Our trip to {THE UTAH NATIONAL PARKS}:

We flew into Denver because we’d heard it was an up-and-coming hotspot. The city has experienced a cultural renaissance, with revitalized neighbourhoods brimming with art galleries, chic boutiques, craft breweries and cutting-edge restaurants.

The Halcyon is a cool boutique hotel is a little out of the city centre in the trendy Cherry Creek district. With a retro-modern vibe, it was a fun and funky stay. The Gear Garage was a nice feature: a treasure trove of outdoor equipment from bikes and scooters to cameras.

The hotel’s in-house restaurant, Local Jones, is a cozy spot for casual dining, with its open-air windows and friendly service. The farm-to-table menu celebrates local produce, making it a great place to start the day with a hearty breakfast or wind down after a busy day of exploring the city.

Perched atop a penthouse, El Five has sweeping views of Denver’s skyline. This vibrant restaurant serves up an eclectic mix of Spanish and Eastern Mediterranean tapas and the buzzy ambiance is as lively as the flavours.

In the heart of the artsy-industrial RiNo (River North) neighbourhood, Denver Central Market is a food lover’s paradise. With 11 different vendors under one roof, it’s the perfect spot for a laid-back lunch, with fresh salads, pizza and tacos all on offer.

Denver’s Union Station is a historic building has been transformed into a vibrant social centre with trendy restaurants, bars and shops. It was a good spot to stop for a coffee.

Once home to Windsor Dairy, Dairy Block is now a bustling micro-district in downtown Denver’s LoDo neighbourhood. The block is a maze of charming alleyways lined with shops, galleries, restaurants and bars. It epitomises Denver’s urban renaissance.

A trip to Denver wouldn’t be complete without sampling its craft beer scene. We opted for a tasting at Our Mutual Friend Brewing, a quirky spot that prides itself on locally sourced ingredients and unique brews. We picked this one for the laid-back, neighbourhood vibe.

After two days of urban exploration, we made the scenic six-hour drive to Sorrel River Ranch, our base for the next three nights. Situated on the Colorado River, this luxury ranch resort made us feel like we were already in a national park. It has wooden cabins, wide-open spaces and jaw-dropping views of the red rock cliffs. This was recommended as a good place to stay by friends in the know, as it allows you to explore two parks, Arches and Canyonlands, from a single base.

The accommodation at Sorrel River Ranch is a blend of rustic charm and modern comfort. Each cabin feels private and cozy, constructed from natural wood that blends harmoniously with the surrounding environment. The spacious interiors have wooden beams and large windows that frame spectacular views of the Colorado River or the red cliffs. Handcrafted furniture adds a touch of rustic décor. Our cabin came with a private porch, ideal for relaxing and taking in the stunning landscape.

The outdoor pool is set against the dramatic backdrop of the red rock cliffs and an on-site spa offers a range of treatments.

Arches National Park is, as its name suggests, famous for its surreal landscape of more than 2,000 natural stone arches, the largest concentration in the world. The park is a geological wonderland, where millions of years of erosion have sculpted the red sandstone into fantastical shapes, balancing rocks, and towering spires.

Delicate Arch: the most famous and photographed arch in the park, framed by the La Sal Mountains in the distance. Especially stunning when we visited at sunrise, when the arch glowed in shades of red and orange.

The South Window Arch: is a massive rock formation that frames the sky and desert landscape like a giant stone window.

Landscape Arch: a marvel of natural engineering and one of the longest natural stone arches in the world, stretching an astonishing 306 feet across. Its slender, graceful curve almost defies belief, as the delicate ribbon of sandstone seems impossibly thin, weathered by the forces of nature.

Balanced Rock: One of the most photographed features in the park, Balanced Rock is an extraordinary natural formation that seems to defy gravity. The massive rock sits precariously on a narrow pedestal, and you can walk right up to it, marvelling at how such a fragile-looking structure has endured for millennia. It’s an easy stop on the scenic drive and offers dramatic views, especially at sunset.

Canyonlands is a raw and untamed wilderness, a vast expanse of rugged terrain carved over millennia by the mighty Colorado and Green Rivers. This park, divided into four distinct districts—Island in the Sky, The Needles, The Maze and the rivers themselves—offers some of the most dramatic landscapes in the American Southwest.

Mesa Arch: Perhaps the park’s most iconic sight, Mesa Arch was stunning at sunrise when the soft morning light illuminated the underside of the arch.

Grand View Point Overlook: here you can see a landscape of layered canyons stretching to the horizon, from high plateaus to lower levels, seeming to cascade down in tiers.

The Needles District: In stark contrast to Island in the Sky, the Needles District is a labyrinth of towering red rock pinnacles. The towering sandstone spires dominate the horizon, creating a maze of narrow canyons and arches.

Sorrel River’s main restaurant overlooks the Colorado River with solid, decent quality American fare, especially steaks of course! After dinner, we enjoyed gathering round the fire in the garden to roast s’mores under the stars.

For a change of scene, we dined one night at The Cowboy Grill in the nearby Red Cliffs Lodge resort. The rustic setting combined with the sweeping views of the red cliffs makes for a memorable dining experience. As the name of the restaurant suggests, the menu leans towards hearty Western fare!

Moab Diner was a fun sport for a taste of America. Cheap and cheerful but a good spot for a big breakfast. No lunch needed!

Our next stop was Monument Valley, with the drive here making us feel like we were in a movie! More than just a national park, it’s a symbol of the American West.

The View Hotel is aptly named, as the views from here are nothing short of spectacular. The accommodation is pretty basic, but what it lacks in luxury, it more than makes up for in location. Run by the Navajo Nation, the cabins sit right inside the park, allowing for incredible sunrises and sunsets right from your room.

Towering sandstone buttes rise from the red desert floor in Monument Valley, creating a landscape so iconic it’s been featured in countless films and photographs. Beyond the cinematic fame, Monument Valley holds a deep spiritual significance for the Navajo Nation, who manage the park.

The Mittens and Merrick Butte: The Mittens and Merrick Butte are the most recognizable formations in Monument Valley. These towering sandstone structures stand like sentinels over the desert, their sheer size dwarfing everything around them. Watching both the sunrise and sunset over was special.

John Ford Point: Named after the legendary director who filmed many Westerns here, John Ford Point offers one of the most panoramic views in the park. From this vantage point, the vastness of Monument Valley unfolds before you, with its iconic buttes and mesas stretching into the horizon.

Artist’s Point: this is another great spot to take in the landscape. The colours here are particularly vivid, with the reds, oranges and purples of the rock formations glowing in the soft light of morning or late afternoon.

A guided tour helps you get a more immersive experience and was definitely worth it. We paid a bit more to have a private tour so we could go at our own pace and have more chance to chat to our Navajo guide, who took us to places most visitors don’t get to see, including hidden rock formations like the one below (left).

Our final stop was Bryce Canyon, which was again unlike any other national park. It is famous for its hoodoos, tall, thin spires of rock. The amphitheatre-like landscape makes for stunning vistas, especially at sunrise when the rocks glow in shades of pink and orange.

Stone Canyon Inn was a great base for exploring Bryce Canyon. Though the accommodation was fairly simple, the Treehouse we opted for made for a fun stay, with a small outdoor seating area where we could chill and relax.

Bryce Canyon National Park’s otherworldly hoodoos create a surreal, almost alien landscape that is unlike anything else in Utah

Sunrise Point: as the first light of day hits the hoodoos here, the entire amphitheatre seems to come alive, glowing in shades of gold, orange and pink. It’s the perfect place to start your day in the park.

Navajo Loop Trail: the Navajo Loop Trail takes you down into the heart of Bryce Canyon, weaving through towering hoodoos and slot canyons. One of the highlights is Wall Street, where the canyon walls close in around you, creating a narrow passage that feels both intimate and grand.

Bryce Amphitheatre: this is the park’s crown jewel, an enormous natural bowl filled with hoodoos as far as the eye can see. Inspiration Point offers a particularly stunning view of the amphitheatre’s intricate formations.

The Stone Hearth Grill at the inn offers hearty, comforting meals, perfect after a day of hiking. The steaks are cooked to perfection, and the views from the restaurant are just as spectacular as the food.

Bryce Canyon Coffee Company was a good local place on the main strip to grab a coffee and a bagel or muffin for breakfast with the locals.

We finished our trip by driving to Las Vegas, a world away from the peaceful wilderness of Utah but a fun finale. The city is a neon-lit playground, over-the-top in every sense but undeniably entertaining.

The Bellagio is a Vegas classic and manages to strike a balance between luxury and Vegas-style fun, with a bit less tackiness of some of the newer resorts. We splurged on a high-floor room with views of the iconic fountains. Watching the show from our room with music piped in was a magical and slightly mad experience! (see below)

Vegas is known for its larger-than-life shows, and Cirque du Soleil is a must-see. We saw Ka, a dazzling production that blends acrobatics, martial arts, and theatrical storytelling. It’s an awe-inspiring spectacle, and the sheer scale of the performance is mind-blowing.

For a dinner with a side of entertainment, The Mayfair Supper Club offers a fantastic mix of live performances and upscale dining. The atmosphere is lively and fun, with classic American fare served with a modern twist.

Bazaar Meat is a steak lover’s paradise. The open kitchen, with its live cooking stations, added to the theatre of the restaurant.

For a shopping experience that’s quintessentially Vegas, The Forum Shops at Ceaser’s Palace is an indoor re-creation of ancient Rome, complete with marble statues and fountains, with a ceiling is painted like the sky!

A trip to Utah’s national parks is a journey into some of the most breathtaking landscapes on Earth. Each park has its own personality, from the surreal arches of Arches National Park to the ethereal hoodoos of Bryce Canyon. Combine these natural wonders with luxurious stays at ranch resorts and you have a trip that is both relaxing and thrilling.