Southern Utah is home to arguably some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. Its quintessential southwestern red rocks are formed into massive arches, dramatic mountains and staggering hoodoos, making for some truly unique terrain. It’s home to the National Parks of Zion, Arches, Bryce, Capitol Reef and Canyonlands as well as the massive Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Whenever people ask me where to visit in the Southwest, or the USA as a whole, Southern Utah is always a first thought… especially in the winter when weather is cold and trails are near empty.

We’ve been a handful of times and still haven’t seen everything on our list, but in the meantime I've captured all our favorite spots in the one Google Maps itinerary that you can save to your personal gmail account. It includes dozens of pins such as Points of Interest, Trails, Photo Spots, Food and Lodging.

A few notes on this itinerary:

• This map is best browsed on desktop, but best used for utility via your Google Maps app (read on).

• These are based on our first-hand experiences at Zion, Bryce, Arches, Canyonlands, Antelope Canyon and more. We have yet to spend any substantial time in Escalante-Grand Staircase National Monument or Capitol Reef National Park, so those regions are pretty bare--but definitely worth checking out.

• Pick and choose based on the amount of time you have. If you were to do all of these items in one trip, it would require ideally about 2 weeks minimum, for perspective.

• This region is HOT in summer, so best (mildest) weather is in shoulder seasons of Fall and Spring. However, we prefer winter because as these parks become more popular, they get packed! Winter (Dec - Feb) is often close to freezing temps but usually sunny with occasional snow and rain. Perfect for photography. Bring crampons!

• This itinerary technically dips into northern AZ :)

How to use this map:

This is intended to be a tool to use on the road, so save it to your Google Maps account by hitting the star icon in the map header. Just follow the below (super simple) steps:

1. Log in to Google Maps with your gmail account first.

2. Save it from this post, select the small star icon within the header of the map.

3. View it from your Google Maps app (web or mobile app), select Menu > Your Places > Maps. And there it is!

Southern Utah is the best for road tripping: long and empty roads, endless views of red bluffs, clear roads and incredible sunrises and sunsets. Check out my other posts on how to plan a great road trip and be prepared.