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Utah/Arizona

The Best of Utah's Grand Circle of Parks and Monuments

Program No. 2814RJ

Explore some of the world's most impressive geological formations with experts as you discover Utah’s Grand Circle. Plus, float down the Colorado River and learn about Navajo culture.

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11 days

10 nights

27 meals

10B 9L 8D

Check-in, Orientation, Welcome Dinner

St. George

Snow Canyon State Park, Area History

St. George

Zion National Park

Bryce Canyon National Park

Bryce Canyon Nat’l Park, Grand Staircase, Anasazi State Park

Capitol Reef National Park

Powell Museum, Dead Horse Point, Canyonlands National Park

Moab, Utah

Arches National Park

Moab, Utah

Edge of the Cedars Museum, Monument Valley

Lake Powell - Page, AZ

Colorado River Raft Study Float

Lake Powell - Page, AZ

Antelope Slot Canyon

St. George

Program Concludes

St. George

View Full Itinerary

At a Glance

With expert instruction, explore the world’s greatest concentration of national parks and monuments, known as the “Grand Circle” — Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, as well as Dead Horse Point State Park, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Lake Powell Reservoir and Monument Valley. Learn about the amazing geology up close, and uncover the story of the indigenous human history through a visit with the Navajo. Experience a corner of the world with landscapes and cultures unlike any other!

Activity Level

Keep the Pace

Walking up to two miles daily over varied terrain. Elevations just over 8,000 feet. Participants may elect to opt out of longer walks or take shorter hike options.

Best of all, you’ll…

Discover five national parks, three state parks and two national monuments, each exquisite and full of natural wonders.
Explore the breathtaking slot canyons and sandstone walls of Antelope Canyon.
Float down the Colorado River through towering canyons and Horseshoe Bend.

General Notes

Select dates are designated for small groups and are limited to 24 participants or less. Transportation on this program is by full sized motorcoach, with 48 seats on board.

Featured Expert

All trip experts

Darrell McMahon

Darrell McMahon has worked in natural resource management for more than four decades and has extensive experience as a wildlife and habitat biologist, entomologist and botanist. Darrell has spent many years hiking thousands of miles through this wild landscape and has pinned his soul in the high plateaus and deep canyons of the desert southwest. Darrell has discovered many secret places in the desert southwest and loves to share these places and his knowledge with his best friends and Road Scholar participants.

Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.

Darrell McMahon View biography

Janice Hayden View biography

Janice Hayden moved to St. George, Utah to work as a field geologist for the Utah Geological Survey after working as an oil and gas exploration geologist. For 20 years, Janice mapped eighteen 7-½-minute quadrangles of southwest Utah that delineate geological formations, structures, soils, water resources, mineral deposits, and geologic hazards. She is now full-time faculty at Utah Tech University and frequently leads local geology field trips as well as field trips to Utah's national parks.

Paula McMahon View biography

Paula McMahon has spent a lifetime camping, hiking, backpacking and canoeing in the mountains and deserts of the American West. She feels honored to share her love and passion for these special places with participants on Road Scholar programs, which she has been doing for almost a decade. Paula has also worked for 18 years as an educational paraprofessional with autistic and deaf children and is a sign language (ASL) interpreter.

Marcia Cooper View biography

As a child growing up in Utah’s West Desert, Marcia Cooper quickly became familiar with coyotes, scorpions and rattlesnakes. She has spent most of her life in the slickrock country around Moab and Kanab. Marcia attended Dixie State College and the University of Utah and has been affiliated with Road Scholar for more than 20 years. Her enthusiasm for the outdoors is clear when she says "I do the same thing when I am working and when I am not working - hike!"

Dan Krupicka View biography

Dan Krupicka is a 24-year resident of the St. George area, having moved here from Salt Lake City Utah, his home for 23 years. A geologist with an Engineering Consulting Company, he works mainly with soil and groundwater issues, as well as on geological engineering projects. In the Salt Lake area, he previously worked with mining exploration and oil and gas companies. When he isn’t working, Dan enjoys hiking, biking and golf — all of which can be easily enjoyed in Southern Utah.

Maggie Francke View biography

Maggie Francke has worked 43 years as a nurse during which time she also raised a family. The first half of her career was spent working in various hospital departments. The last half she worked in home health and hospice, and mainly hospice the last 10 years. Now her days are so filled, she wonders how she ever had the time to work so much. She spends her time hiking, biking, gardening and going to yoga five times per week.

Dixie Krupicka View biography

Dixie Krupicka is a long-time resident of Ivins, Utah. She is from Salt Lake City where she received a degree in recreational therapy at the University of Utah. She worked for Intermountain Health Care for 30 years in an inpatient psychiatric unit. Currently, she is a private consultant for skilled nursing facilities in the Southern Utah area. She spends her summers at a cabin in the Uinta mountains. She is an avid hiker, biker and reader.

Phil Moore View biography

Phil Moore is currently an adjunct professor of Geology at Dixie State University. He has been involved with the Southern Utah University Geology Field Camp for several years. Phil taught Earth science for public schools in Hurricane, Utah for 28 years, he is also a semi-professional musician along with his wife Lori, who is also a Road Scholar Group Leader.

Diana Hawks View biography

Diana Hawks was fortunate to be able to work in a career she loved, as an archaeologist in both the southwestern United States and Mesoamerica. She completed a bachelor’s and a master’s in archaeology at Brigham Young and PhD courses in anthropology and law. She has worked most extensively as an archaeologist in southern Utah and northern Arizona specializing in ceramic analysis of Ancestral Puebloan cultures. She enjoys teaching and working with the public on archaeological projects, especially archaeological inventories and rock art recording.

Heidi Loveland View biography

Heidi Loveland is a native of St. George, Utah. A graduate of Weber State University, she has worked as a wildland firefighter with the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service. She loves traveling the world and has visited every continent except Antarctica. She is passionate about the outdoors, and loves yoga and kayaking with her German Shepard.

Suggested Reading List (5 books)

Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop

You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.

Search for a Title

The Best of Utah's Grand Circle of Parks and Monuments

Program Number: 2814

Wildflowers Of The Desert Southwest

by Meg Quinn

Field guide to 80 of the most common flowers of the Chihuahuan, Mojave and Sonoran deserts.

Geology

by See list below

Geology – a Golden Guide, by Frank H.T. Rhodes, 1991, St. Martin’s Press, N.Y. Geology of Utah’s Parks and Monuments, Sprinkel et. al. Utah Geological Association, 2000. Contains geology papers on 25 parks and monuments of Utah (644 pages). Written for a geologist. Utah‘s Spectacular Geology, Lehi Hintze, 2005 The geologic story of Utah’s landscapes and how they came to be. A Traveler's Guide to the Geology of the Colorado Plateau, Don Baars, 2002. A comprehensive guide to the Colorado Plateau. The Practical Geologist, Dougal Dixon, Raymond Bernor, 1992 This book is a great introductory guide to the basics of geology. Great diagrams, pictures and is well written. Geology Underfoot in Southern Utah, R. Orndorff, R. Wieder, D. Futey, 2006 A hands on book about getting out among the rocks. Explores 33 sites in Southern Utah. Tells of ancient eruptions, deserts, seas, swamps and movements of massive rock units over eons. Beyond the Visible Landscape, W. Kenneth Hamblin, 2004. A unique book that consists of a series of panoramic photographs taken from the air. Focuses on the fundamental features of the landscape. Contains excellent diagrams & descriptions of the geology in the photographs.

Books about History

by See list below

Heart of the Desert Wild, Greer Chesher, 2000. Award winning book about the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument (GSENM). It covers a variety of topics from geology to history. The photography and design of this book are outstanding and remains the definitive book on the GSENM. A Roadside History of Utah, Cynthia L. Bennett. 1999. Compelling stories of Utah’s exceptional people. Utah’s History, Richard D. Poll. 1989. A more in-depth and statewide focus on history. Hole-in-the-Rock, David E. Miller, 1995. If you want to learn more about one of the epic pioneer journeys in American History this is the book. It is area related and is a good read for those interested in history. Highway 12, Christian Probasco. 2005. Popular with travelers along Highway 12. It features a unique look at the history, people and their perspectives on this very special corridor. Outlaw Tales of Utah, Michael Rutter, 2002. True stores of Utah’s most famous robbers, rustlers and bandits.

General Reference

by See list below

A Naturalists Guide to the Canyon Country, David B. Williams. 2000. A wonderful Falcon Guide that uses fine artwork and pictures to introduce the geology, flora, fauna and history of the Canyon Country. Four Corners: History, Land and People of the Desert Southwest, Kenneth A. Brown, 1996. Great information about the region. Desert Solitaire, Edward Abbey. 1968. A season in the wilderness is a celebration of the beauty of living in a harsh and hostile land. Edward Abbey was a seasonal Park ranger in Arches National Monument. Cadillac Desert, Marc Reisner. 1986. The story of the American West is the story of a relentless quest for a precious resource: water. The definitive work on the West’s water crisis.

Geology (specific)

by See list below

Ron Kay’s Guide to Zion National Park, Ron Kay, 1995 A complete guide of Zion National Park by one of Road Scholar’s own instructors. Shadows of Time: The Geology of Bryce Canyon National Park, Frank Decourten, 1994 A book with breathtaking photographs, well written on the geology of Bryce Canyon N. P. and surrounding high plateaus. Water, Rock, & Time: The Geologic Story of Zion National Park, Robert Eves, 2005. This book is so nice you may want to leave it on the coffee table. Zion National Park: Towers of Stone; by J.L. Crawford; Zion Natural History Association, Springdale, Utah, Fourth Edition 2002. Carving Grand Canyon, Wayne Ranney. 2005. A synopsis of ideas and theories that geologists have developed over time about the carving of the Grand Canyon. This story is told in an engaging style that non-scientists will find inviting. Canyonlands Country, Donald Baars, 1993. Geology of Canyonlands and Arches National Parks.

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The Best of Utah's Grand Circle of Parks and Monuments

Enroll with Confidence

Protecting the Environment

At a Glance

Best of all, you’ll…

General Notes

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