7-DAY UTAH ROAD TRIP ITINERARY

In September 2019, I was invited by an app called Instasize to experience an epic road trip through Utah. This State quickly became one of my favourite trips of all time! Not only was the crew incredible but the places we visited and the pictures we took were far beyond what I could’ve imagined! The whole trip was a total of 7 days and I really felt like we took advantage of the time we had and fit as many activities as we could handle. Let me take you through our itinerary!

Here’s what our trip looked like on a map:

DAY 1 - Salt Lake City

We arrived at the Salt Lake City Airport and headed straight to the hotel to drop our bags and get settled in. We stayed one night at the Grand America Hotel and spent some time in downtown Salt Lake. It was a great way to come into a trip and allow us time to get ready for the next 6 days and meet the team.

DAY 2 - Bonneville Salt Flats + Park City

We left the hotel at 5:30am to catch a sunrise at Bonneville Salt Flats. I had never seen or experienced salt flats before so this was amazing for me! The Salt Flats looked like it had freshly snowed except it was white salt and with the mountains in the backdrop, the whole scene looked surreal! Such an epic way to spend a sunrise! It was a bit chilly in the morning so if you plan on visiting for sunrise pack yourself a light jacket or in my case a wool poncho.

After the Salt Flats we drove to Park City and checked into Stein Erikson Lodge. We enjoyed some down time to grab lunch and hop in the hot tub. Then when it was time for dinner we headed to Fletchers on Main Street.

DAY 3 - Little Sahara + Mystic Hot springs

This was probably one of my favourite days for creating content. First, we visited Little Sahara sand dunes around noon and it turned out to be one of the most magical times to snap some great pictures. It created the most beautiful shadows and there was not a cloud in the sky that day.

Our next stop on our Utah road trip was Mystic Hot Springs and never did I ever think that bathtubs in the desert were a thing. It was not only one of the most picturesque places but also a perfect spot to catch sunset. The water in the tubs is usually between 99-110 Fahrenheit and the tubs are cleaned out a couple of times daily. If you’d like to plan a trip out to the springs, the cost to use the baths is $25 adults and $12.50 for children under 12. Pack a swimsuit and a towel for this activity.

After we watched the sun go down we drove to Fish Lake/Pando. We stayed in the cutest cabin at Fish Lake Lodge so we could see Pando first thing in the morning.

DAY 4 - Pando + Moab + Delicate Arches National Park

The first thing we did on day 4 was experience Pando. For those that have never heard of Pando it is a forest of Aspen trees and known to be the largest living organism in the world. Aspens have the ability to produce genetically identical offspring through their underground root system and the whole root system is all connected to create one living organism. The coolest thing to see! We topped it off with me getting stung by a bee during a photoshoot and then we started the drive down to Moab (about 3 hours).

We arrived at Sorrel River Ranch which looked so familiar with it’s rocky mountain landscape backdrop. Then it hit me, this is where Westworld was filmed! If you know, you know.

After getting settled into our hotel we got ourselves ready to visit Delicate Arch. There was a small hike to finally get to the Arch but its so worth it to see. When we got there we saw several people sitting down and enjoying the view. There were also several people lined up waiting for their chance to get a picture with the arches meanwhile we all scattered to explore other lesser photographed spots to see if we could get something different.

Creative Tip: This is something I always want to encourage other creatives to do. If you absolutely want the typical shot of something you’ve already seen then get that shot but then also walk around and find different angles you could capture it from. You may find you feel more accomplished creatively that you got something different than everything else you’ve seen on the gram. The exploration pushes your creative boundaries to find something new, something you haven’t seen anyone else do before.

DAY 5 - Hot Air Balloon Ride + Hell’s Revenge + Dead Horse Point

This was an early morning, we left the hotel at 5:50am to get to our Hot Air Balloon ride location by 6:45am. We watched as they got the balloon prepped, readied and full of hot air. We were even able to snap a couple of photos inside the balloon before it filled up (with permission of course!)

The view from the balloon was incredible! Massive rock formations looked like it was Flintstone territory and we were even able to see a mountain lion running through the rocks. We were able to witness all of these things all while the sun came up. Once we landed we popped a bottle of champagne to celebrate a safe successful flight and landing. Once we were done we headed to brunch at Peach Tree Cafe.

Our next stop was Hell’s Revenge and this was probably my least favourite activity because of how scared I was lol. We drove in UTV’s (Utility Terrain Vehicle) which are completely open on both sides. You can also do a tour in Jeeps instead but either way i would HIGHLY recommend you do this adventure with a guide. I’ve unfortunately lost a few friends in car accidents and whether it was the big rocky mountains with no guardrails or being in a vehicle that could potentially flip over if you’re not listening to your guide, I was freaked out and decided to spend the drive in our guide’s car. Overall the experience was really cool and watching everyone else trying to get up the hills looked impossible until it was done. I’m not sure I would do this experience again but I’m glad I went!

After Hell’s Revenge we went back to the hotel to shower and get ready for sunset at Dead Horse Point. Gosh! What a name for a spot but this area was actually beautiful to take pictures at. There are plenty of areas that are not closed off so you can get great shots near the cliffs but please BE CAREFUL, don’t push your luck and stay far enough away from the edge. There is a $20 entrance fee per vehicle to Dead Horse Pointe State Park.

After sunset we grabbed dinner at Miguel’s Baja Grill on Main street.

DAY 6 - Moab + Arches National Park + Horseback riding

This was our final day of adventuring before we started the drive back the next day. We started with breakfast at the hotel followed by some free time. We decided to hop in the car and go looking for great photo spots near the hotel and boy did we find a good one. We found this strip of perfectly paved road that was surrounded by red rocks. This was the ideal spot for Manon (@allonsrider) to grab a drone shot of her skateboarding down the road towards the rocks. Meanwhile Lisa and I grabbed a few shots roadside and they were some of my faves from the whole trip.

Creative Tip: If you are looking to grab some magical photos pack a couple of neutral coloured dresses (I love a good creme or white dress like the one I’m wearing below) and a hat. The neutral colours are great to have on hand in case you’re not sure what the surrounding will look like, especially if you’re just hopping in the car and you’ll stop wherever looks great. Having a white or creme outfit will always look good or stand out.

Once we finished our little photoshoot we headed back to the hotel to get ready for horseback riding. We were horseback riding during sunset and I was right in front of one of the photographers (@jakenackos) and as the sun was coming down, we were going up a small hill and he captures some of the most serene photos I’ve ever seen. He was so excited at what he captured and that made me happy more than anything. When a photographer gets excited, you know it’s a good one. We trailed through a beautiful rocky landscape for about an hour and then headed back to the hotel.

DAY 7

The saddest day of all. Where we got back in the car, said goodbye to the team and headed our separate ways. Big thank you to the Instasize team for this incredible opportunity (@allonsrider @lisahomsy @camillamilja @_anjroo @jakenackos @conner_paull @natasha_nicole8 & @sumdiz). It was an epic trip and will live on in pictures and in my brain forever!

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