Fly into St. George Regional Airport (SGU), a small, busy gateway surrounded by the red rock country of southwestern Utah. Plan to land by 3:30 pm so you can meet the group at 4 pm for the shuttle to the hotel. St. George regularly turns up on lists of the best places to live in the U.S., and it makes a friendly first impression on the region. In the evening we’ll get together for a trip orientation and our first group dinner, a good chance to meet everyone and walk through what’s coming. Expect an early night; there’s a lot of hiking ahead.

Meals: Dinner
Accommodation: Best Western Plus Abbey Inn (or similar)

After an early breakfast we drive to Snow Canyon State Park, 7,400 acres of ancient lava flows, sandstone cliffs, and surprisingly delicate desert life. Our first hike of the trip is a 4.8 mi (7.7 km) loop with 639 ft (195 m) of gain, linking the Butterfly, Lava Flow, West Canyon, Red Sands, Whiptail, and Petrified Dunes trails for a proper introduction to the park’s geology and ecology. Red rock and sagebrush all around, we stop for a picnic lunch before carrying on to Zion. Dinner is in the lodge’s open-air dining area, where we can watch the sun drop and the stars come out.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Distance: 6.4-8 km (4-5 mi)
Elevation: +/-195 m (+/-639 ft)
Travel time: Driving (~1.5 hours)
Accommodation: Zion Lodge (or similar)

We pick up our Narrows gear this morning, then head into Zion National Park to wade upriver through the slot canyon everyone comes here for. The Narrows runs 16 mi (26 km) and drops as much as 2,000 ft (610 m) between its walls, and walking in the water is the only way to see it. Our goal is Orderville Canyon, roughly two hours upriver and home to some of the best views around. It’s an out-and-back, so we can turn around sooner if the weather or the group’s energy says so. If water or weather conditions don’t cooperate, your guides have another excellent Zion hike up their sleeve.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Distance: 6.4-9.7 km (4-6 mi)
Elevation: Minimal
Travel time: Park shuttle (~20 minutes round-trip)
Accommodation: Zion Lodge (or similar)

We start with the climb to Scout’s Lookout, a paved trail that switchbacks steadily for two miles with sweeping views over Zion Canyon. If you’re up for more and comfortable with exposure, the trail carries on another 0.5 mi (0.8 km) out and back along a narrow ridge to Angels Landing, chains and all (a permit is required and isn’t included). You can also stop at Scout’s Lookout, continue at an easier pace along the West Rim Trail, or keep it gentle with a riverside walk along the Virgin River. Once we regroup, we drive about two hours to Bryce Canyon through the Zion Tunnel and past Checkerboard Mesa. Our lodging sits minutes from the Rim, so there’s time for a first look before dinner at the park’s historic lodge.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Distance: 3.5-5 mi (5.6-8 km)
Elevation: ~1,827 ft (557 m) +/-
Travel time: Driving (~2 hours)
Accommodation: Bryce Canyon Inn (or similar)

Bryce Canyon sits at 8,000 ft (2,438 m) atop the Grand Staircase, and today we pick between two loops through its strange, beautiful geology. The 8 mi (13 km) Fairyland Loop is the quieter option, winding through a maze of hoodoos past the Chinese Wall, Sinking Ship Mesa, and a short spur to Tower Bridge. It starts gently, then drops into the heart of Fairyland Canyon, which technically isn’t a canyon at all but an amphitheater carved by erosion. The 6 mi (9.7 km) Peekaboo Loop links the Navajo, Peekaboo, and Queens Garden trails, with big switchbacks, sculpted spires, and natural windows in the rock. We finish with sunset over it all, then stargazing under Bryce’s famously dark skies.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Distance: Fairyland: ~8 mi (13 km) or Peekaboo: ~6 mi (9.7 km)
Elevation: Fairyland: ~1,555 ft (474 m) +/- or Peekaboo: ~1,528 ft (466 m) +/-
Accommodation: Bryce Canyon Inn (or similar)

After breakfast we leave Bryce Canyon and head south into some of the most dramatic desert country in the Southwest. Depending on weather and trail conditions, the day may take us through the world’s longest slot canyons or out among the surreal rock formations of the Vermilion Cliffs and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, both known for their tangled geology and stark beauty. If conditions don’t suit slot canyon travel, we’ll swap in another scenic hike in Bryce Canyon instead before carrying on. Either way, the driving is long but the views keep coming, and we finish the day settling into our lodging in Kanab.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Distance: 3.5-5 mi (5.6-8 km)
Elevation: ~250 ft (76 m) +/-
Travel time: Driving (3-4 hours)
Accommodation: Parry Lodge (or similar)

Today belongs to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and its greatest hits. We start at the overlook at Horseshoe Bend, where the Colorado River swings in a huge arc below the sandstone cliffs, then walk riverside trails and get a sense of the sheer scale of the Glen Canyon Dam. The afternoon takes us on a guided tour of Antelope Canyon, where the walls curve like frozen waves and the light shifts as it filters down from above. Back in Kanab, we gather for a farewell dinner and look back on a week spent walking through the Grand Staircase.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Distance: Horseshoe Bend 2.4 km (1.5 mi), Glen Canyon 4.2 km (2.6 mi) or 6.3 km (3.9 mi), Antelope Canyon 1.6 km (1 mi)
Elevation: Horseshoe Bend +/-42 m (+/-137 ft), Glen Canyon +/-33 m (+/-108 ft) or +/-503 m (+/-1,650 ft)
Driving: About 2 hours
Accommodation: Parry Lodge (or similar)

We spend our last morning at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, a well-known refuge for rescued animals tucked into the red rock canyons near Kanab. The tour shows how the team rehabilitates and rehomes animals, and it’s a lovely, warm way to wrap up the week. If time allows, we fit in one more outing: an easy walk and a picnic lunch among the rolling, rose-colored dunes of Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, a soft contrast to all the cliffs and hoodoos behind us. From there we drive to St. George Regional Airport (SGU), arriving by 3:30 pm for flights after 5 pm.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Driving: About 2 hours