TRAVELING LITTLE MORSELS

Day: April 1, 2025

Our Family Trip to Salt Lake City, Utah for National Parks and Skiing!

Trip Motivation In March 2025, we took a Spring break trip to Salt Lake City, Utah. We visited some friends in the city, took a drive down to the Moab area for a few days of adventuring at Arches National Park and Canyonland Island in the Sky, and enjoyed several days of skiing in the Cottonwood area. For more on our national park itinerary, see this post here Flying: BNA to SLC: 4 hrs We purchased tickets from Southwest Airlines. There are weekend options for nonstop flights to and from SLC but due to our dates and prices, we did quick stop-overs in Texas to and from. You can fly using Southwest points from Southwest credit cards or by transferring Chase points using the Chase portal.  Read more about tips for airline trips here. When traveling with layovers or to new cities, we always check the local airport website and the Priority Pass Lounge website prior to the trip. The Chase Sapphire Reserve card (in addition to others) comes with Priority Pass access. This card gets you access to various airport lounges. It is much more common internationally. In Nashville, there is a Minute Suites lounge in terminal D. Another perk you can get from several credit cards we have used is Global Entry/Pre-Check. This is always helpful for avoiding long lines and spending as little time as possible with others. After you activate your credit card, you’ll use it to pay for the Global Entry fee and get reimbursed immediately. If you want more on this particular benefit and how to use a credit card to receive it for free, check out our tips here. Hyatt Hotels in Salt Lake City On our first night in town, after our late arrival, we stayed 5 minutes away at an airport Hyatt Place.  This is one of our favorite hotel brands. When sleeping with kids, extra space to spread is always a great perk. For our other nights in Salt Lake City, we stayed at the Hyatt Place near Cottonwood.  This location was semi-convenient to our ski adventures at the Brighton Resort area. 30 minutes without traffic and 45 min to an 1 hour with traffic. The prices were very cheap and worth the drive to us.   Chase Sapphire Preferred Apply Here Chase Sapphire Reserve Apply Here Chase Hyatt Apply Here You can earn Hyatt points from Hyatt stays, the Hyatt credit card and Chase points, which can be transferred to Hyatt. Learn more about points here. Hyatt Place Moab The Hyatt Place Moab is a perfect base for exploring Arches and Canyonlands. After a day of hiking, unwind in the heated outdoor pool or soak in the spacious jacuzzi, both surrounded by stunning red rock views. Don’t forget to pack goggles and dive sticks. With comfortable spacious rooms, free breakfast, and easy access to Moab attractions, it’s a win for us. Activities in Salt Lake City: Road Trip to National Parks The road trip from Salt Lake City to Moab is a scenic drive that takes about four hours, making it an easy getaway. We grabbed a quick bite at a Maverick gas station halfway before rolling into Moab early afternoon. After some awesome hikes and scenery (see more details here), we ate at Moab Brewery, picked up some snacks at a nearby grocery store for our adventures, and enjoyed the pool. After a brief morning visiting canyonlands , we drove back to Salt Lake City. We made sure to stop for delicious Navajo fry bread at a Tamarisk in Price, a perfect way to wrap up the trip. The combination of stunning desert landscapes, good food, and easy stops along the route made the journey just as enjoyable as the destination. Skiing at Brighton Resort Taking our kids skiing at Brighton Resort was an amazing experience, especially as beginners. With plenty of green and blue trails, it was the perfect place to build confidence on the slopes. Both kids and adults took lessons, which made a huge difference, and the fresh snow made everything even more beautiful. Skiers love powder days because the soft snow makes for a smoother, more enjoyable ride. It was definitely pricey to do lessons but worth it, I think. To save money, we rented gear from Cottonwood Ski and See and limited our ski days to two packed full days. While staying on the town side of the mountain helped with costs, it did add some travel time—so be sure to have traction tires for the snowy, mountainous drive. Brighton is definitely focused more on great skiing than on resort-style amenities, but that was exactly what we wanted. Lunch at the inn was pricey on the first day, so we packed our own meals the next. If you’re planning a trip, look out for deals on season passes and multi-day tickets to make it more affordable! Utah Natural History Museum The Natural History Museum of Utah is a fantastic stop for families, especially with kids who love hands-on learning. It features numerous interactive exhibits and fascinating artifacts, making science and history come alive. One highlight is the impressive collection of dinosaur fossils, including species unique to the region, offering a glimpse into Utah’s prehistoric past. The museum frequently hosts special exhibits, like a well-executed orcas exhibit with engaging digital features. If you have an ASTC reciprocal membership, you can take advantage of free or discounted admission, making it an even better value. Final Thoughts This was such a fun trip! Salt Lake City offers a little bit of everything, making it a fantastic destination. It combines the convenience and amenities of big-city life with easy access to stunning natural landscapes. Whether you’re exploring nearby national parks, hitting the slopes for world-class skiing, or enjoying vibrant city attractions, there’s always something to do. Plus, with easy flight access and a mix of outdoor adventure and urban experiences, we’ll definitely be back to visit again!

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Arches and Canyonland Itinerary: Best Viewpoints and Hikes for Kids

Trip Motivation In March 2025, we took a Spring break trip to Salt Lake City, Utah. We visited some friends in the city, took a drive down to the Moab area for a few days of adventuring at Arches National Park and Canyonland Island in the Sky, and enjoyed several days of skiing in the Cottonwood area. For more on our week itinerary, see this post here Arches National Park Arches National Park is an easy drive from Salt Lake City. Just over a 3.5-hour drive, this iconic park sits right outside the adventure town of Moab, which has many hotels with beautiful views. Whether you’re road-tripping from the city or stopping on a larger Utah adventure, Arches offers a surreal playground of towering sandstone formations, gravity-defying arches, and fiery desert vistas—all within a short drive from civilization. We had other things to do on this trip and were very limited on time on this portion. We arrived in SLC late Tuesday night, drove down to Moab early Wednesday morning, spent half a day in Arches, and stayed overnight for 1 night. The next day, we spent just a few hours visiting Canyonlands before heading back to SLC. Tips for Visiting Cost.  A park pass costs $30 per vehicle. We have a 4th grader and were able to get a free pass at this website. Obama started this program where all 4th graders are eligible to get a national park pass valid for a year good for the whole car. At the website, there’s like 2 questions and then a paper to print out with a unique barcode. So fun! We’ve also visited Joshua Tree and are planning on a Yellowstone visit as well! Water.  Be sure to park water and hydration. We had 4 12 oz bottles per person and a few electrolyte drinks (Gatorades). The only places to get drinking water are at the visitor centers and entrances of the park, so fill up! It may also be worth packing a backpack water carrier if you anticipate long hikes. The weather when we visited in March was great 60-70 degrees. Sun protection. Sunscreen, hat, sunglasses, and moisture wicking clothes are highly recommended out here. Food.  Pack snacks as there are no stores or restaurants in the park! Trail mix is always a fave along with fruit snack bribes Cell service.  There may be limited reception so its a good idea to download maps ahead of time. Maybe even walkie-talkies if you get separated from your group. For trips with lots of car time, I always have a car charger. Be respectful.  Remember to leave no trace and pack in what you pack out! Visitors Center We always stop for a potty break and updates from the rangers on conditions in the park at the visitor center. There’s a small gift shop and some interactive exhibits but we were ready to see the sites. Free junior ranger booklets are available at the visitor center.  Filled with fun activities, these books are good ways to fill the drives between stops or if you take a longer break. I don’t recommend taking them on walks. By completing pages in the book, participants earn a junior ranger badge and signed certificate. Driving Viewpoints Our biggest priority was the Delicate Arch so we started our journey by driving from the park entrance toward the Delicate Arch trailhead, making sure to stop at a few scenic viewpoints along the way. This took about 30 minutes. The La Sal Mountains Viewpoint was awesome with the snowy mountains in the back and red rocky desert in the foreground. There are always signs at different viewpoints that we make the kids read out loud. Both are learning about erosion and geology in their science classes. We passed by Balanced rock and counted arches even before we got to our main activity. The junior ranger books and brochure had some highlights as well. We parked at the Wolfe Ranch parking lot, the starting point for the Delicate Arch hike. Delicate Arch Hike The Delicate Arch hike is a moderate 3-mile round trip. For reference, our kids are 7 and 10 and did it with minimal whining. There were some areas where it did feel like the climb up didn’t have an end point but it was totally doable and we saw several families and pups making the trek. The trail is mostly pretty wide dessert and rocks with a few short distance ledge areas that made parents slightly nervous. The views at the end were absolutely worth it. On Ben and I’s previous trip without kids, we did the viewpoint far away and it does not compare. Delicate Arch was stunning. Snapped some frameable pics and rested with the views, soaking in the majesty and then worked our way back to the car. Windows Section and Double Arch We then went to the Windows Section, a short drive away and home to some of the park’s most accessible arches. A very quick walk brought us to the North and South Window Arches, and Turret Arch. Very cool seeing the giant stone arches up close.  Across the parking lot past the bathrooms is the double arch trail. Because we visited at a non-busy time (March), there was plenty of parking and we actually moved our car to be closer.  The trail was less than a mile and led to Double Arch, where two massive arches frame each other and make a really cool picturesque spot. This area was definitely pretty steep and you shouldn’t do it in a dress (Who does that?? :-P) Canyonlands: Island in the Sky The next morning, we did a quick stop at Canyonlands. The Island in the Sky mesa is a beautiful cliff area higher than the surrounding terrain. Every overlook offers a different perspective on Canyonlands’ spectacular landscape. Island in the Sky is the easiest area of Canyonlands to visit in a short period of time, offering many pullouts with spectacular views

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jennifer sedona

Traveling Little Morsels

Sharing memories and tips for enjoying travels with littles. Always looking forward to our next adventure! 

❤ Jenn Morse ❤

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