Southwest Road Trip Guide
We’re back! Two and a half weeks on the road out west, and it was really incredible to experience a lot of these places again as an adult. There were definitely some interesting moments (I’ll explain further down), but if you’re looking to explore the outdoors and the red rocks out west, keep on reading! I’m sharing our itinerary, experiences, and tips for traveling safely right now.
We opted for an outdoorsy road trip to explore nature, get some fresh air, and partake in some activities that tend to be more socially distanced like hiking and kayaking.
Let’s talk safety first:
It’s no surprise that we’re all traversing really tricky times right now. With rules and regulations changing fast, we did our best to make smart decisions and always wear a mask when we were around others. The following are just some self-imposed guidelines we set for ourselves, but you should definitely double check the local rules and safety standards before you head to where you are going.
Masks: Carry our masks everywhere at all times (even on hiking trails, no matter how remote they may seem). We wore our masks, plus additional protection in the airport and had our own row on Southwest Airlines. (We chose this airline specifically because of their cancellation policy, which has alway been super flexible even prior to the pandemic. Admittedly, I’m a big Southwest fan - my friends know haha - but I think they have the best customer service on the aircraft.)
Avoid Crowded Areas: Wear our masks and extra protection in the airport. Avoid eating at airport restaurants as they tend to be more crowded. Tip: Just grab your food and head to one of the less crowded terminals and sit on a window ledge if you have to. Your safety is worth it!
Responsible Lodging: We made sure to secure lodging at reputable places that had safety standards in place (ex. resorts, Marriott hotels, AirBnB). Tip: If it makes you feel more comfortable, I suggest packing your own face and hand towel, as well as your own pillow case.
With kitchens (if you can!): This allowed us to cook about 90% of our own meals “at home” to avoid being at restaurants, where you’ll inevitably take off your mask to eat. I will share some of those restaurants below with my take on “safety” in their establishments.
Hand Sanitizer, Of Course: Bring wipes to do a quick rundown on door knobs, light switches, the landline phone in the room etc. before you unpack and get settled! Of course, bring some hand sanitizer with you too for use when you hit the trails and don’t have a sink.
my experience on our southwest road trip:
Earlier, I mentioned that at times, things were interesting. It’s no secret that our country is in a tense state right now due to the divided beliefs around racial injustice and how differing groups understand and interpret the life and value of Black Americans. I’m always honest with you all on here, and I would be hiding my truth behind what seems like a wonderful itinerary and beautiful trip photos if I didn’t share this. There were many times I could feel eyes on me - curiosity, even surprise. I caught “interesting” stares at a small gas station off the highway as we traveled through southern Colorado. Matt and I promptly agreed that he would go in, and I would stay in the car - we both felt more comfortable with this. In St. George, UT, I turned to meet the gaze of 3 older men at a diner who completely stopped their conversation to stare at me. The side glares and nonstop glances from 2 men in chaps and boots in Aztec, NM. These are just to name a few. Again, I don’t know if these looks were curiosity, surprise, or something less pleasant. To say my race wasn’t a factor though would, unfortunately, be naive - wishful thinking. It’s important to keep in mind that not everyone was like this. For the most part, things were just fine, but that shouldn’t diminish these moments as it’s important for any other person of color traveling in these places to be aware of.
At one point, we ran into a small Black boy - one of 3 Black faces we happened to see in Zion National Park (and few others throughout the trip). He looked up at me, completely shocked, and a big sheepish smile washed over his face. Happiness flooded his cheeks, then he looked back down to finish tying his shoe. Matt and I both looked at each other, acknowledging that the other had seen that same reaction. It was the most pure expression of a child experiencing a breath of belonging. That little feeling of not being alone, even if just for a few seconds, even if it’s just a stranger.
So, behind the Instagram photos and epic views, there were moments of feeling uncomfortable and even a bit nervous. If you saw my stories, you already know because I shared a bit about this, but I thought it was important to share this again here. If this is something you’ve never had to worry about, I would encourage you to read this fascinating article by Thrillist that explains the thoughts, precautions, and fears of traveling while Black if you are interested in understanding more.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for taking the time to listen.
the trip - a quick overview:
Let’s talk about where, when, and what! So, you may have gathered by now that we traveled via plane and car. The drive out to Utah was too long for us to accommodate given our work schedules, so we took a flight out there and then rented a car for our road trip. We went to 4 states - New Mexico, Colorado, Utah - where we spend most of our time, and Arizona. They all happened to go on the watch list while we were on the trip - so yes, we’re quarantining at home now that we’re back to be extra safe.
Our Itinerary (18 days):
Albuquerque, New Mexico
We landed here and drove 1 hour to Santa Fe so we didn’t actually spend a lot of time here!
Sante Fe, New Mexico (1 day, then drive about 7 hours to Moab)
Overview: An artsy little town full of galleries and statues. Quaint and picturesque.
Our Take: One day is just enough! You can grab coffee, walk the entire little town, head to a museum, and enjoy dinner. Boom - you’ve experienced Santa Fe. There isn’t much by way of night life or restaurants that are open late. I also think I may have been the youngest person in town if that gives you a little perspective ha! :) So it all depends on what vibe you are hoping for!
Things to do:
Santa Fe Farmer’s Market - This was honestly the best thing we did there. Their market is laid out so well and all of the fresh veggies, flowers, and famous fire-roasted green chilies are set up in such a cute way at each booth. We took some frozen chilies with us to cook with our meals when we got to Moab. (10/10 recommend as they say)
Canyon Road - Take a few hours to stroll up and down this long winding road filled with art and statue galleries. Some of the galleries focus on Native American art, while others feature realistic watercolors or acid washed copper plates.
The Rooftop at La Fonda - A perfect view of the entire city at sunset. Get there early around 4 to claim your spot! Enjoy a drink, appetizers, and the view.
Georgia O’Keefe Museum - We missed out on this! It would have been awesome to go, but the tickets were sold out. Be sure to purchase at least 1 month in advance.
Places to eat:
The French Pastry Shop - Head on over here for yummy crepes, iced coffee, and the prettiest little fruit tarts! We did outdoor seating.
The Shed - Great Mexican, or so we’ve heard! We didn’t make it there, but they had a long wait list so it must be good.
Durango, Colorado for a pit stop (en route to Moab, UT)
Pinkerton Hot Springs - It’s super easy to access, (quite literally) right off of the road. It’s fun for a quick stretch break, but nothing to go out of your way to see!
Silverton, Colorado for a gas break (en route to Moab, UT)
A nice little town to break up the trip from Santa Fe to Moab. It’s an old timey town, which could be fun for photo ops (if you felt comfortable). It also had a strip with a few modern pubs.
Ouray, Colorado for a surprise break (en route to Moab, UT)
Side Story: While we were driving through nearly 8,000 ft. elevation, we happened to spot Matt’s longtime friend from high school biking through the mountains with his girlfriend. As we were exclaiming about pulling the steep hills (in our car), the pair were traversing these verticals by bike! We pulled over and got out of the car to flag them down - still unsure if it was them. Finally, they kept riding closer and we all confirmed that we were, in fact, having a moment of complete fate in the mountains. (Matt and I originally weren’t even going to take this route and had made a last minute decision to take the more scenic ride that morning.)
Overview: This was actually a bustling town with hot spring pools and plenty of restaurants if you’re looking for a place to grab a bite.
Places to Eat:
Thai Paradise: Instead of going to sit down, we opted for a takeout order at a surprisingly delicious Thai place, ate in the car, and hit the road!
Moab, Utah (7 days)
Overview: Moab is a small town, but it was packed with unique outdoorsy things to do.
Lodging:
We stayed at a place called Moab Flats, which was right off the main road with restaurants, little shops, and outdoor adventure centers where you can sign up for things like UTVs and hot air balloons. Moab Flats had a spacious area, kitchen, great decor, and the place looked brand new. It also had a great shared backyard area with the other apartments in the building, including a hot tub, grill, fire pit, and plenty of seating. I would definitely recommend checking it out if you plan to head to this town!
Things to do:
Arches National Park - The famous national park lived up to its name, boasting miles and miles of red stone arches and windows, petrified sand dunes, and winding paths that seem to go on for days. It truly felt like we were on another planet! Some people plan multi-day visits here, but my honest thoughts - I felt that one day was more than enough to explore Arches. We managed to get to Balanced Rock, Panorama View Point, Delicate Arch, and the windows area. Given that many of the red rock structures start to look similar after a couple hours, we felt we’d covered enough ground. (Tip #1: You HAVE to go back at night for star gazing. For us city dwellers, we rarely see stars, let alone the Milky Way, Mars, and so many shooting stars. It was incredible. The park map and other folks would tell you to go to Panorama View Point, BUT you should just keep on driving to Delicate Arch. It’s more secluded so you don’t have to worry about bright car lights pulling in and out. Tip #2: You don’t have to pay for a pass after 6pm or 7pm, so if you’re there when daylight is longer, you may be able to go and explore for an hour or so then stay for star gazing without paying a penny! Not that we don’t want to support the parks, but it’s good to know if you’re only able to pass through town.)
Horseback Riding at Red Cliff’s Lodge - Check it out! They have beautiful horses and a really interesting path that takes you up through the rocky red cliffs and streams in the forest. It was very cool.
UTV at Hell’s Revenge - This was Matt and I’s first time UTV-ing. We used High Point Hummer, and they were great. It’s honestly one of the craziest things I’ve done, but so worth it. Our guide took us to a spot to see the Colorado river from above, and the views were worth the journey to get there. (I’m not giving a lot of detail on purpose. If you’re in for a thrill - and I mean it - then sign on up!)
Drive the backroads near Kane Spring Canyon - We stumbled upon this after trying to find another arch we could never find. We ended up finding a beautiful cliff area where you can park up, eat a dinner picnic on your car, and watch the most gorgeous sunset fall beneath the horizon.
Places to eat:
Josie Wyatt'‘s - I mentioned earlier that we cooked most of our meals to avoid being out too much without masks. There honestly weren’t a lot of foodie-worthy spots, BUT this restaurant was actually one of the good ones! It’s a little bit nicer and they had great safety/social distancing measures, so we felt pretty comfortable.
Moab Brewery - We would give this place a 2/10.
Beaver, UT for a pit stop at The Creamery (en route to St. George, UT)
The Creamery had the best cheese curds. They give a family sized portion for $12. I only ate about 20 cheese curds (and stuffed myself ha!), but it was totally worth it.
St. George, Utah (7 days)
Overview: This town felt the most developed and modern, and it had tons of fast causal restaurants and true neighborhood areas. Less “adventurous” activities than Moab, but it had a lot of beautiful trail walks.
Lodging: We stayed at a Wyndham resort. While there were families there, we were still able to keep our space as much as we wanted to.
Things to do: We spent most of our days lounging around in the evening and making the most of some time off and a new view, but you can’t definitely find some other activities to fill your schedule even more if you want!
Zion National Park - This place got its name for a reason. The lush greenery and beautiful teal colored river that flowed throughout was the exact opposite of Arches National Park. Both are beautiful in their own right, but man, Zion just made my heart happy. Perhaps that’s the midwest girl in me who is used to seeing trees! The park is huge so we rented e-bikes. (Tip: Getting a bike is like the equivalent of a 6 Flags Fast Pass. You get to skip the huge line of folks waiting for a shuttle and avoid crowds of lines/sitting with others.) The main road of the park is nicely paved, but slight/steady incline as you go deeper into the park, so if you’re somewhat in shape, you can probably do it. Not going to lie to you guys, I could not. HA. Matt and I rented e-bikes, which of course made the ride easier, but it also made it super fun to zoom throughout the park and get to hikes faster while taking in the views! We also could stop wherever we wanted vs. the shuttle dropping you off at specific locations. We also packed a lunch to eat during one of our hiking breaks. (Tip: Head to the Great White Throne Mountain and eat near the water. It’s one of the prettier views, and you can easily visit some of the other hikes you passed on your way out. BUT - The further you go into the park, the prettier they get.) You’ll see a bunch of different animals, which made it really fun - deer, wild turkeys, geckos, and various birds!
Hike to the Dixie D - This is a nice easy “mini-hike” that took about 10-15 minutes, but it’s fairly straight uphill on a super rocky path. You drive up to the top of the neighborhood, park, and hike on up! You can see a great view of the whole city and the famous D constructed on the hill. I won’t give it all away - take the hike to read more about why the locals love it.
Hike the Chuckwalla Trail - This trail was set on the Red Cliff’s desert reserve. It’s nicely paved and has quite a bit of greenery. You can even spot kids learning how to rock climb on the smaller cliffs there. If you’re someone who likes to go for a run, these trails would be a really good spot because of the views, spacious paths, and longer paved trails!
Places to eat:
First Watch - A really yummy brunch spot! They had amazing sanitizing and social distancing measures in place. As mentioned, we didn’t do sit-in restaurants a lot on this trip, but this was one that we did and felt completely comfortable and safe.
Capelotti’s - This semi-casual restaurant with a bit more of an upscale menu. The food tastes homemade and was pretty good for the offerings in the area. The customer service and table distancing was great, plus they kept doors and windows open.
Swig - The cutest little drive-thru soda shop around Utah. They have what seems like a million combinations of flavors with sugar free syrups + water-based refreshers if you’re worried about drinking soda. We went almost every single day.
Handel’s - An ice cream shop with a huge menu and fun flavors. We stopped by for something sweet before we went up to our hike at the The Dixie D.
Page, Arizona (2 days)
Overview: Hands down, this might have been the best two days of the trip. You’ve got some amazing bucket list spots that are all fairly close together + it felt like there was more of a town and less remote.
Things to do:
Antelope Canyon - I must say, this famous spot was 100% worth it. The smooth red sandstone that curved in and out was the polar opposite of the rough rocky red structures we’d seen most of the trip. The upper canyon - where you’ve probably seen some of those “Insta-worthy” photos - is easily accessible by driving/walking. Unfortunately, it was closed due to COVID-19 because the entrance is on Navajo-owned land. I received a tip from a fellow blogger ahead of time, so we weren’t surprised and planned ahead to rent the kayak. The hidden gem, and potentially even cooler journey was actually traveling by waterway to the lower canyon. We did 1.5 hour kayak one-way through Lake Powell and some of the most breathtaking winding waterways to get to the mouth of the canyon. You can kayak, peddle boat, paddle board, bring your dog, kids that can paddle and even jet ski (though you’re required to follow no wake speeds after a certain point), so the water is fairly even on your journey there. Once at the canyon you park your kayak and hike in as deep as you want to go. We went about 1.5 hours roundtrip and saw a good amount. (Tip #1: The mouth of the canyon is SUPER muddy, so I suggest kayaking bare foot or with water shoes, and bringing a small towel and extra bottle of water to clean your feet before popping on your hiking shoes. Tip #2: Pack a lunch, plenty of water, and wear a swimsuit if you might want to take a dip in the shallow areas on your kayak trip back from the canyon like I did! At this point, it was also nice to get a quick arm break from paddling.) It’s safe to say after our 4-5 hour adventure we were tired, but it was VERY worth it. This is one where the journey and the destination were incredible.
Horseshoe Bend - Talk about a view! This was, much to my surprise, a super easy paved trail walk that took no more than 10 minutes to walk to. This was a fairly “touristy” spot, but still managed to feel absolutely magnificent. (Tip: It’s busier at sunset, but there is a reason why. If you can catch golden hour, it’s very worth it.) You will see many others trying to capture the beauty of this spot, or get their perfect selfie, but it was never too crowded where we felt uncomfortable. Of course, always wear your mask when near others. P.S. We managed to do Antelope's Canyon and Horseshoe Bend in one day.
There are other views within in 1 hour driving distance that you can get to if you make a weekend out of Page, Arizona!
Places to eat:
Big John’s Texas BBQ - A classic spot even locals go to. Gas station-turned-diner featuring live music and outdoor seating.
State 48 Tavern - They make a mean spicy margarita and the food is pretty good for the offerings in the area!
Albuquerque, New Mexico (1 day)
We didn’t spend a ton of time in Albuquerque, as we just flew in and out.
That’s it! If you’ve made it this far, thanks for sticking around. I hope you found this information helpful, and if I can go in more depth about any of these spots or safety tips we used, just let me know!
Happy & safe travels,
Arika