Travel with Amateur Traveler Podcast · Chris Christensen

Travel to the Parks of Utah

·1 hr 5 min·4 clips

Dead Horse Point gave Justin a canyon-within-a-canyon view at sunset.

1. Amateur Traveler episode 979 covers the parks of Utah, with side trips into Arizona and Nevada. 2. Chris Christensen hosts the show, and Justin Barnes from JustinandCrystal.com returns for what he says is his eighth appearance. 3. The episode is a road-trip guide for smaller sites around Moab, Page, Monument Valley, Kanab, Bryce Canyon, and Capitol Reef. 4. Justin begins in Moab and suggests day zero at Dead Horse Point State Park for sunset. 5. He says Dead Horse Point overlooks a gooseneck in the Colorado River and resembles Canyonlands and the Grand Canyon. 6. He notes that the final scene of Thelma and Louise was filmed at Dead Horse Point rather than the Grand Canyon. 7. The next morning he recommends Corona Arch off Potash Road, describing it as a large arch with a fairly easy hike. 8. He then sends listeners to Needles Overlook, where a dead-end road and almost no traffic make the area feel remote. 9. Justin next routes the trip through Valley of the Gods, a 17-mile unpaved drive with reddish-brown buttes and mesas. 10. He adds Goosenecks State Park, where the San Juan River makes a double gooseneck near the junction of Highway 163 and Highway 261. 11. Justin describes Mexican Hat as a rock formation that resembles a mariachi player and says scale is easier to judge when people stand nearby. 12. The route then moves to Page, where he recommends lunch at the Bird House and a midday stop at Horseshoe Bend. 13. He also mentions the Shell-station cave/arch in Page, which looks far more dramatic from inside than from the parking lot. 14. Justin briefly pauses the route to emphasize Antelope Canyon, saying Upper Antelope Canyon needs timing close to June 21st for the famous sun rays. 15. He says guides at Lower and Upper Antelope Canyon help visitors set phone and camera settings for the best shots. 16. South of Page, he crosses the Navajo Bridge, passes Lees Ferry, and mentions breakfast at Cliff Dwellers before reaching White Pocket. 17. White Pocket is described as a small one-mile-by-one-mile area of white ridges over pink and orange rock, reached best by tour or four-wheel drive. 18. The episode keeps a conversational, practical tone, with Justin comparing the stops to tapas, talking through roads, seasonality, and drive times. 19. Listeners who like Southwest road trips, geology, and photo stops will get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners wanting only famous national parks may want to skip it.

As heard by us

A route-first look at Utah's backroads, with sand, stone, and enough detail to orient a trip.

This episode treats the Utah trip as a route to follow, not a postcard to admire, and that makes the useful details matter: the operators who usually leave from Kanab, the condor viewing stop, the move from pavement to rock and sand, and the tire deflation that makes the drive…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Want the real shape of a Utah parks trip before you book it?

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Travel with Amateur Traveler Podcast