Utah’s National Parks Rated 1-5

Rating Utah’s Parks | By James Kent

Utah’s National Parks are scattered across the southern part of the state. With five, Utah has the third most in the country. Beaten by the larger states of California (almost twice as big) and Alaska (roughly eight times its size).

As a Utahn, I’ve had the chance to visit these natural treasures more times than I can count and have certainly developed biases on which ones I consider the “best.”

But my personal preference scale won’t be helpful to anyone deciding which one of Utah’s National Parks they may want to venture to. My favorite drink is chocolate milk and food is pizza. See? Not beneficial for you. So I decided to create an objective, simple, way of rating these awesome places. Just keep in mind that this was like comparing puppies: I love them all.

Below, I have created blank categories to determine the most desirable destination based on measurable numbers. Each one of Utah’s National parks will receive a score ranging from 1-5 (1 being the best) in each section. The national park with the lowest overall score at the end will be our winner.

Let me explain the categories a bit before you jump right into my super complex chart:

Annual visitation numbers to Utah’s National Parks

Obviously, the park with the smaller crowds will win. We’re not looking for six flags here. The numbers I compared are from 2019 because I didn’t want to grab wacky covid stats from 2020.

Square Mileage

Bigger is better when it comes to wild places.

Trail mileage

The most mileage takes the cake. It was difficult to find the most accurate numbers so this is a rough estimate.

Number of trails

The Park with the highest number of different trails according to the NPS. It was difficult to find the most accurate numbers on this as well so I decided to only reference the NPS website for each Park.

Stargazing in Utah’s National Parks

The darkest night sky for peeping the stars. I think we can all agree that the less light pollution, the better. I used the Bortle dark sky Scale: A nine level numeric scale for rating the brightness level of the night skies in each park. Class 1 being the darkest night sky.

Day Pass $

The lowest costs per vehicle.

Bryce Canyon National Park Ranks 5th

Overall score of 22

Bryce Canyon	Visitation (2019)	Square Mileage	Trail Mileage	Trail Quantity	Stargazing	Day Pass $
Numbers	2.5m	55.98	83.2	16	Bortle Class 2	$35
Rank	4	5	4	4	2	3

Arches National Park Ranks 4th

Overall score of 21

Arches	Visitation (2019)	Square Mileage	Trail Mileage	Trail Quantity	Stargazing	Day Pass $
Numbers	1.6m	119.8	27.65	16	Bortle Class 3	$30
Rank	3	4	5	4	3	2

Zion National Park Ranks 3rd

Overall score of 19

Zion	Visitation (2019)	Square Mileage	Trail Mileage	Trail Quantity	Stargazing	Day Pass $
Numbers	4.4m	229.1	119.9	23	Bortle Class 3	$35
Rank	5	3	3	2	3	3

Capitol Reef National Park Ranks 2nd

Overall score of 11

Capitol Reef	Visitation (2019)	Square Mileage	Trail Mileage	Trail Quantity	Stargazing	Day Pass $
Numbers	1.2m	378	160.5	21	Bortle Class 1	$20
Rank	2	2	2	3	1	1

Canyonlands National Park ranks 1st

Overall score of 8

Canyonlands	Visitation (2019)	Square Mileage	Trail Mileage	Trail Quantity	Stargazing	Day Pass $
Numbers	733,996	527	208.8	30	Bortle Class 2	$30
Rank	1	1	1	1	2	2

Can’t argue with the numbers, Canyonlands National Park takes the crypto crusted cake. Fewer crowds, more trails, and an overall massive park make this red rock destination a hikers dream.

Ok, so you may have some objections to my findings. There were only 6 categories and some aren’t that relevant to how enjoyable a park is. But remember, I was trying to only include objective / measurable categories. I couldn’t include things like wildlife, weather, proximity to cool little towns, etc.

But honestly, I don’t think these ratings are very far off the mark from my personal preferences. Canyonlands is indeed my favorite NP in Utah (The Needles District specifically), with Capitol Reef at a close 2^nd. I would definitely change Bryce Canyon to #3, Zion to #4, and Arches to #5.

It really all comes down to what you’re looking for from a park visit. Maybe you prefer towering sandstone cliffs to unique rock formations, or maybe you just want a tall frothy beer from a local brewery after a long day of sightseeing. Only one way to find out….

James Kent

Rogue White & Blue owner

I’m not going to do the whole third person bio thing – As a patriotic outdoorsman, I love America and it’s wild places. I grew up in Oregon and moved to Utah in 2009 to get my bachelors degrees in Psychology. I’m an infantryman in the Army National Guard and like to backpack. When I’m not creating American made products for my small business you’ll find me weaving through a canyon or scrambling up a ridge line.

Thanks for reading!

James

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