco.
The tour ends in Grand Junction, where 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 £764.
Your tour starts and finishes in Grand Junction, Colorado.
The activity level for most activities is rated as LEISURELY, requiring an average level of fitness (view our activity level definitions).
Most stops will require walks of less than 0.5 mile (0.8km), but a few days have optional walks of up to 1.5 to 2 miles round trip (2.4 to 3.2 km) 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 (18-28C/65-82F) with cool nights (10-18C/50-65F). 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 generally available for a surcharge. See Single Supplement in the Need to Know tab.
- All breakfasts, lunches and dinners, except for the two dinners marked “free evening” (Grand Junction on Day 1, Moab on Day 3).
- 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 the two free evenings.
- Transportation to the start venue or from the end venue of the tour (air fares are not included).
- A hotel room on the final night after returning to Grand Junction.
- Passport and visa fees.
An extensive reading list will be provided upon registration.
Night 1: The Maverick Hotel, Grand Junction, Colorado
Built against sprawling red rock canyons, this unique Colorado hotel offers guests access to mountains, rivers and hiking trails as well as proximity to downtown Grand Junction.
Nights 2 and 3: SpringHill Suites, Moab, Utah
One of Moab’s newest hotels and the nearest to Arches National Park. Wonderful views of the Park and the Colorado River.
Nights 4, 5 and 6: 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.
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.
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.
The Grand Mesa, Colorado National Monument, Colorado.
Photographing Gooseneck State Park, Utah.
Wilson Arch near Moab, Utah.
Fisher Towers, Utah: a backdrop to many westerns.
Blue sky and red rocks reflected on a calm Colorado River, Utah.
Testimonials
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
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 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
[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
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